Love is in the Air

Tomorrow we start the month of February a.k.a. the month of Love. 
Valentines will be here before you know it so during the upcoming month I will be working on a series of ideas for a love book to give to my children and grandchildren. Have you heard of the 13 articles of Faith? I got the 13 articles of Love: 

One idea I have for my book is to divided it into 13 chapters dealing with the most important aspects of a relationship with quotes from our prophets and Apostles and other General Authorities and leaders in the field.  Example:

1. I believe in being together for the right reasons.

2. I believe in Having realistic expectations about relationships and romance.

3. I believe that the most important factor in a relationship is commitment. 

4. I believe in Talking  openly about everything, especially the stuff that hurts
.

5. I believe that a healthy relationship means two healthy individuals who respect 
each other. 

6. I believe we need to give each other space.

7. I believe all, including you and your partner will grow and change in unexpected ways; embrace it.

8. I believe you need to get good at fighting.

9. I believe you need to get good at forgiving.

10. I believe those little things add up to big things.

11. I believe that sex matters… a lot!!

12. I believe you need to be practical, and create relationship rules.

13. I believe you need to learn to ride the waves.

 Another idea is to do a 365 Ways keep your love alive!

Things like: 
January 1
Say I Love you as the first words you utter as the New Year begins 
January 2 
Decide to pray each night taking turns: odd days vs. even days.
January 3 
Keep your breath minty fresh, not only for this day but everyday.
January 4
Share a cup of hot chocolate while you plan goals for the year. 
January 5
Wear the fragrance she prefers most, even if it's not your personal favorite.
January 6
Celebrate kings day and surprise him with a gift.
January 7 
Touch base before you leave work to see if she needs anything. 
January 8 
Let her have the last word.
January 9
Go out with friends who are in happy relationships. 
January 10
Refrain from correcting each other in front of others. 
January 11
As much humanly possible, be on time!
January 12 
Get out of debt. Come up with a budget to live within your means. 
January 13 
Tell her all the things she does that make you smile.
January 14 
Plan a mystery night. The secret destination might a new restaurant, movie or concert.

...Etc.  In February the first 14 days need to be super romantic.

February 1
Thank him for the things that could easily be taken for granted. 
February 2 
Write a love note and tuck it in his wallet. 
February 3
Recreate and reminisce your first date together. 
February 4 
Present her with a bouquet of fresh cut flowers and a love note. 
February 5  
Tell her, she is the most beautiful woman you've ever met. 
February 6
Tie on that apron and give your sweetheart a taste of your gourmet cooking. 
February 7
Pamper her by preparing a warm foot-bath, massaging her tired feet.
February 8
Write your own fairly-tale romance based on your story with special illustrations. 
February 9
Give him a back rub after a stressful day at work. 
February 10
Pick up his favorite snack and surprise him at work.
February 11
Send at love letter via post mail to her workplace.
February 12
As soon as he enters the room, give him a great big bear hug and a long kiss. 
February 13
Plan a weekend get away just the two of you.
February 14
Have a romantic evening. Revisit your first kiss over and over again.

Another idea is to make an ABC of a good love relationship using scriptural references and quotes from our grandparents and people who have made it to over 50 years of marriage. 

A is for Acceptance
B is for ...


Con amor,

Vero

Miss Universe goes to....

Miss Universe host country for this year was the Philippines so they had the final part aired this morning so it would be in the U.S. Sunday night.  I remember that ever since I was a little girl growing up in El Salvador my mom, dad and sisters always watched this pageant. It was good entertainment. Not too many watch it anymore. 

I'm always intrigued of who ends up winning the crown because when it comes to the last six contestants, beauty is no longer an issue. Any of those girls could be the one, but it's all now up to how they answer the questions. 

I acted as if I was a judge and sure enough the best answers were given by both miss France and miss Haiti; it was a tie, but Haiti was a bit too short. I probably would have chosen Haiti because they might never get another chance. I also cried when she told her story from the earthquake so I am a little bias since I live in the Dominican Republic and new so many Haitians. I love the people of Haiti who I met there. Nevertheless, the girl from France was exceptionally articualte and seemed so sweet and tender. 

