30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 2

Day 2~ It seems everyone is on the same page with Day 2. I've been thinking and I'm going along with everyone else!

Jose & I supporting our #1 Football Player

I'm beyond grateful for my Honey! He is my Yin to my Yang, my calm to my storm, my #1 supporter, my soul mate, my better half, the spiritual leader of our family, our prayer warrior, an awesome Papa to our 4 blessings, a VERY hard worker that allows me to stay home to care for our 

blessings. My husband is everything and more! I thank you Jose Herrera for all you are and all you do. Our paths met when I was 12 years old. Our story has an AMAZING testimony that will touch lives we may never know. But God knew what he was doing when He placed us in that trailer park. I praise Him for you. I couldn't ask for anyone better. I love you more today than ever! ♥

Just a little news article

Well, I felt as though our Titan Boys deserved some recognition for their accomplishments this past tournament season.  So, I submitted an email to the Banning-Beaumont Patch, it's just a little local web-paper I guess you would call it that is like a news paper, but is on the web.
We shall see what happens.  But I wanted to put it out on here, just because I think these boys deserve some recognition and I don't ever want to forget what these kids have accomplished!

Hi Guy, I'm a mom to a local teen that is part of the local AYSO Tournament Team called Titans. I would love for our boys to be recognized on your website to bring some light to this team. They are a group of 14-16 year old boys that attend Beaumont High School and play Fall Season Soccer for our local AYSO, Region 641. After the fall season the boys come together and play on the tournament team and travel across Southern California.
This past weekend we traveled down to San Diego and played in the Top Gun Tournament. This tournament is known as "the best of the best" when it comes to tournament teams. We've attempted to play in this tournament in the past, but never qualified. This year our stats allowed us to qualify for this tournament.
We were down a strong player and it was obvious in our first game, as we lost 1-0. The boys came together and realized that they can do this. The second game played on Saturday they won 2-1 (and one of our boys accidentally made the goal for the other team). Sunday the boys went out early, playing their first game and tied 2-2. Now we weren't looking like we were going to keep going on and even one of the families planned to head home after our second game of the day. Second game on Sunday, we needed to win 3-0 to guarantee us a spot in the Semi-Final's game. The boys were ready to put up a fight and fought they did!!! The Titans team walked away winning that game 2-0. Now being that we didn't make 3-0 we didn't get the guarantee for the Semi-Final game. We had to wait to see who won the other games later on in the day to determine if we moved on or not.
Later that afternoon we got word that the team that needed to loose for us to go into Semi-Finals lost and WE MADE IT!!!
Monday, we knew we were up for 2 games. The first game determined if we go on to play for 1st & 2nd if we won or 3rd & 4th if we lost.
Well, our boys went out and played the game of their life! As a soccer mom, I have to say that this was THE MOST AMAZING GAME I've ever watched! Our boys walked away winning with a score of 3-1. This guaranteed us moving on to play for 1st/2nd place.
After a LONG, HOT, HARD game our boys lost, but still WON! As the man handing us the medals stated, "This is the toughest tournament in So. Cal., for Beaumont to come out and play against the best of the best and walk away with 2nd place, you are winners!"
Titan's boys have played 6 tournaments (14 games) in the last 21 days. They have medaled in every single one. 1-1st place, 2-2nd places, 1-3rd place & 2-4th places.
I think this little team that doesn't get much recognition from our home town needs to know about these kids. They are on fire and will be a successful group we will be reading about in a few years down the road!
Here is a link to the Standings for the Top Gun Tournament: http://ayso285.clubspaces.com/standings_css.aspx?programid=120794&divisionid=289254022
Thank you for the time you've taken to read this & I appreciate your work in this community!

Well, while I was posting this, I recieved an email.  Looks as though my story on the boys is going to be published!  I'm so excited for them!!!  It is well deserved!

Yay for LA!

We have been through the ringer since the beggining of december and we just had the icing put on the cake. ‹ will be in another blog post.
Anyhow, Jose and I decided it was time to take a trip with our babies and just get away from "reality" for a day. So we are heading LA!
We do this every so often, we'll pack up and head to the Guatemalan bakery, eat us some authentic Guatemalan food, buy us some pan, and take something new home that I can learn to cook for my babies. I love that we have something close enough to home that we can instill their Guatemalan traditions, heritage, whatever. It's important to me that my babies know where theycome from and some traditions.
So here we go...
I posted some pics of us driving. I will be taking pics while out there and share them with you.
Have a great day & know, God has it all under control!
~Melissa

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My boy...

