In the US this weekend people celebrate Memorial Day. It's the day we remember those men and women who died in the military. It has also become a day to honor those who were near and dear to our hearts that have passed on.
I remember going to visit the graves of people like Ada Rich, George and Blake. We would place place flowers, or flags on their graves to remember them during this holiday to show respect and appreciation. It was hard to drive by a cemetery during this holiday as you saw the flowers and flags everywhere across the cemetery. It's heartwarming to see the outpouring of love and it's sad at the same time to think of how missed those loves one are.
I have a friend and former neighbor, Laurie Fox who's son served in the military and died during an accident while he was in training. What a tragedy this was for the Fox family. My deepest appreciation for this brave young man and for those they leave behind to mourn.
We all experience the death of a loved one sooner or later. Today we learned of a passing of Elder Bowen's grandchild. I can only imagine the sadness these sweet family must be experiencing. Our thought and prayers are with them and with those out there who are mourning the loss of a loved one.
The nice thing about Memorial Day is that it causes us to reflect on the amazing people who have given so much to protect our land and it is also the time when we remember our dear loved ones who have passed on. Today I thought about my grandmother Hilda who would have turned 92 today. Happy birthday mami Hilda. I do miss you and hope you are celebrating your day with mami Tonita, papi Carlos, tio Julio, Julito and tio Carlos.
Con amor,
Vero
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Making Memories
We are two weeks away from going on another trip to the US and one thing I have found in my life is that if you don't make a plan in advance to do something fun, an incredible trip can come and go and you'll find you didn't make any great memories at all! What a shame that would be!!
The best thing about memories is making them... so today being a slow Saturday, we are making plans of what we want to do and where we want to go when we get there to Utah. We want to make sure we have a plan in place for some fun activities with the grandkids that will allow us to make great memories together that will be treasured forever. We do have to spend money on travel but other than that we are going to be staying mostly with family. The plans don't have to be complicated or expensive. Sometimes the best memories of all come from the simplest activities.
I am sure we are going to have a BBQ with the kids on father's day.
We can also go on a picnic at one of the parks.
Go swimming in a pool our condo at City Creek has a good pool.
I will check the paper to see what free events are taking place.
Go on a hike to one of the beautiful canyons.
Have a movie afternoon and out to pizza afterwards.
Remember that the people you do things with makes all the difference so surround yourself with people you love and make a plan today to do something fun while we are in town although Daniel loves simplicity and be with family.
Have a fantastic memorial weekend!
Vero
The best thing about memories is making them... so today being a slow Saturday, we are making plans of what we want to do and where we want to go when we get there to Utah. We want to make sure we have a plan in place for some fun activities with the grandkids that will allow us to make great memories together that will be treasured forever. We do have to spend money on travel but other than that we are going to be staying mostly with family. The plans don't have to be complicated or expensive. Sometimes the best memories of all come from the simplest activities.
I am sure we are going to have a BBQ with the kids on father's day.
We can also go on a picnic at one of the parks.
Go swimming in a pool our condo at City Creek has a good pool.
I will check the paper to see what free events are taking place.
Go on a hike to one of the beautiful canyons.
Have a movie afternoon and out to pizza afterwards.
Remember that the people you do things with makes all the difference so surround yourself with people you love and make a plan today to do something fun while we are in town although Daniel loves simplicity and be with family.
Have a fantastic memorial weekend!
Vero
Friday, May 27, 2016
Luncheon with the ladies
Today was the last time we could meet with Jeana Hill who leaves the Philippines for good tomorrow. I remember how hard it was for us when we said good bye to so many people in the DR and now they are doing the same thing here.
It was also Caroline's birthday so we had a chance to celebrate it too. What I love about this visit is that it wasn't rushed. We weren't worried about the time and all of the sudden we realized how we had spend three hours talking. We all had a wonderful time laughing and reminiscing all the great times we went out as friends.
A plus for me was to learn how to make empanada dough. Silvia came to show me. Priceless!
Here is her recipe for Empanada Doug:
Ingredients:
2 C. flour
1 T baking Powder
1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. milk
1/3 C. warm water
Procedure:
Mix the oil, milk and water add the salt and baking powder mix them before adding the four.
Enjoy!
