Neyvada at swim lessons

Neyvada has been forever home from Guatemala now for 7 months. Our sweet little Guatemala princess is doing so well and is truly a joy . Neyvada is in her second swim session and she is enjoying learning how to swim:o)

Shoes...

I took Gabriela, Anabella, Matteya and Neyvada for new shoes this past week. Their feet grew and they all needed new shoes. I bought 4 pairs of new shoes. It was fun to buy new shoes. Except for Matteya, they were all a little picky about what shoes they wanted, but with all the many choices they finally decided and were happy.... On the way home it made me think about all the children in this world who do not have shoes, who can not just go to a store and purchase a pair or even be able to have the opportunity to have choices of what shoes they want..their parents can not afford a single pair of shoes, or all the children in the orphanage who share shoes if there are any to share or enough to go around, or the children and families who live in hut like houses or on the streets who may never have a pair of shoes or shoes that fit. We take so much for granted ..like buying shoes, having food, a house , toys ,clothes, a car, work , family , friends etc... Having all the comforts that life has to offer us can make us ungrateful at times and we take these things and people in our lives for granted. Even moments in a new day is taken for granted . Taking things for granted (i am quilty too ) makes us lose the appreciation we should have for the people , material things and blessings in our lives. Being grateful is like opening a door and letting God be a part of your daily life and thanking him for everything we have and through appreciation we will be able to find our passion and purpose in life and give back... even if it is only a pair of shoes......

Chances for Children is the organization i do volunteer work for (blog story soon) their orphanage in Haiti, Creche de L'Enfant Jesus, is in need of infant and children shoes.. if you would like to donate gently used or new shoes please go to http://www.chances4children.org/ for an address to send them to or contact me. Thank you!

Thank You Prayer...

The girls love to say their prayers with the "Thank You Prayer "book by Josephine Page.

I read them this book of prayer and we add our own prayers for our family , friends and all our friends and family in Guatemala.

Thank You Prayer

Thank you for the food we eat.

Thank you for the world so sweet.

Thank you for the birds that sing.

Thank you, God, for everything.

Thank you for my family. (this is where we add our own prayers)

Thank you , God, for loving me.

For each and every child ,I pray...

And thank you for this special day. amen

Laura's dream comes true...

Neyvada's foster mother received her visiting visa from Guatemala to the United States!!!! It has been her life dream ( earlier post: never give up on your dream) she asked me to help and write a letter to the U.S.Embassy-Gautemala asking to grant her a visiting visa . I wrote the letter and she took it to the embassy and with help of prayers, her dream came true... . Laura will be coming to stay with us for a month. Laura is so excited and thrilled to be able to see Neyvada again and meet us. What wonderful new things she will see and experience !!! I know God puts people in our lives for a reason and this is amazing to me that i will finally get to meet our daughter's foster mother and forever be a part of each others lives.

Laura was a wonderful foster mother to Neyvada. These are pictures of Laura and Neyvada in Guatemala

Follow your heart and your dreams will come true. Anonymous

Family Fun at the Fair....

Mommy, Daddy, Gabriela, Anabella, Neyvada, Matteya and Betsy enjoyed an exciting sunny day at the fair....

more fair pictures...

Just the way you are...

just the way you are...

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.He called his parents from San Francisco."Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've got a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring with me.""Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him.""There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mined and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.""I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.""No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.""Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!
Father, thank you so much for our precious daughters and thank you God for doing the same for us- loving us just the way we are. I took this story about the soldier from my friend Amy's blog(thanks Amy) and posted it because it tied in with what I did with the girls on Sat. I took them to a horse ranch where they do horse therapy for the physically challenged. Saturday was their charity event to raise money for this outstanding program. What a rewarding career for someone who loves horses and has a passion to help people.

Lazy day at the pool...

Sunday was Grandmas last weekend day before she went back to New York, so we just went to the health club and relaxed and had fun at the outdoor pool.....

Fun day at the Amusement Park..

Saturday we went to the amusement park with Grandma. It is a great little amusement park for little ones. It has a dragon wagon coaster, bumper boats , carousel, train, cars, airplanes.. It is a very cool park. The girls had a blast ! (and so did ga)

Neyvada goes the the dentist...

This was Neyvada's second trip to the dentist since she came home 6 months ago. Her first visit when she arrived forever home from Guatemala, she had 6 cavaties that had to be fixed. (that was not a happy day for my little Guatemala princess) Neyvada had a perfect visit on this trip!!! Matteya tagged along for the fun. They have a fun tree house slide , movies and a fish tank. So it also is a fun place to go:o)

God's Cake.....

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake." "Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter. "How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!" "Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!" To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, but He chose your heart. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well share God¢s recipe.

Margarita Time...

This picture was taken when my parents were here helping me through my broken ankle. We went to dinner at mexican rest. with my friend Evan and her husband Phil . We had some good mexican food and margaritas ( that was my first margarita and I was not a fan,I gave it to Evan:o) i will stick with my Campari and club soda:o)

mommy and daddy in Vegas...

Frank and I went to Las Vegas for 3 days and 2 nights. First time away together for 2 nights since Gabi came home.(mommy has a hard time leaving the girls) We flew Grandma in from N.Y. to watch the girls. Thanks Ga!!!She had fun and they were pretty good listeners:o) Frank and i had a nice time. We gambled a little , had good meals ,(Rao's at Caesers was the best!) and met up with some good friends!

Sharing a good email that was sent to me....

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.


When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.


When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn' t
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.


When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.


When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.


When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'