What was interesting was to see Steve Harvey still as the MC because he messed up big last time. This time he made sure he got it right! 

Con amor,

Vero

Ready, Camara, Action!!

Today was the broadcast. A real TV set type of broadcast to all the people in the Philippines directly from our area office. How wonderful to have been there to witness this first for us! I never knew that you could turn anyplace that has good internet into TV studio. The women of the choir from our office were invited to sing and they sounded stunning!

The sister's delivered their messages and afterwards there was a question and answer portion of the broadcast. This was live and wasn't recorded but I took notes of this historic event. The questions varied from:

How did you came about choosing James 1: 5,6 as the theme for this year?
Sister Oscarson answered with a lot of fasting and prayer because we need to teach our children and youth how to receive personal revelation. It starts with a prayer.

What can we do with children who want to come to Church but the parents are not interested? Keep inviting the parents and have them in your prayers that they will soften their hearts. Find good role models for those children to have as mentors. Children are subject to the parents so have the parents participate in the activities. Many parents have become members because of their children.

How do we teach our children about sex and gender? It's found in the strength of youth pamphlet and the proclamation of the Family. They need to know the truth of their divine nature. Teach them the divine role of becoming parents someday. What would our Heavenly Parents would have been like?

What Activities do you recommend for our children and our youth? Go to the activity website on LDS.org and many other websites catering to wholesome activities for our youth but the best activities are the ones they plan themselves.

How do we bring less active youth members to the fold? Have the class presidency extend an invitation. Plan activities that would involved them. Let them be the spotlight. Treat them well with kindness.

What should you do if you are not sure about going on a mission? For boys it's part of a priesthood ordinance as you become an Elder. For a girl is what's in your heart. Only ask this question? Would I ever regret going on a mission? Is there a better mission for me? It is an individual decision for girls and you don't need to stress over it because you are tuning 19. You can make this decision when you are 20-25 as well as when you are 19, for girls is optional. You need to go for the right reason. Read your patriarchal blessing. The sisters make a great contribution to the mission. Once you make that commitment stick to it. You need to fulfill it and know it will be the hardest thing you have ever done but so worth it! " If you know it's going to be hard, it won't be that hard when it's hard! Don't vacillate after you have entered the mission. Go to the gospel library app on adjusting to missionary life.

What do you do if you don't think you are ready for marriage? Marriage is on the job training and you are never fully ready no matter how old you are. Just be careful of having the best choice for you because who you marry it's what your life will turned out to be. Take a leap of Faith. you do it because it feels right and it will help you to grow.

How do you know if a promoting comes from the Holy Spirit of your own imagination? Lear to know how the sprit communicates with you. It's like learning a second language. If it's something good, it comes from God.

How can we help our children not be so addictive to devises and gadgets? Let's teach our children to use them for goodness. Use them to follow up on lessons. Use them to do Family History. They can be a good missionary tool. Many times that is the only way, the youth will answer you. Texting works! They are here to stay. It's up to the parents. Be an example to your children. Talk to them! Take a break from them. Make room for meaningful conversation.

How do you approach the topic of modesty? Modesty comes from knowing who you are! Teach them about Divine Nature. Use the Strength of the Youth. They need to feel accepted.  It's not about inches or how high a skirt should be. They need to figure out that themselves but be an example! After some time, they will understand and get but in the meantime see them the same way God does.

What to do with a sister who suffers from depression? Get help! There are issues that require a professional. Counseling is necessary for some of us. Provide support and resources. It's not something that can be done by oneself. It need to be viewed like any medical illness such as diabetes. The stigma of having this condition sometimes is what prevents people to get the help they need.

