The Day of The Rosary

This morning, we headed out to Driscoll to take the photos we had worked on for Israel (Sone & Ida).  We visited with them for a couple of hours.   This is the way the fields looked driving to Driscoll.   They have gotten a whole lot of rain here.  It looks like a lake.

We left Driscoll and drove towards Mathis, TX where Peter lives.   We had tried visiting him a couple of times we had been to Corpus but our schedules and theirs did not allow us to see each other.  We set out this day to specifically visit him and his family.

We drove thru Blunzer, TX and I remember when we were growing up, my dad would always stop at this little school so we could play in their playground.   They had swings and such....  We would drive thru here from Driscoll going to see my Grandpa in Mathis, TX.

We arrived at Peter and Jennifer's home.  They have a beautiful home which is on 5 acres.  They had fixed lunch for us and we had a great time visiting.

We drove back to Corpus  and got ready to attend the Rosary Service for Oscar.  The church was filled to capacity......Oscar touched so many lives, young and old.   His students spoke so highly of him and the Priest also spoke beautifully of Oscar.   He knew him well, having performed his marriage to Laura and the children's baptisms.   It was a very touching service.....oh, how we will miss Oscar.

After the rosary, everyone met at Alicia and Mauro's home for a late dinner.   There was a lot of food and we all enjoyed seeing all of the family.  Thank you, Alicia and Mauro for your hospitality.

Manuel's four sisters:  Oralia, Norma, Alicia, and Teresa.

Manuel's youngest brother, Robert and nephew, Daniel.

Arnold, Liza, and Evelina.

Joe Green and Nicole's Baby....

Laura and Liza's Baby.

Peter, Manuel and Frank.

Nicole and Norma.

Frank and Norma.

What can I say.....Two very handsome boys!!

This has been a very sad time for all of us but we have enjoyed our time together.

A Day in Driscoll, TX

We woke up today to a very rainy day.   It is really cool and it rained all night and all day.   We have a very private parking her.  The manager of this store told us we could park here but not to advertise since they usually don't allow RVs.  The Base is full with winter-Texans so we could not park there.  He was very nice to allow us to park here.

Alicia, Manuel's sister came over, we headed out to have breakfast and then we headed out to Driscoll to spend the day with Israel, Manuel's older brother.

Israel III, Oralia, and Manuel.

Israel and Manuel.   Israel is Manuel's older brother and Oscar's dad.

Israel Jr.,  Ida, Oralia and Israel III.

Peter arrives and has just returned from the ranch and gives Manuel and Israel all the details of the investigation. 

Peter and his family.  Wife, Jennifer, Daughter, Katie and son, Christopher.

Those present here...

Peter and his son, Christopher.      We looked through pictures of Oscar.

    

He is so missed!

 

Robert Jr. called us to see if we wanted to meet them in Corpus for dinner.   We did.  They are commenting on Manuel's cap.....Esparzas on the Road.   Robert Jr. came down from Virginia Beach.   He is in the Coast Guard.

We enjoyed visiting and the kids really enjoyed the games....

We came back to the camp and it is still raining and cold....

We had a great day visiting family today.

Memorial to Oscar Esparza

We are traveling to Corpus Christi to attend a Nephew's funeral service.   Manuel's nephew, Oscar Esparza, 40, passed away last Friday while on a hunting trip to the Freer area.   It was a horrible tragedy.   The camp house burned to the ground and his remains were found in the cabin.  The funeral will be on Saturday but we are driving today, Tuesday to be with the family.  There may not be any pictures but wanted to let our friends and family know what is going on. 

You will find pictures of Oscar and his family on my blog posted around December 20th when we attended his Masters Graduation at A&M Corpus Christi on December 19th.  He is such a big loss to our family.  We will miss him tremendously!

The day is overcast and there are signs that it has rained a little as we get closer to Corpus.   The temp is in the mid-50s but it feels pretty cool.

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura, Teresa and Little Oscar.

