A beautiful family truth!

Here's 2 quotes I found that I absolutely love, which I dedicate to my supportive parents for giving me this example:


Family is what grounds you.
 - ANGELINA JOLIE, interview, Jun. 13, 2001


Focus on your marriage. Because that's the nucleus of the home, whatever you do to restore its health and strength will naturally restore what's broken among the other relationships. If you have no children yet, this will make a comfortable nest for them to begin life well. If you have children, the changes you make in your marriage will affect the rest of the household more quickly and dramatically than you think. 
 -CHARLES R. SWINDOLL, Marriage: From Surviving to Thriving

I have parents that love each other, like for real! They love us (their children) and they support me in my endeavors and let me fall down to learn on my own...it wasn't always that way, but they too had to learn and when they learn something they act on it, not just keep it as knowledge.  They guided me and then watched me walk away into my own life, keeping to themselves and really letting me learn valuable lessons and truths that no parent can try to force into the mind of a growing child and less into a growing young adult.  I've learned of the good and the bad in life, though I have so much more to learn, I know I can say I was blessed to have parents that let me learn...they taught me to be receptive, honest, true, strong, not gossip, dedicated, just, cultivate my talents, to discover and never stop learning...and taught me important life skills that I actually use like cooking, socializing, manners, emphasis on education, cleaning, love of music and art and to have a genuine interest in the well-being of others without judgement, but to instead love, understand, and serve.

As I grew up at home, I knew that life wasn't perfect, but I knew I always had a mom and dad that loved me very much because I saw the love they had for each other.  They made it look so easy!  Yeah, they would disagree at times, but then made it a hilarious joke and would end up teasing each other at the end.  They always had date night!  We would make their patience run out, but they apologized for being frustrated and would talk to us about our lives no matter the amount of time it took out of their day.  They had/have family councils to let every member in the family express something and make plans.  I would sometimes hear them talking in their room late at night if there was an issue that needed resolving, and I would hear them pray.  They were interested in knowing who our friends were and cared to see us not get hurt.  They would cry...when we would feel alone...they knew us all to well.  When now I'm feeling down, I don't even have to tell them why, they just comfort and love...they remind me of my worth, my purpose and give me strength. To this day, I don't know how they did/do it all: 8 children, church callings (bishopric, stake, youth leader, etc), bills, teenagers, school, meetings, and they still have children in elementary that will have to go through years of growing before they can be on their own.  Just thinking about it all takes a toll on me!

Now, as a mother and wife I have only but to apply what I've been taught.  Life is harder than when you're living at home with your parents.  Life is challenging, yet lovely.  It can break you and you have to learn to rebuild yourself without a soul to comfort you at times.   Sometimes I give into the small things in life that others may take lightly, but then I feel horrible inside and have to quickly re-adjust because...I should know better.  I guess I can be hard on myself, but I recognize I'm human with weaknesses, but that's no excuse to not do the right thing.  My comfort comes from only relying on my Heavenly Father.  I know He loves me and He helps me.  That's also something that my parents let me learn on my own and so I have a burning testimony that it's true.

I'm not ashamed to let the world know I love my Mami and Papi.  Afterall, they gave a lot of themselves for me :-)

Woodburning a prop

Double-sided, with both English and Spanish.  It took about 20 minutes from start to finish.  Then I just decoupaged it and made it all permanent.  I LOVE it!

LoVe is in the AiR!

My birthday just passed this weekend and it was quite a nice day!

Well, since then, I've been in a good mood...i don;t know, I guess it has to do with the fact that everyone treats you a bit nicer? Mmmmh, yup!

My son has also recently become a big Star Wars fan, calling it "Staa Woo!" and even making lightsaber sound effects and it's super CUTE!

Now, since I've been in a better mood, I feel all lovey-dubby and stuff so here is a video i saw as I opened my internet browser this morning...very adorable and it keeps making me cry everytime I see it!

ENJOY! DISFRUTEN!



May all of you be able to share this with your special loved one.  Remember that a family essentially consists in the true happiness between wife and husband to truly have a positive atmosphere wherever you go.  It's never about spoiling your kids, buying the latest electronics or gadgets, and definitely not about focusing on money.  Sure, stress from bills and debt can supress you, but your spouse is there...you're not alone any more and you're also there for them. I think that's the best part of being married.

We sometimes forget also that we as parents aren't just providers and figures of discipline, but before everything, we are examples.

I'm not going to tell you I have a perfect marriage, but I can tell you with all my heart that I love my husband with every fiber in my body and that I try everyday to make our marriage worth something for me and for our own future while building our family.  My expressions of love, on a daily basis, are very simple: I wake up as he gets ready for work and iron his clothes and his tie, sometimes I put notes in his pockets or lunch bag so he can find them at work. Everyday, I call him while he's away, just to tell him I love him and he always says, "awww!" even though he's heard it hundreds of times already.

Everything too good to be true is attainable, the catch lies in YOU keeping your part.  For more ideas and advice for your home, check out Happiness in Family Life from lds.org.

Now, I gotta get back to working on some wedding  and family pictures...ciao!

A tribute to my man!

Today, is my husband's birthday!  I think I'm more exited than he is because he thinks he's getting too old and I love birthdays, period.  I don't think he's too old, I think he's just right.  So, my husband is hot and kid is a snot, I can only go one way to keep things interesting...forward.

Well, here's a little poem out to you, my love.  A shout out!  A cry of love and words from my heart.

You're my forever and always will be
The man I hug in the darkest of rooms
Feeling your warmth as my eyes are gleaming
A feeling of knowing you're fumes
Though torturing your smells sometimes are
I always know it's you not too far.

