The joy of Summer!

There is nothing like taking a summer vacation, especially when that vacation includes a family reunion at a Lake. Lakes are my favorite vacay spot to visit in the entire world because I love Kayaking and most people love boating, lying out in the sun, playing in the sand fun games etc. 

We arrived in Utah on July 6th and left on July 30th arriving in Buenos Aires the morning of July 31. What an amazing memorable July we have had! 

These are the memories that stood out to me (of all the things we did) as we flew back home to Argentina. 

Apartment purchase at the Regent in City Creek

Aladin show with Mandy on a mommy daughter date

Apostle of our marriage certificate at the Governor's 

Allreds visits

Alvords BBQ in Park City

Babies, Vera and Isaac who were born in 2019

Beautiful Bear Lake I had not been to in decades

Bingo activity provided by Vale

Card games

Closing on Orlando, Miami, and Lehi homes

Church talks by Layna, Sariah and Paola.

Criminal record clearance

Dentist

Dr. Hansen 

Elder Allred’s surprised visit in Logan 

Elder Carl B. Cook and family also at Bear Lake

Elder Schmutz’s also family reunion at Bear Lake

Eating out to Maddox, Ruth Diner, Asian Star, Café Rio, Setevelo, etc.  

Family Photos taken at the Lake 

Fire -works at Real Salt Lake Stadium with Mandy and Spencer

Funerals of Sister Liliana Diaz and Dr. Reid 

Grandchildren made up of 16 under five, 22 total. 

Gigantic pizzas at Bear Lake

House hunting 

Kayaking courtesy of Brooks

Marriott stay for 2.5 weeks

Movie night activity by Sydney

Mama Gloria and sisters together for Come follow me Sunday activity

Oral history recorded 

Park City stay for five nights

Ping pong playing with Daniel and Liz

Piñatas for the kiddos courtesy of Mandy and Cristi

Plenty to eat from Costco

Pupusas from Rincon Salvadoreno

Raspberry shakes 

Soccer games with Joseph 

Spacious 18-bedroom house with room to roam for the kiddos

Swimming at the Lake and Pool 

Sun rays near the Lake 

Sunday dinners with Jami and Andres

Shopping for new clothes

Telling stories

Yummy Food 

Wave runners 

Wedding of brother Nunez daughter

And much more!!!

I loved every minute of my time in Salt Lake, even when we were exhausted by the time we got to Buenos Aires. 

It was all worth it! 

  

"No veo al Hora" I can't wait!

I feel like a five -year old kid on Christmas Eve night!  I am so excited for this trip that I am jumping on one foot!  We are going on our annual home leave to see our 10 children, their spouses and 23 grandchildren and for the first time ever we will get to see everyone. We are staying in Park City most of the time but on July 24^thto the 27^thwe are holding the Almeida mega family reunion and for that we have booked a brand new 18 -bedroom home at Bear Lake for all of us to be together in one roof! Imagine that! 

We are finally going to see Gabe and Danae who moved to Ireland and have not seen in over six years. Daniel has not met our newest grandbabies so HE CAN’T WAIT!  I have no idea how I will ever get to sleep tonight on that plane. We take the red eye flight to Dallas tonight so I hope I don’t catch a cold like other times. I really do feel like a little kid right now anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus himself! We love our grandbabies so much! 

The past month was amazing! We officially moved to Buenos Aires and found a home. A miracle took place and through adoption a daughter became a mother for the third time. We got offers on both our home in Lehi and our condo in Orlando. We will close later this month. Daniel went to Chile on a Business trip and visited Jose Ignacio’s grave and we made our first trip to Uruguay to visit Daniel’s mother and family. What a tender mercy! 

To our children and grandchildren, we say: We love you and there are so many of us on both sides of the veil who are cheering for you. Be brave. Always do the right thing.  Don’t ever let fear get in your way or stop you from going after your dreams. Take life on with all the enthusiasm you can.  Set goals that are bigger and higher than you ever thought possible. Don’t limit your dreams for the future. Have confidence, not based on external factors like looks or position or money, have confidence based on the kind of person you are and the person you are trying to become.  

Be kind to others, especially when you don’t need or want anything from them.  Look for ways to serve with gusto, it’s the right thing to do. Do your best and put 100% into everything you do, never take something on with half heart.  If you are going to do it, do it right.  Never lose your integrity.  Always do what is right and let the consequences follow.

Last but not least, be happy, not tomorrow or the next day, be happy now.  Smile, you look so cute when you smile.  And dance…always dance….it’s just fun, trust me I know! Mami Vero loves to dance! I hope you had a fabulous 4^thof July! 

Don’t you just love the month of July? One of my favorite months of the year for obvious reasons. I shall return in a few weeks since I don’t write on this blog while on vacation. 

Looking forward to July. 

Con amor,

Vero

Happy Independence Day!

