So much do do and so little time!!

So much to do and so little time before we go to Uruguay!! What was I thinking to want to do so much in one day is next to impossible.

Some days you just need a good nap!!! As amazing as this holiday time of year can be, it is without a doubt exhausting too! There are parties to attend several nights a week, presents to buy, decorating to do, cards to write, wrapping to be done, goodies to bake…there is a never ending list of holiday related things to get done this month and if you’re not careful it can wear you out!

Today was one of those days. I tried to pack a million things in my day and was literally finishing one thing when  as the next thing was getting started and it went on like that all day. By the end of the day my brain was mush and I couldn’t remember what I needed to take to Uruguay so I emptied the suitcase and started over again. I wanted to take as many gifts as I could and didn't have too much time to think exactly if a certain item was going to be used or not but I took it anyway. There is Roberto, Sandra, Miguel Angel, Estela, and la abuela Nela. Roberto has married children, Pamela, Matias, Marcos and Nicolas, Nacho is serving a mission. His grandkids are Celeste, Joaquin and Abirl. His in-law children are Rebeca, Joaquin and Nico. Miguel Angel has four boys: Guille, Santiago, Rafa, and Augustin Estela has a son and a daughter Vanessa and her daughter Camila. My notes of ages and what they might liked were scattered all over my bedroom in piles and I had no idea what they meant anymore since they were shorthand from the conversations I had with Nela that no longer seemed relevant to me.

Then at around 6:30pm I needed to take the presents I purchased for Daniel's secretaries from work only to remember I had promised the Rappleyes to bake a quesadilla to take them before I go to give them the recipe.  Ay-yay-yay! What was I thinking! Well, it’s now 10pm and I just finished the recipe and took it to them. Is a good thing they came home late so it gave me more time to finish.


I realized by the end of the day that there is such a thing as trying to be too productive to the point that you just can’t let it all soak in anymore and it becomes an ineffective use of your time. I guarantee I will forget half of the things I should take because I am doing it all last minute including sending the Christmas cards, I plan to finish those on the plane and get them sent once I get to Miami. It feels like it is all a jumbled mess in my head tonight not to mention my home. What a mess! And at this point my brain is completely fried and I have very little of substance to share tonight other than this – Don’t try to do so much in a day that the day becomes completely un-enjoyable! It’s good to be productive and to get a lot handled, but it’s bad to do so much that you really don’t get to soak it all in. Lesson learned…scale back the number of things you try to pack into the day.
Leave yourself time in between your  tasks to take little breaks so you can clear your head before you head into your next project. And when you have to do things late into the night try to pack your day a little bit lighter and vice-versa. Leave yourself time to at least answer a few emails and answer a few calls. Otherwise you get to the end of the day feeling completely overwhelmed. Trust me…that’s where I am ending my day today and I have decided I don’t want to let that happen again tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. So I am going to be smarter about blocking out my time so I can still be productive, but still enjoy the day and the people I am interacting with and still have a little bit of sunshine I my heart when my hubby gets home at night. No one’s family deserves to get just a burned out person at the end of the day…we owe it to them to save a little energy and happiness when they come home. That’s my goal for tomorrow because heaven knows I blew that today…now it’s off to hit my pillow and put today behind me with the hopes of a better day tomorrow as I should be awake at around 5:00 am which gives me two hours before we have to go. To top it all a friend was inquiring if their guests could stay in our apartment while we were gone and I had to tell her I couldn't get the house ready for guests and that I was sorry. Really, there was no way I could do that unless I didn't sleep at all but I was dead tired.

 

Today is Vale's birthday

Daniels little girl and most "consentida" turns 26 today. We feel so blessed to have very amazing and brilliant daughters but most of all they know who they are! I remember an article I read on this very subject of how each woman need to feel as if they are wearing an invisible crown.

Always Act As If You are the princess!

 I remember when I was attending the temple open house in El Salvador Elder Martino spoke of how the women in our home are considered queens and how we are all born of royal lineage, a child of a Heavenly being. I am a girl and every little girl is born thinking she is a princess, so the crown just seems natural to us of course.

 Having said that I believe true confidence is something that comes from within. It comes from living our lives in accordance with our own belief system. It comes from living with integrity. When we do the right things in life we have an inner peace that helps us to feel more confident and secure. And when we can get on our knees at the end of the day and feel that God is proud of us for how we behaved that day we will feel more confident and at peace with ourselves and that is a priceless feeling. Our girls do just that.

