Class of 2017

Every May and first part of June it's once again not only the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer but also of graduation season as well.  It means the end of a school era, and for High School graduates, it also means the beginning into adulthood. This year we had one member in our family graduating from College and three graduating from High school.

Congratulations to Spencer Krone, son-in-law who obtained a bachelor degree and the same goes to those High School graduates this year:

My nephew, Andres Behner: son of Liz and Eric Behner

My cousin once removed, Christian Hold: son of Margie and Mike Holt

My cousin once removed, Summer Smith: daughter of Marites and Roy K. Smith

But for all practical purposes my cousins once removed are more like nieces and nephews to me because I love being an aunt even when it has been years since I saw them.

Last night, I came across a blog post that contained life lessons that were shared from different people – the post doesn’t show the names of the people that shared these so I can’t list them for you, but the lessons shared were very inspiring to me.  Each “I’ve learned” contains wisdom that we can all learn from so I wanted to share the list with all of you because as I have gotten older there is something about feeling connected as a member of a family that I treasure so much. In our case is the Henriquez family connection that goes back to my grandparent’s union in 1939. As the oldest cousin, I have the responsibility to tell them things my grandmother would say to them if she were alive. So here is what I think she would tell her Great-grandchildren who are graduating this year.

Dear graduates:

Anything is possible. Everything can and will change and hopefully for the better.

Find your greatest talent and cultivate it. Great things take time!

You were born in the most amazing era this world has ever known. Be thankful!

If you ever experience a broken heart, remember that the best way to heal a heart is to give God all the pieces! Have faith that in the end it all will work out!

Please remember that not getting what you want may be a blessing!

Don't worry about other people's negativity. If you have a dream, go for it!

I’ve learned that you can keep going long after you can’t.

I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned that it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I’ve learned that heroes are the people who do what needs to be done when it has to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I’ve learned (the hard way) that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I’ve learned that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

I’ve learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I’ve learned that sometimes when I feel I may have the right to be angry it doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them, and less to do with how many years you have lived.

I’ve learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I’ve learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I’ve learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you; You will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts

I’ve learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

These quotes are exactly what I needed to read today because for some unknown reason I woke up with “torticollis” or neck ache, I was feeling as if my sugar level went up or my hormones were doing its thing or some chemical imbalance.

I don’t know, I am usually a happy person but I was not that pleasant to be around this morning and I truly need to apologize. I was on the phone with my sister Liz when two people showed up to our apartment un announced! I hadn’t showered, had no make- up and was still wearing my nightgown and the house was a mess so I was in no mood for guests. They are going to remodel another apartment and wanted to see what we have.

I don’t know, but I do know that I need to do some repenting and It’s nice to try and take the wisdom others share and incorporate it into our own lives.  I have found that it is much easier to learn from others mistakes than to have to make them ourselves so I try to learn from as many sources as possible!  Today I learned that I need to chill so I’m going to play the “despacito” song and start dancing J

Have a great life!

Con amor,

tia Vero

Visiting the Caloocan ward

Today like every Sunday except for the fourth Sunday of the month, we went to a ward to attend our meeting. People here are so nice and they treat us so well. we met the Stake President and the Bishop. All seemed so young to me. Late twenties and early thirties. They asked Daniel and me to sit on the stand to bear our testimonies at an opportune time so we did.

The rest of the people spoke mostly in Tagalog but I did understand a few words they said and I wrote them down:
Jesucristo
Evangelio
Profeta
Familia
Trabajo
Problema
Complicado

I am sure that there are many others but those were the ones that I heard. Sometimes I get up and say those words and talk about them in my testimony but today I felt I needed to bear my testimony of the Holy Ghost after reading he talk by Elder Rasband. I honestly think that the key to remaining faithful is to keep our covenants so we can have the Holy Ghost be our guide in everything we do.

Con amor,
Vero

Starting our fast eating out!

The Philippines has a strip mall in every corner and one that we used to frequent when we lived in Acropolis was the Eastwood Mall because it was not only walking distance from our old home but it also included an overpass and that is one thing I don't like about walking to the malls by La Isla so when I want to eat out, I prefer going to Eastwood.

Today we invited David Bowman to dinner since he is home alone. We went to "Outback" our favorite steak house. Each time I order something new in the menu but I am realizing that the meat will always be a good option. This is also the start of our fast and is the topic of my post today.