I love the inspired words of the declaration of independence and get goosebumps each time I read it. Here they are:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

On July 4^th,1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress. Today People in the U.S. are celebrating the Fourth of July, a day to celebrate Independence and Freedom for all people. What an amazing event in the history of the world.  And how much has taken place since that day.  According to the US Census there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the nation at that time.   On this July 4^th, 2019, the US Census estimates that there will be approximately 329 million people living in the U.S.A. WOW!  The growth over the years has been exponential! 

Many of us studied the Declaration of Independence back in high school, I went to the American High school of El Salvador and remember vividly my eleventh -grade teacher doing a few role plays with the students to understand better what was taking place in History back in the day but how many of us have read the powerful words it states recently?  I know that I hadn’t so I decided to read them this last week so I could remember and appreciate the words that were written and the sacrifices so many people made to get this declaration into place.  I was so touched and inspired at the words included in the document and wanted to share those that touched me the most.

It goes on to say a most powerful quote that we should all have it memorized. 

“A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

WOW!  What a powerful statement that is.  And so true.  Great rulers lead their people, they don’t dictate and demand, they inspire and serve.  They are humble and kind and they love the people they lead.

The document ends with these words:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Those men who wrote those words lived by them, as have generations of both men and women since then. Many people have pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in order to protect this great land.  I love that it says: “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”.  It was their belief and trust in God that gave them the confidence to do the right thing.  I can only imagine how scary making this declaration must have been for them and their families.  Yet they trusted in the Lord and did the right thing, fully prepared to face whatever circumstances would result.  They took courage in choosing the right and trusting in God.  Amazing!  What a great example they set for all of us to follow.

I wish all of you a wonderful Independence Day, wherever in the world you may be. May you enjoy the day and appreciate the cause of freedom.  Too bad we are away and can’t celebrate with you but I salute all of those men and women who sacrifice so that others may be protected and have freedom in their lives I say: “Thank you and God bless you!” In addition, I say, “God bless our founding fathers for the sacrifices they made.  God bless the military for the service they provide.  And God Bless The U.S.A!”

Con amor,

Vero

Turning weakness into strength

Turning weakness into strength should have been the tittle of a book I just read: “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. She basically explained in her book that we were all born with our own unique challenges. Some physical, some mental, some circumstantial. Some all of the above.  But those challenges we were born with were never meant to hold us back, in fact, they were meant to help us become strong in the areas we would most need to be in order to achieve our greatest success. I am not great at moving because I procrastinate each time but this time around as soon as I knew we were moving, I started early and got everything ready for the move to Buenos Aires. Now we are getting all our belonging into boxes to await us when we return form vacation and for the first time, I felt ready and that is a good feeling to have. We have been living on suitcases now for almost two months and one more month to go but that is o.k. we can do this. The secret is to pack light. 

Another woman by the name of Elizabeth Street wrote an article titled 5 Ways Successful People Overcome Major Obstacles, she states, “There are countless examples of people who have reached unparalleled success despite significant challenges in their lives. In fact, it could be that those very limitations propelled them to strive for heights they may not have reached otherwise.” She goes on state that the next time we “are tempted to give up in the face of a formidable obstacle”, we consider that:

*Benjamin Franklin couldn’t afford to attend school after he turned 10;

*Oprah Winfrey was abused as a child and ran away from home at age 13;

*Franklin D. Roosevelt lost the use of his legs to polio before becoming president;

*Vincent van Gogh is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder;

*Helen Keller became deaf and blind when she was 18 months old;

*Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from tinnitus and a gradual loss of hearing;

*Winston Churchill may have had dyslexia (some dispute this), and suffered emotional instability;

*Walt Disney had attention deficit disorder;

She suggests that, “Many of these accomplished people would likely say they gained useful character traits as a result of a particular challenge, which ultimately aided them in their success.”

I most certainly agree with that. I know that overcoming my own challenges is what helped me to become the person I needed to be, and it is what continues to help me succeed in my life. I believe God gave each of us our own challenges to overcome so that we could become strong in exactly the ways that we needed to be to achieve our greatest success. I also think He gave them to us in order to help us become humble through our need to seek out His help as well as the help of others, as well as to remind us to be more compassionate toward one another as we recognize that each of us are dealing with challenges of our own.

I think that we can all change for the better and surpass obstacles. Dr. Dweck said it best: “The growth Mindset is based on the belief in change, and the most gratifying part of my work is watching people change. Nothing is better than seen people find their way to do things they value.”

Con amor,

Vero

The Solar Eclipse

Today we were eating at the hotel when we saw people looking out the window taking photos and learned we were experiencing a solar eclipse here in Argentina. Wow! How amazing is that!  

Every time I hear about a solar eclipse I can’t help to think of a talk given by Elder Stevenson on the solar eclipse on the October 2017. 

