Winter Wonderland

This morning I got up and Ben asked me to look out the window. What a beautiful sight it was! The ground and the trees were covered in a couple inches of snow and you could hardly see anything else but the big, huge, snowflakes coming down. It all looked so pretty! I immediately took Elena to the window and she seemed to be delighted for the sight as well. But it really became amazing to me when I brought Elena outside. Her face was glowing with excitement as she would point to the snowflakes and try to touch them as they were falling down. She didn´t care it was cold, she didn´t care it was wet, she would throw her head back and let the snowflakes fall on her face and laugh. The purity and innocence of that picture reminded me of how we miss out on the wonders of the simple things when we become so worked up about life. If we only had a desire like the Psalmist did:

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."Psalm 51:9-11

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Esta mañana me levanté y Ben me dijo que viera por la ventana. ¡Qué vista más maravillosa! El suelo y los árboles estaban cubiertos de un par de pulgadas de nieve y apenas y se podía ver con claridad por los grandes copos de nieve que estaban cayendo. ¡Todo se veía tan precioso! Inmediatamente levanté a Elena y la llevé a la ventana y ella parecía estar deleitándose con la vista también. Pero realmente se volvió sorprendente cuando sacamos a Elena afuera. Su carita parecía brillar de la emoción mientras extendía sus manitas para tratar de tocar los copos de nieve que caían. No le importó que había frío, no le importó que estaba mojado, simplemente tiraba su cabecita para atrás para ver los copos caer y sentirlos en su carita. La pureza e inocencia de esa imagen me recordó cómo nos perdemos de las maravillas de las cosas sencillas al llenarnos de ansiedad por las cosas de la vida. Ojalá todos tuviéramos el corazón del Salmista:

" ¡Crea en mí, Dios, un corazón limpio, y renueva un espíritu recto dentro de mí!" Salmos 51:10

Random thoughts

• It is scary to realize that so many parents are so unaware of what goes on in their teenager´s lives. God help His people not be caught up in not "invading their privacy" and missing out on important signs of need in their lives... blogs are a great indicator.
• I don´t particularly like this part of the American Idol process, I know some people are there to really make a show of themselves but some others are so naive and then get humilliated in a very mean way and we sit there and watch it... I´m not sure about that.
• While in Guatemala, Elena had no problem at all with my drying my hair. I figured we must have gotten over the season of having to have Ben around every time I blow dry my hair (or use the blender, vacuum cleaner, mixer, and any other noise-making-appliance around the house). Sure enough we got back home and she can´t even see my hair dryer here!
• Like father, like daughter... these two years of living with my hubby I have discovered that he sometimes talks (and walks and does different things) in his sleep. It always takes me a while to figure it out because it usually involves my waking up and finding him walking around the room, eyes wide open and all. I´d ask what he´s doing and that´s usually when I realize he´s sleeping. The next morning he has absolutely no recollection of whatever happened the night before. At any rate, after an hour of napping, Elena suddenly sat on the bed, mumbled her usual conversation and then plopped back on the pillow and was immediately sleeping again.

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• Da miedo pensar que hay tantos padres de adolescentes que no tienen la menor idea de lo que pasa en la vida de sus hijos. Dios nos ayude a Su pueblo a no caer en la trampa de no "invadir su privacidad" y perdernos señales importantes de la necesidad de su corazón. Los "blogs" son un buen indicador de cómo andan las cosas...
• Esta parte del proceso de American Idol no es precisamente mi favorita, yo sé que mucha de la gente que va sabe que va a dar un espectáculo y no tiene problema con eso, pero hay otro grupo de gente inocente que realmente se ve humillada por el show sin embargo, alli estamos sentados viéndolos... a veces me pregunto qué dice eso de nosotros...
• Mientras estábamos en Guate., Elena no tenía problema alguno con que me secara el pelo. Me imaginé que ya habíamos dejado atrás la época de tener que esperar que Ben estuviera aqui para secarme el pelo (o usar la licuadore, batidora, aspiradora y cualquier otro electrodoméstico que hiciera ruido). Por supuesto, al venir aqui y usar mi secadora, resulta que siempre no le gusta.
• De tal palo, tal astilla... estos dos años de vivir con mi esposito me han revelado que a veces habla (y camina y realiza diferentes actividades) dormido. Siempre me toma un poco de tiempo darme cuenta porque usualmente me despierta que ande caminando por el cuarto, con los ojos abiertos y todo. Le pregunto qué pasa y es allí donde me doy cuenta de que está dormido. A la mañana siguiente, ni se recuerda de lo que pasó. Hoy, después de estar durmiendo como por una hora, Elena se despertó, se sentó en la cama y empezó a hablar como es su costumbre, luego se dejó caer otra vez en la almohada e inmediatamente estaba sumida en el más profundo sueño.

