Water Park Fun...:o)))

me, my friend suzanne and the girls ...we all had a great day at the water park..

bella

me

layla

matteya

bella

me, teya & vada

suzanne

betsy, teya & vada

vada

gabi & bella

suzanne, layla & allissa

neyvada

gabi

Guatemalan Quadruplet Babies....update...:o)

mommy and babies

teya

Alejandra, Alondra, Allison, & Andrea..

betsy and babies

me and Alondra

the babies big sister vanessa.. they also have a big 10 year old sister who still lives in Guatemala

I woke up this morning and felt it was the day to go see the beautiful Guatemalan Quadruplets. We have not seen them in about 5 months and it was in my heart to go and check on them and make sure they were all doing well.

Betsy, Matteya , Neyvada and i went to see Alejandra, Andrea, Allison, Alondra and their mommy Liliana....These precious miracle babies from God are doing amazingly well !! They are now 1 yr. and walking...they were not to happy this afternoon but we brought toys and had fun with them anyways....We watched and played with them (Betsy and i still can not tell them apart..:o) while their mommy could do some cooking for the family.. Mucho Gracias Liliana for letting us spend a few hours with your beautiful little girls...it was a day filled with joy and smiles for all of us...we are so happy to be able to see these precious little girls grow up...

the great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even

introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.... (kendall hailey)

Thought for the Day..

Looking for signs....
This gift is in the little everyday thingsPaulo Coelho May 2004 issue

We tend to assume that life will give us another chance tomorrow at whatever came up yesterday and today. But if we really pay attention, we see that no single day is like another. Every morning brings a hidden blessing that serves only for that day and cannot be saved or used again. If we don’t use today’s gift today, it will be lost.
This gift is in the little everyday things. If we experience every minute intensely, in such minutes we can find the solution to a problem, the person we are looking for or the path to a decision that will change our whole future. But how can we find the courage to live this way? I think God talks to us through signs, which are a special language we can learn only through belief and discipline.
Augustine was converted that way. For years he examined various philosophical movements, looking for an answer to the meaning of life. Then one afternoon in his backyard in Milan, deep in thought about the failure of his quest, he heard a child singing, “Pick it up and read! Pick it up and read!” Although he had always allowed logic to be his guide, on impulse he decided to open up the first book within reach. It was the Bible, and he read a passage from Paul that contained the answers he was seeking. From that day on, Augustine expanded his search, making room for belief, and became one of the church’s greatest theological
document.

The monks in the desert, who always said that you have to allow the angels to do their work, occasionally did preposterous things, like talking to flowers or laughing for no reason. The alchemists followed the “signs of God,” paths that often appear to be dead ends but [that] ultimately lead somewhere. “Modern people want to banish all doubts and uncertainties from life,” said the dean of the Cathedral of San Francisco. “In the end, their souls die of hunger because mysteries are food for the soul.”

There is a meditation exercise that entails explaining every action for ten minutes each day. For example, you might say, “I am reading the newspaper because I want to be informed. I am thinking of certain people because a particular subject I just read about made me think of them. I am walking to the door because I am leaving the house.” And so on. Buddha calls this “conscious attention.” If we catch ourselves repeating the most mundane, routine actions, we become aware of the wealth of detail that fills our life. We then understand every step and every posture. We discover important things and useless thoughts.

If we have the discipline to do this for a week, we become more conscious of our flaws and absent-mindedness. But we also see that at certain moments we do what we do for no reason at all and instead are following our intuition. We then begin to understand the silent language that God uses to point us in the right direction. We can call it intuition, a sign, instinct or coincidence – the name is irrelevant. The important thing is that through conscious attention we realize that we are often led to the right decision, which gives us more faith and makes us stronger.

“Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Matthew 20:33

So today i recieved a new letter ( below) from my friend Rosa in Guatemala..Rosa is the angel God put in my life to help the precious poor in Guatemala..to look at these beautiful faces in these pictures you can not help but be compassionate and caring.... ... i wish i could fly to Guatemala tomorrow just to give them bigs hugs so they know someone really does care and love them..even though they are strangers.....This letter , just like the others always brings tears...A heart to give.. thats what it takes,, there are so many that do not eat for days, we throw food away......God speaks to the person that is giving.. your heart hears it.. your heart feels it...A heart to give.... Whenever we give to others , we are the ones who gain the most on earth and in heaven. That is the heart of God , He gives and loves to give......