Elder Bowen has a good presentation about the law of the fast that he shared with us. He said:
A fast is 24 hours without food.
You only need to fast once a month.
A fast starts and ends with a prayer.
After the meetings, go to your "sacred grove" and kneel to pray for those things close to your heart.
A fast helps us read the scriptures in the time that you would have been eating.
A fast will strengthen our ability to resist temptation. Your mind over your body and interesting to know that when you are fasting you feel hungrier than ever but the hunger goes away after 24 hours.

Today I am starting the fast and because I just had a big meal I feel this fast is so needed!
My body needs it!

Con amor,
Vero

It's a Girl!

Today I hosted a baby shower for Rygie, Daniel's secretary. She is due next month but her babies like to come much sooner than the due date.

For food I decided to have a huge salad bar which included everything you could ever have in a salad. For games, I prepared the three most popular games including guessing mother's size of her belly, guessing how many M & M's are in a bottle and the memory game where you place baby items on a tray for display that you have to write down by memory what those items were.  Those games have been around for decades but here in Manila, for most, it was the first time they played them.

Two more games were added like having mom leave the room so we could guess what she was wearing and what color of shoes, purse, watch, dress, nails, make up etc. the other game was simply to guess what she was naming her baby and what is the meaning of her name. We played hanging man using the first letter Y and the last letter A so everyone guessed it to be Yolanda but it actually is Yleanna.We went around the room guessing the meaning of her name: Miracle, Beautiful, etc. when it came to sister Crockett's turn she said "Sunshine" and that was it! She won and was so excited!! you would have thought she won a million dollars.

For party favors I made pop corn and put it in bowls with the "ready to pop" sign. The rest of the decorations were done by the other two secretaries, they both worked so hard.  I was so grateful I had my helper at home both days to prepare the food but even with a little help from my friends I stayed up till 3:00 in the morning finishing the last minute touches and wrapping the gifts.

My husband told me that we totally went all out, (budget wise) the party looked like those you pin from pinterest and the food and presents were fabulous! I love baby showers! I wonder who is next?

Con amor,
Vero

Developing talents

I love this quote:

“I want to remember that no one is going to make my dreams come true… it is my job to get up every day and work toward the things that are deepest in my heart… and to enjoy every step of the journey rather than wishing I was already where I want to end up.“

I have sometimes wonder what are my talents? What am I good at doing? What have I done with my talents?

There is something amazingly powerful when a person takes their God given talents and puts them to use in a big way. Cristi has been teaching mothers about parenting ideas. Mandy is teaching kids about animals from the Zoo and Bianca has been recording her beautiful voice and I have been writing a chapter that finally became part of a Book.

Every one of us came into this life having our own unique talents. Some are obvious talents such as music, or dance, or writing, while others have less visual talents such as the ability to appreciate others or a sensitivity to other feelings or the ability to recognize talents in others. Whether your talents are publicly obvious or not, the talents you have can become very powerful in your life if you recognize them, develop them, and appreciate them.

A few days ago, I read a blog post about the Magic of the Goal Poster. She wrote:

” I am hoping all of you were able to read it, and if you were not I would strongly suggest you take the time to read it over. It is probably the most important tip for success I could ever share with you, because making your Goal Poster is one of the most impactful things you can do for your life. I really hope everyone will decide to make one. One suggestion I have as you prepare to make your poster is to sit down and make a list of each of the God given talents you see in yourself. Don’t be shy about it; you are the only one who will see this list so make sure you don’t hold back in listing your talents.

Think hard about it. Make sure you remember to list every one of your talents, even the ones that are not as obvious or visual. Once you have completed your list of talents make sure that some of your goals you set on your poster tap into those special talents you have. I truly believe that people will have the greatest personal and financial success in their life when they put their talents to work. I believe there is always a reason that God gave you the individual talents you have. I don’t believe for a second that there were any mistakes made in determining what talents each of us would possess. I also believe that when we tap into the special talents we have and use them to their fullest that it makes us amazingly AWESOME!

Keep that in mind as you set your goals and make sure you aren’t ignoring those things that will naturally make you a huge success in your life. And remember that God gave you the talents, but what you do with them is all on you. It is our job to make the most of them. “ Now it’s time to write my next chapter.

Love,

Vero