I'm back!!

After a long time away, I'm finally back.

So much has happened. We moved, celebrated birthdays, started school, and so much more. My mind has been all over the place lately so it's nice to finally sit and let a little bit of everything out.

Amiyah started first grade at Faith Christian School, and is loving it. When I went to pick her up on only her second day of school, her teacher said she wasn't following directions. She couldn't get into detail because other parents were showing up to retrieve their own children, and get a note home as well, but she told me Amiyah had a note in her bag for me to read. Once home, Amiyah got right to her usual routine - Taking out any papers I need to read and sign (sigh) as well as her homework, putting her lunchbox in the fridge, changing her clothes, sitting down for a snack, and then some time to relax before we start homework and chores. While she was changing I went to the table where lying in front of me was a letter written in the cutest stationary, it had apples and tiny school houses on it. But no matter how cute, I still felt uneasy. I opened it and this is what it said, " Mrs. Zarazua, I had to ask Amiyah four times today to follow directions. You will see on the work she brought home from today what I'm talking about. Please speak with her or else this can affect her grade." I crumpled up the letter and frantically searched through all her work to find the one, or maybe two pages, that have red scribbles all over them. I got it! But wait, are you serious? This is why my little Poppy is in trouble, can this really affect her grade? Looking down at her math papers, I saw the dreaded red scratches from Mrs. Giovino's pen, and quite honestly... I laughed! My daughter is such an artist, and with every stroke of her pencil she released her inner Picasso. She got into trouble because she was making little curly q's at the end of every single number she wrote. I sat with her at the table with a smile on my face and asked why it was she did that. She said, " Mommy because I'm an artist, and that's what we do. I was just trying to be creative." These are the moments I wish I was homeschooling. My daughter would be free to make all the curly q's heart little heart desired. Needless to say, she now knows curly q's are for outside of school only.

Change has come

I feel an explanation is in order for the slacking off that I have done as far as posting. I can blame it on many things, but the truth of the matter is, my mind has just been in, and currently still is in, about 4 different directions.
Let me start off by saying just how incredibly awesome our Lord is. Not just in our times of need... but always. My love has been without a job since last November. He has had many odd jobs since, including a job with a guy that has since become a close friend of his, but nothing permanent, with good pay, and benefits. Being that the number of job losses increases almost daily, we knew it would truly be the hand of God if my love found a job. So, he set off to prepare himself for just about the only positions that he could find that were still available... truck driving. He went to school, and completed all the classes and tests to get his CDL class A license. Now the hard part. After applying for just about every available position he could find, we had to wait, in the hopes that someone out there would give a guy with little experience a chance.
Meanwhile... for the past few months we have been trying to sell our condo. For obvious reasons, we simply couldn't afford it anymore. We have a contract on it now, and since it's a short sale, we were just waiting on the approval from the banks on the price. After a few more months, we have come to find out, the banks have approved the amount.
After finding this out, Joey got a call from Choice Environmental Services about a truck driving job. He went in for the interview, took the driving test, and had a drug test. A week later he got the call... "You got the job." We were both thrilled beyond belief. So, now with a new job in place, condo sold, we were on the search for an apartment. I wasn't very thrilled though, I have become quite tired of apartment living. Sharing the washer/dryer, pool, and hearing constant bumping, loud kids, and even louder radios and televisions above us... we were so over it.But then again, whatever the Lord had in store, we were willing to accept. That all worked out for us in the end, no one seemed to want to take a chance on a guy with a brand new job. So... we started looking for single family homes to rent for the year. While talking to my Pastor and his wife, he mentioned that Joe Novelo, Pastor, Executive Director of Missionary Resource Network, and missionary in Brazil, had a house not very far from ours for rent. Oh, and get this, he just happened to be in town from Brazil trying to find someone to rent the house. He came to our church last weekend to share what has been going on in Brazil. Joe and I had lunch with him, and talked about the house. Ladies and gentelman, as of last night, we will be renting his house from him! We are just so thankful to the Lord. Even through these tough times, He still makes a way.
More updates to come.