I am proud of our daughters. They are girls who truly do live their life by their values, even when it isn’t easy. I admire their courage and confidence so much because it comes from a place deep within and it’s not tied to anything exterior. No doubt they are beautiful but that is not what makes them confident and everyone that knows them recognizes that they don’t place importance on their exterior. Rather they are confident because they try to live their life by their beliefs and they strive each day to make their Heavenly Father proud of them. The confidence they  have because of that radiates and it draws people to them. They are admired by all that know them and I couldn’t be prouder of them than I am! Their daddy and step-dad is also proud of them too.

Going back to the crown, I personally believe that each of us is born as the spirit child of a Heavenly King (our Heavenly Father) so by divine birthright that makes us royalty. All of us are princes and princesses by birthright with the potential to someday become Heavenly Kings and Queens ourselves. So it makes sense that we should walk around each day with our invisible crowns on our head! And may we act appropriately like the royalty that we are!!!

Last class of the semester

For the last four months I have had the privilege of teaching an amazing group of young adults every Tuesday at the Institute.  I was assigned to teach in Spanish of course the class gospel and provident living to the University students in Santo Domingo. They range between ages 18 to 30 but older people are also welcome to come if they want to.  Anytime I teach this class, I think of my own nephew Alex who lives in El Salvador. He is in this age group and how I wished somehow he was part of my class. These young adults have become like nephews and nieces to me. I have watched them change and mature even during those four months we have spent together.
We have talked about a multitude of topics during the semester, both spiritual in topic as well as temporal. We have laughed together and cried together. I have seen them blossom from not knowing much about our Church since the majority of them are investigators to understanding so much of the gospel of Jesus Christ since the base of everything we teach centers on Him. I am so proud of these young adults and I love every one of them very much. Today was my last class to teach as my time teaching this particular class has come to an end and I am now going to be teaching a different class. It was an emotional day today to say the least. I will miss having all that time with those sweet young people…they are amazing…

Endings are always hard. Letting go of something you care about is hard. But endings are also necessary as they allow for new beginnings to occur. If nothing ever came to an end then nothing new could ever begin. That is what we must remind ourselves of whenever we have to deal with something we love coming to an end as knowing that will help to see us through….

Here is a great poem about the people that come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown

When I  was asked to teach an Institute class I was very surprised because Institute teachers are as perfect as they come. I don't even know anyone who teaches Institute who is divorced so for the past four months, given the fact that I am so thankful for this opportunity given to me,  I went every Tuesday and produced the best possible setting for learning and by doing so I discovered how much I love to teach young adults.

 

making the list and checking it twice!

Today I decide to sit down and find out exactly what I needed to get for people on my list and what a list! I little overwhelmed is an understatement.

Only nine days until Christmas!  It is hard to believe.  This time of year is my very favorite, yet it seems to fly by so quickly each year that I barely am able to appreciate and take in the Christmas spirit.  I am beginning to realize that the only way to take control of appreciating the holidays is to make a conscious decision to not allow oneself to get sucked into the hustle and bustle and chaos going on throughout the holiday month:  First there is the anxiety of trying to find everyone the perfect gift, then there is the stress of researching online to find those gifts that can be delivered on time.  Not to mention the frustration of finding a parking stall at the mall only to stand in endless lines amongst all of the other frustrated shoppers.   It sounds sad to say that it takes a conscious effort to slow yourself down at Christmas, but the fact is that it does.  And so this year I am determined to try and handle the holiday season differently.   And so I have come up with a plan:

I plan to finish my shopping up quickly and without stressing over finding the perfect gift.  Instead I am going to put less stress on what the gift is and more emphasis and making sure the person I give the gift to is able to feel how much I care.

I plan to spend some time quietly contemplating the many blessings in my life so I don’t ever take any of those blessings for granted.  I think this time of year is a fantastic time to sit and write down each of the blessings we have in our lives as a keepsake to look back on in future years. I plan to start early thinking of service projects my faith in God class can do for others for Christmas so our hearts and minds are more focused on the true meaning of Christmas from the start of the month.

And for icing on the holiday spirit cake I plan to listen to plenty of Christmas carols, I took our  Christmas cd box that is full of beautiful music and have been listening to them every day. I also love Christmas movies: “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas” starring Jimmy Stewart and if you haven’t seen it you absolutely need to!  It is the best movie ever to get you in the right Christmas spirit).

Yes, this month I intend to truly enjoy and cherish the Christmas season – and I realize that it is my attitude and my focus that will make that happen.  

