ABC baby book

One of the things I love doing is the ABC book I started making when Manuelito was born over eight years ago, Up to this point I have done over 10 of these books, including:  Manuel Da Silva, Lily Frey, Joseph Almeida, Nixon Dame, Beckett, Dame, Charlotte Almeida, Graeme Almeida, Christopher Krone, Owen Almeida and the last one I made was for Tiago Almeida. Next in line are: Ruby Merkley, Asher Dame, Norah Merkley and Oliver Krone. I love, love those babies with all my heart and for me those simple teaching found in that little book are so true and is what I want them to always remember even when they get old.

I do one when they turn a year old so they can use in Church as a baby book. I don't know how many do appreciate this thing that I do but I want those kids to know how much I do care about the things I believe in and hopefully one day, they will also believe too. That is part of my legacy.
This is a gospel ABC book and it starts with:

A is for Angels and I do believe in the ministering of angels in 3 Nephi 17:18-25 we read: When Jesus appeared to the people in the Book of Mormon, he blessed the children then angels descended and encircled the little one and ministered unto them.

B is for Baptize: I remember when I got baptized, a day I will never forget. When we turn 8 years old we can be baptized like Jesus was baptized. (Matthew 3:13-17 )

C is for Church: I always have a happy feeling when I go to Church D&C 59: 9-10, Mosiah 2:4

D is for Daddy: Malachi 4:6 and I add the quote" Anyone can be a father but it takes someone special to be a daddy"

E is for Eternity: Mommy and daddy were sealed in the temple for time and eternity and we are an eternal family. D&C 132:19 (  all the children have been sealed in the temple. )

F is for Family: In the temple, families are sealed together for time and eternity. D&C 132:19

G is for Grandparents: (This should be easy except when the grandparents are divorced )

H is for Healing: Jesus healed the sick (Mark 1:31)

I  is for Israel: When Jesus was on earth he lived in a place called Israel. He loved to teach the people and took special time to talk to the children.(Matthew 5)

J is for Jesus Christ: Jesus loves us very much. He has made it possible of us to someday live with Heavenly Father again, (Romans 8:39, D&C 14:7)

K is for Kneeling: Jesus showed us how to pray. When we kneel down to say our prayers it shows Heavenly Father we love and respect him. (Luke 22: 41-44, Romans 8: 39)

L is for Love: Jesus loves the little children, "Little children like me" (Mark 10: 13-16)

M is for Mommy: Alma 47:21 and I also add" Everything I am and hope to be I owe it to my angel mother."

N is for Nephites: Jesus came to visit the Nephites in the land of Bountiful 3 Nephi 11

O is for Obedience: Jesus disciples obeyed him to become fishers of men. I will obey his commandments too. (Matt. 4: 19)

P is for Prophet: We have a prophet on the earth today. His name is Thomas S. Monson. he tells us what Heavenly Father and Jesus wants us to know. (Alma 3:7)

Q is for quiet: Today, dear father, I will show how quiet I can be, to thank thee for the many things, that thou hast given me. (CS 27)

R is for Resurrection: Jesus was crucified, but three days later, he rose again. He made it possible for all of us to be resurrected. (John 11:25, Alma 33: 22)

S  is for scriptures: Reading the scriptures teaches us about Jesus, and all the things we need to do to live with him again. (Mosiah 1:7)

T is for tithing: We pay 10% of the money we earn to the Church. The money helps build temples and Churches all over the world. (D&C 119: 4) this is one I am 100% sure it works!

U is for Utah: The pioneers left their homes and came to settle in the State of Utah.

V is for Vision: Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and jesus Christ in the First Vision. (JSH 1:27)

W is for Word of Wisdom: We can take care of our bodies by eating good food and staying away from strong drinks, tobacco and other bad things. (D&C 89)

X is for Exaltation: Exaltation is eternal life, the kind of life which God lives in the highest degree of the Celestial kingdom. Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus left his Apostles and ascended into heaven in a cloud to be exalted by the right hand of God.

Y is for you: Heavenly Father made you special. There is no one else like you.

Z is for Zion: Enoch was a prophet. Many people listened to his words and built the city of Zion. They were righteous and lived in peace, sharing all they had. They became so righteous that the whole city was taken up to heaven without tasting death to live forever in the presence of God.
(Moses: 7: 18-21)

So there you have it. That is the end of my Gospel ABC Book that I give to all my grandchildren as soon as they turn one because it is never too early to teach them gospel truths. Now that I finished Ruby's and Asher's it's time to start packing. Yay!! I can't wait!!

Con amor,
Vero

Found a gem!

