The best thing in life...

When I was 12 years old my family moved to Deltona, FL. from Brazil. Where I lived for the next 11 years. While growing up, I remember all the sacrifices my parents made to put food on the table. To make ends meet. My father did everything from singing at weddings to selling and transporting baby chicks to farmers in Brazil. Now you may say that he went through all this because he does not have a college degree? Actually my father is the best Jeweler out there. I am not just saying this cause he is my father. But his engraving skills amaze anyone who sees it. He has been making jewelry since he was 11 years old. And is just amazing at what he does. But due to some horrible circumstances, and events and the fact that Brazilians can't afford jewelry in Brazil. He could not work in this field, forcing him to do everything else in the book. AND I MEAN EVERYTHING. 

Anyways... The Lord brought us to the US when I was 12 years old, and my dad was able to work with what he was gifted with. Coming here with NOTHING but 3 suitcases, we had an entire life to start from scratch. 

Living so close to Disney World, it was their dream to take us there. They spent the first year of their US lives saving for this ridiculously expensive dream come true. And on Dec, 24th 1997 we went to Disney. Hoping that our first Christmas away from all of our loved ones, and dollar store gifts would be a little better if we spent it there. Along with the enormous lines at the rides, and people speaking every language under the sun. That is a day I will never forget, We were the first ones in the park that day, and the last ones out. My dad wanted to document every memory, so he bought a video camera at a yard sale.

I am pretty sure this is the exact model.

He carried this beast, everywhere. Video taped every parade, and smile on his girls face that day. 

We also could not afford to eat or buy anything else in the park, so my mother dragged this cooler around.

Also from a yard sale, notice there are no wheels on that baby. We solved that... 

Strap it on to this little baby and your set. This cooler had water, sandwiches, juice, snacks. Bottles of milk for my sister, candy, now that I think of it. It was almost like the bread and fish that fed a thousand. We never ran out of food. 

We watched the fireworks, and from the corner of my eyes I watched my parents cry. At that time I though it was because of Disney World. NOW I know better, they were crying because at the ages of 30 and 33 they left everything behinde to give their children a chance to a better life, they cried because they missed their parents, and siblings back in Brazil, they cried because through honest hard work they made the dreams of 3 little girls come true, they cried because of the unknown scary future of wondering if moving here was the right thing to do.  (excuse me while I go ball my eyes out)  

***** 5 MIN LATER*****

Last year when we received our tax returns, in an envelope I put aside a small fortune to make the dreams of 2 little kids come true, once again. 

And 14 years almost to the day, we took Spencer and Stephanie, my own kids to Disney world. My mom went with us. And while watching the parade and fire works. I cried once again, and watched my mother cry. I cried of gratitude, because if it were not for that great sacrifice that my 2 loving parents made 15 years ago. I would not be the person I am, I would not have the husband and life that I have. And most of all, I would not have seen the sparkle in my daughters eyes, as she looked in pure amazement at the princesses. I would not have carried my tiny little princess passed out of pure exhaustion in my arms. My mother cried... because she remembered that day, and all that she was feeling, and now she knew it was all worth it. To be able to see her grand kids dream come true. She was able to see how far they have come, how much they have endured. And it was all worth it. 

Mother... Words will never be enough to say how thankful I am for your unselfish decision many years ago, that has changed my life forever. I love you, and wish I could be half the mother you are, some day.

In this moment we were getting ready to leave, when Stephanie started balling. And with every fiber of her little soul said... "Mommy, I wanna do that agaaaaiiinnnn, puizzzz. Mommy!!! I wanna see that again. Puizzz mommy. Just one mooor tsime. PUIZZZ!!!" 

Soooo, guess what we are doing with this year's tax return?

Knowing all the sacrifices that were made, and how far we've come, how hard it was. Allowing my children to still believe in a fairy tale world, to witness their eyes sparkle, and their little hearts skip a beat, because of some make believe character. I will do my best for it to last as long as possible... And that is one of the best things in Life....

My baby...

Do you see that super sized pumpkin, in the middle?

