streak broken

Five years. His lifetime streak is broken. Joaquin threw up for the first time last night. I'm not sure if it was something he ate or the bug Isabela had the other day.

Now the best part about this story is that I was already asleep when it happened, and Juan Pablo had stayed up to watch something on tv....so guess who had to clean it up? Not me!! And as soon as he had cleaned it up, Joaquin threw up again.

Now I know I shouldn't be smiling about that. But I just can't help it.

the memorial

It is always a little weird to ask about a funeral service, so I'll give you the details from my point of view.

I loved the hymns grandma had picked out...especially This is My Father's World...you can hear it played and see the verses here. Poor little Isabela ate something in the morning that did not agree with her, and she had to run to the bathroom three or four times throughout the service. Thank you to Beth who jumped right up to take her. Also Diego decided it was his moment to shine. He sang along with the first song and didn't stop there...so Juan Pablo had to take him out. But my little angel, Joaquin, was just that. He sat quietly, sang along as best he could to the hymns, recited Psalm 23 that we had memorized while homeschooling, and he even patted me on the back several times. It was amazing and a relief. Of course, I had promised him many treats at the reception if he did so, but at least we know what motivates him.

I was honored to give the eulogy at my family's request...I simply read the post I had written about my grandma. I lost it once right at the beginning, and kept my eyes on the paper, but I think the sentiment got across of how much we'll all miss Grandma and what a great person she was.

And I thought the minister gave a nice sermon, as well. It is always more meaningful when the pastor actually knows the person he is talking about. He did leave out uncle Stewart at the beginning, which we all started whispering about immediately...Stewart said that's the story of his life...but I think that's the story of all our lives, sometimes.
The reception was unbelievable...lots of delicious food, in their beautiful new addition at the Fredericksburg United Methodist Church. Grandma was a faithful member of their 8:15am service and had her same seat on her same pew every Sunday.

Maybe they'll engrave her name there.

One of my most favorite things to do is sit around with my family and talk...maybe that's because I don't get to talk to adults that much...but I laughed, cried, and enjoyed every minute of it. I can't imagine us not getting together like that throughout the year, and hope that even though grandma has gone on, we'll stay close.

special visitors

Look who has been visiting us lately. Three times this week. They are supposed to be a sign of snow. They were here before Christmas when we had that huge snow. Are you ready?

I love you, Grandma.

Even when you know it is coming, death always leaves you unprepared. We always want more of life. My grandma passed away this evening, and although she is now filled with peace and free of pain, I don't want her gone.

She has been a constant in my life. There before I was born, there after my mom died, there when my children were born, there whenever I wanted to talk.

I want more from her. I want her wisdom. I want her tact. I want her confidence. I want her contentment. I want her to tell me how to attain these things. But as my cousin reminded me, if I take the time, I can learn from her life and how she lived each day. It is all there.



I think we all thought grandma would live forever. She was so independent and still volunteering at the hospital even in her eighties. In that way, this poem by Emily Dickinson reminded me of her. So civil and polite, even facing death.

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labour, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.



There is so much to remember about grandma. And so much that will always remind me of her...England, great literature, Jeopardy!, crossword puzzles, plain Goldfish (does anybody still eat these?), 5:00pm, classical music, the parlor, those darn squirrels, cranberry juice, a shower squeegee, Japan, the southwest...I could go on.
What a blessing memories are. I pray they stay strong, not only for me, but for my children. How special for them to have known their great grandmother.

I'll end this tribute to my wonderful grandmother with a Native American proverb I found:

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life in a manner
so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.


