Hello Cold Gloomy Day!

It's Tuesday and it's cold,

and gloomy.

It's one of those to just lay down, watch t.v, and eat all day long. 

It is nice though that the season is kind of defining itself. It is good to know that summer is officially gone and we made it and had fun. Fall is here and soon winter will be. A time for much loving family time that I know many love and desire. A time to remember that you are not the only one that leads your life, but that there is a higher power I call God leading us to a better and more meaningful life.

Sickness came and visit us and we are so glad is out. It thought us how fragile we can be, and it's o.k. to let your body rest sometimes. It is that awesome machine that takes through all the assignments and things we have to do or want to do. A machine that needs care, and sometimes, it just fails to work properly. 

Seeing one of our boys sick and being sick personally, made me realize that even though we fell really bad, we were a lot better that many others. It made me appreciate my health even more. It remind me that we cannot do it all, and it's just fine.

Today I'm thankful for this cold gloomy day that reminds me how bright my life is. 

[our backyard trees today]

I think we made it...

Last week Anthony got really sick from a virus that made him have a fever for 3 days. He's never gotten that sick before and he spent most of this time in the couch or in bed.

David was a great helper. He helped by putting cold towels on his forehead among other things, he was so sweet to his brother. But that little dude had to also get some rest.

While they slept I thought I would do something productive even though as I was really tired after waking up constantly throughout the night attending Anthony. So this is what I did.

Yep, I labeled their closet. This way is easier for my husband to find their clothes and for my lovely mother in law -who LOVES doing laundry and can't help but helping me- to sort the clothes out when I'm not there :) 

And I also label these toy baskets. I'm trying to do that with the ones that go on baskets or containers. When I tie them to the baskets I'll show you (if I remember).

And THEN, it was my turn to get sick. Oh yeah baby. I got really sick. I don't remember the last time I felt this bad. Bed bound for 3+ days is not fun, but I did get to rest. 

I missed Thanksgiving lunch with the family- what a bummer. 

I tried to watch the movie Gone with the wind, but I couldn't understand half a thing they were saying (you know English is my second language) so I didn't finish it, even though it's one of those movies you have to watch before you die. Maybe I'll rent it one day and put subtitles ;)

What else have I done? Oh yes, I've slept a lot, A LOT. I also watched the movie Elf. I have never really watched it from beginning to end. Funny stuff! I also watched Avatar, again. One of my favorite movies. So beautiful and creative, and what a great message!  

On a good note, Joe helped me with the boys and some other things around the house. Thank you mister T! I love you more :) 

So here I am writing this post because I'm super bored but feeling better -I think?- and hoping the Crimson Tide wins the Iron Bowl! 

What side are you on?

Roll Tide! 

Simple Gift

  

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” - Mother Theresa

 

 

New Gadget!

Ok, so first of all, I'm so excited to say that I've finally figured out the way to add a gadget that will translate instantly! Well, I didn't create it, I found it!

The thing is, I have so many family members and friends that read the blog BUT Spanish and other languages are their main language, and reading in English sometimes takes a little longer than they wanted and I don't want them to loose interest in our blog. I want to involve everyone.

So, after noticing the little "translate" gadget in one of the blogs I like to read I knew I had to find it and it is ON now! The translation is ok, there are some funny changes, and some of it is off the wall.  In summary, the translation is not perfect but you get the idea from the whole context. It is good most of the time, let's say. 

Now, all you have to do is choose the language you want it translate it to and it will instantly do it - well, it might take a few seconds :)

 It will be located on the right hand side of the blog, in between "About this Blog" and "Follow by Email"

(Sorry for the poor quality pictures but I thought taking them with the phone would be easier).

Now, the other thing I wanted to say was that when you go to the gadget "Follow by Email", I cannot see who is signing up. I do not know who you are. I think you receive notifications about a new post or something like that, I really don't know how that exactly works. I know though that the thing is pretty private, so no worries. I know many of you had that concern :) Your email will stay private and it will not be published. 

And last but not least, a big thank you for your patience!




Peace and Love

What is Heaven?

Anthony got a blue beta fish for his birthday and David named him Boo. The boys loved to see him and feed him everyday. Sadly, Boo died two weeks ago. We buried him in our backyard and said a prayer for him. He was a great pet and company :)

Over the weekend we got another beta fish. This one is purple, a very pretty fish.

