Birthday thoughts

It's been a month now since my birthday and 3 extremely important birthdays have passed by as well.
I'm very thankful for all the sweet people that made my 16th birthday wonderful in some way, I Love You all!
Sandy, mom, dad and siblings, William, Meggy, Mikey, Sam D, Daniel the Panamanian, Esther, Teresa, Clara (and the wonder black and green bracelet she made me), Jesse, Lene, Benny, Rafael, Tania, Aurea, Priscila, Andrés, Beto, Tess, Kate n Kev, Ana my auntie, Rossana, Inés, Edit, Windy, Steph, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, Lily, Sam my bro :P, Johnny Brown, grandmas, even strangers, and Jesus! As well as the dear ppl from the homes around here who put up balloons, made a cake, a great dinner for us all to enjoy and gave some gifts working toward buying my laptop -smiles-
You keep making me feel special n loved, on the most random days too! Thank you for being such loves!

I don't mean to give a recount of all the reasons the following people are so special, but they are! -and here's a sneak peek.

Uncle Solomon

French-Canadian uncle. You gotta love the french! Born the 1st of October of some wonderful year around the middle of the last century and I still tend to forget that people like him have seen so much and been through so many things. You can see wisdom and tranquility in his eyes, and at times a boyish twinkle is there. Yes, I really like uncle Solomon's eyes. And I admire him too. All in all he's an angel. Sandy -his daughter- said that the other day and I believe it.
Praise God for awesome dads with their quirks and funnies, and how they manage to keep a home running smoothly! Praise God for their unconditional love! And for all the running they do each day to have us happy n healthy. At times we seriously don't deserve it.

*

My mom -Topacio

Born the 10th of October, probably with the biggest smile, happy to be alive!
My mom is just the coolest one. She's the best for me.
She fills her role as a mother perfectly, she even goes to the length of caring for hurt birds or hungry pets when she actually dislikes animals. Not to mention all the people she adopts when they're in need. Whether it be a prayer, a listening ear, a word of encouragement or counsel, or an embrace, it hardly matters who it is.
People miss her for her smile and outrageous laughter.
She does things with such efficiency, I wish these things were hereditary :P, but her joy for living is catchy!
I don't know what I'd do without her. Probably have a nervous breakdown at the age of 16.
Thank God for moms who care for you and prepare you in all ways they can for what we may encounter, putting love in our hearts! Sigh of love

*

Sandy

Born the 13th of October of 1994, and since then lots and lots of people's days have been brightened and made richer...not to mention more interesting, haha! (wink). I can't compare my best friend to anyone in the world, and it doesn't matter if -by some funny and largely strange reason- I have the world for a friend, nothing will change the fact that she is amazing!

The truth is:
I love you dear, your friendship means the world to me.
You add color and laughter to my life. You make me smile at my worst times, and its like you're telling me, "keep that smile on your face stephy", and there are countless reasons to do that too. You teach me so much just by being your lovely, simple self. You help me believe in myself.
I love brainstorming with you, getting excited, enjoying life, looking out for the other, picking up, sharing our hearts, laughing, hugging and praying.
You're beautiful, trusting, fun, selfless, funny, crazy, with wild ideas, inner strength, sweet, sharing, honest, lovable, ready, squishy, practical, dreamy, you may forget some things (including faults and wrongs and stupidity on my side that hurts you, not only that you're supposed to cover the chicken with a particular cloth), though never the most important ones (You never forget to love -wink-). You're courageous, approachable, easy to talk to.
What would I do without a craziness partner?

Take the lead

There are many important things in life that this movie is able to portray, I love it! Not to mention the exciting dancing. Living life with passion. I don't really remember the number of times I've watched this movie, but it's a favorite.
There is nothing that can keep you down, or hold you back unless you let it.
When you feel you're not made to do something in particular; those feelings mean nothing, unless you don't wanna do it. Otherwise you could become the best in your field! -with passionate learning.
We could have a broken life and broken dreams, none of which are beyond repair, if we wanna repair them. Dreams' wings can grow too, and there are people out there that testify to that.
There is really no set of boundaries but the ones we put on ourselves. We can be great and have great lives, doing what we like to do and doing things that matter. I know that it seems more like I still have a pick, and perhaps someone older doesn't. But then again, there are no boundaries set, no limits to what you can do or not do. You may never become the president of a country, but if that's your dream and passion and goal, you'll get there. The people that outstand in a crowd are those that do what they wanna do with all their hearts, against all odds. Be it become a musician, find a lost love, open an orphanage, run in a marathon, raise a strong family, become the best you can be.

Mountain

Lovely darling, I love how these pictures came out.

There's something very particularly thrilling and liberating about being in mountains, away from the city noise and life, going up higher, leaving things behind, enjoying the great fresh air.
I've fallen in love with the mountains here in Morelia. Right now everything is green, and months back tall pink wild flowers sprouted there and anywhere where man couldn't ruin them.
Taking hikes up the mountain gets me feeling so renewed and peaceful.
Like taking a soothing bath after a long, bad day and the water washes away the sticky, gross feelings. Things outside the bathtub are the same. When I come down the mountain, nothing has changed. Except for me. The world is still in its regular motion; the sun shines again every morning telling me that even if I feel I have no control over my life, there is Someone who does. And it's better if it stays that way, cause He's mighty good at it. He's the only one that can make things work right -also when it doesn't seem like it-, the One that makes the wind blow and the flowers grow.