YES! Believe it or not that is my 6th month old. sniff sniff

Isn't she just full of yummyness, that makes your hear melt? 

These little girls are 1/2 of my heart that picked up and decided to hover around the earth.

Oh there!!!! Now in this picture is my whole heart that walks outside of me. (I might even share some love with that man in the back there, then again... maybe not) 

Annabelle fits right in our family. For the past 6 and 1/2 months she has molded our lives just enough to drive everyone madly in love with her. 

Here are some facts about our little chummy girl. 

Belle is in the 98% in height, and 95% for weight. And has been since she was 2 months old. Right now she is  29 inches long, and 19.5 pounds.

She nursed the longest of them all for 5 months, which for me it's amazing. 

She is allergic to something in formula, so we do soy formula. 

She has this really deep, so sweet, sometimes stinky fat crease roll on her left leg. 

 She has 2 teeth, that came through this weekend. (that was fun)

She started sleeping through the night at 6 months, only after I put her in her own room in the pitch dark room.

She has crazy wild curly long hair.  AND I LOVE IT.

She will crinkle her nose and breath heavy with her nose, when she is happy.

She started eating solids, and her favorite is BANANA, but she will eat anything you send her way.

She learned to sit down like a big girl, about 2 weeks ago right at 6 months. 

This little girl went on a crazy road trip out to UTAH, in 2 days... and did amazing when she was only 4 months old.

P.S. This post should have been posted before the last one, so for updates read the previous post. 

Get it together woman!!!!

I am so disappointed at myself, it makes no sense to me why I can't just get this blog going again.
Maybe it's because... this historic lap top I have is dying. I can't load up photos anymore, it takes forever to turn it on, it has to be plugged into the wall at ALL times. (so really its a table top, since it sits on top of the table all day) And my husband finally cleared the 2 thousand viruses I downloaded a few months ago...

*P.S. when your computer asks if it's okay to open or load a certain thing... read it before clicking yes. Even if you're in the middle of something and 10 thousand little windows pop up, Its not cool to just push yes!

My kids are getting so big, It's sad, and exciting. They are all in different stages of life, and my life well... I don't know where it is. HAHA... No really, what is a 27 year old woman doing these days?

I love every bit of it.
Hard? YES!!!
Crazy? SOMETIMES!!!
Boring? NEVER

I campaigned and got the best calling in the ward. I teach Relief Society, once a month, for one hour, out of the manual. AWESOME... But really, I love it. I am learning so much. I also love having real answers to my questions. Not just the standard youth answers that I have had from being in young women for last 10 years... Read your scriptures, go to church, pray. We get into some interesting topics, and I love the hand outs, and to make it all cute-n-stuff.

I also am looking for something to do, besides cleaning, cooking, feeding, changing, teaching, screaming, laughing, crying. I got those down, baby!!! And if you're wondering, that's what it takes to be a mother these days.

I am not sure if I want to bring my scrap booking mess out,  or if I want to take on a whole new hobby. But one thing I am sure of is... I need something. Life has been interesting, bumpy, and busy. I am falling in love with my husband all over again. And that is awesome! I never stopped loving the man, but he became more of a helper than a lover in  the last few months. That's right... you heard me. L-O-V-E-R... It's important you know. We are dating again, Sneaking out when the kids are napping to watch a movie upstairs, we are playing games with one another, and not including the children in ALL that we do. We are being silly, laughing when we shouldn't, playing footsie under the table. When was the last time you played footsie with your husband in public? 

Heck we are abandoning the kids for a whole week in March, and going on a cruise! Thank goodness for MY mom. Who knows that we need it. It's been 9 years since we met. Almost a decade! And so much has changed, but one thing we know cannot change, is our love for one another. And sometimes... We just need to work at it.

The kids... well!!! we do our best.