On our way home we talked about what we were going to name him and the boys kept saying Boo. We told them that maybe we needed to choose another  name for this very different fish, and Joe had to tell them again that he had gone to Heaven. Well, Anthony answered back with the question, "what is Heaven?" And my husband gave a sweet answer appropriate for a curious little 3 year old. He told him, "Heave is the place you go when you die. A place where you will always be with God having fun playing games and singing songs". And Anthony said "so is Boo singing songs?" Joe answered "I'm sure he is and he is also swimming with all his fish friends".

Apparently Anthony was satisfied with that answer because he didn't say anything else until we were almost home and he said. "I want to go to Heaven!" And then it hit me like a bag of rocks. I thought "Oh my God, if only he knew how much he would be missed!" Joe said "Not yet" or something like that. "But when you do, God will take care very good care of you". After a few seconds pause Anthony said " But I don't know how to get to Heaven" Joe answered " God will show you the way".

That was it. The conversation was over. 

Sometimes I don't know how I will answer those kind of profound questions, but I do hope that when the time comes I do my best. Thank God Joe was there to answer them because I honestly wasn't prepared, and maybe he wasn't either, but I think he did a really good job. Hopefully I do the same when my time comes.

And yes, the new fish's name stays as Boo :)

Dating

Joe and I have been going on dates some Fridays of some weeks. His dad was the one that actually began and kinda forced us to go on a date, something we hadn't done in quite some time. 

For us, once we had the boys, we focused on them and sort of forgot about going out and things like that. It was not a priority and part of it was also because Joe was too tired from really long days at work and I, was pretty drained after trying to keep up with two very energetic boys during the day.

We had gone to shows and concerts and we had fun. But when it came to go out to eat, it was kinda strange. For me anyway. We were pretty quite and it seemed like we didn't have much to talk about. However, we did talk about the boys a lot. And it's o.k. They are part of our lives now and there is so much to talk about them and for them that we can't resist. It is funny to think back in time when it was just the two of us and to remember the things we talked about. We talked about a lot of different things. Today, we do that a little more when we go on a date. It is nice to have that little time for ourselves. To feel as a couple. Husband and Wife. 

Fast forward to today and besides going on dates or concerts we have found something in common that I see ourselves doing more in the future, Kairos weekends. It's a spiritual experience and I'm glad we can do it.

All couples with children need to find that time for each other. No matter what it is that makes you both happy. Whether it is sports, music, food, arts, retreats, movies, whatever it is. Make the effort. It's so worth it. Because remember, we were two at the beginning.

Lately

Long post peeps. I thought after a week of absence I had to make it worth.

Well, we've been busy. 

We had a great Halloween and the boys enjoyed it very much. They are always wanting to dress up, so I let them. Halloween in our house is an all year round festivity :)

So like I said, the boys like to dress up CONSTANTLY :) I feel sometimes that's what I do all day. Changing them into different costumes throughout the day.

Have you ever seen Captain America in action? Check this out! ! 

And how about Batman? 

They do this EVERY DAY! 

They wrestle in our freshly made bed every day! Some days I don't even bother. Really.

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What else? 

We went to the UA vs LSU game. What a great time we had. Sad ending though. And I had to share a pic of both of us. We don't have many.

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On another note. David is going through a huge milestone. PT=potty training.

We began potty training last week, and he is doing AWESOME! He pretty much does it all now, but he still has a diaper at night time. My second mission is the paci. He doesn't have it during the day at all (unless he sees it), other than that, he only has it for nap and night time, but I take it off as soon as he's fallen asleep. 

And how about Anthony? Well, he is LOVING school. He truly is. 

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I've been trying to stay busy and to find some mommy time. And I have found the perfect outlets. I joined the MOMs group from our church and I have been going for several weeks already. It is a perfect time for me to socialize and to also do bible study. I love it and it's healing. I've learned so much and I've realized that all of us moms go through the same situations. I am not the only one. It's great. They are all great ladies! 

I have also been grouping. And by that I mean, a group from the Cursillo retreat. Also, a really good time to meditate about my personal and spiritual growth. I've missed a few because of work, but I am now arranging that in a way that I don't miss them again. We'll see how it goes.