Today in Church the Bowmans took the Sunday School part of the meeting to talk to us about doing Family History. As a ward, we need to submit 90 names. Leigh Ann is so crafty and talented. She made a cute chart of a tree with branches and leaves and each time we submit a name they place a leaf on the tree. I decided to look up someone who might have a picture of my great-grandfather that no one ever knew. His name was Fidel Melara and is my grandmother's father. Sometime I wonder if up in heaven they are spending time together that never got to spend here on earth. My grandmother didn't know her father all that well since he was never part of her life.

Well so today as I was looking up some posts of Facebook I came across one woman I knew back when I was a teenager. Betty Melara. She is a distant cousin and one I knew might have some information.  She lived in the same neighborhood we lived and she might have a photo of my great-grandfather so I wrote her a message on Messenger and she answered. We chatted for a while and she even sent me a photo. I am the first person who own a picture of my great-grandfather. I will be working on his line from now on.

I am so happy for this find. It feel so good to be able to connect with people you share grandparents. I also found out that a sister of Mama Hilda is still alive. Her name is Regina and she looks great! I will contact them next month when I come to El Salvador. I hope to find names to give the Bowmans and to take Family History a little more serious.

Con amor,
Vero

You are worthy of rescue.

I was asked to teach a class tomorrow so I am preparing for it. The lesson is on a talk by President Uchtdorf. "He will place you in your shoulders and carry you home. "

I love preparing for this class. I got the Lost sheep segment video to show and pictures of the before and after of the City of Dresden that President Uchdorf talks about. I got the cute bookmarks and I decided the talk into 12 parts for people to participate. I think I am ready!

President Uchdorf compare the city of Dresden that was once destroyed by war is now again restores into a beautiful place. He stated: " If a man can take the ruins, rubble, and remains of a broken city and rebuild an awe-inspiring structure that rises toward the heavens, how much more capable is our Almighty Father to restore His children who have fallen, struggled , or become lost?

The joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and restored to purity, but we can also transcend mortal imagination and become heirs of eternal life and partakes of God's indescribable glow...""..

To me the parable of the lost sheep is one of the most hopeful passages in all of scripture. Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears. It matters not how you became lost. What matters is that you are His child and He loves you. He loves His children.

What must we do? His invitation is simple: Turn to me... Come to me... draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you...it requires a little faith. But do not despair, if you cannot master faith right now, begin with hope. If you cannot say you know God is there, you can hope that He is. Your can desire to believe. That is enough to start. Over time, you will recognize His hand your life. You will feel His love. And the desire to walk in His light and follow His way will grow wit every step of faith you take. We call these steps of faith obedience. ..

This is not a popular word these days. But obedience is a cherished concept in the gospel of Jesus Christ because we know that "through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel... Obedience is the lifeblood of faith. It is by obedience that we gather light into our souls...Here on earth, however, our thought and actions become encumbered with that which is corrupt, unholy and impure. The dust and filth of the world stain our souls. making it difficult to recognize and remember our birthright and purpose. But all this cannot change who we truly are. The fundamental divinity of our nature remains. And the moment we choose to incline our hearts to our beloved Savior and set foot upon the path of discipleship, something miraculous happens. The love of God fills our hearts, the light of truth fills our minds, we start to lose the desire to sin, and we do not want to walk any longer in darkness.

We come to see obedience not as a punishment but as a liberating path to our divine destiny. Any gradually, the corruption, dust, and limitations of this earth begin to fall away. Eventually, the priceless, eternal spirit of the heavenly being within us is revealed, and radiance of goodness becomes our nature. You are worthy of rescue! "

Con amor,
Vero

Blue Man Group

Yesterday we went to see the Blue Man group who performed for the first time in the Philippines at the Salaire Theatre in Manila. I remember seeing them in New York. Their brochure advertisement claimed: "The Blue Man group is a comedy, theatre, rock concert and dance party all rolled into one. The group is one of a kind." So I knew more less what they were about.

The brochure clearly states:
"An explosion of comedy music and Fun"
"35,000 million have seen them. Now it's your turn."
"Dare to olive in full color"
"You'll have so much fun, you'll lose your mind." Boston Globe
"So much fun it must be experienced to be believed." Chicago Tribune

This group comes well recommended to say the least. They have many special effects and is very creative. The three  men in the group play instruments but  don't say a single word during the entire show. They only make eye contact staring at each other.

We went with the Area Presidency to see the show, recommended by Deb Haynie. Lynette Bowen had purchased the tickets for the night before but didn't realized they were booked precisely on the Wednesday  that it was in the evening when the Area Presidency and Daniel had their report to the area committee which includes the Quorum of the Twelve. We had to exchange those tickets for the next day but had to pay a higher price. The cost per ticket went from $75.00 to $120.00 per ticket.  OUCH !!