 It is especially important for me to remember that I control my attitude and focus – especially when this will be my very first Christmas with Daniel’s family in Uruguay. We will have to call in or skype our kids and grandkids on Christmas day and I am so looking forward to that. Last year my girls were in town and it was perfect!  It is amazing how powerful the desire is to be with family during the holidays and it makes my heart go out to all of those people who don’t get to be around their family or loved ones during the holiday.  And so to deal with the hole in my heart I will focus my attention on doing service for others for others.  I have found that doing service for others is about the very best cure there is for loneliness.  And there is no better time than Christmas to go the extra mile in doing service for others.  I hope all of us are able to set aside the typical stresses and anxieties that so often plague us this time of year and focus on the things that really matter. Our family!

 

The Traditional Christmas devotional

Today was a Christmas devotional for all the temple workers. What I like about the DR that is different from other areas I have lived, people here go to these things. Anything that is planned get full of people each time.  The people here like to attend devotionals. It was wonderful, the bell children choir performed, the couple of missionary tenors sang, people spoke and there was a story told about a holiday tradition which was published in 1982.

For the Man Who Hated Christmas   -by Nancy W. Gavin

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas–oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it–overspending… the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma—the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears.

It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved kids – all kids – and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition–one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn’t end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down the envelope.

Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit will always be with us.

This true story was originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman’s Day magazine. It was the first place winner out of thousands of entries in the magazine’s “My Most Moving Holiday Tradition” contest in which readers were asked to share their favorite holiday tradition and the story behind it. The story inspired a family from Atlanta, Georgia to start The White Envelope Project and Giving101, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the importance of giving.

That story touched my heart because I also had a kind hearted husband at one time who hated Christmas so we would go to Mexico to do subs for Santa. What a great story and what a great tradition! I love the way it spread to the children and I think it is an awesome tradition for all of us to implement in our own homes. I am also trying to think of traditions we could start as well. It's never too late to start a new tradition and one I will do is to attend a Christmas devotional each year!

 

Christmas activity day party

Today was our activity day Christmas party and what a day this was! I was glad Daniel was here to help me. We had five activities Planned to do:
 First to read in the scriptures of the story of the birth of Jesus to fill out a puzzle and work on some handouts I got from pinterest.
Two, we made a manger
The third thing, we made bookmarks out of old Christmas cards
Number five was to decorate cookies
The last but not least item was to watch a video put out by the church and write down what would be our gift to him. In Spanish is called La Dadiva and had a lot of food to eat and took pictures by the big Christmas tree as a reminder.

Christmas Party with the neighbors

"Today was the day we chose to go visiting teaching. We were able to see two out of three and that worked out fine since I was falling sleep. I hardly slept last night due to insomnia. Later today we went  to the party for the building and sat by a woman who had so many amazing stories to tell about the history of the Dominican Republic. She is over 80 years old and looks amazing. She exercises every day, she has a maid of course but is home alone and does not seemed to mind it. We got talking and she told of all the different places she had lived in including Guatemala as an Ambassador.  she didn't seemed to be very needy for attention or needed anyone. She seemed very happy and content with her life and very satisfied with how her children have turned out. She is very grateful for everything life had to offer even after a divorce and some interesting life trials. She told us how in time of Trujillo a dictator here in the DR, how she ended up in jail for a week and that her father is a famous man who a street here in the City is named after him. Amazing! She reminded me of a blog post I saw once by Amy Anderson explaining how there is a difference between judging and staying away from trouble. I found the her post very interesting and this is what she said:
Judging other people – Everyone is guilty of it as some point or another.  Many times it happens in small subconscious ways where we find ourselves judging someone without even realizing it.   Many times judgments are made based on a person’s appearance, an outfit, a car they drive, the job they do, or the house they live in.  There are countless external factors that people use to pass judgment about other people.  In addition to those there are often judgments made when someone is seen to be in a hurry, or a bad mood, or when they are simply quiet.  The problem with judging a person is that in order to do so fairly we would have to have all of the facts.  And without having an entire picture, it is impossible for us to make a fair assessment about them.  We have to remember that so often there is additional evidence of things that we are not aware of to which would need to be taken into account to give us the full picture of another person.  For example, the person who rushes past us could be rushing to get to a hurt child or loved one?  And perhaps the person who is quiet has just lost someone from their life and to speak would cause them to cry so they choose to stay quiet for a time?