Squint and you'll see Sandy and I talking away like never before, like always.

I don't know what I'd do without any trees in sight. I'm probably not made for the big cities where they chop everything down. We need good oxygen ppl. Love the trees!

"There is more light on the mountain. Long after the valley is in darkness, you can still see the sun. The valley is almost always dark—full of people and things, but usually in darkness. The mountain is windy and cold, but thrilling.

If you're going to climb a mountain, you have to have the feeling that it's worth dying for. Any mountain—the mountain of this life, the mountain of accomplishment, the mountain of obstacles, of difficulty—has to be worth braving wind and cold and storm, symbolic of adversities.

Only pioneers climb mountains—people who want to do something that few have ever done before, ­people who want to get above the multitude and go beyond what has already been accomplished. Pioneers must have vision—vision to see what no one else can see; faith—faith to believe things no one else believes; initiative—initiative to be the first one to try it; courage—the guts to see it through!" -David Brandt Berg

Adrian took this picture, wonderful no?

what I've come to believe

Laugh as much as you can and it'll keep you young forever. Smile and you'll always be beautiful.

Who still wants it?

A motivational speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the bill.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

"Many times in our lives, we are crumpled, dropped, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless."—Author unknown

Pray for little Leire

This little angel has a problem with her esophagus. It causes her to burp and throw up a lot, not able to keep much of her food down. Please pray that this problem is cured completely, so that there is absolutely no need for her to get an operation, which could be needed if it gets worse. Otherwise she is a healthy baby girl with the cutest smile, long feet and morena skin. A beautiful little love who smiles right at you! A sweety when she's asleep..or awake!

19 days old. She is now almost a month and a half.

Meet the family! -If you haven't yet.
Nate, Ali and cutie kids.

2 James Bonds and one princess.
Baby sister would be the angel..(wink)

Dark caves

"There is gold to be found, even in these dark caves which threaten to snuff out your little light. That’s My promise to you, My love, when you find yourself in one such cave of life. I go before you and I never allow you to pass through a cave that will not return to you that which perisheth not—the treasures and gold of the spirit (richness and lessons learned). So when you feel like you’re in a deep, dark cave, the key is to seek after that gold, never doubting that it is there somewhere, just waiting for you." -Jesus

He's in there too.

The sweetest things

1. While out in a "free hugging" spree, I hugged a mother with her huge belly and the kid to her side. Then came running a cute little girl, with flying light brown hair, a flowing white dress, with her arms outstretched, while the pigeons around her flew away. She put her arms around my neck and gave me one of the most beautiful and feeling hugs. She hugged me so sincerely, sweetly and tightly. Pouring love through smiles was all I could do next.
2. A package arrived at our house, full of business materials, and among them was a simple note addressed to our family, encouraging and funny, the type that tells you you're loved, when you least expect it.
3. A new lovely friend prayed for me so that I could make a certain trip, but for that we needed any of the available vans to be fixed. She prayed and though I didn't get to make that trip, our van finally got fixed! That van that had been giving us so much trouble of late.
4. Two people that I hardly know, stood up for me.
5. Ayleen and Benny (ages 2 and 4) came running out the door to greet me, with huge smiles, squeals and crying "Faaaannny!" Ayleen gave me kisses with whatever it was she had been eating. And before I could stoop down, Benny had already put his arms around my waist in sheer joy.
6. A guy in an ice cream store gave me the most delicious ice cream saying, "I'm giving you one, so that it'll taste better".
Things given away do taste better.

Things that make your heart glad, things that aren't expected, things that are given to you and you don't deserve them, given without expecting anything in return, and given gladly and freely. Things that warm you and make you feel loved, even if it's thanks to a perfect stranger. Things that make you laugh, kindness that you'll remember forever.
It's so easy to remember the bad, the way people hurt you, the saddness, and the disappointments. But the good is still there. The true sweetness, the simple love, the beauty in life as it is. I love that! Who doesn't? We just have to look carefully, soak it all up...and give it away. We have so much to give.

Life lessons from Lovebirds

This spoke right at me today. It was just like a fresh and much needed lovely breeze.




"Recently, my husband and I were walking through a local mall near closing time, when we decided to stop and take a look around the pet store

As we made our way past the cages of poodles and Pomeranians, tabby cats and turtles, our eyes caught sight of something that immediately charmed us: a pair of peach-faced lovebirds. Unlike many other lovebirds we encountered there, this particular pair looked truly "in love." In fact, they snuggled and cuddled next to each other the whole time we watched them.

Throughout the next few days, my mind returned to the image of those two delightful birds. I admired their devotion, and felt their very presence inspiring.

Apparently, these birds had the same effect on my husband, because he showed up late from work one night shortly thereafter, clutching an elegant birdcage that housed those two precious creatures, and introduced them as new additions to the family. I have watched these lovebirds and made the following observations about life and love:

1. If you spend too much time looking in the mirror, it's easy to lose your balance.

2. Always keep a pleasant look on your face, even if your cage needs cleaning.

3. If your mate wants to share your perch with you, move over.

4. The real treats in life usually come only after you've cracked a few hulls.

5. It takes two to snuggle.

6. Sometimes your mate can see mites you didn't even know you had.

7. Singing draws more affection than squawking.

8. It is only when your feathers get ruffled that your true colors really show.

9. Too many toys can be distracting.

10. When you have love in your heart, everyone around you will find joy in your presence."

—Vickie Lynne Agee (Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul)