You're never fully dressed without a smile

You're never fully dressed without a smile ~ Author Martin Charnin

Always smile and laugh about something:o) Matteya having a silly hair day...

One of my favorite smile quotes...

" A smile costs nothing but gives much, It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes last forever.. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give~~Author unknown

Never give up on a dream....

Dreams... not the ones you have while sleeping, but the dreams you have during the day with eyes wide open. A dream ....a wish your heart makes or a passion you chase.

I was outside last night with our dog and i looked up and the sky was so dark i could see thousands of stars. It made me think about the email i received from Neyvada's foster mother in Guatemala. Laura emailed me several days ago asking me to please write a letter to the U. S. Embassy -Guatemala ,requesting them to grant her a visiting visa. In her email she wrote" It has been my life long dream to visit the United States." I wondered if she was also wishing on one of those stars we shared.

We all have dreams... maybe to.. get married, to have a family, to be mom or a dad, to own a business, buy a house, travel somewhere..etc...With God's plan some of our dreams we can achieve by ourselves and some dreams need help from others, the people in our lives or the ones that cross our paths. I felt God's hands in helping me help someone elses dreams come true. A few were.. I helped a stranger (who became a best friend) that dreamed and desperately wanted to be a mom. I felt her tears and i helped her with the adoption process and she now has a beautiful daughter. A dream of parents of 10 children in Guatemla, wanted to be able to send them to school. With my help they were able to buy the school supplies they needed. One of my friends dreams to write a book, with nothing planned she packed up and move to New York City to chase her dream.

We all have dreams, big and small that we want to make happen . We all have it in us to take charge and help someone elses dreams come true even when they do not have hope and do not try. My heart goes out to those who do not have hope. It is an awesome feeling to have no regrets and go after your dreams or help someone achieve theirs. Even when you help that one ungrateful person, it still feels delightful that you did something out of the goodness of your heart and thank God for having great peace in that situation.

Like i wrote in "Don't Blink" you can not get "time" back..so go after your dream and do not be afraid to ask for help. God puts Angels in our lives for a reason....( I mailed Laura's Embassy letter today:o) and we will pray her dream comes true....

Always Have a Dream (author ?)

Forget about the days when it's been cloudy, but don't forget your hours in the sun.

Forget about the times you've been defeated,but don't forget the victories you've won.

Forget about the mistakes that you can't change now, but don't forget the lessons.

Forget about the misfortunes you've encountered, but don't forget the times your luck has turned.

Forget about the days when you've been lonely, but don't forget the friendly smiles you've seen..

Foget the plans that didn't seem to work out right, but don't forget to always have a dream.

Neyvada's Special Day...

Neyvada received the "Light of Christ" . Neyvada was baptized on Sunday Feb.24th.

God's smile comes in baptism. The smile is a sign that every sin is forgiven and that we are all Children of God and we are precious and valued. It was a perfect day.Neyvada looked beautiful in her Gautemala dress. My very special friend

Esperanza is Neyvadas Godmother. Espe came in on Friday from Wisconsin. Our other very special friend Frank came in on Thursday from New York. He is Neyvadas Godfather. They had a wonderful weekend spending time and getting to know their new Goddaughter. The baptism was at 5:00 mass. It was a celebration..and exciting to see all the other babies and children, there were 12 baptisms that mass.

And Jesus came and said to them"All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."~Matthew28:18-20

Don't Blink...

Some of you reading my blog may remember my 2007 Christmas letter where I mentioned the song " Don't Blink " by Kenny Chesney . This song caught my attention because the words and meaning of this song are so very true. " A hundred years goes by faster than you think .... so Don't Blink" It is true, that the older you get the faster time goes by and you become so much more aware of it......nothing stays the same. I look at my girls and I can not believe how they have grown and already where those years went. Gabi came home at 14 months and she is now 5-1/2 years old getting ready to go to kindergarten and it seems just like yesterday we brought her forever home. She still loves to cuddle and wants me to carry her even though she is a little too big to carry:o) but now that my ankle is healed(another blog story) I am grateful I can carry her again, those days wont last the bigger she gets.. Gabi will not go to sleep unless I rub her back, I always said I created a bad habit with my first one by doing this, but actually it is a moment every night I know I will truly miss later on... Time is going by so fast and it is scarry. Soon my 4 little guatemala princesses won't be little anymore. I have learned to treasure each day and try not to sweat small stuff or even the big stuff. It is so sad when you let a min. , hours, days and years go by because your mad about something or at someone. Sometimes we have to say "sorry" and move on. And sometimes that means wishing someone well and praying for them and moving on to the next chapter God has written for us in our lives . Life is too short and no one is perfect, you never get that time back. "when your hourglass runs outta sand, you can't flip it over , start again.... Take every breath God gives you , for what it's worth

Guatemala beauty..... Neyvada

Neyvada and I went shopping to get her a pair of white shoes and some tights for her special day . Neyvada is being baptized on Sunday. After getting all our last min. things we went to lunch. We had a fun afternoon.

Never forget the power of prayer....

I thought this picture was so sweet and the first thing i thought of was .. "anytime" is a good time to pray.

"Prayer does not cause faith to work, but faith causes prayer to work......."

(Prayers that avail much, G. Copeland)

Family fun at the horse show....