You tell me I'm pretty when I become fickle
The one true king you are learning still
Feeling your way and you make tickle
A sense of sometimes belonging fulfilled
Though we both know we are far from the end
I know as do you that marriage is downtrend.

You are my forever and always will be
The love I have for you only grows
Feelings of truth and serendipity
Oh, wait do you hear the cellos?
Though this can be hard I know one thing
I love you even when you're aging.

Well, I also want to see if I can go get this in a poster at Kinko's or some other place like it for my hubz:

I think it'd be nice to have him roll it out from it's coiled state and I'll read him the poem sometime before or after.  Wish me luck!

Goodbye, great Woman

Today, my grandmother died at 5am. She dealt with diabitis for 35 years, had 19 pregnanicies,but 18 children to raise. She died in the hospital with almost all her children alive, 11, by her side. She was 79 years old. She also died from an ulcers, tumor, replaced intestine, 48 hours bledding drainage, brain damage, and many years of dialisis.

She taught me how to sew by hand and machine and how to stitch elaborate flowers on hankerchiefs or tablecloths. She also taught me how to make tamale corn dough, gorditas, and soups of many sorts. She was very maticulous, and an excellent caretaker. She was independent and humorous.

I wish I would've done a lot more with her. She once asked me to make her a purse because I got so much practice from sewing that I made quality purses.

I made one. My mother found it in my grandma's belongings after she died.
I also wanted to see her after I had my baby Andrew,but my husband was already compromised to visit his relatives for Christmas in California. I just wish we could've seen her in Chicago for one last time, in the hospital.  She spent many days there because she was very fragile and got hurt often, since she was very independent.  She never met my baby, her grandson.  Hopefully she will come and visit now, believe me, I wouldn't mind it.  It would be an honor.

The good thing is that I know she's finally resting. She had a hard life raising 18 children, in poverty, in the country of Mexico, while tending to the house chores of other wealthier families to recieve extra money to buy more food for all the little mouths to feed, and yet having her husband travel for long periods at a time and very often. She loved each of her children very much, and she was loving to us as a grandmother too. Even I remember how good she was at discerning people and how she would tear up when reminded of her troubled older sons.  She was incredibly strong and endured more than I believe a woman should endure just to help her family live.

I admire her every virtue and her faith always in our Heavenly Father. May she rest in much deserved peace. I always will love her and miss her.

Unexpected and real

Yesterday, Sunday, Hugo and I went to church and ate at my parents and then drove home. There was a lot of snow coming down, it was dark already, but not late. As we pulled up in front of our fourplex, Hugo opens the door with the car still on and tells me to stay inside. He acts as though he's about to pick up something from home so we can head out again! Or so I thought. He says,"Stay inside, just hold on!" I thought to myself, why? Why stay in this car with the heater on and with the baby when we need to be in the comfort of our much warmer home? Well, I stay in and I'm already mad at him. I look through the windows and he's walking towards our neighbor's door! What?! What's he doing?! Why am I still in here? He reaches for their snow shovel and starts to clear out all the fallen snow, while still more keeps falling. I'm perplexed. He keeps going real fast. Keep in mind he's wearing only his thin church pants and shirt with a very light sweater on top. The snow keeps falling on his sweet head and gets wet. My eyes start to glaze. He shovels and shovels. Clears our sidewalk, then the entrances to the stairs, each apartment and the path that leads into the parking stalls. It's so warm inside the car that the windows fog up and start to drip. I stare at the hazzy figure of my husband out in the snow. Hugo's still going. He clears up the steps, he even clears up the grass I'll eventually step on to get out of the car. He can't beat the falling snow, I watch him go over all the paths again. Clearing them out, more cold snow on his hair. He does this for 12 minutes straight nonstop. I'm in tears. He comes around my door and signals me to come with him home. I step out with the baby covered. He grabs all my church bags and baby's bag. He's sniffling a little. I bet it's the cold, poor man. He doesn't seem to care. His shoes are wet, and so we head to our door. As we walk in my guilt sinks in lower into my stomach. I lay the baby down and he's still sleeping. I felt bad. I reach to hug Hugo and he's already gathering the trash to take it out. As I hug him, I am overwhelmed with appreciation. Something so small, so easy, but so important about the kind of man he is. "Thank you," was all I could muster up to whisper. My tears start to roll out. He looks into my face and smiles. "Ah, no problem," he says and picks up the trash bags and steps out again.

It's incredible how the small things someone I love can do and yet they mean the world to me! I'm happy to be married to him.

How we met

We met more than 10 years ago in Bell Gardens, California. We both belonged to the same church ward and our families were well acquainted. He and I were childhood playmates, along with his cousins and I remember playing and just having a blast with them all. As we grew older we separated, his family moved away to another state...Utah! Though we never gave it too much thought, we had a lingering crush that persisted in renewing every time our families would meet again for friendly, yearly reunions.

I continued my journey through life as did he. Finally, I was old enough to move out for college, during which he prepared for an LDS mission and left in October of 2005. I began my courses and before he left to his mission we talked for just a bit as friends and I wished him the very best for the next two years to come. I knew he'd do great because he has always been a very lively person.

In 2006, my family decided to move out of California to my surprise. We then stationed our numerous little bodies in Utah, and for some reason, ended up in the same church building again with his family for Sundays. As we came here, I then transferred over to a closer academic institution and continued my Music Composite/Education Choral Major.

On October 9th of 2007, when I was literally trapped in what I like to call a love spell, struck by his charm and smile, his confidence and laugh, he came to me and asked to see me. I replied "no," but I felt different about what the answer should really be. We then dated and ended up together shortly after he audaciously told me how he felt...he's a very blunt person and I love that! Then, almost 12 years since we first met, we were married on October 1st, just a couple of days celebrating his year return from a mission and just in time for his brother to be back home from serving his own mission in England.