Best Friends

Today I decided to do a mini photo shoot with Caleb & Emilio outside while they were playing. I have been watching little Caleb since he was about 9 months old. Him and Emilio have become the best of friends. Since I'm not a fan of posed pictures, I decided to just let them do their thing, and just snap away, hoping I would get at least a few good ones I could frame. They ran, they jumped, they even took turns wearing Emilio's hat. They share a bond that's closer than friends, it's more like a brotherhood. They ate dirt together, pulled out handfuls of grass to give to the other one to taste, it really was cute. Oh, and don't worry, I stepped in once Emilio turned to look at me, and I noticed all his teeth were black.
So, I sat back in the grass on this hot summer day, taking these pictures that one day I hope, they will both appreciate. Just watching them run and play brought me back to the beginning, when they first met. There were lots of fights over toys, food, you name it. But they have since matured into bouncy 2-yr old boys that actually look out for each other now. They bring each other their sippy cups, when Beany gets two m&m's for going potty, he always asks for them both to be the same color so that he can give one to his bestest friend, Caleb, and Caleb is actually the ONLY person he shares his cars with, besides his papi of course.
This was fun. Now I have to get Amiyah together with some of her bestees for their own shoot.

Confession -

Yesterday morning I awoke, and did something I haven't done in an entire year. Now now, allow me to explain. Since my brother's murder people have been asking, " How is your relationship with the Lord? " I always answer them honestly, stating that, "It's fine." I read my Bible, and pray almost daily. But the one thing I haven't been able to bring myself to do is worship. I haven't spent good quality time in the presence of my Lord while listening to worship in over a year. For a very simple reason. I have not wanted the comfort of the Lord. You see, for this entire year, besides the unbeliveable amount of memories my mind has been able to get ahold of, the only thing I had left, the only thing still connecting me to Randall,apart from his shorts that still lay under my mattress, and his shoe that still sits on my nightstand, in my mind, were my tears. The ripping through my heart that I still feel today. I was afraid that if I let God in, He would heal me of it all, and I would lose the connection, even though painful, that I had with him. I was not ready to heal. The wonderful thing about God is, He waits. He waits, knowing that the day will come when I will throw myself in His arms because I just can't seem to carry this any longer. The burden of my grief, I was carrying alone. At times I felt like I had a stone wrapped around my ankle, and someone had picked me up and thrown me into the sea. I was sinking in my grief, gasping for air. All the while my Lord was there, ready to cut the cord, and take me back to the surface.The weight has been lifted,and the void, the emptiness I thought I'd feel in the place in my heart where Randall belonged is not there, but he is. I still feel him, I still hear him, I still see his smile. I know for sure I will see him again. So,today my Jesus has taken me in His arms, and assured me that through it all He will never leave me, nor forsake me. Thank you Abba, for waiting for my return.

Mother's Day Celebration!

Saturday night my parents, myself, and my brother and sister, went out to City Place to take our mom to Taverna Opa for dinner. We had an absolute blast! The food was amazing, (I had lobster tail and opa fries) but the ambiance was even better. We couldn't help but shake our hips and shoulders to the Middle Eastern music playing loudly in our ears. There wasn't a still table in the place. Every so often the belly dancers would come from the back with their costumes that were full of color, and a whole lot of sparkle. They would come around each and every table clanging their finger cymbals together and shaking their hips. They jumped up on the bar, and even right on top of people's tables as they were eating. But of course no one cared, some people even put their forks down and jumped up there with them. If it's a quiet night out your looking for... Taverna Opa is NOT the place for you. Later in the evening, the servers come around passing out entire packs of napkins. Everyone in the restaurant either stands on their tables or chairs and starts dancing. The music gets louder and louder, and everyone is dancing and singing awaiting the DJ's... OPA! Once he says that, EVERYONE in the place throws the napkins in the air, and all you see is a white shower of napkins. And then, my friends, the real dancing begins! My parents even got up and were doing their thing, it was really cute!
I hope you ladies are up for it because that's where my Birthday dinner is going to be this year. Hmmm... I might even get myself a set of finger cymbals.

Are these the coolest?

So, I was paying a visit to one of my favorite blogs oh happy day, when I came across this post. I just think these napkin invites are the coolest things ever! Although I was not blessed with the great ability to draw, I'm sure I can come up with something neat to put on one of our dinner napkins. How about a love note to my one true love? Or an invite to a tea party on pink napkins for Amiyah's friends? The possibilities are endless.