Not Much Going On

Lari and Arianna are gone to Disney Land.  They were scheduled to go to Disney World but with the cold blast that came in they made last minute changes on Wednesday.   We talked to them today and are so excited.   They have seen most of the Disney Characters and just talked and talked about Disney.   The weather there is in the 70 so it is perfect.   Their hotel room faces the Disney castle.

Talking to the girls today made my day.....I have been sick with an upper respiratory infection all week.   Manuel bugged me since Tuesday to go to the doctor but I thought it would go away before now.  I woke up again feel really bad and since it is Friday, I decided to call my doctor for a work-in appointment.   She had no openings so I we decided to go to Wilford Hall at Lackland AFB. I did not want to go thru the weekend feeling this bad.  It went pretty smooth but took us about 5 hours there!   I got some meds and hope to start feeling better soon.   This was a good week to get sick since the girls are not here.

I do not take any pictures to post so I decided to post some pictures that have been shared with us recently.

Ed, Manuel's Military Buddy from Wyoming shared this picture with us today.   It was 4 of them that were very close and have remain in touch with each other.   They all look so young, that was in the late 60s.  Part of Dale's face is faded.   Ed took the picture.   Thank you Ed for sharing.

My Nephew, Jacob Aleman shared this photo with me.  It was taken in the late 70s.  I am on the left, my youngest sister, Alma is center left, My Mother is center right, and My deceased and oldest sister, Lupe is on the right.  Lupe had signed us up for a Christmas Arts and Craft Show in Kingsville, TX that year.  We were making ceramics at that time.   She always encouraged us to make that show and it proved to be a very good show.  We sold a lot there.  We did this show 3-4 years in a row.  I remember those wonderful days so well.  Since our family was all in the South Texas Area, we would get to visit everyone.  How I miss those days!  Thank you Jacob, for sharing this photo.

My Sister/Aunt Mary and her daughter, Kathy sent this to us this Christmas.   Mary used to live in Lubbock but after retiring, decided to move to the Ft. Worth area where Kathy lives.  Mary grew up with us since she was about 2 years old after my Grandma, mom's mom, died of cancer. We consider her more a sister than an aunt.  Mary and my oldest Sister are only 12 days apart so you can image the closeness here!  Love you Mary and Kathy!

I need to learn to scan some of my old pictures... maybe I will post more later.   Have a good evening.  I will now take my meds and try to get some sleep!  Until next time.

Happy New Year!!!

Since Lari and Arianna's sitter was out visiting her family for the week, we spent a week at their home. We had such a wonderful time with them. We stayed up late watching movies every night and woke up late. 

Early afternoon on New Year's Eve, we headed out for some shopping and exchanged some items.

Arianna sets up her new DVD and is ready to watch a movie. 

Lari is always ready for a picture.

After a few hours of shopping, we are all ready for dinner and we made a quick stop at What a Burger.  We enjoyed our meal.

I finally learned how to use the timer on my camera and set it up for a picture.

Lari highly recommended the cinnamon rolls from What a Burger so we tried them.   Boy!  They are Gooooood!

We got home and I got the girls into their pajamas and they are again watching movies while we watch TV and wait to welcome 2010.

The girls are so happy with their DVD Players.   That is one of the best gift....

Grandpa relaxes and watches the New Year program....

Charlie is tired and wants to go to sleep!

I had two glasses of wine as we wait for the new year....

Manuel and Veronica both worked today....he is tired.   Veronica had a big New Year's event at the Old San Francisco Steakhouse.   We opted not to go this year.  Manuel went and came back right before midnight.

Are they comfortable or what?!!

January 1, 2010... we headed out to Jim's Restaurant for breakfast. 

After breakfast, we went back home and the girls want to play pool, so we play pool.

They are so full of energy!  

Manuel and I came home on the afternoon of the 1st.   We enjoyed our time with the Family.  We began taking down Christmas decorations....We did the outside first and I still have the inside to do.

On Saturday the 2nd, we went to visit our friends of almost 35 years, Tony and Lupana Perez.  They live in Lytle, TX.  Tony and Manuel met while they attended college in the late 70s.

We played several rounds of cards and dominos.   They really enjoyed the games.  We see each other about twice a year and have such a good time when we get together.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.   May everyone have a very prosperous 2010.