Here is a portion of his talk:

 

 “A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, almost completely blocking any light from the sun’s surface.³ The fact that this can happen is a marvel to me. If you imagine the sun as the size of a common bicycle tire, the moon in comparison would scarcely be the size of a small pebble.

How is it possible that the very source of our warmth, light, and life could be so greatly obscured by something comparatively insignificant in size?

Although the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, it is also 400 times farther away from the earth.⁴ From earth’s perspective, this geometry makes the sun and moon appear to be the same size. When the two are aligned just right, the moon seems to obscure the entire sun. Friends and family of mine who were in the zone of total eclipse described how light was replaced by darkness, the stars appeared, and birds quit singing. The air became chilly, as temperatures in an eclipse can decrease by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit 

They described a sense of awe, astonishment, and even anxiety, knowing an eclipse brings certain hazards. However, they all exercised care to prevent permanent eye damage or “eclipse blindness” during the eclipse event. Safety was made possible because they wore glasses equipped with special filtered lenses that protected their eyes from any potential harm.

In the same manner that the very small moon can block the magnificent sun, extinguishing its light and warmth, a spiritualeclipse can occur when we allow minor and troublesome obstructions—those we face in our daily lives—to get so close that they block out the magnitude, brightness, and warmth of the light of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Clearly, none of us wants to purposefully obscure our vision of heaven or allow a spiritual eclipse to occur in our lives. Let me share some thoughts that may assist us in preventing spiritual eclipse from causing us permanent spiritual damage.

When you put on gospel glasses, you find enhanced perspective, focus, and vision in the way you think about your priorities, your problems, your temptations, and even your mistakes. You will see brighter light that you could not see without them.

If you discover anything that seems to be blocking the light and joy of the gospel in your life, I invite you to place it in a gospel perspective. Look through a gospel lens and be vigilant not to allow insignificant and inconsequential matters in life to obscure your eternal view of the great plan of happiness. In short, don’t let life’s distractions eclipse heaven’s light.

I bear testimony that no matter the obstruction that may block our vision of gospel light, the light is still there. That source of warmth, truth, and brightness is the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

There is a YouTube video of his talk. This was a good reminder for me to watch and think of his message. 

Con amor,

Vero

"Así es el Futbol"

Last week we were in Uruguay watching the Uruguayan team vs Peru in the Copa America Soccer games. Unfortunately, our Uruguayan team lost in the penalty kicks after controlling the ball 80% of of the time and making 3 goals. Unbelievable! 

All three goals were not counted because according to some invisible line the player’s foot was outside the line each time he scored but the game was fantastic and a ton of fun to watch. I couldn’t help but think of how cool the dynamic is at a soccer game when there is true sportsmanship. The Uruguayan team was clearly robed but they went out with their heads up. 

I remember attending a few of those games myself. There is something incredibly energizing about having an entire stadium of people cheering for their team to win. There is a passion and energy amongst the crowd that you cannot help but get caught up in. The music and dancing just adds to the fun. Having so many people focused on a common goal of winning is incredibly exciting.  And I love that everyone is cheering each other on. Total strangers become friends for the period of the game, high-fiving the people around them that they have never even met before. Everyone is united. All are cheering their favorite team to score!  

I also think there is so much excitement in watching these incredibly talented players who have truly worked on their skills to the point that it is genuinely a beautiful thing to watch them play but I wished they didn’t tattoo their bodies so much, other than that, they inspire everyone watching to want to grow in their own talents and abilities.  It is just awesome.

Two great lessons that I took away from that game: 

One, The Uruguayan team played much better but lost the game at the end. Maybe they thought it would be an easy win and were not careful. The Peruan team on the other hand, pulled ahead in the last minute of the game even when it looked impossible for them to defend the offensive players from the Uruguayan team, they were focused and did what they had to. What really impressed me is that even though everyone knew that the chances of Peru winning were almost nil with just a few seconds on the clock, the players still gave it 100%.  

Two, even though our team didn’t win the game it was truly inspiring to me to see that they continued to give full effort right up until the end.  It would have been so easy to slack off and just let the clock run out, but they didn’t do that, and win or lose they could walk away tonight knowing they gave it their all and ultimately that is what matters in life, for all of us.  It isn’t whether we win or lose in life that counts, it’s that we give it 100% and we keep trying all the way until our final whistle rings, walking away knowing we left it all on the field. That is winning.  For all of us. Thanks Uruguay for reminding me of that!

You could see that the Uruguayan team was exhausted and worn out and somewhat discouraged when Suarez, their best player didn’t make the first goal but nonetheless the rest of the players kept kicking the ball the best way they could and all four remaining goals made it but Peru’s players had better luck and made all five goals and won.

Today we were in Argentina watching the game between Brazil Vs. Argentina and clearly Brazil made it to the next round. The score was 2 Brazil 0 Argentina. We feel for Messi because he tries so hard, poor thing, but like my dad used to say: “Asi es el Futbol” 

Con amor,

Vero