HALLOWEEN!!!

We did the pumpkins!!!!

... It was just me and the kids. Isabel was asleep when we started but half way thru there was the cry...so much for two hands to do this...

Anyway... we finished them, I roasted the pumpkins seeds ( so yummy!!) and made buns to go with the stew for dinner.

Of course there was some posing for the pictures and here they are... each with his/her designed pumpkin of their choice :D

We'll do trick or treating around the neighborhood with Jordan and Tracy plus a Peruvian family from their ward ( we are the only ward that doesn't have Latinos!!).

We'll have Hockey Night in Canada together, enjoy some pizzas and of course the treats!! It is more for us really than for the kids :D

PaRtY TiMe!!!

I found this Hispanic pre-school class once a week, right at Carmen's school, right at the same time. So I take Evan and Isabel there. They are all mexicans mothers with their kids... it is fun :D

We had a little Halloween Party for the kids. This year they are getting to wear their costumes a lot.

Evan is super shy, wouldn't want to pose with anybody and for anybody. He is normally atta

ch to my leg all the time we are there... except the times when there are boys at the "car statio

n" and he plays there, but not really WITH the other boys...he is just there...

I have Carmen who is a social little bug... and then I have Evan. He depends so much on Carmen to make/have friends...

Ah, by the way, he is still not talking in English to anybody... so Carmen tells people what he is trying to say... I don't know if that is part of him being shy and relying on Carmen or what...

In any case... I enjoy him so very much.... he is too cute!

Inglaterra...

Evan wrote a song on his mission ( in Keigthley, to be exact) and named it "Inglaterra". It is one of my favorites, by the way.... and he sang it on our wedding reception in Spain.

But that's not what I was going to talk about... I actually wanted to talk about Inglaterra, England, the country.

We had dinner with the Leonard's on Sunday night. I had ne

ver met them before. Bro Leonard's brother was the bishop when I served in Dewsbury ( my last area). We became really good friends....his family is amazing. I love them so much. I can't really explain how much... it is the kind of deep love that you only acquire on your mission... no words that make it justice... anyway.... his brother and family moved here! They have a beautiful Yorkshire accent. It was like being in England again... they made us an amazing roast dinner with yorkshire puddings and everything!! and she made custard to go with my

apple pies! :D

....it made me be a bit nostalgic....

I miss my mission. I would go back in time on a heart beat.

We looked through our pictures and I realized that I forgot a lot of names... lots of memories came back... and I miss them all... I miss everything about my miss

ion. I loved it so much...even the "hard" times ( they were really not that hard.... what is having a companion that doesn't want to work compared to trying to get your 3 year old to behave d

uring Sacrament..... or your 5 year old to lean about obedience in FHE???.... yeah, rainy days, doors closed...not even close)

Anyway.... I feel so blessed I served a mission. I am glad I didn't allow myself to deprive me from the blessings of serving the Lord full time for a year ad a half....

It was amazing.... the blessings are amazing... England is amazing...its people are amazing....

We had an amazing night with the Leonard's.

These are the pictures of the two little pretty girls :D

( I forgot my camera... these were taken from the I-phone)

events of yesterday

It was Carmen's party!!! She was saying she was still 4 because, of course, she hadn't blown her candles yet!! So I think I won't blow candles anymore :D I'll stay 28 forever!

We had 9 kids. We decorated a halloween cookie and then we played games.

We had yummy treats. I made monster toes and banana ghosts...and two cakes... too much food!! Kids don't eat that much, ya know... but they had fun. Carmen got lots of presents and she loved her party :D

Made some fun videos but the blogger videos uploader takes foreverrrrrrr so someone tell me how do I do it???

In the mean time.... pictures!

With her cousin Jane

With her cousin Mary ( Isabel is in love with her)

With her friend from school AJ

BEST FRIENDS

With her friend from school Mira ( she was the most polite little girl)

With her Colombian friend Sara ( Francia, her mom, is in Jordan's ward and I met her when they came to our family ThanksGiving dinner.... she is really nice, we are becoming good friends)

With her very special friend, her cousin Maria

With everybody!

It was impossible to take pictures of the opening presents part...I managed this one :D

She is a very blessed girl. We are very blessed to have her in our family. She is growing so fast I can't believe it! We get in this very serious conversations more and more each time... She is so smart and kind and loving.... I love her!

happenings....

I'm listening to "Lucky" right now and Carmen is singing in the background from the dining room in a very cute ( and high) pitch :D

It makes me smile... but I wasn't smiling a while ago... what has actually motivated me to write....

I was sorting laundry ( on my my least favorite things to do... but another thing that bothers me soooooo much is picking up toys/things from the floor... I hate it! so much!)... anyway, I was doing that when I hear a hard POOOOM...followed by a painful cry from Isabel and running steps ( I knew it was Evan). So what I see is blood all aver the floor, Isabel leaning on the Tv stand, just crying and gushing blood from her mouth (this happens a week after she bumped her mouth in the bathtub)... I was a mad woman... if someone had seen me I would be embarrassed. I confess I called Evan and up for him to see what he had done and I smacked his bum really hard as I held Isabel by the sink and tried to stop the bleeding. Now as I write I see the dried blood in my fingers....

I want to cry.... Now I feel sorry for Isabel, and for Evan...and for Carmen ( she got yelled at too, poor thing, she was just playing with her Nintendo)

I had Isabel suck on an ice for a while...she got a huge fat lip. I nursed her and she fell asleep. I held her for the longest time. I was so sorry she hurt like that... my poor baby.... it hurts I can't spare her from pain... and she will feel pain in her life, many times, and there will be sometimes when I won't be able to do anything to stop it.... and the funny thing is: there I was wanting my baby not to feel any pain but causing physical pain to my other baby.... ironies of life? the dangers of anger...