She did.

swagbucks

I just heard about this thing called swagbucks. Supposedly, if you use their search engine for stuff, you get these magical imaginary bucks that you can trade in for real stuff. There's a link on the side if you want to check it out. It can't hurt to try it...well, I'll let you know if it does.

knee deep

Today I'm knee deep in throw up and laundry...poor Isabela woke up early this morning with a stomach virus. She doesn't know how to make it to the bathroom yet...but she did manage to get it in her trash can a couple of times. I let her watch Black Beauty while she was resting...when I went to check on her towards the end of it, she was crying! One of the horses had died...maybe that wasn't such a good movie choice.

wintergreen

We had an awesome weekend at Wintergreen! The weather was amazing...super foggy the day we drove up the mountain...then a bitter, freezing wind in the morning...but it turned into the most beautiful day ever...I think it was around 60F. This was the first time for the kids and JP. Diego and I did not ski...(and I realized after just walking around in snow boots that I am certainly out of shape!) I have visions of us being this outdoorsy, active family...going skiing, hiking, biking...but for now, this trip has given me the push I needed to get my butt back in the gym.

But can I just say...I love ski pants! They are so warm and so roomy and so comfortable. I'm thinking of wearing them for the rest of winter.

Check out the smile on the guy in blue. He loved every minute of it...well, maybe not when he was turning himself into a human snowball down the steep side of the mountain...but that's what helmets are for.


Does Juan Pablo look cool or what?


The kids had a blast, too. We put them in the Treehouse, which was a ski camp for the WHOLE day.


Look at that concentration.


But I think Isabela has found her talent...she was really good at this. Very confident and could ski quickly and stop...stopping is always important.


Of course, they both had some time to taste the snow.


I really couldn't believe Joaquin made it through a whole a day of skiing and still wanted more. They were so independent by the end of the day...here he is putting his own ski back on.


Shred it, girl!


I love the way Isabela is standing in this picture.


We'll definitely be back again!

checked off

Remember the first career you thought you wanted as a young child? (I'd love to know...feel free to share it in the comments!) Mine was a veterinarian (although I couldn't even spell it when writing this post). That was soon crossed out when our cat had to have a tube put in her head to drain puss from some kind of wound she'd mysteriously gotten. Then it was a ballerina...I quit that when I was sixteen...it turns out I really didn't like performing in front of hundreds of people. And then, among a host of other careers along the way, it became translator at the U.N.

Well... today, I got my chance.

Shall I tell the long version?? Why not!

Yesterday, my long, dull birthday ended with me wondering what to do about dinner. JP was at work and I thought about going out with just the kids, but we really don't have the money. So then I remembered that Tuesday was dinner night at church and we decided to go. (Keep in mind, I'm pretty sure this is only the second time we've gone since Diego's been born.)

We said our hellos to many friends that were there and sat down to eat. It turns out, two pastors from Cuba, that have a long relationship with our church, are visiting...and THREE different people came up to me to ask me if I'd met them. (Because I speak spanish, of course.) Why, no, I hadn't.

So at the end of the meal, I did meet them, and had a very short conversation about their stay and the cold...stuff I'm sure they were tired of hearing.

But here comes the good part. Their host came up to me a few minutes later and asked if I'd be interested in translating for a meeting they were having (today). He had been emailing JP to see if he could do it (did I forget to mention Juan Pablo and I weren't talking to each other for the last few days?...don't worry, we're fine now)....well, he had told me NOTHING about it...and they hadn't been able to find anybody else. Why, yes, I could!

So I ended up....being the translator....for these two Cuban pastors (it's a husband and wife)....and the Superintendent of the Richmond district of United Methodist Churches. High enough up that my throat was dry and I had butterflies in my stomach as I was driving to the meeting.

I called a close friend just before to pray with me that I could do a good job at translating everything. And I must say, it went extremely well! I only messed up a couple of times, but more importantly, I got to meet this wonderful Cuban couple who are busy doing God's work in their country. We talked about our families, about Cuba, about God's plans and joked and laughed and I had an amazing time.

It is plainly obvious, but I love how God's hands helped to place everyone in the right place at the right time with the right words.

It wasn't the UN, but it was good enough for me. I can cross that off my to do list.

