Meet the Bautista Family

We are the Bautista's.....Joe, Luanne, Joseph, Christina, and Daniel.  There are also four-legged Bautista's...Romo and Landry (Great Danes), Nalla and Reese (Schnoodles) and Sisco (cockatiel).  There have been many, many animals that have lived in our house, thanks to our Christina.  You name it, we have probably had it at some time during her 20, almost 21, years.  Joe is a high school math teacher.  I have always been a stay-at-home mother, but I have been doing medical transcription out of the home for approximately 13 years (not my favorite thing in my life).  Joseph will be 25 in about 6 weeks.  He lives in New Mexico and is an intelligent analyst for the military. He is not in the military but works for the military.  We are SO proud of him.  However, it looks like he may be deploying to Iraq in March/April for 4 months, then back to New Mexico for 4 months, and then off to Afghanistan.  Makes a mother sad but proud at the same time.  Scares the crap out of me though.  However, he is very happy with his job, so that makes us happy too.  We miss him terribly.  We haven't seen him in almost a year.  He left last February, and we haven't seen him since.  Thank goodness for today's technology though.  Christina is 20 and a Junior at Ball State University studying speech pathology.  She has found her niche and is an outstanding student.  Her GPA this last semester was 4.0!  We are so proud of her too!  She has 3-1/2 years left until she gets her Master's, but we know that this time will fly by so fast.  Daniel is 16 (getting his driver's license in March......HATE IT!).  He is a sophomore in high school.  He is a happy kid.  He's been smiling since he was born.  He is a compassionate kid and always finds the good in everything.  He doesn't know what he wants to do with his life yet, but I'm sure he will figure it out soon. 

I'm starting this blog not only to do some journaling but also to keep the Mom and Dad accountable to a couple of things.  Joe and I are embarking on a training mission today.  We are going to attempt a Duathlon in May.  Yep........that's right........a duathlon.  We don't have any desire to swim, so no triathlon for us.  However, the duathlon makes up for that.  It is really a "mini" duathlon.....5k run, 20k bike ride, and another 5k run after that.  I'm a fat mommy, so this is a double whammy for me.  I'm training for the duathlon but am also doing it to lose a good deal of weight.  I would love to post some pictures, but haven't figured out that portion of the blog yet.  Maybe the daddy-man can do that for us.  Joe is also beginning training today for a RAIN bike ride.  RAIN....."Ride Across Indiana".  It is a 160 mile bike ride in 1 day.  Yes.......that is ONE day.  I know he can do it.  We have great road bikes and he LOVES to ride.  Me......love to ride, but not 160 miles!!  I'm going to be his support crew (crew meaning just me!).  I will provide water bottles, bananas, etc at designated stops throughout the route for him.  I'm looking so forward to it.  I love having something planned to do with him. 

Joe and I have been married for almost 27 years.  We have had ups and downs over the past years, but we have found the "up" and are best friends!  I love him so much, and I can't even describe the happiness that I feel with him.  He is a such a gentleman.  He has opened my car door for me for the last almost 27 years.  Can anyone of you women out there say that about your husband???  We had a fabulous Christmas this year (well last year..2010!) and am looking so forward to the next 50! 

So.......here's to a brand new year, happy and healthy children, a fantastic marriage, and great success with training for the Bautista family (and success with weight loss for the mother!).