Sunday we went to the Arabian Horse how. The Horse Show has been raising funds for worthy charities since 1955. There are over 2,000 Arabian and Half-Arabian horses at the show. Mommy, daddy, and girls enjoyed just walking around seeing all the beautiful horses.. or horsies.. like matteya calls them:o)

Meet .. Gabriela

Gabriela . I will never forget that day i received a phone call from Tami. She had a referral for a 3 month old baby girl that was just relinguished by her birthmother. Tami emailed her picture right away and i saw those big dark brown eyes and her perfect face and i felt like a new mommy in an email second. My heart filled with so much love so fast for this new baby girl.

Gabi was born in Mixco Guatemala and lived at Hogar Cuna in Quetzaltengo. Gabi came home at 14 months. Her adoption day was Christmas eve and she came forever home on Christmas day 2003. What a gift from God !

She is such a beautiful little girl with a matching heart. She has a bubbly personality and lots of spunk. She has the princess pink room ,but is all tomboy and loves to wear camouflage clothes.

She is a smart little girl , she is reading words and writing now. She is in prek and will start kindergarten in Aug. She loves to swim and takes karate. We love you Gabi!!!!

Meet .. Anabella

Anabella . In the middle of Gabriela's adoption, (end of Aug 2003) ,Tami called and said the birthmother had another baby and she brought her to Hogar Cuna and they called us so there could be a chance to keep birth siblings together. She was a month old, born 7 weeks premature. Wow... that was a very unexpected phone call.. God had a very special plan for these 2 sisters to stay together. She was a beautiful baby girl. Gabi and Bella are only 9 months apart and look so much a like .

Anabella was born in Mixco Guatemala and lived in Hogar Cuna with Gabi. She was very sick for a while and was in the hospital and lived with missionaries until she was better. Bella came home at 14 months in Sept. 2004.She is such a sweet little girl that loves to be a helper at home and in school. She is my strong willed child and likes to do things for herself. Bella is in prek and loves it. She is taking speech therapy . She loves swimming and playing mommy with her dolls and sisters. She loves fruit snacks and cheese.We love you Bella!!!

Meet ... Matteya

Matteya .In March 2006 , Melinda called and said a new baby girl was born (we had lost a referral for a 3 year old) and we were the family for her.Melinda said she was a healthy 8 lb baby. She fed ex'd her picture she was so beautiful and so very precious and our new blessing , our new daughter.

Matteya was born in Guastatoya Guatemala. She was one day old and living with a foster family.Teya came home on Thanksgiving day 2006. What a wonderful Thanksgiving Blessing .God is amazing....

Matteya is now 23 months old and has such a personality. She is a very happy baby. Teya sleeps all night long and has since day one , i usually have to wake her up at 8:00am. She loves to eat anything and her favorite dessert is cookies. She loves books and can sing abc, count to 10 and does picture books and understands spanish and english.She is a big bundle a joy! We love you Teya!!!

Meet .. Neyvada

Neyvada ... In Jan.2007 ,about 2 months after Matteya came home (amazing how Gods plan moves us along...) , I received a phone call from Tracey Bonn who received a call from her lawyer that a 2 year old girl was just relinquished from the birth mother and she called me before she photo listed her. She emailed me her picture ...God is blessing us again with another precious daughter , i felt it , my heart just grew bigger, (the heart always has room to love another.)

Neyvada was born in San Juan Sacatepequez Gautemala. She lived with a foster family . She came home the end of Sept. She was escorted because i broke my ankle and had surgery the week i received Embassy appt. Tracey (bless her heart) escorted Neyvada 3 weeks later .

Neyvada is a remarkable little girl. She came to our home , family and arms with so much love in her heart and all she wanted was to be loved. She is 3 years old and has been home 5 months now. She bonded and adjusted instantly. Neyvada is so very sweet, so very precious and fun. She loves chocolate milk, eggs, ice cream and chicken. She is a good eater now. She will start pre-k 3 in Aug. She just goes 2 days a week now and loves it.She picked up english and speaks both. Neyvada is taking swim lessons and really enjoys them. She loves her new sisters and sticks up for herself when they pick on her. She just recovered from chicken pox. We love you Neyvada!!!!!

Counting your Blessings..

Counting your blessings everyday (and I do) is a good thing to do, but never let it keep you from reaching for your dreams , passion or purpose. About a year after adopting (in a future post I will tell my whole adoption story) and bringing home Gabriela and Anabella, I knew and felt strongly in my heart I have a purpose and there was another child waiting for me in Guatemala. I honestly beleive God has a plan for all of us (Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lords purpose that prevails,proverbs 20:5) When I shared this with family , friends or an acquaintance most of them were happy and excited we were expanding our family, but there were a few that said "you have 2 healthy beautiful girls why can't you be happy with that ,why would you want to adopt again and take a chance , you have been blessed with 2 children you should be content.... I heard it all.. BUT if i had listened to those words and opinions of others of what they "thought my blessings should be" I would not have Matteya or Neyvada today and I can not imagine my life without them, they too are our "blessings" that I will be forever grateful for, that came later.

Happy Valentines Day from all of us!!!

Welcome!

Welcome to Forever Hugs! My blog was "stylized" by Nikki, a University student who is designing blogs to raise money for a mission trip she is taking to the Dominican Republic this summer. Designs are $20 and $5 of that goes to a Charity of the Month- which, right now, is Mayan Families.