TRANSLATOR AT THE UNITED NATIONS

happy birthday to me

All I've got to say is...if 40 is the new 30, then 35 is the new 45.

family Bingo night

Lately, just the simple words "family night" are starting to make my insides tense up, but this seemed infallable. There would be popcorn, yay, water, not-so-yay, and a chance to win prizes, yay, again. I never thought about 'what if we didn't win'. Isabela was so excited, she screamed out BINGO at the first game...she had misheard a number though and was quite embarrassed...but she pulled it off well. After about the fourth straight loss, Joaquin's face started to frown up. By like the sixth, he had tears in his eyes. At some point, they both were crying. I thought, 'Well, I hope now one of them doesn't win because the fit will really hit the shan then' (I do love that new country song that says that).
Thank God for the popcorn. They all left me at the table to go get it and head to the bathroom. There I was with Diego sleeping in my arms, trying to play 5 BINGO boards, with my right hand, and she was calling out those numbers as fast as she could. I started to get close to winning. We were playing the square, only the outside rows, and I only needed like three. Then I started to think,' I can't win now, there's no one with me that can pick a prize.' Not to worry, I knew better than to get my hopes up.
Besides spilling a bottle of water (which I knew was going to happen), and a bunch of bad sports, it was a great family night. I can't wait to do it again next year! Oh, yes, we will be doing it again. They have to learn... you can't win them all. Or, maybe, that is a lesson that I need to learn?

quite a day

Joaquin woke up at 5am this morning! Sometimes he can't go back to sleep after that...and I thought oh no! he'll never make it through school. Thankfully, he was able to fall asleep....and the next time I was awoken at 7:30am...both kids fully dressed, coats and backpacks on, ready to go to school. They still had an hour and a half to wait!

Isabela got off the bus with a huge smile saying..."Yes! I have homework!" She loves it! How funny!

Joaquin got off the bus like this:


Diego and I got our quality outdoor time waiting for the bus...freezing!... about 25 minutes since we weren't sure when it would arrive. He was fascinated with the cars whizzing by...note to self...get a fence before this boy starts walking around outside. We also watched a huge hawk soaring overhead.


That's me holding up traffic talking to the bus driver. Sorry! He really doesn't like that the kids have to cross the street to get home...plus there's this drop off on the side of the road about a foot down, and they have to squeeze around the bus door to keep from falling off. It seems like there's no way around it, but he said he'll look into it.

I thought I might get a lot done today...but Diego had his 9 month check up and then we both took a nice long nap. There's always tomorrow to clean the house.

back to school

We're back! Yesterday, we went up to the school to register for first grade and Kindergarten. The teachers and staff seemed very glad to have the kids coming back and set them up quickly to start tomorrow. They got to meet their new teacher and already know a few kids in their classes. They are thrilled and have their backpacks chocked full of crayons, markers, and glue. We just about bought Target out at the not so discount prices mid year. I've prepacked lunches for the week and signed one thousand forms...so much that my wrist hurt. I certainly wasn't this organized for homeschooling! Wishing them a wonderful first day and smiling faces getting off the school bus!

the taken road

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I had to memorize this poem in sixth grade, and it's always been one of my favorites. For any decision I ever have to make, I think of it, and how whatever path I take...it will lead me on to different paths ahead.
Obviously, this post is leading somewhere. We have decided to send the kids back to public school after the break.

The two main reasons: Diego crawling! He certainly is a curious little George and into everything. We used to have plenty of time while he would sit and play or take a nap...not so anymore. I feel like Isabela and Joaquin are getting a little behind in the basics. I am definitely not as organized (if I ever was) and it is just chaos everywhere in the house.

Reason #2: Friends. I really didn't think this would be an issue. But we miss our friends. We are so isolated where we live and being out of school just adds to that.

My two new mottos:
*It takes a village to raise a child.
*Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

That being said...we will still be a homeschooling family...just not officially. I still see us going on nature walks, reading the classics together, memorizing Bible verses, keeping a commonplace book for our handwriting practice, looking at great works of art, keeping our history timeline on the wall, learning Spanish...etc.

So we're taking the other path...however, we're not the same as if we'd taken that path all along.