Everything is a process...

There is nothing more disheartening for me than coming home and feeling overwhelmed rather than refreshed... My haven, the one place where my husband and daughter should feel comforted and nurtured and if it gives me that feeling when I walk through the door I can´t really expect it to be any different for them. I think it bothers me more becasue when I was growing up my mom used to tell my that my bedroom was a mirror to my heart and I really feel undone inside if my abode is undone. Now, I know there are only so many hours in one day and so many things I can do in those hours, especially when part of my day goes in following a little person around and picking up after her all day long (somehow the concept of "putting back in" is taking its sweet time to click). At any rate, I know it is a process and I know I won´t get it done as soon as I wish... little by little and one day at a time we´ll have a haven again. On another note, I told you earlier that my sweet hubby was setting up his own blog, so pay him a visit at www.misterrandom.blogspot.com

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No hay nada más descorazonador para mí que entrar a mi casa y en lugar de sentir regrigerio, sentirme atarantada... Mi oasis, el lugar donde mi esposo y mi hija deben sentirse reconfortados, si me hace sentirme así a mí al entrar por la puerta, realmente no puedo esperar que sea distinto para ellos. Creo que lo que más me molesta es que mi mamá solía decirme que mi cuarto era un reflejo de mi corazón y realmente siento que estoy descontrolada por dentro cuando tengo todo descontrolado por fuera. Ahora, yo sé que el día sólo tiene 24 horas y que solamente hay cierta cantidad de cosas que puedo hacer en ese tiempo, especialmente cuando una buena parte del día se me va en perseguir a una personita por todos lados recogiendo todo lo que deja tirado (por alguna razón el concepto de "guardar" todavía no le hace click). De cualquier manera, sé que es un proceso y sé que no lograré hacer todo tan pronto como quiero... poquito a poco y un día a la vez llegaremos a tener un oasis nuevamente. Cambiando de tema, como les conté antes, mi esposito tiene ahora su propio sitio, visítenlo cuando tengan tiempo: www.misterrandom.blogspot.com

A picture worth a thousand words...

The first birthday called for the first experience with chocolate cake... this was the result...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELENA!

A Year Ago...

One year ago today, I was at the hospital waiting for labor to progress. I was barely 3 cm dilated (which I had been for the longest time already). At this point, we realized it was going to be a very long hospital stay if we stayed there so we decided to leave and go "take a walk." Elena was finally born at 8:55 a.m. (tomorrow) after having been in transition for 8 hours. Time goes by so quickly! She will be one tomorrow and as we watch her grow from a baby into a little girl we are reminded of the new life that is growing within me. Yesterday we had an ultrasound (No, we won't find out what the baby is) and we saw a tiny nose in a cute little face and a tiny little body squirming all over the place. Our eyes were filled up with tears as we contemplated, once again, the miracle of life and our hearts were filled with joy as we realized afresh how blessed we are! It's simply amazing!

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Hoy hace un año estábamos en el hospital esperando que progresara el trabajo de parto. Apenas tenía 3 cm de dilatación (desde hacía un montón de tiempo). A estas alturas decidimos irnos a caminar por alli porque la espera en el hospital iba a ser demasiado larga. Elena finalmente nació a las 8:55 a.m. (de mañana) después de 8 horas de transición. ¡Qué rápido se va el tiempo! Mañana cumple un año y al mismo tiempo que la vemos crecer de bebé a nenita se nos recuerda la nueva vida que se forma dentro de mí. Ayer tuvimos un ultrasonido (No, no vamos a averiguar qué es) y vimos una naricita en una carita y un diminuto cuerpo que se movía por todos lados. Se nos llenaron los ojos de lágrimas al contemplar una vez más el milagro de la vida, el corazón se nos llenó de gozo al volver a darnos cuenta de lo bendecidos que somos. ¡Sencillamente es maravilloso!

Todavía estamos aterrizando...