I'm sitting here looking at pics on facebook of my baby boy. There's just something about him that brings me so much joy and years that fill my eyes.
He's at his first quinceñera tonight, and as he made his plans I started to question myself. He initially planned on staying at his friend Marcelino's house. But then the more I thought about it, I had concerns. I know quinces and I know there will be alcohol and yes, even possibly drugs.
It's not that I don't trust my boy, I do, but I've been there and done that. Temptations rears up like a vicious lion, and my boy being as popular as he is, of course will have to protect his reputation.
So I change his plans and he won't be going tio his friends and I will be picking him up. Anthony is such an awesome kid. He has an amazing head on his shoulders, he's amazingly driven and loves life. One mistake could cost him. I tell him that allllll the time, but he's a teenager and of course "knows everything".
So mean 'ol mama that I am, I'm not letting him spend the night, but I allowed him to go to the party. I pray the holy spirit walks with him, protects him and quickens him to any senseless act he may do or think of doing.
I love my boy beyond words. He continues to amaze me. One day he will make an amazing husband and loving father.
Until then, my job is never through. And I will proudly be "the mean mom".

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30 days of Thankfulness ~Day 8

Hmmm, I have a coin to flip for today =)
But, I think my friends are going to take this day...
I have been blessed with some really good ones, if I say so myself!
I want to point each one out individually, but if I did that, I would never end this post and I may miss someone and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
But there is one special friend I want to brag on...
One that's been in my life for a couple centuries, one that has been through the dirt with me and still loves me for who *I* am, one that has loved my mom and brother through all of their crap and never judged or condemned them, one that has probably known more about me than even my husband (no, I don't tell him everything...there are things that just don't need to be said).
This friend has been more of a friend and more like a sister to me, the one I never had. No matter where life has taken us, the roads that have separated us, circumstances that have taken our lives down different paths, we still come together like we were never separated.
We went to school together, got drunk together, did things together only her and I will take to the grave.
We've laughed together, cried together, mourned together, been frustrated over the same family members, had our babies together, graduated Jr. High and High School together, watched our babies graduate Jr. High together.
We've both walked away from the Lord and church, while our moms prayed our butts back in. We understand each other, hold each other up, give advice to each other without condemnation on what we did.
She's held me up in some of my darkest hours, and walked with me through some of my hardest years.
Remember those heart necklaces that half said BEST and the other half said FRIENDS. I can honestly say, she has a piece of my heart and tattooed on it it says, "Best Friend".
I haven't always been the 'best' friend that I should be, but we both know, we are there, no matter what!

This special person would be Jessica Yvonne Hale (amongst her many married names =) Love ya Jess...LOL!)
I remember the day I met you. Your mom and my mom picked us up from school in her little funky green car. Since that car, our lives have taken us down some memorial paths. No matter what, through thick and thin, we still stand, bonded as if that day we were born to be sisters.
I don't say it enough, nor do I show it enough. But I love you!
You have a piece of my heart forever.
Here is a pic of Jessica, Cera, Me & Ant at their Jr. High Graduation (remind me to look for our graduation pics...I have them somewhere!)

30 days of Thankfulness ~Day 1

My friend Sandy started this today on facebook...I took it a bit farther and started a 30 day blog post. I hope you can join me! If you do, let me know and I will go read & support your blogging efforts!



Has to go to my #1~Jose Roberto Herrera
My husband has to be the most awesome man I know!
He has taken a journey with me for the past 20 years.
He blessed me with my first born almost 15 years ago and since has blessed me with 3 additional.
He loves me threw my brokenness and rejoices with me threw my accomplishments.
He dreams with me, supports me, and most of all stands by me!
He works hard daily and supports his family and keeps me home to raise them.
He's his kids #2 cheerleader (come on, you know I'm their #1), a coach, and helper.
He's a prayer warrior and covers his family daily in them.
He's a child of the Most High Father and through his relationship with the Lord can love his family to the capacity that he does.
This list could probably go on all day, but you get the point!
Today, I am thankful for my Husband!

