Meet Riley.

All About Riley.

 



 

Wanted to stop by to update you all on our newest family addition! This is Riley Bear Gibbons, our new baby!

 

If you are friends with me on FB, then you have been up to date with all things Riley but I wanted to post our experience adopting from a shelter! 

 

Three weeks ago, Steve had a rare day off and we decided to stop by one of our local pet shelters, just to look and see if they had new puppies (we had been looking for a dog online for sometime, but nothing that stood out)We got dressed to go swimming, and decided to stop by the shelter before going to the pool. For awhile now, we wanted to adopt or buy a dog, but for one reason or another it never happened. We got used to things falling through, like contacting breeders and them telling us that the dog I wanted had been sold, and things like that, so I figured a shelter would be better way to go.

 

We walked into Operation Kindness and filled an application, waited for them to take us back to the puppy area and as soon as we walked in to see all the baby puppies we locked eyes with our sweet Riley. They told us that if we wanted to play with a dog we were interested in, we needed to get his name and take it to the front desk, so they can get the family and the dog in a room. 

 

We immediately knew Riley was our dog!

 

He was so sweet, and had the sweetest disposition!  

 

He was in on the very top, with a burgundy collar and the sweetest face!

 

I ran up to him, took his name and went to the front desk!

 

We went into a room, Matthew & Olivia were so excited! We got to play with him for a bit, and he was hyper, but not overly hyper. He was playfully sweet and adorable. I looked at Steve and he was just as excited as I was, as his only 'dog request' was to get a dog that would grow medium to large for running. Afraid that something would happen and we wouldn't be able to take him home, I shyly asked the woman what we needed to do to secure him.

 

To my surprise she replied: "Just pay our adoption fee, and take him home!"

 

I was soooo happy! Seriously! that's it? No, 'let me check your shoe size, to make sure he's a good fit?' Honestly, breeders we dealt with made it super hard just to schedule a visit with a dog!

 

Our baby Riley (originally named Paulie) was neutered, with 2 rounds of shots and with one free month of vet care to go home with!

 

OH, and $25 dollars off at the pet store for supplies!

 

We paid for him, signed all the documents and took our first family photo!

 

We then made it to the pet store and purchased all our stuff!

 

He was a little nervous in the car.. (I have scratches as proof)!

 

We got home and started our little life with him!

 

And we have not looked back since.

 

Here are a few facts about baby boy:

 

Riley's original name was 'Paulie'

 

He was 8 weeks when he came home with us.

 

The shelter labeled him as a collie/shepard mix but our vet thinks he is a collie/lab mix.

 

He will grow to be 60-80 lbs!

 

We named him 'Riley' because that is our street name, and we wanted a way to remember the street in which we got our first real job, our first home, and now our first dog.

 

He is a bitter! And has Olivia a little scared! But we have plans for puppy preschool to help with that!

 

After 3 weeks he is sleeping almost through the night (only wakes up once for a potty break) and then sleeps until about 7am.

 

He eats like a COW!

 

Doing really well with potty training! He has accidents now and again, but only if he is really distraced. For the most part he rings a little bell on the door, and waits for me to open the door.

 

WE are all IN LOVE WITH HIM. We honestly feel like our family is totally compleate! and we feel very blessed!

 

xoxo,

 

Jazmin 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Campar! Cub Scout Camp!

A Campar! Parte 1

5 Days, 13 kids, Texas summer heat, and a tent.

Sounds fun? Well, it was!

This is my first experience with Scouts of any kind, and with Matthew now 8 and a full blown Wolf cub scout, I had to sumerge myself into the world of scouts, and it was super fun!

We did so many things, that we were so tired by the end of each day!

Some of our favorite activities were:

Smore making!

Archery

BB Guns

Terraniums

WATER HOLE! (we got sprayed with  a firefighter water hose twice each day)

Kababs

Basketball

Table tennis

LOADS of FUN!

Here are some pictures of our fun camping experience. Oh, and we had the night session, so it was nice to come home, take a shower, and sleep.

Can't wait to do it again... NEXT YEAR!



I will be back with more pics this week! Still have to upload them!

Jazmin



Accidental Pumpkin!

Here's the story, of a little pumpkin...

Hi, my name is Jazmin and I kill plants.

 Yes, but a miracle is happening in our very own backyard, right now!

It all began last year when I tried to spray paint a pumpkin and failed miserably. Embarrassed of my creation, I took the pumpkin from my front yard, and threw it in my back yard. I later forgot about said pumpkin, and before you know it, the pumpkin started to rot, and mold.

Sooo, I asked Steve to throw it out, cause it was really gross. Long story short, he didn't. Time passed, and the pumpkin disappeared or (disintegrated) but the seeds remained. Then one day, I saw a huge plant and yellow flower sprout. I gave Olivia the job of watering the 'plant' and we created an impromptu 'garden' Thinking nothing would come of it, we let it grown, and now....

A new pumpkin is growing!!!!

I will start documenting, the growth as today it was this big (size of a grapefruit) but 2 days ago, it was the size of a lime! Could it be?!? that I can grow something?! can it be true?!

Am I capable of growing my own veggies?!?!?! soooo many questions, and doubts! But for now, I bask in the glory of the little pumpkin that could..