2 Corintios 4:17-18 (Biblia en Lenguaje Sencillo)
Biblia
en Lenguaje Sencillo (BLS)

"17 Las dificultades que tenemos son pequeñas, y no van a durar siempre.
Pero, gracias a ellas, Dios nos llenará de la gloria que dura para siempre: una
gloria grande y maravillosa.18 Porque nosotros no nos preocupamos por lo que nos
pasa en esta vida, que pronto acabará. Al contrario, nos preocupamos por lo que
nos pasará en la vida que tendremos en el cielo. Ahora no sabemos cómo será esa
vida. Lo que sí sabemos es que será eterna."

Todo es cuestión de perspectiva.

Still trying to land...

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified
Bible (AMP)
"17For our light, momentary affliction
(this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly
preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory
[beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all
calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to
cease!],
18Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to
the
things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal
(brief and
fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and
everlasting."

Isn´t it all a matter of perspective?

We're Home!

Or so we think... it is the right address, it just doesn't look like home AT ALL! You can't really walk through any room without tripping on a box, a suitcase, a pile of something, or the toys my daughter keeps scattering through the floor of the whole apartment. We came home at 2 a.m. yesterday, landed in the middle of an awful snow storm and then drove home through roads covered in drifted snow that literally reached the bumper of our van. It took us over an hour an a half to reach home. We hit the ground running as we went to church yesterday morning, have an empty fridge and empty cupboards and don't seem to have time to shop for groceries today since Ben had to go to the office after being absent for three weeks, we have a doctor's appointment to make sure all is going well with baby number two and then we have a board meeting at church! But we are home... happy to be here and sad to have left Guatemala. But as we left church yesterday and I thought about the welcome we received from our church family I realized how blessed we are and how undeserving we feel! We are appreciated, loved and missed in two places that are very different from each other! Even though we landed in Albany at 11.45 p.m. and there was a snow storm we were greeted at the airport by these friends. We came home to learn of other friends who wanted to come meet us but couldn't make it under the circumstances. Then we were greeted at church by so many who told us how much we were missed! It wouldn't be fair if I didn't say that I do love my New York people too! It is good to be home, it is good to be loved and we are loved in two different places of the map... What else could we ask for?

Like a Breeze!

This is it! We breezed through it and our vacation is over... well, more over than not. We sit here, a little bit more than 24 hours away from departure time and toys are already being counted and put together. The bed holds four suitcases that, somehow, are supposed to fit all of the stuff we brought plus all of the stuff we're taking and still weigh up to 50 lbs. each (I truly believe I am in on line for a small miracle on this one). But the inevitable is coming and the time to say good by grows nearer. I miss home, I want to go home, as much as I love this country and all my friends and family we're getting to that time when we need our routine back. That doesn't mean that we're looking forward to saying good by. As we do this routine over and over again, I realize we have all tried to learn to live and endure it the best way we can. I have learned that He is my only hope and my only strength. I have understood that I don't need to understand why life goes the way it does... as long as I am secure in Him we will be fine. The grace for the day will come from Him, the strength to carry on will come from Him, and the joy for even these moments will come from Him as well. My only prayer is that all those others facing the good bys with us will find the same source.

Ooops!

I was in such a hurry this morning that I completely forgot there were actual pictures of Ben and my brothers doing the canopy... here you go...

A quick update

This last week is going quickly and, as expected, is getting busier by the minute as everyone realizes we are closer to leaving. We are packing tomorrow (somehow!) and heading home and as much as we want to go home a part of us doesn't want to leave. This week, Ben and my brothers did "canopy" on Monday and they had a great time. They even found a couple challenges that made their trip more adventurous! Elena and I stayed home and visited some friends (pregnant women shouldn't really hang from trees). After giving up on our desire of going to the beach, last night someone offered to take us today, so we are going!!! As I sit here and write preparations are going on around the house for a short day enjoying the warmest weather, the sun and the water! We'll send pics! Other than that, we still have dinner tonight with an uncle and lunch tomorrow with a friend and off we go! We should be arriving in Albany's airport around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday.

On another note, Elena finally cut her first tooth! With all the other stuff going on with the infamous virus and the colds that grabbed a hold of us on this trip, cutting her first tooth was as uneventful and almost unnoticeable as you can imagine, but there it is and she is constantly rubbing her tongue against it!

Well, just wanted to update you quickly on our schedule, we miss you all!