Spencer is a little boy! He says things that shouldn't be said. Like... pardon my FRENCH  "Oh!!! my nuts." SERIOUSLY. WHO TAUGHT HIM THAT? He also is fascinated by the sounds he can make with his body. LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT... We do not burp in front of others in my house, much less "toot" around anyone else. So where did get the idea that he can do it and then say "excuse me", and think that he wont end up in time out? SCHOOL??? grows. He is a growing little boy, he eats all day, and is thin as a tooth pick. Wish I could do that, I think of food and gain a pound. He is doing great at school. His teacher is always complimenting on how smart and well mannered he is. He is also reading a few things, and is extremely responsible with his school stuff.

Stephanie, is our little princess. Everything she does is girly, she is delicate, petite, and vain.  She is very affectionate, and sensitive. She is a picky eater, but eats everything as long as you demand her to. She loves dolls, and barbies, and shoes. She has to have her nails painted. Do not let her see make up, she will go crazy. She is amazingly smart, she is not even 3 yet, and does not go to pre-school but she can recognize all her colors, and many of the letters. She is also a great little helper, always does what I ask.

Annabelle, is my biggest baby yet. I sit in wonders at how tall and gigantic this child is. She is a very good eater. She can sit, clap, roll over when she wants, she scoots all over the floor. She waives bye bye and she can nod her head NO!. Smiles all the time. She will give kisses, by opening her mouth as wide as it gets, pressing it against your cheek and nodding her head sideways saying AW- AW-AW!  She just refuses to do it, in front of a camera. She was also my first baby who's first word was mama. She sleeps through the night and many days sleeps in until 8:30.

Borja!? Well he is as busy as always. He is working full time, he is going to school part time. And will be done with classes this summer. Having only his dissertation to finish. He also gives flying lessons for fun, still a counselor at church, and has given up soda, Which believe or not has been the hardest thing to do this year.

Well, we have our ups and downs. But overall I think we are doing okay, Taking on life a day at a time, praying through difficult times. And trying to cherish every moment we have with our very small and  demanding bunch of children, which will only increase for a few more years.

Coming back can be so difficult.

I made I conscious decision a little while back... That I was to give up on my blogging, for a while. My life has changed a little, and when I say a little I mean completely. My time has been stretched so thin, my goals have been rearranged, and my priorities somewhat put in order. But lately I have been having this itch, the blogging itch. Things happen and a blog is created on my head, I also would like to start again so that I can keep up with the little things that happens in the kids lives. So I am attempting to be back, I am not making any promises. But there will be a whole lot of catching up, so bare with me.

One thing that has been on my mind lately, is something that happened a couple of weeks ago. I was having a very rough week, a trying one. The devil was working on my confidence as a wife, mother and woman. The weather man announced a really bad thunderstorm for the following day. The running club at Spencer's school was canceled, and when I woke up that day, and saw the sky I immediately thought... "red sky in the morning, a sailors sure warning!"

However... The day turned out to be beautiful, I took Spencer to school, went to the gym, went to lunch with my husband, never saw a cloud in the sky. The thought of a bad storm was the furthest thing from my mind. After I picked up Spencer from school, we were very tired from a long busy day... Stephanie went to bed, Annabelle was asleep, and Spencer was going to watch How to Train your dragon! So what better time for a little nap.

I laid down in bed, and closed my eyes. When a feeling came, then a still small voice. "get your car in the garage" I sat up in bed, right away. And under my breath said, "are you kidding me? have you seen the size of my car and the status of my garage?" as it started to rain, this time that feeling came a little stronger, get it in NOW!

I jumped out of bed and ran to the garage, started throwing things to the sides, piling thing on top of each other even the motorcycle was moved faster then has ever been. Spencer was screaming asking me what I was doing, and a little scared to see his mom going so crazy. I grabbed the keys ran to the car in the rain that was now strong. and put my SUBURBAN in the garage. The garage door did not close but it was enough, as soon as the car was in and I opened the door to get out. baseball size hail was falling from the sky. I have never seen such thing. I didn't even know it was possible.

As we sat there looking out the door, I stood amazed and reassured that God lives, and he was watching out for me. Even after all the signs, he gave me clear direction of what to do. And when the time came, I was able and worthy of such inspiration. Now you may think... "well it's just a car, or the insurance would have paid for it, not a big deal."