Story of Robin

For some reason, I didn't get this when my Aunt sent it out the first time. But my Uncle told my mom about it today and sent it my direction. You all know how much I love my cousin, Robin. Well this is her mom speaking on Robin's life (or summing it up in 30 mins). It is very moving! I pray you take the time to listen to her story and allow God to touch you through it!

Christmas Blessings

WOW, what a difference a year can make! This time last year, Jose & I were struggling, stressed, not knowing what we were going to do for anything. The Lord came through and blessed us tremendously! I praise Him & give him ALL the glory! This year, God spoke to Jose & I both, separately and we were able to bless a family in our church that wasn't able to provide Christmas for their family. And still have a great Christmas for ours...What an AWESOME God I serve!
This year, we were more focused on the "needs" of our children and what we bought to be more "useful" rather than just "another toy/game". Also, God spoke to my heart and told me to bless a special somebody in my life...my Honey! I saved up and was able to make a couple of Ben Franklin's since resigning with Pampered Chef. So I teamed up with my compadres and had Noe help me buy my Honey a GUITAR! Jose has had a yearning to learn the guitar and start playing. This is something I believe God placed in his heart, I don't know why, my husband can't keep a beat to save his life, but OK, if it's God's will & doing, I'm all in!
So Christmas morning, we all opened our gifts. After we were all done, Jose went to go get more coffee & we stopped him. I pointed to the note on the tree that just had a few things written to him & explained to him that he was going to go on a hunt. WAIT, let me back up...I wrapped up his new picks & guitar strap (he has a guitar my grandpa gave him, so I made it look as though I bought stuff for that guitar). Well, the hunt began, to each of the kids' rooms. Everyone wrote something positive to him on the note & sent him to the next destination, ending in my mom's room, behind her door, where he found his case (I told him he had to open the case to find his "strings"). Inside the case was more than "just strings", it was his guitar with a note that I slipped inside, pouring my heart out to him of what God has instructed me to do. Well, needless to say, there were LOTS of tears!
He got to enjoy his guitar for a while, the kids their stuff and we prepared to head off to my Grandpa & Grandma Roof's house to have dinner. Here's some pics from our day...

Jose & I

Ooooh La La


My Cute Grandpa


My GORGEOUS Cousin Lourdes & Bryan


My cute Grandma with her Pippy


Aunt Vonnie playing ball with the kids


Grandpa & Alli


Bryan & I


Mexican Train with Lourdes, Ant, Alli, Adrian, Adi & Jose


What it's all for!



Family tradition of getting the olives onto ALL 10 fingers!


Then to eat them off...



The Little Sisters


My babies & I


Little & my crazy socks


My pretty little girl


Look at Miss Santa Baby


The littles


Time for Wii


The journey for his gift begins...




Tears of joy


Isn't she purty!!!


Checking it out

The smile says it all


And those are just the pics Honey, you just wait ;-)



Opening her first Christmas present

Christmas Eve At The Herrera's

This year I got to do Christmas Eve at my house. Honestly, I think I may make it that I have it at my house every year! I LOVE that I can make dinner, everyone come over, have a great time, clean up, do our traditions and then Christmas Day be devoted to just being a family & not worrying about any hustle or bustle.
I have some pics posted, of course.
All out of order, but se la vie...I will walk ya through them...

This would be Santa & the Reindeer's treats, after they visited

And Before


My beautiful children before bed


Delayna "helping" mama clean up


Dominic putting stuff out for Santa & crew


The night wouldn't be complete without my goofy brother


Jess & Mark


Jessica & Delayna


Cuzin Sarah & Delayna


Game of good 'ol Mexican Train Dominoes


Tracking Santa


The Wallace's & Thompson's


Dinner (from left to right) Gail, James, Ben, Mom, Star, Dad


Jessica, Gail, James & Ben


Mom, Star, Dad, Jose


Delayna riding Dominic's bike (NO, she NEVER stops!)


Yaaaa, she's a big girl!


Woah hoa hoa, what do we have here? That would be your's truly with a torch...glazing my ham.


Check me out!


ooooooh, my yummy dipped pretzels & marshmallows, I think I had 1...LOL

That's All Folks!