We're Baaaack!

Hola Familia!!!
I know, I know, it's been so long....almost 6 months! Things have been sooo hectic lately. The kids and I finally left Texas after almost a year staying there....We took the 21 hour drive to Georgia with the 2 kids, Abuela, Noemi, and Chris' parents. We arrived 4 am August 1st and by 10 am Noemi and I were unloading the trailer at our new apartment. Yeah, that's right! We were able to rent out our home so I needed to get us moving asap! It was a mess not having any man-power but with the help of the grandparents babysitting the kids and the missionaries that hadn't even met us yet, we were able to finish it in 3 days!
Chris arrived from Iraq the following Monday and the poor thing had no time to rest. We had 2 days to finish cleaning the house for the new renters so we went right to work! We finally were able to sit and breath this past Saturday. The kids are adjusting great to daddy being home. Lil' Chris will not let him out of his sight. He literally has a cow if he goes anywhere, he says "daddy's leaving me again!" It's so hard for him to understand. MiaLuz responded well to the new man in the home but it's still hard for her having him take her place at night. She doesn't like his presence one bit in the bed. I guess that's my fault for having her in bed with me for so long. But little by little, she's adjusting.
All in all, it's good to be together as a family again. It's been so long that it's almost surreal! We are having a good time sharing each other's company.
In 2 weeks we will be going back to Texas for Chris' block leave. It's going to be nice to return together. We look forward to seeing everyone. I will be writing again tomorrow and adding the recent photos of the family. I just wanted to stop by to say hello and thank everyone for all the love and support you gave me and the whole family this past year. I couldn't have done it without all of you. You're love will never be forgotten. Until then......b

Adan C. Flores

On Saturday, 9:19 pm Christopher's grandpa passed away. He had been sick for quite sometime and was in and out of the hospital since September. Grandpa raised Chris since early in his childhood and made him the man he is today. They had the closest relationship in the family and Chris is heartbroken that he is not here to support his family. But on a good note, before Chris returned to his duty, he visited with his grandpa several times and on his last visit, he emptied the room and had his "one on one" goodbye with him. He gave his grandpa a blessing, bore his testimony of everlasting life and cried with him. He is at peace with the way he left. It had been said over and over in the family that we all knew that Grandpa was just waiting to see Chris come home to say his goodbye. Days after he left he kept telling the family he was ready and 1 week after Chris' departure, He let go. He had a peaceful passing with all his family right by his bedside. Grandpa was a joy to be around and was loved by many. He had a packed house waiting to give their respects and remember him. Chris wrote a letter of remembrance that was read at the Rosary. It was a touching letter that focused on the good times with Grandpa, the way he would have wanted to be remembered. And he will, always be remembered...
God be with you, Grandpa...til we meet again!

Thanks For Everything

I am in Dallas on my way back to Iraq, and I wanted to leave one last message for everyone. We had a great dinner last night for Blanca's birthday, and I thanked everyone for their support, but I failed to mention something very important. I am very blessed and grateful to have such a terrific and loving family. Unfortunately, many Soldiers do not have this essential aspect of happiness and joy and have only a fraction of the support that I've had for both of the deployments that I've been on. Being deployed to a combat zone makes you look closely at what is important in life. For me, they are absolutely my relationship with God and my family. I am eternally grateful for my family, and will always look past the many little and insignificant differences that can bring contention or other issues between us. Nothing that we do or accomplish means anything unless we have our loved ones to share them with. There is no more satisfying feeling than to be able to leave my wife, son and daughter with all of you. I know that they are surrounded by people who love them and who will watch over them and uplift them to the best of their abilities. I thank you again for your support, and ask you to always do what you can to keep family ties strong and to the keep God and his son, even Jesus Christ, uppermost in your mind. These things will preserve you through any challenge that you may have to face. See you all soon.

Love,

Christopher L. Flores, Sr.

BLESSING DAY FOR MIALUZ

MIALUZ WAS BLESSED THIS PAST SUNDAY IN THE ROBSTOWN WARD CHAPEL. IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY FOR OUR FAMILY AND WE WERE SO HAPPY THAT MUCH OF OUR FAMILY WAS ABLE TO ATTEND AND SHARE IT WITH US. CHRIS GAVE HER A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING AND I'M THANKFUL THAT HE WAS ABLE TO COME HOME THESE TWO WEEKS AND DO THIS AS WELL AS SPEND TIME WITH OUR FAMILY. THE WEEKS ARE FLYING. I DREAD THE DAY HE HAS TO LEAVE AGAIN. YOU CAN GO TO TIFFANY AND JOSH'S BLOG TO SEE PICS OF THE "WELCOME HOME" PARTY WE GAVE HIM AT THE AIRPORT.


