Picture perfect....

One day as you go along everything seems to be "picture perfect" and then in a second, one unexpected thing happens and "your life as you know it" hits a sudden stop and it disappears... Everything changes instantly for a week, months ,years or a life time. This as some of you know happened to me when I broke my ankle. (Blog posted broken ankle) My life changed for 4 months no walking , no driving, everything i did with my girls , i could no longer do changed, then the following months everything came back slowly.Today I can drive , walk , my favorite exercise spinning, and being the mommy i was.. I am so lucky it was only 4 months. My ankle was put back together (thanks again Dr. Gary) and" my life as i knew it" came back.....It is still in the back of my mind and think about it often how anything can happen to anyone in a matter of seconds and your life is changed. I was reminded of this on Saturday when my mother received a phone call that her cousin was in a horrible motorcycle accident. Alan who was driving his motorcycle with 2 friends on theirs, down Big Bear Mountain in California was hit by a van as they turned the steep corner. He is in the hospital with a shattered left knee, right wrist and broken left foot. If his circulation does not come back in his foot the doctor said he may lose it. Alan is a great guy, husband and father, his life is now changed maybe for a lifetime..... please say a prayer for him that he recovers and heals and has the faith and strength to get through this.

Like the words on the top of my blog.. Always kiss me goodnight,give hugs to your children , play and laugh with them, take lots of pictures, always say "i love you", take the time to be with a friend or someone who needs you, a hug goes a long way when someone is sad and hurting, don't sweat the small stuff, smile and be grateful instead , help someone in need, send that card you been wanting to send, or make that call , tell your wife , husband, family and friends how much they mean to you.. you never know if "your life as you know it"will give you that chance ... tommorrow....We are praying for you Alan and your family....

Feliz Cupleanos Matteya

Our precious Matteya is 2 years old!! Her birthday is actually on March 20th, but her Grandmother came in town this past Wed. So I decided to hold off on celebrating until Ga arrived, that made her birthday extra special having her grandmother here, (we missed you PaPa)

Matteya came forever home from Guatemala at 8 months!!! We love you Matteya, you truly are a gift from God.

Matteya's party...

Matteya had fun at her birthday party..She enjoyed her birthday with mommy ,daddy, her sisters, grandma, Izzy and her mommy and daddy , Victor, Maritza, and Alex. Matteya loved her Dora cake.

Sisters.....

Sisters...God made us sisters, Our hearts made us friends. Love keeps us bonded thru thick and thru thin. Being family gives permanent ties, For which I am grateful to be in your life. Though our paths may lead down separate roads, God gave us each other to help with the load. God had a great plan, as He always does. Growing together was the best for us. I can't imagine my life without you. Sisters are for keeps and forever true.......(a u)

Welcome Home Kaden!!! (video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmwBPt-1kco (please click here to watch) sorry , this video had to be taken off line until adoption is final..but Kaden is forever home and happy!

Today March 24th. is a very special day for a very special friend of mine and her family. Amy and I met on a Guatemalan adoption forum and became" best of friends " that still have not met yet , but have been there for each other through all the ups and downs of our adoptions... Amy(who has the biggest heart ) and her husband Todd(who adores her big heart) have 6 beautiful children, 4 biological and they adopted Aleigha who was in the orphanage with Bella and a few years later adopted Mya who came home at the age of 3. Amy knew and felt in her heart that the path God had lead them towards to adopt, was not over yet..... Amy follows her heart.... her heart follows God and like she wrote in her blog, when you say "yes to God" there are no quarantees that life will be easy, but you will have peace in your decision to allow God to use you ...and guide you down the path he has chosen for you .... another Blessing for the Block family....Kaden.. There is no better way to introduce this very sweet little boy and very special child of God than share this video with you. Her friend Angel created it for her..PLEASE click above and watch the video.. Welcome Home !!!Kaden! CONGRATULATIONS Amy , Todd and family!!!! You are a very PRECIOUS family and you both are amazing people and parents !! I wish and pray for you and your family never ending happiness and love!!! HUGS..

Happy Easter Hugs.....

We wish you a very Happy Easter.....

Every Easter the girls decorate an Easter tree and they get dressed in pretty clothes (thanks for the beautiful dresses aunt Joanne) and I take pictures for Easter cards. This is the picture I chose for this year.. Easter Hugs..

The girls also went to see the Easter bunny.. They all enjoyed the Easter bunny as you can see .. except for Matteya. She went kicking and screaming (very LOUD) I took a quick few pictures and took her off Gabi's lap and away from the bunny as fast as i could. Matteya likes the Easter bunny from a distance. On Easter sunday, they will find there Easter baskets and yea, eat candy with breakfast( a dentist nightmare) we will go to church and just have a family day and before they go to bed i will read to them again

this is cute childrens book about Easter .....