Con amor,
Vero
It was also Caroline's birthday so we had a chance to celebrate it too. What I love about this visit is that it wasn't rushed. We weren't worried about the time and all of the sudden we realized how we had spend three hours talking. We all had a wonderful time laughing and reminiscing all the great times we went out as friends.
A plus for me was to learn how to make empanada dough. Silvia came to show me. Priceless!
Here is her recipe for Empanada Doug:
Ingredients:
2 C. flour
1 T baking Powder
1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. milk
1/3 C. warm water
Procedure:
Mix the oil, milk and water add the salt and baking powder mix them before adding the four.
Enjoy!
Con amor,
Vero
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Temple day!
All day today from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm was temple day for our ward and we were asked to attend any session or several sessions. We were also invited to attend the endowment of three of our sisters and the sealing of a couple. This couple happened to be a famous couple. He is a celebrity, Eric Tais and she, Rona, is a model. It was fun to be present at their sealing because I love listening to what the sealer had to say. In this case it was Elder Ardern.
He first started telling the couple to think of them as if they were Adam and Eve and that they are thrown into the world with no visible communication from the Lord but to always seek His guidance. The same way Adam and Eve did.
To know that they are living in a wicked world that will want to destroy their family but that if they always remember to keep their covenants they made in the temple they would be protected.
To talk to each other and council with each other in all decisions they make. Listen to your wife the way Adam listened to Eve.
To always kneel together as husband and wife morning and night the way Adam and Eve knelt at the altar and like that he went explaining how Adam and Eve are the best examples as a husband and wife. How they were guided by Peter, James and John and how we are guided by the First Presidency. As a gift, I gave the couple Elder Robbins book "Love is a choice" My favorite book on marriage from a dear friend.
Con amor,
Vero
He first started telling the couple to think of them as if they were Adam and Eve and that they are thrown into the world with no visible communication from the Lord but to always seek His guidance. The same way Adam and Eve did.
To know that they are living in a wicked world that will want to destroy their family but that if they always remember to keep their covenants they made in the temple they would be protected.
To talk to each other and council with each other in all decisions they make. Listen to your wife the way Adam listened to Eve.
To always kneel together as husband and wife morning and night the way Adam and Eve knelt at the altar and like that he went explaining how Adam and Eve are the best examples as a husband and wife. How they were guided by Peter, James and John and how we are guided by the First Presidency. As a gift, I gave the couple Elder Robbins book "Love is a choice" My favorite book on marriage from a dear friend.
Con amor,
Vero
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Be Amazing
I saw this yesterday on my Facebook feed and want to share it as well.
"Do you ever have one of those days when you come across something that totally inspires you and makes you want to just be AMAZING?! Well today that happened to me. I came across this quote/poem written by someone named Robin Sharma and I LOVED IT! Just reading it made me want to go out there and conquer the world and do incredible things! Then I realized I had seen it before and even shared a picture of this quote once in a blog. But I don’t care – I am going to share it again typed out because it really helped me today. Here is the quote (prepare to be pumped up and inspired!!!)"
"Do you ever have one of those days when you come across something that totally inspires you and makes you want to just be AMAZING?! Well today that happened to me. I came across this quote/poem written by someone named Robin Sharma and I LOVED IT! Just reading it made me want to go out there and conquer the world and do incredible things! Then I realized I had seen it before and even shared a picture of this quote once in a blog. But I don’t care – I am going to share it again typed out because it really helped me today. Here is the quote (prepare to be pumped up and inspired!!!)"
The Rules For Being Amazing
Risk more than is required.
Learn more than is normal.
Be strong. Show Courage.
Breathe. Excel. Love. Lead.
Speak your truth. Live your values.
Laugh. Cry. Innovate. Simplify.
Adore mastery. Release mediocrity.
Aim for genius. Stay humble.
Be kinder than expected.
Deliver more than is needed.
Exude passion. Shatter your limits. Transcend your fears.
Inspire others by your bigness.
Dream big but start small.
Act now. Don’t Stop.
CHANGE THE WORLD.
—
..." So get out there and do amazing things! Be FEARLESS! And be KIND! And most of all, BE AMAZING!!
It’s going to be an AMAZING DAY! YEEE HAWWW"
~Amy
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Dinner with special guests
Today for the first time we got to have people over for dinner who are not members of the Church. They are Filipinos who own the home we live in. We had told them that we wanted them to see the home after we had moved in but it took over six months for this to actually happened.