But in the end we had a fantastic time together as a group. and discovered a new beautiful venue and had an amazing dinner at an Italian restaurant, the "Finestra."  This restaurant was a good value too. What a great find!  It is not so much what you do but who you do it with! The next morning Daniel had to get up super early because he had another video conference with the people in Salt Lake and the Area Presidency all left to go to Salt Lake to attend conference.

This was one memorable evening to remember not because of the show or the restaurant we ate at but because of the wonderful company.

Con amor,
Vero

Equinox

I remember when I lived in Utah this day on September 22nd when it made it officially the first day of Autumnal was a depressing day for me. I don't like the cold weather but that was my fault. Why? because of all those years I lived there, I never went up the mountains to learn how to ski. I learned the hard way that if you going to live in Utah, that is a must you need to do or you will be miserable. 

I decided to learn to ski a little too late in life at age 50 and it's not the same. I am more scare to do things like that than if I had been i my twenties or thirties. Lesson learned. For those out there who never had gone skiing, do it! You will enjoy Winters a lot more than I did. From here on out the temperatures will begin to drop for people who live in Utah or just about anyplace North in the United States and the days start getting shorter than the nights. 

 Autumn is officially upon us! but now that I live far away where there is no Fall Season to speak of, I have to admit that there are many things I absolutely love about the Fall Season. I love seeing all the leaves changing color. My husband loves taking drives up the canyons to see the amazing colors in Utah. For him this is his favorite thing to do, for him, that is the best! Come to think of it, I also love some things about the Fall: I love pumpkin flavored everything, the breads, the cookies, the seeds, I love all the fall parties and black tie events and galas I used to attend as the Honorary Consul.  I even love eating some Candy Corn and all that candy you get at Halloween. 

I love yummy caramel apples and homemade apple cider, and apple pie, and apple everything, I love a large Vanilla Steamed Milk with Whipped Cream on it from Starbucks on a cool morning, or making some abuelita hot chocolate, so so good… I love a bowl of warm soup for lunch with a pile of saltine crackers, I love starting to plan for Halloween decorations…and costumes, I love lighting a fire in the fireplace, I love starting to plan for the holidays Oh, and I can’t forget finding cute new fall clothes, and cute fall boots, gotta love that !!

 Yes I have always loved fall season but for some reason I always thought I hated it until I met my husband who loves Fall especially because it was in the Fall when we got married. When you think of it,  there is usually an excitement and an energy in the air.  The kids are back in school, everyone is home from summer vacations and ready to hit the ground running, and there is just this anticipation of the season ahead.  I have a feeling this Fall is going to be amazing even when we are in the Philippines. I will make this Fall season here on the other side of the world be fantastic! 

How is going to be fantastic? We are going to Utah next week for starters and we plan to do our Christmas in October that we do some years and this year we have plan to do it. It's a way of telling the kids we think of you often and here is a git for you so you can remember us too!!

Con amor,

Vero

What we learn from ants

Today I went to a baby shower in the morning, then to a meeting at Daniel's work and a presentation at a Physical facilities training. I love it when my husband shares his thoughts because there is so much wisdom when he speaks to the employees. Those employees reminded me of this story I heard.   


A group of scientists decided to investigate what subterranean cities, created by a colony of ants, looked like. These scientists poured cement for three days until 10 tons of cement had been poured down the tubes of the ant farm. Once the cement had set they began to excavate the underground city created by these ants. They had to remove tons of earth. There were highways connecting the chambers with side roads that led to many gardens and garbage pits. The tunnels had been built by the ants to provide good ventilation and to provide the shortest transport routes to the surface. It looks like the city had been designed by an architect, but it wasn’t, it was created by a colony of ants. The ant city that was excavated covered 50 square meters and it went 8 meters into the earth. In creating this underground city, the ant colony moved 40 tons of soil and carried billions of ant loads of soil to the surface, with each load weighing four times the weight of the ant itself. In human terms each load was carried a kilometer to the surface. The ant farm they excavated was the equivalent to humans building the Great Wall of China. Incredible! 

http://www.dump.com/2011/08/30/worlds-biggest-ant-hill-video/

 I was amazed to consider how much more we as humans could accomplish in our lives if we would take a few lessons from these ants.  Sompong Yusoontorn shared some life lessons we can learn from ants:

Ants are organized: Every ant has a specific job they perform in their colony.

Ants are unselfish: When they find food they immediately let the rest of the ants know about it.

