The very poorly lit picture I texted to Amanda showing my accomplishment

We recently moved our wireless access point from my former office (now Zander’s room until we redecorate it for Roman) to the family room so it could be in closer proximity to where we spend most of our time when we are online. The upside is the iPad and laptop have better reception and the XBOX and DVR can now be hard wired to the internet. (Thanks John for handling the cabling!) The downside to this move was that our 8 year old iMac G5 (nickname: Manzana Blanca) that didn’t come with a wifi card installed (and hadn’t needed one until now) was relegated to being a stand-alone machine. The G5 is our digital hub for music and photos so it needs to be online.

Last night while shopping for a suitable USB wifi card I saw in forums that people had hit-or-miss experiences with G5′s and USB wifi cards and they advised to use an AirPort card in the built-in slot for best results. A quick Google search showed me I could buy one off Amazon or eBay for around $30 bucks. In the description I saw that these cards were compatible with G3, G4 or G5 machines. *Light Bulb*.  We had bought Amanda an old G4 Macbook that she used until the hard drive demonstrated what the sound of metal scraping against metal is like. A quick removal of the keyboard and eureka! An AirPort Extreme card! But, would it fit in the G5?

I flipped the iMac on it’s front and loosened three screws (seriously, Macs are the best designed machines) and immediately saw the slot for the AirPort card and it was the same size. Rear panel back on, power up.

G5: “I’ve found an AirPort card, would you like to use it?”
Me: “Yes, yes I would.”

Done.

It felt good to ‘use what we got’ – A mantra Amanda and I often recite in our continued endeavor of Gazelle Intensity. Also, this episode was also an example of how great design of products pays dividends years later.  I challenge anyone to show me an almost 8 year old Windows machine that is in such good shape as our little Manzanita.

~ The Espinoza’s

The kids swapped laptops to do some peer coding.

Little by little the Dark Ages are fading.

Last week I watched a free lesson of EntreLeadership over on their site.  I haven’t been through the course, but what I glean about the content is always encouraging and motivating to me since I’m a small business owner.  In the lesson Dave Ramsey encourages the leaders to keep what is “inside their vessel” under control and pure because it affects their organization.  He quotes John Maxwell saying “Everything rises and falls on leadership” and follows by saying “The organization will become what the leader is.”  This hit home with me as the leader of my family that what is inside of me affects my family.   If I don’t have a spirit of thanksgiving, a joyful spirit, a servant attitude, a compassionate heart, then I can’t expect my family to have one either.

I decided to start with thankfulness, the root of some of my mood swings lately.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

A mentor of mine, Lynda (with a “y” not an “i”) Marcantel, would say “When you don’t feel like giving thanks, just start listing things that you are thankful for.  Start with the trees.  Eventually you will feel thankful.”

So as I have before I just start listing things that I am thankful for.

• Lord, I am thankful for the trees
• I am thankful for my loving wife who is the perfect partner for me
• I am thankful for my daughter and son and baby on the way
• I am thankful my family is healthy
• I am thankful for my parents who always exhibit servant’s hearts
• I am thankful for my sister, my brother in law Matt, my nieces who have been such a huge help
• I am thankful for all of my extended family
• I am thankful for my church community
• I am thankful for my friends that pray for and encourage me and take me to eat hot wings
• I am thankful for our home
• I am thankful for our cars even though they are dirty
• I am thankful that it will be getting cooler soon
• I am thankful that college football started again
• I am thankful for fresh perspective

And that’s all it took. I am thankful.

I believe we’ve all made up of three parts:  Physical, Emotional, Spiritual.   I was feeling down last night, and since then I’ve taken these steps to give me a boost.

Phisical

Exercise.  I went to the gym and had a good time of stretching and jogged 1.5 miles.  Results were near immediate.  I also drank half a gallon of water.

Emotional

Connect with a loved one.  I got a hug from Amanda, and after the kids were in bed we sat and talked.  With the change in schedule that comes with the first trimester, a quiet talk had been missed.  Simple.

Spiritual

Spent some of my morning in prayer with God.  Not heaping my troubles upon him, or pleading for something to be fixed, but just talking and reading some Proverbs.

And just like that I feel like a new man, ready to take the world by the tail!

The second picture shows where the ceremony was held. Their is now a retaining wall on the grass hill making it a little different from how it was for our day.

Today I am writing bullet point style. I sometimes even prefer bullet style in posts. Here it goes.

- We have been sick. Roman sick with strep and crud. I was sick for one week. Well again for the next. Then the next week I got some crazy cold that had me bed ridden for at least a day. It made me rest when I didn’t want to.

- Daniel has been working A LOT. One of the projects he has been on is called Mojo Themes. Even if you don’t know anything about what the site does – it is a cool design. He makes all the buttons work. Check it out here: http://www.mojo-themes.com

- Daniel and I have been asked to help lead all of the Missions department at church. Previously we were just over the Mission Trips arm. Now we get to be The Hub to connect ministries with volunteers. I have been working on a new blog for our missions department. Can’t wait until it is live.

- I get to help coordinate a new Women’s Mentoring Program at church too. I am super excited about this. I have been busy recruiting mentors, mentor coaches, and ladies who would like to be mentored. Love it.

- Roman turned 1 year old! I can’t believe how fast that year has gone by! He is 75th percentile in height and weight. At 24 pounds he is a bowling ball to carry around! He isn’t walking yet, but we aren’t worried. He is getting close though. I love his laid back demeanor and I can’t resist his smile.

- Annabelle is doing wonderful. She has become a night owl and I can hear her singing and playing in her room well after we put her to bed. She sleeps in too. That silly girl. Her language is growing and she is fun to be around.

- Spring is here! The sun is shining, my flip flops have claimed their rightful place on my feet, and I might even care about how my grass looks. I even love the bright colors of clothes that return to my children’s wardrobes. I have already put away their winter clothes.

- Daniel and I got to go on a date in Gruene, TX.

- The Spring Cleaning Bug has bitten me and I have been cleaning out a lot of the house.

- I have been a reading machine. I am in my 9th book of this year. More on that later!

- I spent two days in a row at La Cantera with different people. Orange Cup is good!

- We went to Fredricksberg with Daniel’s family the Friday of Spring Break.

- We will be attending our fifth dinner party within the span of 3 weekends this weekend. I love that God has been providing food for my family with community. We have had French, Hawaiian, Korean, Steak, Shish-ka-bobs, and something yummy TBD this weekend.

Can’t wait for more fun! Here are some more photos from Roman’s birthday!

Our impromptu party for Roman on his actual birthday. Our neighbors Zandi and Owen came over. Roman really enjoyed the bounce house, bubble machine, pizza, and cupcakes.

Roman’s birthday party with family and friends.

Finally, our duplicator machine worked!

Sunday morning Daniel found Annabelle sleeping in a bed covered in vomit. Poor girl! We never heard her cry or throw up. She was all smiles by the end of the day today. Tomorrow she can resume her regular consumption of fruit snacks.

Needless to say I don’t have any photos for this post. I don’t think you want to see a sad looking mom or Annabelle laying on the couch or a vomit filled trash can. I do have to say my husband was my hero Saturday morning at 4 a.m. I am so thankful he has a strong stomach!