But what about situations where a person is abusive or mean or hurtful?  Don’t we have to judge a person in that regard for our own protection or the protection of someone we love?    That is a question that I think many of us have asked and many of us have struggled with answering.  Especially if we were raised to value Christlike behavior and a belief in forgiving others.  I have spent many years researching that question and trying to come to an understanding of the right way to handle it, so that I could determine how to deal with abusive or unkind people that have been in my own life.  After much study I came to what I believe to be the right way to handle situations like this:   The right thing to do is to focus our attention on judging situations rather than people.  We can (and should) assess when a situation is unhealthy for us and should be avoided in our future, without judging the person that caused it to become unhealthy.  The end result is that you avoid being around that person, but you do so without judging them; you are only judging that the situation isn’t good or right for you.  Thus you were able to make a judgment without judging an individual.  Then we can leave the judging of the person to God himself as we can trust that He has all the knowledge and facts to do so fairly.   The burden of judging another person is removed from our shoulders and we can be at peace knowing that a fair God will be in charge of the judging, of both the other person and of us." I like to think that I am the kind of person anyone can come to me to talk, that I am open minded and very inclusive. At the setting tonight we all came together as a group even when we don't know each other we trust that each person in this building is worthy of our friendship.

With the days before Christmas growing shorter and the list of gift to buy and parties to attend growing longer, I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas season.

December is spelled Stressed!

Saturday is the Christmas activity day on service and the meaning of Christmas. I got so much stuff I could do that I can only imagine how I will fit it all in the hour I have to work with them. Example: making treats for the beggars on the street. Reading the story of Jesus and do like a Posada. Make bookmarks as a craft. Etc. I feel stressed and I shouldn't be so what does an intelligent person do in this case, go on google to find ways of distressing or visit my favorite blogger, Amy Anderson to see what she has written about this topic so here it is, right from the source. Enjoy! 


Today I was feeling the stress of the holiday creep in and I decided that I needed an action list of things I could do to help take the stress off during this holiday season.  Here is the list of ideas I came  up with to help all of us cope with holiday stress:

• Make a to do list of everything that still needs to get done before Christmas Day.  Include the shopping items you still need to buy, the gifts you need to deliver, and the food you need to prepare.  Put everything needing to get done on a single list.  Having it all down will take the burden of remembering everything off your plate and just knowing its written down will help you let go of a little bit of the stress.  Then as you complete each item mark it off your list and each item you mark off will help relieve your stress a little bit more.  One other tip on this – I like to take a photo of the list so I have a picture of it on my iphone as a backup copy in case I leave my list in a grocery cart or something like that – knowing you won’t lose it also helps take some stress off.

• Write down a list of all your negative feelings you are carrying around right now and place it in a metal can and burn it.  Watch as it goes up in flames and as the paper burns to ashes allow all the negative feelings to float away with the smoke as it rises, letting go of the negative once and for all.

• Schedule a pamper session for yourself.  Go get a mani or pedi or a massage or a facial.  Make this an “all about me” hour for you to relax, rejuvenate, and just enjoy a minute to yourself away from the craziness of the holiday.

• Do something silly with a friend or with your kids.  You heard me…silly.  Make a snow angel, build a snowman, have a snowball fight, go sledding, or anything fun you used to enjoy when you were a kid.  Laugh and play and put all your adult worries aside while you enjoy the joy of silly!  Heck go sky diving if it will help you (note my skydiving avatar today…tee hee…)

• Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.  Send an email, or a card, or a text to someone you have lost contact with and let them know you are thinking of them and wanted to wish them a happy holiday season.

• Do an act of service for someone else.  Bake them a plate of goodies, or drop off a gift at their door, or offer to help shovel their snow or tend their child, or just sit and listen to them talk so they know that someone cares.  Big or small, it doesn’t matter.  Just do something.

• Watch a Hallmark Christmas Movie.  Always works to get you in the right mood. You can’t watch too many of these in my opinion.  Love em!

• Sit down with a cup of hot chocolate with loads of whipped cream in front of your Christmas tree with a snuggly blanket and read Dickens book “A Christmas Carol”. What a great way to relax and de-stress.

• Stand under the mistletoe and wait for someone to KISS YOU!  Kissing is a fantastic stress reliever

 Hope that list helps everyone.  I have to say that just coming up with the list of ideas helped me to de-stress a little tonight.  I just needed to remind myself that this is a happy time of year and it doesn’t have to be stressful unless I allow it to get that way.  I have a choice.


Have a stress free day and SMILE cause smiling reduces stress as well ! Now isn't that wonderful! I love all her ideas. She is truly my idol and she speaks right to the heart. I am going to try her sound advice in hopes I don't feel too stressed out. My mom used to be super busy too at this time of the year, running her own business and she would often say: " I do all of this as an offering to Christ" and at that point her stress would go away. I will try that too.

My favorite time of the Year

December month can be crazy but the good thing is that it only comes once a year.