At first Daniel and I were a little apprehensive on how to invite them over without making it too awkward since we don't know them and Filipinos are very shy but it all turned out better than expected. They arrived around 6:00 pm like we had agreed on. They brought a new extinguisher for us that we supposed to have in the home. We hope we never need it of course.
We gave them the tour of the home and sat down to eat some refreshments and dessert we had bought for them. Regie Daniel's secretary was also here to help us. We sat around the table and talked about everything from politics to my husbands work to her husbands work, he is a celebrity here in the Philippine. He has a TV show and everybody knows him.
The evening couldn't have turned out better and of course, we also had to break the news to them that we will be moving soon but another family is coming in our place. Toward the end we had chance to talk a little about our missionaries and what they do and what my husband does here too.
I gave the owner a copy of my favorite CD on the life of Christ and I think she enjoyed receiving it because she teaches a class to children and she often uses our videos to teach. We told her that she is welcome to use them anytime and that many denominations also uses them.
I don't remember exactly how long they were here but I think about three hours but the time went by so fast. I hope to invite them again when we move to La Isla and to also invite the Area Presidency and why not, even the Bowmans who will be residing in their home.
Con amor,
Vero
At first Daniel and I were a little apprehensive on how to invite them over without making it too awkward since we don't know them and Filipinos are very shy but it all turned out better than expected. They arrived around 6:00 pm like we had agreed on. They brought a new extinguisher for us that we supposed to have in the home. We hope we never need it of course.
We gave them the tour of the home and sat down to eat some refreshments and dessert we had bought for them. Regie Daniel's secretary was also here to help us. We sat around the table and talked about everything from politics to my husbands work to her husbands work, he is a celebrity here in the Philippine. He has a TV show and everybody knows him.
The evening couldn't have turned out better and of course, we also had to break the news to them that we will be moving soon but another family is coming in our place. Toward the end we had chance to talk a little about our missionaries and what they do and what my husband does here too.
I gave the owner a copy of my favorite CD on the life of Christ and I think she enjoyed receiving it because she teaches a class to children and she often uses our videos to teach. We told her that she is welcome to use them anytime and that many denominations also uses them.
I don't remember exactly how long they were here but I think about three hours but the time went by so fast. I hope to invite them again when we move to La Isla and to also invite the Area Presidency and why not, even the Bowmans who will be residing in their home.
Con amor,
Vero
Monday, May 23, 2016
The Area Plan
(Monday letter)
Hello family:
I am back! We went to the Mission Presidents seminar right
after I got back from the US last weekend and what a treat that was! I love,
love attending those seminars. Every area has an Area Presidency (3 General
Authorities) who prepare the topics discussed in these seminars and the DTA is
invited to attend too. I learned so much each time I go. Let me give you a
little taste of all the things that were discussed.
For starters, The Area Presidency has an Area plan. Do you
know what is the area plan where you live? The Philippines area plan is made up
of three words: Obey, Covenant, Establish and the missionaries in our area need
to know that.
We also have a vision statement: By exercising faith in
Jesus Christ and His Atonement, members will obey the commandments, make honor
and renew sacred covenants and more fully establish the Kingdom of God in the
Philippines.
Obey: We will show our love to God by obeying His
commandments.
Covenant: We will live worthily, receive the blessings of
the temple and be true to our covenants.
Establish: We will build strong, self-reliant,
multigenerational Filipino families and share the joy of the gospel with others.
We will exercise our faith in Jesus Christ and work together
to accomplish His will.
The missionaries here in the Philippines have a lot of
success. People are humble and teachable here but on the other hand it can be a
hard mission because it lacks comforts of life. I love what a statement someone
said in the seminar about missionaries “ …that moment when the missionaries figure
out that it doesn’t have anything to do with them, forget themselves and focus
in those who they are serving and Jesus Christ is when they start to succeed. “
I will continue on some more thoughts next week. All I can
say is that I love missionaries. When you see them, smile at them and give them
a high five!
Con amor,
Vero
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Stake Conference
I keep a journal of what is being discussed each Sunday as I attend Church and today was Stake Conference in our Stake.