On another note, Fall is definitely here. The trees are absolutely beautiful changing colors. I love it. It's getting more chilly as the time goes by but we are  ready for it. I think. And we still go to the playground :)

I hope you guys have a great weekend! And don't forget to pull for the Crimson Tide! 

nightmares

The last couple of nights, I've been having some crazy dreams/nightmares.

The one I will never forget, I call it Taken Away. And the reason why I say it is because it was very painful even while I was awake. 

Here it goes:

" I was in the house I used to live when I was a little girl. A house located in one of the main and busiest roads of the town I used to live. I was with D and A was at school. I decided for some crazy reason that I had to leave and it was ok to leave D alone in the house. So I left and went to do the errands I needed to get done. I was gone for maybe two hours. When I got back to the house -which was under construction/remodeling- I started to look for little D. Nowhere to be found I thought I would ask a guy -one of my aunt's husband?- that was working on one of the walls, but before I said something he turned around and said to me: "Do you know where your boy is?" 

-I said:"No, I don't. Where is he?" 

-he said:" He's been taken away". 

-Me: "What!? What do you mean Taken Away?".

-He said:" He cut himself trying to open a container because he was hungry. So he had to be taken to the hospital, and he is now under the Human Resources Department custody.

My heart dropped and I could not believe what he was saying. I started going on about how impossible that could be and began to cry desperately. I began to imagine how my life would be without him and what a big mistake I had done by leaving him alone (something I would NEVER do). I cried my heart out.

I was crying so hard and so painful that Joe had to wake me up. I don't how long it took me to wake up and react. But even awake, I could feel the intense pain in my heart. I felt so real even awake. I continued to cry because I couldn't calm myself down. I got up and went to the bathroom and washed my face. Then, I went over to the boys room and continue to cry. In D's sleep I told him how much I love him and how thankful I was to have him in my life, and that I would never ever do anything like that. I did the same with A. 

I kissed them both so hard and the tears kept coming down of emotion. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and went back to the room. Joe asked what had happened and I told him about it while crying once again. It was SO PAINFUL even though I knew it had been a nightmare. Once again, it felt to real and I realized that if someone ever asked me what would be my worst nightmare? That would be it. Have my children taken away from me. I felt like part of my heart was being ripped out! 

I tried not to close my eyes again because I didn't want to go back to the same nightmare -like it usually happens-. I fought sleep and tried to stay awake because honestly, I was scared to feel like that again. It was too painful. But tiredness won and fell back asleep. No, thankfully, I didn't go back to the nightmare. 

The next day, I felt exhausted and talked to Joe about it. He said that having our children taken away would be the last thing it would happened to us. And I believe him. We are good parents. We love our children immensely, and we will protect them and love them always. 

It's his day !

Our Grandfather Charlie is having a birthday today! 

He is a very driven person and he is full of life and hope. He is kind and very funny. He is smart and a great entrepreneur. Today, we want to continue to wish him a wonderful life. A life full of happiness, health and love. 

Thank you for being who you are. You are a great inspiration.

We love you Granddad Charlie,

Happy Birthday to you ! 

She is very special

I have an aunt who is like a mother to me. Do you have one of those? 

She is a wonderful lady and we all love her very much. She is really sweet and beautiful. She has always been there for me no matter the distance that separates us. She has been part of my spiritual growth and positivism and today it's her birthday! 

The day couldn't begin without me saying a few special words about her, and hopefully she is able to read this post while she is in Germany. She and her husband have a vineyard and have been going back and forth to collect the grapes and make wine. They are now owners of a small hotel. Is that not cool? I think it is. And I wish them the best. 

Happy Birthday Tia! Te amamos muchisimo y te deseamos lo mejor siempre. Dios te bendiga y te llene de amor, sabiduria, felicidad, salud y prosperidad. 

(photo from my collage graduation)

Happy Birthday little bro!

Today is my little brother's birthday. He is the youngest one but the tallest one of all. He is a wonderful guy full of ambitions and dreams. He works really hard at being the best at what he does, and he is. He is sweet, kind and has a great drive for life. Fun, smart and funny. He is respectful and compassionate to all.

We all love him very much and we wish him a wonderful day. God bless you always and may your life be full of happiness, health, love and prosperity. 

Happy Birthday hermanito !