I do believe that had my car been damaged, it would have been the last drop needed to put me over the edge.  Yes... It is only a car, a material thing. But when you are doubting everything else in your life, little things such as this, becomes major. And our deductible as we found out earlier this summer... Is $1000 dollars, we cannot afford it, and I would have to live with my car being all lumpy. A friend of mine's husband own's a state farm here in the area, and his office alone received over 70 claims of hail damage that day. As we drive in town now, I believe every hail fixer in the United States has relocated to our very small city.  I counted today, and in a matter of 3 miles there were 7 places, trailers and tents with signs for Hail repair.

So was it coincidence? Absolutely not. "Trust the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." Next time that I receive that little feeling, or hear the still small voice. I pray and hope that I will do as the Lord guides me to. Even if I have to shove North pole into my fridge, I would like to think I will at least try, and I am sure the Lord would bless us for our efforts, He is a good and loving Father in Heaven.

Personality Traits.

Meet 2 of my three angels...
This is Spencer Nicholas, he is 5 years old, and 49 inches long. He loves to play WII, Soccer, swim, and bug his little sister.

This is Stephanie, she is in her awesome terrible 2's stage and because she is a girl the DRAMA come naturally. She is a sweet girl, with all sorts of bad ideas. *Just today, I caught her in front of the toilet with her pants down, holding on to her, well more like pinching the junk out her girl parts to point it at the toilet while making a puddle on the floor. And when I told her she is a girl and needs to sit on the toilet she looked at me as if I am crazy pulled her wet pants up and walked away. It's also the stage where if Spencer doe it than I can do it too.  Awesome, Awesome Stage!!!

I am convinced that you are who you will become. Let me explain... My children come from Heaven loaded with extremely dangerous ideas, and very little fear of executing them. Hence all the injuries at our house. 

They don't think twice about climbing on glass coffee tables, sliding down wooden stairs inside sleeping bags,  jumping in a swimming pool without water wings, and they look at a wall with shelves and imagine it to be a rock climbing wall.

They also learn how to climb out of their cribs by the time they were 15 months old, by throwing themselves head first onto the floor forcing us to put them in real beds for the fear of ending up with paraplegic kids. They also have a poop fetish, I am not sure why they love to touch it and rub in all the places that poop should never touch. My daughter waxed our wooden floors last year with it while I was knocked out with pain killers from removing a wisdom tooth. And she also put a pellet of it up her nose in another occasion. My son used it as chalk to color the walls in his room when I though he was sleeping. 

I know there are many children out there who don't do this kind of stuff. Sooooo??? WHY ME? Well when my children's creativity and skill are put into good actions they are amazing... Spencer learned how to ride his bike without training wheels on his birthday when he turned 4 years old. He also memorized the first 4 Articles of faith when he was 3. He could sing and say clear words at a very early age. He can make a paper airplane that flies faster and longer than many adults can. He is an amazing soccer player for his age, he scored most of the goals in his games. And he is pretty much a little leader, he leads all his little friends to execute his bad ideas with him.

Stephanie can ride a scooter, she potty trained herself the month after she turned 2. She can sing most of the ABC song. And have I mentioned they can both understand 3 languages. Sooo, I will continue to clean poop, and wipe bloody noses, As long as my children continue to develop their little brains, eventually some day they will use it mostly for good. I hope!!!

P.S. Check and support me on my new blog dinnerdeal.blogspot.com 

Thanks

We have a Graduate...

I know it's silly, and I always thought it was kind of dumb. However when it's your preschooler wearing a mini sized cap and gown, you will be just as proud as if they were graduating from Harvard. 

In a way, it felt like a stage of his life was being closed, and another opening. He is no longer a baby, he will no longer take naps... He will learn Math, and will be writing, and homework. Exciting... and Sad. I can just see myself CRYING for a whole day come August first when he walks in to Kindergarten. 

August 2009/ First Day of School

Proud Graduate June/2011

Spencer and Mrs. Wanda

 I believe the next time I see him in a Cap and Gown will be 2024. 

I LOVE YOU LITTLE MAN!!!