What advice can you give our youth managing time and achieving goals? Study the scriptures daily. Pray for guidance. Keep the Sabbath day Holy including avoiding even doing homework on Sunday. Always attend sacrament meeting. Write in your journals when you have seen the hand of the Lord in your life and do the necessary things first. Prioritized. Think if all the things you are doing are absolutely necessary. Parents need to set the example and be good mentors. Achieve your goals in terms of obtaining an education. Be grateful for being alive at this most wonderful time.

Closing remarks: " The gospel in my life is the most important thing in my life." Bonnie Oscarson

The Year of the Rooster

Today we had company for dinner to celebrate those who had birthdays in January and to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I actually made my mom's arroz Chino and it was a hit! I mad stir fry and some other types of salads to go with empanadas and dumplings. I hope to learn to make homemade dumplings one of these days and to make good spring rolls. I took a chines class many years ago and never tried those recipes but they were not all that hard.

Starting over

January can sometimes feel like a little bit of a “let-down” month after coming off all the exciting holiday bliss of December and not to mention my birthday followed by Daniel's birthday! After those special days, the decorations are all put away, the vacation time came to an end, there aren’t as many exciting holiday parties and family gatherings to be excited about, and for you out there, what used to seem like magical snowflakes suddenly becomes just ordinary, yucky, cold snow…

However, on the positive side we can look at January as a time of new beginnings, new goals, new plans, etc. which is exciting, so why not add to that by starting some brand new non-holiday traditions that you can do this year? 

 Let’s face it, traditions are just plain awesome! I love traditions. They mean something exciting to look forward to and anticipate. They give you a sense of security and familiarity and knowing what you can expect in this ever changing world. Traditions feel a lot like “home”. But too often we form all of our traditions just around holidays – I would guess that if we were to sit down and share traditions with each other, the vast majority of them would be tied to holidays only. So I am suggesting that we all consider creating some new traditions that have NOTHING to do with holidays! That will give us something to look forward to even when there isn’t a holiday on the horizon.

 Some ideas for weekly traditions you could do:
 Pick a favorite weekly TV show to watch religiously with your spouse or create a special weekly watching party where you have a group of friends over that night to all watch the show together. Or another idea is to implement Pizza Friday  tradition where you have Pizza for either lunch or dinner on Friday and watch your favorite movie afterwards. You may go out for pizza or make it at home. 

 Another idea is to implement a weekly date night tradition where you and your sweetheart have a set night each week that you go out on a fun date together. And what about doing a weekly family night where one night a week you start the tradition of doing something fun together as a family. Saturday morning omelet breakfasts or Saturday night hamburgers are another weekly idea.

 Some monthly tradition ideas are: Temple date is always wonderful to do at the start of the first Saturday of the month to start the Sunday fast if we were in Utah. We have to go during the weekday here in the Philippines because the temple is too full on Saturdays. 

There is a full moon about every 29 days so implement a tradition of taking a night walk with your family or friends whenever there is a full moon. Have a monthly guys night out to the movies or a girls night out to go get mani-pedis. Have a monthly fondue party where everyone brings their favorite treat to share for dipping in chocolate. Have a monthly game night where you get together to play card games and board games. Daniel is not too fond of games though but I think they are fun. tradition to go bowling with friends or dancing. 

 And perhaps you can think of a few annual traditions to start, such as an annual Olympics where you bring family and/or friends together for a big competitive series of events like the three legged race, etc.  Have a fun trophy that the winning family keeps till next years event where it is up for grabs again.Have an annual traditions to go bowling or dancing with friends and here in the Philippines is a must to do a karaoke night, at least once a year. Have an annual Luau party to kick-off the beginning of summer. Plan an annual family trip as a tradition each year or every other year. This year we think it will be around Father's day. 

I think the most important thing is to start a series of regular traditions that give you something to look forward to on a weekly and monthly basis throughout this upcoming year. When we have something to look forward to it makes life more enjoyable and exciting. And what better time than RIGHT NOW to make a list of the traditions you are going to start now right away?!
 Have a great weekend and start doing those things!

Con amor,
Vero