THE TIJERINA FAMILY!!!!

THE VELA FAMILY

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT ATTENDED THIS SPECIAL DAY IN OUR LIVES!

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DRESS....

GOOOOO LONGHORNS!!!!

GIVING SPIDERMAN THE "CLAW"!!!!

UH, YEAH THIS WILL BE A PICTURE HE WILL HATE FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE...HE JUST FINISHED WATCHING DADDY PUT ON HIS DEODORANT AND WANTED TO DO THE SAME...I JUST HAPPENED TO COME INTO THE ROOM WITH THE CAMERA IN MY HAND AND SO I SNAPPED IT IMMEDIATELY!

PS MALL RIDING THE CAROUSAL WITH DADDY

MIA LAUGHING AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR

XMAS 2007!

HERE ARE SOME RANDOM PICS FROM XMAS TIME...WE HAD A BLAST AT THE FLORES HOME AS WELL AS THE TIJERINA'S...GREAT MEMORIES THAT I WISH CHRIS WAS HERE TO SHARE...ENJOY....


OUR VERY OWN "OLD NAVY" COMMERCIAL!!! HAHAHA THESE ARE THE CLOTHING ITEMS NOMI GOT FROM MOM FOR XMAS. YOU KNOW SHE'S ALL ABOUT THE LAUGHS...LITTLE DID SHE KNOW SHE WOULD BE POSTED ON MY BLOG, HAHA

CHRIS AND THE GIRLS, ALWAYS FOLLOWING THEM AROUND...

HOW MANY MEXICANS DOES IT TAKE TO PUT A KID ART EASEL TOGETHER....HMMMM....

PLAYING WITH HIS NEW TOY...BOY IS THAT THING NOISY!

PLEADING TO OPEN THE GIFTS....

HE DECIDED TO SIT ON THE PRESENTS FOR THE PIC!

THE SECOND HE OPENED THIS "CARS" SLEEPER HE STARTED UNDRESSING SO I COULD PUT IT ON HIM...HE LOOOOOVES IT. STARTED DANCING IMMEDIATELY!

NOMI AND MIA!

LOOK AT THOSE ADORABLE BOOTS. AUNT ROSALINDA GAVE THEM TO HER AS A BABY SHOWER GIFT.

HIS NEW RAIN COAT FROM TIFFANY AND JOSH

FLORES COUSINS...HE LOVES THEM SOO MUCH!

MY BABY ELF!

"MY FIRST XMAS"

MOTHER IN LAW, SYL

ONE OF HIS FAVORITE GIFTS, GO COWBOYS!!!

LATEST PICTURES

HERE JUST A FEW RECENT PICTURES OF THE KIDS...ENJOY!!!

IT'S INEVITABLE, HE WILL BE A MUSICIAN!!!

HE THINKS THE STOCKINGS ARE SOCKS...AND YOU CAN'T TELL HIM ANY DIFFERENT!

HIS DAILY ROUTINE...

THIS IS THE 1ST AND THE LAST TIME MIA WILL BE ABLE TO WEAR THIS OUTFIT. IT WAS A MESS TRYING TO PUT IT ON HER!

YEAH, SHE'S GIVING YOU THE EYE!

BATHTIME

SHE'S SO CUTE...

ALL COZY, READY TO GO OUT!
THEY WERE PLAYING FOOTSIE!!! CHRIS LOVES PLAYING WITH MIALUZ...

CC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BANQUET!

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed for a Video Tribute that was to be shown at the CC Chamber of Commerce banquet. They are Saluting the Military and their families and I was chosen to discuss our family and our experiences with the military and the deployments. I had no idea it was going to be such a big deal. Pete Geren, Secretary of the US ARMY was the keynote speaker and he is just one of the many honorable men there at the banquet. The video was shown during the ceremony and I had a good 10 minutes on it. I was super nervous to see how it all came out and thank goodness I did well. I was approached several times that night; people giving thanks for my words of inspiration and for the commitment Chris and our family has for the service. It felt really good to be able to do this for Chris. We were given a copy of the video tribute. I can't wait to show it to Chris when he comes home. I took his parents with me and they were very proud of me. I felt likea superstar!!! Here are some pictures of the night.

retired Colonel of the US ARMY. He was the first that ran up to me, telling me he has seen the video 3 times and I've made him cry every time!
Pete Geren, Secretary of the US ARMY. It was such an honor to even shake his hand much less get complimented by him.

Solomon P. Ortiz, US House of Representatives...we all know him. He's a great down to earth man.

Pete Geren gave me a coin. Coins are normally given to soldiers to shown gratitude for their different services; a nice little keepsake. In the back it writes "Presented for Excellence" awarded by Pete Geren, US SECRETARY...I feel so special!