"What is Easter ?" written by Michelle Adams

" The little bunny hops, hops, hops. Is this what Easter means? Is it about Easter eggs all filled with jellybeans? Is Easter about hunting eggs? I do that every year. Does it mean eating chocolate stuff? I ate my bunny's ear. Is it about the baby chicks? They're fuzzy and they're fun! I saw some Easter chicks for sale. I really wanted one. Is it about Easter toys? They're really fun, i think. One time a bunny came to me . His little nose was pink. Is it about my brand-new dress? And my new Easter hat? Does it mean wearing shiny shoes? I really do love that! Is it about a big parade with lots of pretty floats? Is is about the Easter choir? They sing the highest notes! NO! That's not what Easter means. Easter means much more than that. It's all about God's son. See, God sent Jesus down to earth to die for everyone. He had to die upon a tree to save us from our sin. But he was only dead three days, and then he rose again. Now ,that's what Easter really means! It's quite a special day. Jesus our Savior rose again. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Today , he sits right next to God in Heaven up above. He wants to live inside you too and fill you up with love! Okay, now I get it. The Easter Bunny is okay, and Easter eggs are fun. But Easter's not about that stuff...It's all about God's son."

I think it is a great children book!

Easter is a time to open our hearts and re-order our priorites in our lives.

Jesus said, " Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also."

Happy Easter....Happy Spring....

Anabella and Neyvada

It was a nice morning... no one was fighting or picking on the other one........ Instead...Bella and Neyvada (still trying to fiqure out Neyvadas nick name) worked hard together making chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Gabi and Teya were excited to smell the muffins when they woke up and enjoyed their yummy breakfast treat their sisters made. One of Gabi's favorite books was

"If You Give a Moose a Muffin" by Laura Numeroff

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." (M. Garretty)

Hold a true friend with both hands..Matteya & Quinn

Matteya and her friend Quinn (my friend kathi's son) at school in the toddler room, they have lots of fun together and Matteya loves giving hug a bugs...

"A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17)

I truly believe that God puts people in our lives for a reason, whether that person crosses our path for a day, week, month, years or a lifetime. He gives us certain gifts so we can help others, during those times. Every person that enters our lives gives us something that we learn about ourselves or our lives, that we take with us on to the next chapter.

It is interesting to to go back and think about all the people that came into my life years ago that are no longer friends and what they added to my life that will be cherished, and the friends that i know will last a life time that have helped me through the storms of life and were part of the smiles and joys. I think about the new friends that just came into my life , and what they have given me in such a short time (like the strangers i met that are now friends that encouraged me through my broken ankle, ) I think about all of the people in my life and how they all helped me walk through the paths God created for me, some are now special memories that will be with me forever.

"Strangers are friends waiting to happen" (S.klaka)

"Hold a true friend with both hands" (Nigerian proverb)

Friends ......another way God demonstrates His love for us.

Wear a smile - one size fits all. (a.u.)

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

This awesome snow family was created by one of my best friend's (Annette) husband Kurt and their 6 beautiful children... Joey, Maria, Joshua, Olivia, Sophia and Gabriella. My girls miss their friends very much!! They truly are an amazing family !

mmmmm....a treat!!

Who doesn't love doughnuts......

Sunday Family Fun

Sunday we went to the track and watched a few horse races and played on the playground . Gabi, Bella, Teya and Neyvada had fun watching the horses run around the track and making new friends while climbing the monkey bars.

Neyvada waiting at the doctors office.....

Neyvada went with me on tuesday to Dr. Garys office for my ankle appt. It is healing well so far.I still have pain everyday... hopfully that will go away soon. I am released from physical therapy this week, I was in therapy for 5 months and will miss them all there. but I still have to do the exercises to keep my ankle strong.

My Broken Ankle..

"But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength" 2Timothy4:17

No matter how difficult the challenge, when we spread our wings of faith and allow the winds of God's spirit to lift us, no obstacle is too great to over come....(R. lessin)

I will never forget Sat. Aug.18th 2007 . Except for it being my brother-in-law Joe's birthday , It was an ordinary day.I went to the health club with the girls and came home.My husband Frank took them outside , I decided to take a few mins and put their first day of school papers in their memory boxes. The memory boxes were high on a shelf in the closet , i took my small 2 step ladder i have been on many times and stood on the top and reached...... well i obviously reached too high and fell to the left and my right foot got twisted under me , I landed ..... . The swelling and colors came fast. I started to cry, not because it hurt, but because i felt something snap and knew it was serious. Gabi was the first one to find me , she cried with me and went to get frank . She begged ,screamed and cried to go to the emergency room with mommy. At the emergency room it was confirmed I broke 3 bones and had to go see the orthopedic surgeon. They sent me to Dr. Gary . On Thurs it was confirmed I had to have surgery the following week. Dr. Gary was the next one to see a flood of tears, not only because i was so upset to have surgery, but because by then, I received the call I had my embassy appt. and was suppose to be in Guatemala that week I was to have surgery to bring our 4th daughter forever home. I had to cancel my trip and Neyvada was escorted 3 weeks later.