When I came in around 10:00 am the missionaries were putting more chairs in the over flow, they even sat people on the stage. This is what I wrote on my journal:
At the stake conference in Buen Dia. Poor Daniel is sick today with a bad cold so he had to stay home. The chapel was full when I arrive so I sat on the last row. The missionaries were busy putting more chairs even up on the stage. The topics covered went from the words from King Benjamin to temple marriage, trust in the Lord, follow the instructions of our leaders , understand the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Area plan and endure to the end.
The one talk that stood out in my mind was from a sister who is a dentist. She said: "I can easily see what is wrong and prescribe to my patients what they need, this is the same with the area plan." Ask yourself what do you need to do to establish the kingdom. What do I lack? The Sabbath day is a sign for us from the Lord. The Sabbath is between me and my Heavenly Father. The Sabbath is a delight!
The Mission President's wife said: " I feel grateful to know that Heavenly Father has a plan. There is a war going on outside, it's a spiritual war. We need to prepare our children. How do those mothers prepared the 2000 Stripling warriors. We learned that the mothers knew it. They obeyed with exactness. When our sons an daughters go on a mission, they leave all the comforts of home as they are thinking of others first. They learn to have courage and be bold.
Temple President: "The temple is not only for the old. The temple is for the young too. We are blessed to have a temple so near. We are surrounded by evil but there we can find refuge. If you have not being scaled to your family, do it while they are alive."
I like to come to Stake Conference because it is one time when you can witness the real growth of the Church. I think there were over 1200 who came to listen to the messages.
When I came in around 10:00 am the missionaries were putting more chairs in the over flow, they even sat people on the stage. This is what I wrote on my journal:
At the stake conference in Buen Dia. Poor Daniel is sick today with a bad cold so he had to stay home. The chapel was full when I arrive so I sat on the last row. The missionaries were busy putting more chairs even up on the stage. The topics covered went from the words from King Benjamin to temple marriage, trust in the Lord, follow the instructions of our leaders , understand the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Area plan and endure to the end.
The one talk that stood out in my mind was from a sister who is a dentist. She said: "I can easily see what is wrong and prescribe to my patients what they need, this is the same with the area plan." Ask yourself what do you need to do to establish the kingdom. What do I lack? The Sabbath day is a sign for us from the Lord. The Sabbath is between me and my Heavenly Father. The Sabbath is a delight!
The Mission President's wife said: " I feel grateful to know that Heavenly Father has a plan. There is a war going on outside, it's a spiritual war. We need to prepare our children. How do those mothers prepared the 2000 Stripling warriors. We learned that the mothers knew it. They obeyed with exactness. When our sons an daughters go on a mission, they leave all the comforts of home as they are thinking of others first. They learn to have courage and be bold.
Temple President: "The temple is not only for the old. The temple is for the young too. We are blessed to have a temple so near. We are surrounded by evil but there we can find refuge. If you have not being scaled to your family, do it while they are alive."
I like to come to Stake Conference because it is one time when you can witness the real growth of the Church. I think there were over 1200 who came to listen to the messages.
Con amor,
Vero
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Life is full of imperfect things and people
I saw this story on a Facebook post by someone Anonymous and
thought what a loving husband this is so I have to share.
"When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for
dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made
breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom
placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my
dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!
All my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me
how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do
remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He
ate every bite of that thing…never made a face nor uttered a word about it!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom
apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he
said, “Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if
he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your
Mom put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides–a little
burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”
As I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about that many times. Life is
full of imperfect things and imperfect people.
I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and
anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I’ve learned over the years is
that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each
other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy,
growing, and lasting relationship.
And that’s my prayer for you today…that you will learn to take the
good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God.
Because in the end, He’s the only One who will be able to give you a
relationship where a burnt biscuit isn’t a deal-breaker!
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is
the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or
friendship!
“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket–keep
it in your own.”
So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just
fine."
Con amor,
Vero
Con amor,
Vero
Friday, May 13, 2016
In Manila for a few hours
I got back last night from my trip to Utah. I left on Wednesday April 27th for two weeks. I am amazed of how much I was able to do while I was there including:
*Attended the Women's Conference on April 28th and 29th.
*Sent Analia her birthday gift.
*Took Paola to see the Dermatologist on April 28th and spent time with both Mandy and Paola.
*Went out to look at a home with Mandy and Spencer but it was already under contract.
*Visited Andres and family in their new home on Saturday with Valentina.