Changeling

So while the kids were down for peaceful naps, I took full advantage and rented Changeling on itunes. I have been dying to see it. I really don't do thrillers - I find myself not sleeping for days just because I can't get the images out of my head, but after finding out it was a true story, and getting great reviews from some very reliable sources (my girls) I decided to watch it. So as to not ruin the movie for those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing it, I won't give anything away. I will simply say, it was a great movie. I cried almost the entire time. To know that something this devastating really happened, and that this women was able to stay focused on finishing what had been started... was truly inspiring. It's a must see, for sure!

It's not even 9:30 in the morning...

I woke up at 6:45 this morning to get my Amiyah off to school. I was a little grouchy, but let no one know it. You see yesterday I went running at 5:30 in the morning, and decided to wear my old running shoes. Everything was great except for the fact that I had forgotten to put on the right socks. I ended up wearing little ankle socks that slid down into my shoe, and caused the back of my foot to rub up against the back of my shoe, therefore creating the nastiest blister I had ever seen. However, I didn't even know I had a blister until cool down, when the pain really started. I limped to my car and took off my shoe and sock, to reveal the blister. Now, I was upset this morning because I wanted to go walking this morning but couldn't because my foot hurt so bad.
So, off Amiyah went to school. I always go back to bed when Joe leaves the house to take her because the Bean is still sleeping and so I figure I'll get in at least another hour before he wakes up.
Not today. I fell asleep about 7:18, and a little after 8 was woken up to the sound of squirting. I jumped from my bed, horrified that he had a spray bottle and was spraying everything in sight - he's done it before. So where was the Bean? He was sitting in my desk chair, yup the very one I'm sitting in now, spraying my mac with water. I was horrified. I flew from the bed, snatched the spray bottle from him ( I apologized later ) and just stood there in shock. The Bean jumped from the chair and ran off in fear, he knows that no one is allowed to mess with mommy's computer. After wiping down every inch of my beloved computer, I plopped down in the chair rubbing my eyes and said to myself, " Lord, is this just a glimpse of what my days going to be like? "

Happy Earth Day!

I love earth day, a day to celebrate this beautiful planet our gracious God has given us. If we haven't already, let's make a conscience effort to take care of it, everyday of our lives. If we each do our part, it will make a big difference. So, what do I plan on doing this year? I plan to do more recycling! Not just organizing plastic and paper, making sure to put them in their proper bins. I plan to think before I throw things away. Some things can be used as storage, art projects, and much more. How will you make our planet a better place?

Goodness me!

Well here I am. It has been a long and hectic past couple of weeks.
About three weeks ago, I took three days to potty train our Bean, and he is doing exceptionally well. He has been in big boy underwear since day one. During the day when he needs to use the potty he comes and tells either myself or Joe, and he even told the teacher in the nursery he had to go pee, (something we were afraid he wouldn't do) I saw the two of them rushing to the bathroom with his potty seat in hand. It was cute, he was all smiles. At night he sleeps with his underwear, as well as during his naps. He wakes himself up and yells, " Mommy, potty! " And then Joey or I rush in to help him to the bathroom. We are so proud of our little crazy-haired guy.

The following week, the Bean, along with some of his close friends, took swimming lessons. My poor Bean cried all week. The funny thing was, even though he was screaming his head off, he was picking up everything the instructor had taught him. He floats on his back, and when dropped in the pool, will turn around and swim to the wall. On Friday, the last day of swim class, the parents got a chance to get in the pool with the kids to practice everything they had learned, so that we are well prepared to continue the lessons at home. Since his lessons, we have been to the pool quite a few times, and each time we go, my Bean is more and more confident in his ability to swim. Just about everyday after picking up Amiyah from school ( that's usually when we go ) he says, " Mommy, we go cool? " - that's how he says pool. ; ) He jumps off the wall, side into the water, swims to the wall, slides along the wall with his hands, climbs the steps, and does it all over again. I think it's the cutest thing because he's just so tiny.

A week after that I started walking with some ladies from church. I get up around 4:30-4:45 and meet at a park in Coral Springs by 5:30 to walk my 3-4 miles every morning. I'm trying to get myself into gear. I've been doing a lot of 5k walks, but I want to start running them. So, yesterday I started running as well. It was a little rough, seeing as how I haven't really ran in quite a while.

So, when I have a free moment hopefully soon, I will be uploading pictures.
Until then...