Only 14 days until Christmas! And 9 days till we go to Uruguay. My first time spending Christmas there and I hope it won’t be the last!! I am so excited!!! This is going to be a wonderful Christmas. I know jet setters go to Punta del Este to spend the Holidays because is right on the beautiful ocean and very romantic. It is hard to believe I will be there too!!!  This time of year is my very favorite, yet it seems to fly by so quickly each year that I barely am able to appreciate and take in the Christmas spirit. This year here in the DR I didn’t decorate my apartment because I rather use this time to prepare for my trip. It feels weird not having a Christmas tree, first time I ever do that but my time is so precious right now.

 I am beginning to realize that the only way to take control of ENJOYING the holidays is to make a conscious decision to not allow oneself to get sucked into the hustle and bustle and chaos going on throughout the holiday month:  First there is the anxiety of trying to find everyone the perfect gift, then there is the stress of researching online to find those gifts for the lowest price, not to mention the frustration of finding a parking stall at the mall only to stand in endless lines amongst all of the other frustrated shoppers. I love living in the DR because I don’t shop for things here as much. If I want to send something I buy it on line and get it shipped. I like that!!  It sounds sad to say that it takes a conscious effort to slow yourself down at Christmas, but the fact is that it does.  And so this year I am determined to try and handle the holiday season differently.   And so I have come up with a plan:

I plan to finish my shopping up quickly and without stressing over finding the perfect gift.  Instead I am going to put less stress on what the gift is and more emphasis and making sure the person I give the gift to will be able to feel how much I care. I went on line yesterday and found some gifts to let people know I am thinking of them. I think that is the important thing.

I t probably a little tricky since I  have to think of what to give his family there in Uruguay so I have already started packing since  the very day I knew we were going and finding things from the DR that his family might like. The secret to not going insane in December is to start early but easily said than done.  But one thing for sure is true. I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR NO MATTER WHAT!!

Teaching Institute is the best!!

This is the first time ever that I have not prepared too much so I hope it all goes well with my class. I usually prepare for a whole week since I have discovered how much I enjoy teaching young adults. They are the promise, the builders of nations and the future leaders. One thing I do besides teach is to give them extra things I learned myself as I have grown older so they don't make those same mistakes.  I feel you not only learned by knowledge of things from textbooks but also by experience. There is a list of things I once saw at a psychologist office during a hard time in my life where I would seek professional help that has always stuck by me. Especially number one. I never forgot that one because it referred to who you choose to marry.

We each may have our own definition of what the word success means to us in our lives, but I believe that success is something that each of us strive for. Figuring out how to achieve success has been the topic of countless books and articles throughout time. One particular article that I thought had great suggestions on achieving success was written by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. In his article he gave 21 suggestions for success, which are as follows:

I love his view of how to achieve success in life. To me success isn’t about money or fame or title, its about having good character. It’s about living your life with integrity and love and being a person you can feel proud of when each day is done. That is success in my book. And I think his suggestions are awesome ways to work toward that. I am really grateful I came across his article as it was truly inspiring.

 During my time teaching I also talked about those things since the class was designed to teach ways to be successful.
21 Suggestions for Success:
* Marry the right person. This decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
* Work at something you enjoy that's worthy of your time and talent.
*Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
*Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
*Be forgiving of yourself and others.
* Be generous.
* Have a grateful heart.
*Persistence, persistence, persistence
*Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
*Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
*Commit yourself to constant improvement.
* Commit yourself to quality.
*Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
* Be loyal.
* Be honest.
* Be a self-starter.
* Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
*Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
* Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
* Take good care of those you love.
*Don't do anything that wouldn't make your mom proud.


During the course of the class I touched into each one of those suggestions. My favorite is #1 Marry the right person. I do believe this one alone will determine 90% of your happiness and your children's happiness or misery. The Gospel and Provident Living is perhaps one of the most essential classes every young adult should take. I am in love with this class.

Christmas devotional

Today somehow I made the effort of going to the Christmas devotional. This time the employees wanted a basket rather than a dinner plate so they had a few refreshments to give room for each person to get a basket and it turned out great. It is important to do what they want and not what the DTA wants. I like that about Daniel. I remember working for a company that all  they had was a pot lock type lunch on the 23rd and that was it!! It is good that at the office they try to do something nicer.

If I were in Utah I would be spending  some time sitting by our Christmas tree, sipping hot cocoa, and quietly contemplating the many blessings in my life so I don’t ever take any of those blessings for granted.  I think this time of year is a fantastic time to sit and write down each of the blessings we have in our lives as a keepsake to look back on in future years.

I plan to start early thinking of service projects our family can do for others while we are in Uruguay and pray to be able to find those opportunities. It would be easier if we had gone to El Salvador for Christmas but what matters is that our hearts and minds are more focused on the true meaning of Christmas from the start of the month no matter where we find ourselves.