Jazmin

Matthew is Getting Baptized!!!

Eight is GRE8T!

It's Official! Matthew turned 8 on Monday! His baptism is happening on Saturday, and his bday party is going on tomorrow. Very excited for him, and sooo proud! He is absolutely everything I could ever ask for and more. He is spiritual, and I love that I didn't force that on him. He is an individual, and he chose to get baptized. He is such a little man. He is excited for his scriptures with his name on it! Can you believe that?? That in the time we live in, an eight year old boy can be excited for his name on his own scriptures?! Very blessed, and can't take credit for it.

He is an example to me. This was apparent last week, when I cussed, on accident. I said the S word, and he quickly said: "Mom, stop saying bad words! if you continue, Satan will be coming out for you!" I laughed, as it sounded funny, and then apologized for my dirty mouth (where is orbit gum when you need it?) And I felt so proud to have such a righteous boy, that is so sensitive to the spirit and is not afraid to speak up. So blessed, and again, can't take credit for it.

Jazmin

Matthew

 Matthew.

As Matthew's birthday quickly approches, I have stopped to reflect on how fast these past 8 years have gone, and it gets me really sad to think that I only have about 10 more years with this kid!

SAD!!!! :(

He is so special to me, not only because he made me a mom, but because he has made me a better mom, with each passing day.

It is a privilege to be his parent, and I can't stomach the thought of him growing up so quickly.

He is absolutely perfection in my opinion. I don't know how God trusted us with such a wonderful boy, we simply didn't deserve it.

And while raising him hasn't always been easy (hello, non sleeper!)it has always, and forever will be the best thing I ever did.

Raising a boy is a bit different, than raising a girl. For example, it requires a lot of science knowledge! I never knew I needed a degree in marine biology before I had Matthew, or how to properly craft paper airplanes in a way to maximize speed, an height.

I must also get to know dinosaurs more, as this knowledge is invaluable to a boy. For real.


In any event, it has been super fun so far, and look forward to more fun filled years with him.

And yes, you guessed it. I will be a VERY annoying mother in law.

No. lie.

Jazmin

Summer Fun

Summer Fun/No School

Summer has started, Matthew is officialy out of school and passed 2nd grade with amazing grades!  To celebrate, I took the kids to a local splash park that my friend recently discovered, and I was hitting myself for not having known about this little gem before! It's super cute, and FREE!

This month is super busy! Matthew is now in scouts, karate, and his birthday and baptism are coming up! All within the next few weeks! I hope to survive the craziness while Steve finishes up night float. UGH.

Wish me luck!

Jazmin

Memorial Day

Memorial Day 2012

Spent the day at Auntie Jen's at her cool new house with a POOL! So fun! Matthew and Olivia had a blast eating watermelon, swimming, and playing with Sydney and Tristan. Later the adults played 5 crowns, and Jeff won. And of course, I came in last... what's new, right?

Steve was sleeping, as he was post call. I hope you all had a wonderful Mermorial Day weekend!

Jazmin

Pura Vida.. Pure Life.

Pura Vida... De los Gibbons.

Back to blogging. After taking a long, long break, I decided to blog again. The reason? I went back to our med school blog, and found myself laughing, crying, and indulging in memories of friends, times, and babies we experieced during that time of our lives. While that time wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, it is part of our family history, and I really love that I can look back whenever I want. This blog will mostly have small posts, lots of instagram photos (we are still looking for our perfect camera) just, snippets of our everyday life nowdays. I wish I could dedicate more time to our "residency years" but it seems that time is ticking away faster than it did 4 years ago, and so I will only do as much as I can.

Before I go on, I want to give you a little "catch up" as to what we are up to:

Matthew: He is turing 8, in just a few weeks. -WOW. Time is flying by! He is currently in Karate, and will test for his yellow belt this upcoming Friday! He is really getting into Karate, and I'm very glad I enrolled him, as I have seen his confidence blossom more and more!

Olivia-She is 5. No longer a baby, but always my baby. She recently graduated Preschool and will be attending the Dual Language program in the Fall for Kindergarden. The Dual Launguage program is a Spanish Immersion program that just launched, and we were lucky to get in. The downfall is that Matthew and Olivia will have to attend another school close by (so not their home school that is right across the street from us) but a school a few minutes away, and I will have to take them everyday as they don't offer transportation. The good news, is that this program will teach them, not only the language, but also the reading, and writing part of another language. -We are super excited! Except for Matthew who will have to move, so they can attend school together. :(

Since Olivia is out of school, she has been spending her time "watering the plants" and playing with me.

Steve- Close to the end of 2nd year (AKA the hardest year in Ortho Residency at Parkland) He is liking night float, as he gets to hang out with Dr. Reinert and company. They do Monday night pizza, and morning breakfest....which is really nice change for him.

Me-Working with Craftwell Inc. part time from my home!---woot! Super blessed and I often pinch myself for having found such a nice gig, and get to work with the most wonderful people!!! The best part? I get to craft, pin, facebook, and twitter and get paid for it! -who can say that?! The greatest part of this job, is that it keeps me home and close to the loves of my life.

Very blessed. Are there problems? Of course, things aren't always chocolate and roses but for now, I'm just thankful for this day.

I hope you like my Instagrams! Yep, kind of obsessed...

Jazmin