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35

.Hi Doreen, I am again sending you some pictures of the people that I have been sharing these days.
I am sending you some pictures that I couldn’t send you before. As you can see I gave some of the clothes and things that you sent in the box to this family. This is the family of Eliseo, the man who works as a security in my colonia.
I also had the opportunity to share with the Velasquez family in a special event, the graduation of her daughter Wendy. She invited me to be in her test, this is like a kind of research they do before they graduate and she wanted me to be there as a part of her family, representing you. I am sending you some pictures that I tried to take with my cell phone. The same day, I also paid the tuition for Wendy and her sister Silvia Maria, I paid two tuitions to Wendy that was Q250.00 quetzals, and one tuition to her sister, the total of the money that I paid was a Q750.00 quetzal, that is exactly 100 dollars. I also gave 100 quetzals to Silvia because she didn’t have any money to buy food. I prefer to pay the tuition by myself because if I give the money to Silvia, she prefers to spend it in food instead of paying the tuition. If she doesn’t pay the tuition, her children don’t have the right to take the tests at the end of the year. This doesn’t mean that the school is bad making these decisions; they do it because they are already helping Silvia with half of the scholarships for her children.
Then, I have the opportunity to share with Francisco, he is a very humble man who has four children and they live in very poor conditions. I asked them to come to my house and I gave them some food that I bought in the store. They were so happy to receive them. I told them that I wasn’t the one who was giving them the food, that the person who is sending money to buy them is you and the only thing that you are asking from them is to keep you and your family in their prayers.
On the other hand where I work at the school, I already paid the tuition of one of the girls, Laura Fabiola García Flores, I paid her tuition until September. I paid 300 quetzals, because it is 100 quetzals per month. She is the one I told you before that her father abandoned her and other two children because he was drinking too much.
I need to visit another family who needs also help. I still have some money from you and I would like to help them. The school supplies that you asked me to buy with the 50 dollars, I told Espe that I could buy them in Guatemala. I haven’t bought them because the school year here ends in September, but I am going to buy them next month and give it to them in November for next January 2010, when the school starts again.
Thanks so much for all you do with the poor familias here, I am sure they will keep you in their prayers because that’s the only thing they can do for all you do for their families. God bless you for your generosity, love and support.
Rosa Many Blessing to you Rosa for helping me help others.....MUCHO ABRAZOS!!

Back To School.....

4 backpacks and 4 lunch boxes.....There is a blog story somewhere on my blog about the words of the song "Don't Blink"(Kenny Chesney)...."Don't Blink.. just like that your 6 years old and you take a nap and you wake up and your twenty-five....Trust me friend, a hundred years goes by faster than you think....so don't blink.... I have a 6 -1/2 year old (gabi) a 6 year old (bella) a 4 year old (neyvada) and a 3 year old (matteya) these sweet darlings are no longer the babies and little toddlers i tucked lovingly in cribs. They are big girls now (like they like to be called ) growing so fast and it is true the older you get, the faster the time goes by ..today (all very excited) they are going into First grade, Kindergarten, pre-kindergarten and pre-k3.. and in one blink they will be graduating from college and starting a life of their own....so i am going to try not to blink , capture and treasure every smile , frown, tear and laughter... "you can't flip it over and start again, take every breath God gives you for what its worth...Don't Blink..."Very proud of you Gabi , Bella, Teya and Vada!!!!!

To My Daughters....You're a precious thought to me... A treasure to my heart.... You're a daughter who has played A very special part....All the beauty life can give Is summarized in you. I am proud and I am glad that life presented you. In your own compelling way I see that you're unique. I am confident you'll reach the very goals you seek. Your growth and progress always are so charming to behold.... It is such a wondrous thing to watch your life unfold.... All my love and all my hopes give time a special hue.... All my days and all my years are full because of you......~Unknown

Ball Game...

Bella was one 6 kids from her summer class that was asked to sing the "National Anthem" at the Diamond Back / Chicago Cubs game....Bella had a little stage fright but had fun anyway. We went to see her at the game.....Gabi and Neyvda had a great time watching and playing ball....