And for icing on the holiday spirit cake I plan to listen to plenty of Christmas carols on the radio and watch countless Hallmark channel cheesy Christmas movies like Elf with Daniel  – that always helps to keep me in that Christmas spirit :) I will post many of my favorite Christmas songs on facebook in hopes that Bianca gets the hint on producing a Christmas album for me.

By the way I highly recommend you to watch “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas” starring Jimmy Stewart and if you haven’t seen it you absolutely need to!  It is the best movie ever to get you in the right Christmas spirit!!

The devotional had words from elder Zivic, the office choir and for the first time the bells directed by Nuria Martinez. They also had a video they showed made by the Church to share with others this season. It found on youtube. He is the Gift!

sick as a dog

I didn't have any energy to get up today to start my day. Very few days are like this. A complete waste! But I must get better if I want to travel to Uruguay attend all the fun parties. My day today was not productive whatsoever. I couldn't get out of bed. I needed the rest and fell asleep just fine and I didn't mind being in bed if my body needed the rest which is opposite of what this blogger wrote but I think she is very entertaining and worth reading:

I DO NOT like being sick! I make the worst sick person EVER!  I am not good at holding still and I am not good at staying in bed….I can’t stand having a day go by when I cannot be productive!  For me, feeling unproductive hurts almost worse than the aches and pains of being sick!  And yet today I have been stuck in bed sick….ALL DAY!  Sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching…you name it…I got it.  I suppose its my own fault for pushing myself so hard the last few weeks, but gosh darn it being sick sucks!  And so before I guzzle a bottle of Nyquil to put myself to sleep for the night I thought it best to FIRST write my blog, since anyone who has seen me on Nyquil will tell you that the last thing I should be doing after I take it is writing anything to anyone :)  …….although I am sure whatever I wrote would end up quite entertaining :)

 It’s funny because as a kid it was a total party to have a cold and need a sick day from school where you got to stay home in bed all day.  It was like the best day ever to a kid!  Mom made you chicken soup and you got to watch cartoons all day…getting to take a sick day was fantastic as a kid!  But as an adult it just doesn’t have the same appeal.  Sure you get to take a day off work, but that just means you will have double the work to do tomorrow! And there is no mom there to bring you chicken soup and cartoon network just doesn’t have the same appeal anymore.  No sick days for adults are just not fun….

 And so to add a little fun to everyone’s life on my sick day I thought I would share a favorite Shel Silverstein poem called Sick that always makes me smile:

 

Sick

 

“I cannot go to school today,”

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

“I have the measles and the mumps,

 A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

 My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

 I’m going blind in my right eye.

 My tonsils are as big as rocks,

 I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox

 And there’s one more–that’s seventeen,

 And don’t you think my face looks green?

 My leg is cut–my eyes are blue–

It might be instamatic flu.

 I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

 I’m sure that my left leg is broke–

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

 My belly button’s caving in,

 My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,

 My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.

 My nose is cold, my toes are numb.

 I have a sliver in my thumb.

 My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

 I hardly whisper when I speak.

 My tongue is filling up my mouth,

 I think my hair is falling out.

 My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight,

 My temperature is one-o-eight.

 My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

 There is a hole inside my ear.

 I have a hangnail, and my heart is–what?

 What’s that? What’s that you say?

 You say today is. . .Saturday?

 G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

Activiy Days about the family

Today the Primary kids came to the activity days at my house. We decorated cookies and made Christmas ornaments.  Daniel said: why are you putting so much more on your plate when is Christmas? This might sound a little crazy but this is a way I show Jesus I love him buy doing things for others. I was able to watch my friend Tammy's kids and that made me feel good. I don't know about you but I like doing things that make me feel good. This is something that we differ with Daniel. He thinks that a lot of time people are doing service because they have some guilt complex and they do it for themselves more than for others and maybe that is true to some extent but it still feels great so I do it anyway.

Yes, this month I intend to truly ENJOY and CHERISH the Christmas season – and I realize that it is my attitude and my focus that will make that happen.  

 It is especially important for me to remember that I control my attitude and focus – especially when this will be my very first Christmas with Daniels family.  Two of our daughters plan to join us: Vale and Ani if she can find her resident card.   Hopefully a video skype call with the rest of the clan on Christmas day will be wonderful and I am so looking forward to that.  But truth be told, I am missing the grandkids like crazy his month and it is a daily struggle to not have them around, especially with all the Christmas festivities and traditions going on. Last year three of our girls came to visit and it was pure Heaven!!