Ants have a spirit of sharing: Ants share everything they get, they never eat anything alone.

Ants have an amazing sense of discipline: They march in a straight line with everyone maintaining their own spot in that line.

Ants take action in a timely manner: Ants stay constantly active and productive.

Ants are tireless: They work tirelessly all day.

Ants are persistent: If there is an obstacle in their way the group comes together to move it or find a way around it.

Ants have incredible speed: They may be small but they are incredibly fast.

Ants are planners: They find and store food during the year to get them through the winters. They are prepared in advance.

Ants are strong and hardworking: Ants carry objects that are four times their size through hard work and determination.

Ants have teams: Everything the ants do is for the benefit of the team. They work together as a group to accomplish each task.

 

Yes ants are amazing creatures who work together as a unified entity. Each ant comes together to support their group, and as a result, amazing things are accomplished.

 

 Daniel has seen what can be accomplished when a group of people come together to work in a unified and organized way. When everyone is focused on a common vision, when each person has been given a clear picture of what they are expected to contribute to the end goal, and when leadership clearly communicates expectations and appreciation for everyone’s participation, great things can be achieved. The power of the collective community in a company, or a neighborhood, or in our own families can be so powerful if we work together as a team. And when hard work is blended with an attitude of wanting the team to succeed more than any one individual it opens the doors for everyone to step up and make incredible things come about. That is what I saw today when we met with our employees and that is what I feel so proud of my husbands leadership. 

Con amor,

Vero

Memories with Liz

Today is my sister's Liz birthday. When we were children, our neighborhood was full of kids like us. I remember how we used to dress up on Halloween and went around the neighborhood asking for candy culminating at the Community Park where a witch piñata was hit many times until it broke dropping all the candy imaginable and there came another piñata but this time it was a ghost or the devil.

It amazes me that I can't remember the name of a person I just met, but I can recall the names of neighbors I haven't seen in forty years. You may have a thousand reasons for loving your old neighborhood. it may be the favorite path you took through the corner lot, or the streetlight in front of your house, where the neighborhood clan would play hide and seek or sit on the fence to play the guitar and sing. One of the reasons why I love our house on Avenida  Pasco was because I remember the excitement when my new baby sister Elizabeth was brought home from the hospital.

Across from our home lived an Arabic woman by the name of Zara who own a store. She was a cranky old lady who spent the better part of her days yelling at kids for throwing fire crackers at her roof on Christmas and New Years celebrations. The whole street was full of people lighting up fireworks and she hated them. It was a time in El Salvador where children could go out and play soccer on the streets too and those balls sometimes ended on her front porch.

Even as children we were fascinated by the differences between the families in our neighborhood. All the people around us were professionals or had their own business. Our next door neighbor to the south for some time was a wealthy family who owned a lot of land, the Rengifos. When they moved my parents purchased their home from them. The other neighbor to the north was a doctor who once helped me get a perfume cork out of my nose. The Morales family were also our good friends. The dad  was our Dentist, he helped my grandmother alleviate her pain when she was dying of cancer. The Velasquez also were our good friends. Their dad was in the military and loved guns.  My father was known to trade in his cars every year for a the newest models. He loved cars! My mom had among many other businesses a beauty shop and spa. Veroliz. This was named after my sister Liz and me, Veronica. Clever!

On the back side of our street lived the Contreras family. The mom, Gladys, had a fashion design business. I would get my prom dresses from her. Around the corner was the Martellis family who owned a Pharmacy. The Herreras from Mexico was another family on the street above us who the mother was sickly dying of cancer. This woman was my mom's good friend from Mexico. She was very beautiful. Another Herrera family lived across from us. The husband was known to bring trios and mariachis to his wife to ask for forgiveness of some mischief he had done. Eventually they separated and divorced. This woman is an angel though and she truly deserved better. And of course there was the woman married to the Russian man who sold my mother a patent to make everything from toothpaste to perfumes to face creams. I wish I had a hold of those recipes. they were hand written. All organic and my mother even had a business that sold that product "Lufrangmi" I think was the name. 

All the homes were kept nicely but in my eyes our homes, because we ended up with three, were perfect in every way. But wether our neighbors were cranky or friendly, or rich or poor, they were the people we saw almost daily, and even if we didn't realize it at the time, they helped to form many of our lasting attitudes toward grownups.

Old neighborhood like old loves, can become rundown, dull and even getto. Maybe its best that we remember old neighborhoods the way they once were, a perfect memory in an imperfect world, a dream to comfort us and a place of refuge from lives storms. That is how I want to remember my  home, sweet home.

Con amor,
Vero

Then, Liz sitting on the table

and Now, second from the left.