Elena's Piñata

Today, the Guatemalan family celebrated Elena's birthday. I've included a few pictures to give you a taste of it. It was supposed to be at an open park area, but it was too windy so we ended up all crowded in my cousin's house. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people came together to celebrate our daughter, which was a blessing!

I think she has a puzzled look on her face trying to figure out why there are so many people standing in front of her watching her on the swing!



They all chipped in and gave her an Elmo themed first piñata.




And, of course, after the piñata was broken and all the candy was on the ground, she was taught by my cousins that girls wear dresses to piñatas to gather all their candy!


We had a lot of fun and are very grateful that the family has taken all the time and effort to spoil her. It really means so much to us to see them going so much out of their way to bless our daughter... eventhough we weren't here for Christmas there was a gift for Elena under every tree at every home of friends and family. We have no idea how we will manage to get all those gifts back home but I must admit that is a wonderful "problem" to have! I love my Guatemalan people!

The Past few days

These past few days have been a treat in every possible way! To begin with, our wedding anniversary was the 3rd and my sweet husband surprised me with an appointment at a spa for a facial!!! I don't think I had had one of those before! I was spoiled and y face felt baby soft! After the facial we left Elena at my parents' and then went out for a nice lunch date. We had a wonderful avocado salad, steak, corn, baked potatoes and dessert. As I have told you before, my grandmother (dad's mom) is already 94 and one of her sons decided to have a recording made of her talking about her life before her memory fails her more and we loose all those wonderful stories. The video in and of itself was a joy to watch as she told anecdote after anecdote about her childhood, how she met my grandfather and her writings, but the real treat for me came at the end of the interview, when as she is closing with some personal thoughts the camera gets off her and suddenly starts showing what seems a very old video. "Mamita" (my grandmother) was all dressed up and she is standing outside a church. The church looked familiar to me, but I couldn't make out what it was about, until I saw this bride and groom position themselves right next to her on the receiving line. At that point, my mom exclaimed "That's my wedding!!" It turns out that my uncle had used an 8mm camera to record at the wedding and somewhere down the line completely forgot about it. My parents never saw it, so they didn't even know it existed. It was such a wonderful surprise to actually get to see my parents on their wedding day! We grew up looking at the pictures, but it is amazing how much it came to life as we watched it on the screen! Of course, now we will talk to the editor of Mamita's video and try to secure the whole recording of my parents' wedding and hopefully it will happen before we leave!

Thirty-two today

Today I welcome my 32nd birthday and as I go through this day in my old house, with my old friends and family I realize how much everything has changed. Just a few years ago the mere thought of growing older was so scary. Today, my high heels have been replaced by more comfortable shoes that ease my lower back as I carry the ever increasing extra weight of a new baby while making me quick on my toes to keep up with an almost one-year-old who seems to believe that the world is hers to conquer. Baggier, longer, more comfortable shirts have taken the place of short fancy ones because there is no way I could attempt nursing with them. The long curls are now short and easier to handle... you know, less management required. The morning make up routine is now squeezed together with the baby feeding and changing one, if there is any make up at all. A diaper bag now takes the place of the purse and hardly any personal effects are carried in it... after so many years I realize I don't really need that much stuff any way. A few gray hairs are more noticeable than ever but honestly, I don't seem to care. Above all things my loneliness has been shoved away by a loving husband whose company I enjoy every minute of the day and by the cuttest ever little girl who requires my constant attention. If that wasn't enough, every morning I am reminded of the wonderful miracle of a new life being formed inside of me and all of a sudden the years piling up don't seem as threatening as they used to. Yes, if I had the chance of doing it all over again I would do a few things differently, but deep down inside I am grateful for every single moment that has brought me this far. My life is as perfect as can be and I can't imagine the years to come bringing anything else but blessings. My body will continue to change, I know, "my own time" will continue to disappear while I share it with little people and my wonderful husband but I would never change any of these things for the past years. I am a year older, but I am a year happier!

Honoring a little fighter...

As you rejoice today and receive the New Year, please keep this family in your prayers as they have lost this little man. They are a young couple attending EBI, Seth and Tarah Goodson. Their baby Gideon was born very prematurely, 42 days ago and fought very hard for his life, we had been praying for them as they went through all of this a sought the Lord for strength to endure. Last night Doctors informed them that there was nothing that could be done any more and needed to remove medication, he passed at around 3.25 a.m. What a hard thing to go through! Please keep them in your prayers!