  It is amazing how powerful the desire is to be with family during the holidays and it makes my heart go out to all of those people who don’t get to be around their family or loved ones during the holiday.  And so to deal with the hole in my heart I will focus my attention on doing service for others, the same way Christ would have us do.  I have found that doing service for others is about the very best cure there is for a sad heart.  And there is no better time than Christmas to go the extra mile in doing service for others. On activity days this month we have talked about the family and how Jesus family had a mom and a dad and he is the example because it has started to get confusing in todays world of so many compositions of dysfunctional families. It is important that the children are always told the truth.

I wish all my dear friends an amazing holiday month.   I hope all of us are able to set aside the typical stresses and anxieties that so often plague us this time of year and focus on the things that really matter. OUR FAMILY!!

There should be a yellow steps Day!

There is one place here in the Dominican Republic that I finally got to see exactly where is located so I can take people again when they come visit it us. It is called the yellow steps because there is a stair that goes up to the shops. There is a guy there people know by the name of Fredy and he was charging so much, for stuff I have bought before for about half. Another time  I will go see him and show him what I bought for $20.00 dollars only six months ago. Now he is charging three times more for the same stuff.  I took sister Corbitt who needed to buy things for Christmas.

 

I cannot believe it is already December!!!  Only a few Days left until Christmas!  But if you think Christmas is the only exciting holiday this month – think again! The month of December is full of some memorable and wacky celebration days.  Let’s look at a few between December 1 and Christmas Day.  Celebrate each one of these special days with your friends and loved ones and the children.  It is a fun way to entertain everyone while they wait for the big Christmas Day to arrive!!

December 1^st – Eat a red apple day

December 2^nd – National Fritters Day (make sure you eat a yummy fritter this day!)

December 3^rd – National Roof over your Head Day (a day to give thanks for all the blessings you have in your life, starting with the roof over your head!)

December 4^th – Santa’s List Day! (this is the day Santa goes through to see if you are on his naughty or nice list in preparation for having his elves make your Christmas gifts).

December 5^th – Bathtub Party Day (this day is for taking a long, hot, relaxing bubble bath in your bathtub)

December 6^th – St. Nicholas Day (this is the day to officially celebrate the Christian Saint Nicholas and the life he lived).  Also this day is Mitten Tree Day (the day for young kids to hang a pair of mittens on a Christmas tree).

December 7^th – Letter Writing Day (today is a day to write a hand written letter and send it to someone.  It is a perfect way to let someone know who you care).  It also happens to be National Cotton Candy Day today so celebrate by eating Cotton Candy.

December 8^th – National Brownie Day ( a day to each gooey, chewy, yummy brownies)

December 9^th – Christmas Card Day (this day is to honor Sir Henry Cole of England.  He created the first commercial Christmas card in 1843).

December 10^th – Human Rights Day (this is a day to give special attention to Human Rights issues affecting people throughout the world.  Give time and money to help with these important issues).

December 11^th – National Noodle Ring Day (a day to enjoy yummy noodles – bust out the cans of spaghetti o’s)

December 12^th – National Ding-a-Ling Day (this is the day to “ring your bell” but not a metal bell as you may imagine, no this is a day for normal people to act a little crazy, to cut loose, to be silly and wacky)

December 13^th  – National Ice Cream Day (okay how fabulous is this!!! A day to celebrate ice cream!  How fabulous! )

December 14^th – National Bouillabaisse Day (this is a day to enjoy a cup of soup or a bowl of hot stew).

December 15^th – Bill of Rights Day (a day to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in America).  Oh, and today is also National Lemon Cupcake Day so while you are celebrating your freedoms be sure to eat a delicious lemon cupcake.

December 16^th – National Chocolate Covered Anything Day (today is the day to cover everything and anything in chocolate.  This is going to be my mother’s favorite day of the month!  She is a true chocolate lover.)

December 17^th – National Maple Syrup Day (whip up some pancakes and cover them in maple syrup, this is for sure Daniel's favorite thing to do with dulce de leche.)

December 18^th – Bake Cookies Day (which fits perfectly with the need to make cute decorated Christmas cookies to take to friends and neighbors)

December 19^th – Today is Look for an Evergreen Day and Oatmeal Muffin Day (so go find a Christmas tree and then celebrate your perfect tree with a little oatmeal muffin)

December 20^th – Go Caroling Day (put on your warm coat and gloves and go out and sing carols to every house that will open their door for you).

December 21^st – Look on the Bright Side Day (this is a day to be optimistic and to look for the bright side of every situation.  It is also the shortest day of the year, winter solstice.  Ironically today is also Humbug Day (a day for grumpy people to complain about the holidays).  So I suppose today we will find out who the positive happy people are and who the grumpy negative people are.