....It hurts not to be perfect, especially for my children. I wish I could multiply myself. One of me would cook, other will clean, other will run errands, and I will stay with my kids ALL the time.... that will be nice.

I asked them to forgive me. They are so loving, my dear children... when they saw me crying they gave me a huge hug...Carmen gave me an extra squeeze and said: "it is ok mom"...

Now Carmen and Evan are coloring on the table so happily and nicely together, so quiet, Carrie Underwood now playing... I love it. I love my kids, I love my life, I love the lessons of my life...

Now I have to get on with life... finishing laundry, putting things, cleaning bathrooms, moping floors... and start dinner...

you gotta love life :D

Who says Carmen is not cool??

HOLA ME LLAMO CARMEN VOI ATIENED UNA FIESTA CIEDES VENID COMIGO CHICAS ?....

I had this page opened and Carmen decided she will write something.

We have been talking about what to do for her B-day party and she is so excited....she is inviting you to come!!hahaha

She will be 5!! My firstborn is growing so fast!

She came from school yesterday and she told me that Olivia wasn't her friend anymore. She said Olivia told her: " I don't want to sit beside you, cuz you're not cool" ( and used this winny voice to tell me :D) and she said:" That's not nice vedra ( that's how she says verdad) mama?"... No that's not nice and I can't believe that a 5 year old says those things already.... so she said: " I am going to tell her tomorrow, that that's not nice to say". And then we talked about how being friends with everybody IS cool. She is so smart and so special... it is amazing to me how grown up she acts sometimes. I love her.

Every Monday they have Library day and the first week she brought one book and I asked her if she was going to read it for me ( she can read perfectly already) but she said it was a difficult book. " But you can read difficult books, so that's ok". Her teacher had told her that.... it frustrated me a little. So next Monday she brought home two books.... she almost had memorized the other one.... I love she loves reading... she just sits quietly reading until she is done the book ( like her dad).

On wednesdays she has gym and she is in love with her gym teacher. Mr Fergusson, she came home and told me her teacher si so cute and she is going to marry him!... and I have to say that my daughter has an excellent taste :D I met him on the Teachers Night and he is HOT.

Right now she is playing random notes on the piano and trying to sing along.... it is so cute trying to match the high ones.... OMG! I want to eat her!....

I love the background music of my life... Carmen playing the piano, Evan having some awesome car racing and Isabel's little bare feet footsteps sounds ( cuz YEAH!! She just started walking yesterday!!!)....

I love this (short) moments in life...

Short because I know that someone will start crying, or will need a diaper change, or the dryer will be done... or somebody will get hungry and dinner will have to be made... but still LOVELY while they last....and they won't last too long at the pace my babies are growing!!

When things happen....

This has been an stressful week for me.... maybe I make it more streful for myself, but still, it's been stressful.

It all started when our car wouldn't start last Sunday. Our little old car...that we need so much, and it almost died on us. Two days of praying paid off. It survived somehow, but I am afraid it will die any day... and I pray for a miracle that that won't happen, since we have no money to buy one. Sometimes I start daydreaming about what it would be like to have an extra $15,000 to get a new car, I even think about those people( I always think of Dr Phil or Oprah...just because they are so generous) that give that amount of money to people in need and wonder if they knew about me would they give me some? .... dreaming again....

Anyway...then there is little old tv ( that is not even ours, we got it from Evan's parents) it is starting to do weird thing with the picture and I am afraid it will also die soon... and I mean...I could live without tv, but those two hours of a Disney movie where it seems like I don't have anybody home are PRICELESS...worth buying a tv...if I had any money! and let's not mention b-days coming up....Christmas.... why does anything have to cost money?

Then I think I would feel really stupid if some catastrophe was to happen and I had a nice car in the driveway and a nice tv in my living room but no food for my family....

To top it all I've been sick all week... being weak physically tends to make me weak emotionally as well...I really get so stressed that my heart hurts sometimes... but somehow I always think: I pay my tithing, I keep the commandments... He will bless me. And He does. And that is so comforting. And as long as I trust Him and put Him first...it all works out. That I know.

I am at peace.

It is a difficult time, but it will pass.... Evan will be done school, our debts will be paid, we'll have an income and we'll breathe!

I have everything I need.... and if I don't I've learned to do without, so problem solved...

(it would still be nice to have new car and a new tv, wouldn't it?)

Who knew an apple pie could teach me a lesson??

Some of you that are on the facebook world already know about my latest accomplishment: The Making of an Aplle Pie!

This may seem like a little thing to ya'll Martha Stewarts out there, but for me was a historic moment. It was the first time I didn't let anything, ANYTHING stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Because I always think: I could do this, or that...but if something is not working on my favor ( like I am missing things, or I have to go out of my way to do it, or I've never done it before and I am not sure I can do it right....etc... I can always find an excuse to do something instead, or not to do it all together.

Well... it didn't happen this time. I had to convince myself that I COULD DO IT! and went, got the apples, got a rolling pin ( a decent one) and started on it. I looked through a couple of recipes, and decided on one.

It didn't come out perfect, the dough was not enough to cover the bottom part and a bit of the filling came out....I even stretched my creativity and did a leaf motive on it ( how inventive, eh??).

I took it to our new ward activity...it'd better be good...and IT WAS! It was super tasty.... I think next time I'll put a bit less lemon peel...but I loved the lemon hint, I loved it!

So... lesson learned. Fear is a bad companion. Giving yourself a chance to succeed feels great. And if it is in a form of apple pie...it tastes great too!! :D