Dr. Gary is an amazing doctor, he repaired my ankle with screws, pins and wire.

....It has been a long recovery... I could not walk or drive for 4 months. 4 months on crutches was hard. I cried so many tears,no one heard me but God.I have been so thankful He has given me the strength to get through this. i never wanted to feel sorry for myself or have anyone feel sorry for me, there are so many people suffering terribly in this world with worse situations than mine and some of those people are alone and can't be fixed, I have a family & friends who helped me & all I had was a broken ankle that could be fixed . So no I should of not cried all those tears that i did, but it was the toughest thing i ever had to go through.I could not take care of my girls, I could not take a walk , I could not play, take them to birthday parties,Matteya did not know why mommy could not carry her any more. I lost my girls to baby sitters.. It is shocking how your life can change in an instant for a week, months , years or a life time. Those are the times that just a little hug from someone means so much.... I am so thankful for those hugs and those smiles and those words of encouragement that kept me going every step of the way through recovery. We need to make time to thank God for the people in our lives. I did. I am thankful for frank who had to drive our girls to school everyday for me and drive me to where i had to go. I am thankful for my parents who drove from Buffalo and stayed with us for 4 months and helped with the girls , the driving and everything.I am thankful for Maritza and Victor who stayed here from the time I went to the emergency room and stayed for 4 days to help with the girls when I could not leave the bed. I am thankful for Betsy who was always here when i needed her to help with the girls and laundry. I am thankful for the friends and family, near and far who helped with driving , meals, phone calls,emails, gifts,cards, visits and prayers. I am thankful to Dr.Gary for fixing my ankle, always taking my many phone calls and being a very caring doctor. I am thankful for Gina and Trish at Dr. Garys office for caring so much., I am thankful to Amanda at Physical Therapy who motivated me every session to work harder and got me walking , driving again and back to my normal life. I am thankful to Chris and his outstanding staff at therapy whose smiles and kindness meant more than they will ever know and for the work they all did with me to help in my recovery.I am thankful for the nice patients i met at Spooner. I am thankful for all the staff and new friends i made at the health club for caring so much, hugs and the words of encouragement .I am thankful for my spin friends at the health who missed me and for the kind words. I am thankful for Gabi, Bella , Teya and Neyvada being patient and loving their broken mommy. I am thankful for Tracey Bonn who brought Neyvada home from Guatemala for me. There is so very much to be thankful to God for each day. I thank God for those who take the time to pray for my family and me.I thankful for all our family and friends here and in Guatemala. I will be forever grateful for the hugs and love you all gave me......

Be Joyful always;pray continually;give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Thessalonians5:

I still cry tears when i think about my broken ankle and probably will for a while. I truly believe that "things happen for a reason" and i believe.. I was not suppose to be in Guatemala that week.... for what ever reason....

Anabella's Godparents

Bella's Godparents Roman and Hedy came to visit for a few days . Bella was very excited.

Frank and I met Roman and Hedy about 12 years ago, when we built our first house. Roman, an excellent contractor (R.I.Construction) and Hedy is a realtor with Remax(she sold our homes). Our business relationship turned into a forever lasting friendship that we will all treasure. Roman and Hedy traveled to Guatemala with us, to bring Anabella home in Sept 2004.

Feliz Cupleanos Maritza!!!

Maritza and Victor(and their family here) are like our extended family from Guatemala. We met them 2 years ago. I love the people and the country of Guatemala. They are very special people that take very good care of their families , love their families very much and they have huge hearts. Maritza and Victor have helped us so much with the girls and when I broke my ankle (blog story soon) and Victor likes to help Frank out around the house. They treat us like their family and when you do not have any family close by, it is a blessing to have someone who has a big heart that always cares..and is always there.

Gabi picked out birthday cupcakes for Martiza . The girls enjoyed sharing in her birthday!

Matteya and Neyvada

Sunday afternoon Matteya, Neyvada and mommy went grocery shopping . We were buying all the ingredients to make homemade lasagna. (I just happen to have the camera in my purse....)The lasagna turned out perfect and yummy!!! Good thing we are a family that likes to workout at the gym, take walks ,swim, climb mountains, ride bikes, scooters and play:o)