*Attended the Bountiful ward on May 1st (a fast and testimony meeting)
*Visited the Merkleys who invited me for dinner.
*Helped Bianca with the girls for four days while Joe went out of town.
*Got the application started to refinance our two homes in Utah.
*Got to solved the issues pertaining to Daniel travel log to finish our taxed for 2015.
*Paid 50% deposit for the fence in the home in Bountiful.
*Got to talk to the owner at RPM to terminate the contract we had with them for the past four years.
*Helped Paola moved from USU and help her store her things with the Allreds.
*Had the cousins over for dinner, Hilda and Margie on Wed. May 4th
*For lunch with Bianca's sister in laws , Cristi, Mandy and Monica on May 5th in the Social room.
*Attended Mandy's and Spencer's graduation on May 6th early in the morning on May 6th.
*Helped with the graduation celebration at Spencer's parents home.
*Got to spend some quality time with the girls and grandkids. Got mother's day gifts for the girls.
*Got Spencer and Mandy their iPad as a graduation gift.
*Went to Chachis for dinner on Friday May 6th (a nice friend reunion with our girls and husbands.)
*stayed up all night on May 6th to get the apartment ready for the Cooks.
*Bianca took me to the airport On Saturday May 7th bound to Orlando.
*Spent four glorious days with my mother, two sisters and nephew which included:
*Attending their ward Mother's day celebration and gave my mother her check.
*Attended their Church on Sunday to celebrate Mother's day.
*Went to visit tia Norma who had surgery and took dinner to her.
*Went to Macy's to their annual sale.
Daniel was a little worried how much money I spent on this one trip but it was all well worth it!
The only problem with doing so much and not resting enough is that I got sick once again with a bad cold that has turned into asthma.
This morning I am about to take off again to get on another plane that will take us to Cebu to attend a Mission Presidents seminar which starts on Tuesday May 17th to Friday May 20th but Daniel needs to come there before to look at some properties in Cebu. This means I will write back when I get back by May 21st.
*Attended the Women's Conference on April 28th and 29th.
*Sent Analia her birthday gift.
*Took Paola to see the Dermatologist on April 28th and spent time with both Mandy and Paola.
*Went out to look at a home with Mandy and Spencer but it was already under contract.
*Visited Andres and family in their new home on Saturday with Valentina.
*Attended the Bountiful ward on May 1st (a fast and testimony meeting)
*Visited the Merkleys who invited me for dinner.
*Helped Bianca with the girls for four days while Joe went out of town.
*Got the application started to refinance our two homes in Utah.
*Got to solved the issues pertaining to Daniel travel log to finish our taxed for 2015.
*Paid 50% deposit for the fence in the home in Bountiful.
*Got to talk to the owner at RPM to terminate the contract we had with them for the past four years.
*Helped Paola moved from USU and help her store her things with the Allreds.
*Had the cousins over for dinner, Hilda and Margie on Wed. May 4th
*For lunch with Bianca's sister in laws , Cristi, Mandy and Monica on May 5th in the Social room.
*Attended Mandy's and Spencer's graduation on May 6th early in the morning on May 6th.
*Helped with the graduation celebration at Spencer's parents home.
*Got to spend some quality time with the girls and grandkids. Got mother's day gifts for the girls.
*Got Spencer and Mandy their iPad as a graduation gift.
*Went to Chachis for dinner on Friday May 6th (a nice friend reunion with our girls and husbands.)
*stayed up all night on May 6th to get the apartment ready for the Cooks.
*Bianca took me to the airport On Saturday May 7th bound to Orlando.
*Spent four glorious days with my mother, two sisters and nephew which included:
*Attending their ward Mother's day celebration and gave my mother her check.
*Attended their Church on Sunday to celebrate Mother's day.
*Went to visit tia Norma who had surgery and took dinner to her.
*Went to Macy's to their annual sale.
Daniel was a little worried how much money I spent on this one trip but it was all well worth it!
The only problem with doing so much and not resting enough is that I got sick once again with a bad cold that has turned into asthma.
This morning I am about to take off again to get on another plane that will take us to Cebu to attend a Mission Presidents seminar which starts on Tuesday May 17th to Friday May 20th but Daniel needs to come there before to look at some properties in Cebu. This means I will write back when I get back by May 21st.
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