December 22^nd – National Date Nut Bread Day (shoot…..a day to celebrate fruit cake…ouch…I can’t stand fruit cake….but for those who like it today is your day to celebrate)

December 23^rd – Roots Day (today is a day to celebrate your roots, your ancestors, where you came from.  It is a day to look back and learn about your family tree by doing genealogy and reading family histories.  If you need a good website to do research on your family history try going to www.familysearch.org )

December 24^th – Christmas Eve and National Egg Nog Day.  (this would make Brooks very happy a day on Christmas eve celebration with lots of egg nog!)

December 25^th – CHRISTMAS!

So you see, there are 25 days of fun things to celebrate this month.  May we all head into this month with the spirit of charity and love and kindness in our hearts.  May we all let go of past hurts, mend broken relationships, express our love to all, and truly celebrate each day of this month.

Besitos,

Vero

When a loved one dies

Today I saw on facebook that the Alcantara's are mourning the loss of their grand-mother. I remember her a few years ago when  I went to visit their home and only three years ago, their father passed away suddenly. This past year my girls experienced the death of their grandmother too and I know this is going to be a hard Christmas for the Van Leeuwen family since it will be the first Christmas without Shirley which makes me want to talk to my mother more. She called today from El Salvador and while she was talking I thought, how fortunate we are to still have her around. A blogger wrote this about this subject that I want to also share:


"For many people the holiday season is the happiest time of year, but for many people who have lost someone they love to death it can also be an incredibly difficult time of year. I was reminded of this over the last several days as a dear friend of mine lost his father and then my little brother lost one of his best friends.

 Losing someone you love hurts, a lot. It’s a pain that never really goes away, it just becomes a little more bearable as time goes on. And even if your religious believes are that you will see that person again someday in the eternities (which helps tremendously and I am so grateful for that testimony), there is still the hurt of dealing with missing someone during the rest of your time here on this earth. It’s missing the little things about them – their smile, the inside jokes you shared with each other, their hugs, the way they laughed, the way they listened and understood you, walking together, crying together, celebrating life’s important moments together, praying together, and a million other little things about that person that brought you into your life.  It’s simply missing all of those things. That’s hard, and it aches in your heart. I know from losing grandparents that passed as well as a best friend that died unexpectedly. I miss each of them dearly and there isn’t a day that goes by that they don’t have a part of my heart.

 I think it is only natural that the times we miss them the most are the times where family and friends who felt like family typically come together to celebrate with each other, like the Christmas holiday season (I include Hanukkah, Diwali, and every other religious holiday during this season of the year that people are celebrating around the world). This time of year inspires us to think of family and friends so it is to be expected that we feel more love toward those still living and more loss for those who aren’t with us.

 I don’t have the perfect solution for how to deal with the hurt of loss during this season but I will share a few things that have helped me personally to cope with it:

 *Doing something special “in memory of” a person you lost during the holiday brings me tremendous peace and helps me feel closer to the person who died. Think of something that meant a lot to the person you lost and do an act of service in their name that they would have been excited about. For example if the person loved to read you could collect children’s books and place a sticker in the front of each book saying it is donated in loving memory of the person’s name that has passed on and then deliver those to a local children’s hospital. If they loved teddy bears you could collect and donate those, if they loved playing games you could collect games and take them to a hospital or rest home, and so on.

 *If the person that passed was someone who was known for helping others you could set a goal for yourself to help someone in need every day this month in honor of your friend that passed.

 *For part of your Christmas Eve celebration you could incorporate a new tradition of having each person share a favorite story of the person who passed on every year so you are including the memory of that person in your annual tradition.

 *If the person who passed had a favorite dish you could serve it each year at your celebration in memory of them.

 *Go shopping and buy a gift that the person who passed on would have loved you to give to them for Christmas and then give it to a person in need.

 I think the most helpful thing for dealing with it is to include their memory as part of the celebration, not in a sad way, but in a joyful and celebratory way. Make it a happy tradition about them. That is what helps me get through the sadness of missing the person and maybe it will help some of you as well. I would also welcome any of you who have come up with ways to help you get through sadness of loss during the holidays to post your ideas in the comments. If they help even one person out their going through this it will be worth every second it took you to post it, I promise.

With love and encouragement,"

I love how the girls got together this thanksgiving and cooked some of her recipes to honor her. I knew Shirley since 1980 when I was going out with her son and was invited to her home that  thanksgiving. That is almost 35 years ago.  I saw her for the last time at Mandy's wedding and I will never forget her last words to me.  "Veronica, I want you to know that I am very sorry for what happened to you" and I said: "Don't worry Shirley, I'm o.k."  As awkward as it was having to face the Van Leeuwens, her last words helped me feel better because somehow I realized that she cared about me.