"Happy Mother's Day!"

The Creation of a Mother
Andrea L. Ballard

A mother is a miracle; A special gift from heaven –
When our Father chose to send us here it is to her whom we are given.

Her covenants promise she will try to do as He would ask.
Little does a mother know of the magnitude of her task.

The first time she holds her baby close, she feels the mantle fall.
Eternity has it’s beginning - and she is ready for the call.

She cradles in her arms this special gift and shares her hopes in prayer.
She comes to realize more of family and the joys in which they’ll share.

Then comes the tests -
The sleepless nights, diapers, drool and more…
The bottles, toys and little clothes all strewn across the floor.

She Listens, Loves, Cares, Nurtures and gives discipline.
Her example is the schoolroom into which this child was given.

She loves, serves and gives her all as the years pass on.
Her family comprises her closest friends for this life and beyond.

After the trials and tests of life she reflects and understands…
That as she grew and overcame by faith,
she’s become a miracle at the Master’s hand.

Tip of the Day!

I was doing my visiting teaching this month and the lesson's focus was on eternal families. The entire family had gathered to hear the lesson and my companion hadn't showed up yet. So, as I began teaching the lesson I was attempting to make the comment that joy comes from our families and that Satan is miserable partially due to the fact that he cannot partake in the joy of family. That is what I MEANT to say... this is what I said, "Satanas tiene mucho misercordia porque el no tiene una familia." - at this point the family started looking at me strangely and because I am learning this language and I am a foreigner here I could read that expression in a minute! I knew I had said something incorrect. But, I had NO idea what. Then, the sweet sister asked in halting English if I meant "miserables" (misery) and I realized what I had done; "misercordia" is mercy and "miserable" is misery.

So, the tip of the day is when teaching a religious lesson in another language it is always wise to make sure you have your adjectives correct and don't speak a word until your companion is there to correct major errors regarding gospel principles!

Dia de Las Madres!

This morning the children woke Jimmy and I up at 7:15 am with my breakfast in bed! They had made me oatmeal, yogurt and water to drink. This was the first year that they have arisen on their own and made a special breakfast without the help of their Dad! They brought in presents that they had made and we had a wonderful breakfast! What a great way to start my Mother's Day Weekend - with the best kids in the world!

Happy Mother's Day! ... Early!

Our little man jumped in the car when I picked him up from school today just bubbling with excitement. He started talking about Mother's Day and told me he had made me something; all while quickly opening his backpack. Then he pulled out this handpainted, handmade, beautiful picture frame with a picture of my single favorite little boy in this world! He announced, "Happy Mother's Day Mommy" and gave me this sweet gift - a couple of days early for the 'official' Mother's Day... but in reality, isn't every day a celebration of motherhood and family?

Tip of the Day!

Here in Mexico it is customary when people greet that they kiss on one cheek. (French foreigners share a kiss on each cheek.) So, we are kissed multiple times daily by numerous friends. Thus, when I recently attended a Stake Meeting there were numerous friends around and there was tons of kissing going on... so, when the Stake President came up to greet me he shook my hand and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He froze for a second and I said, "Este es apropiado?" (Is this appropriate?) To which he replied, "Ummmm, normalmente, no." (Normally, No.) So, the next time I saw him I stood three feet away and stretched my hand out across the divide - which made President Garcia just laugh out loud! (Lucky for me he has a great sense of humor.)

So, the tip of the day is don't kiss your ecclesiastical leaders - they are off limits!

Puerto Vallarta! Sand, Sun and Sea...

Although the sea was wonderful and the company couldn't have been better - what will be forever seared into the mind of my husband will be the driving nightmares we experienced on this trip! Yes, this past weekend our family traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! We drove, and drove, and drove - little did we realize that we would be driving through the Sierra Madre Mountains! The winding, curvy roads were fun to drive although harrowing at times! We saw tons of Blue Agave plantations (the Blue Agave cactus is used to make Tequila) we also saw signs for festivities hosted by the "Jose Cuervo Foundation"! We saw many burning wildfires that were charring the Mexican mountainside and the smell permeated our car - the landscape is already very dry and the fires were burning and smoldering over much of the mountainside.

At one point as we approached a highway tollbooth we noticed lots of people gathered at the toll booth with no cars nearby, interesting, you say... well, we found that we were driving into a migrant worker uprising - the workers were taking a stance against the Mexican government and they had seized the toll booths along highways! We were grateful that we were waved through for free with only a leaflet to tell us what exactly was happening! (After the drive my husband probably wished he had a 'few rounds of Jose Cuervo'...) But, after all the craziness; We made it!

The ocean was beautiful, the sunsets perfect and our hotel room (although decorated in what must be described as 'rustic Mexican')had a lovely terrace overlooking the ocean and "La Playa Conchas Chinas" - located just a bit south of the city center! Once we checked in the kids couldn't wait to get down to the beach and I was a bit hesitant to throw on a bathing suit that my husband bought for me in the U.S.A. but, after reminding myself that I knew noone here our family trekked down to the beach! We went down at high tide and waded around, played in the sand (built a HUGE sand castle with three security walls - engineered by our own dear "Daddy") and our family stood together on the beach as we watched a beautiful sunset together!

Also while in Puerto Vallarta we walked the world famous Malecon - the Mexican version of the Boardwalk. The statues pictured are some of those on the Malecon. We watched sand sculptures being made, went down and threw rocks into the ocean and heard some great Mexican music being played on the stage at "Los Arcos". While in town we were able to visit the square and see the main cathedral. The kids loved feeding the pigeons - they were so comfortable with humans that they would eat right off your hands!

We had a wonderful time and my husband surprised us all with a room service dinner out on our terrace overlooking the ocean! He made sure to order me fresh Lobster! Our family had a wonderful time! We loved the ocean, the little town and the ocean! It was an experience not to be forgotten!

Día de Niños!

Here in Mexico there is a day dedicated to celebrating children and how wonderful they are... Dia de Ninos! so, I would like to share a bit about how great my children are! (Of course this will be a bit biased!)

"Sunshine", our eldest daughter got this nickname because when she was a baby she was very happy and a wonderful child - I would often find myself singing 'You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine...' and the nickname came from her happy temperament and her willingnes to take life as it comes. She is a great help to her siblings - and she is a great little mother as well! If school didn't interfere she and I would be joined at the hip! Whenever she is at home she is talking with me, helping cook dinners, sitting with me at the computer or just hanging out while I get some work done. She is a great daughter, friend and sister! We love having her in our family!

Ladybug is next! She is our catalyst for games, physical activities and fun. She has an independent side and has a special gift for making friends and setting a wonderful example for them. She is also a complete neat freak (which Mom LOVES) and when I need something done just the right way I know that she will get it done! She does very well in school and just found out that she is getting glasses next week! So exciting... she picked out some 'fashionable' frames and is looking forward to a new 'look'! She is a wonderful addition to our family!

Our little 'Strawberry' loves to emulate her mom and sisters! She is a ball of energy and loves to put on make-up, dress up, sing and dance! She is often found dancing around with her sisters. This year is her first year in school and she has done exceptionally well - learning in English and Spanish! Which is great because she just was prescribed glasses as well and we have found that she couldn't see much of what was happening on the board at school! She adapts so well and is intent on helping others and making sure that everyone feels good. She shares so much with our family!

Our little man is next and he can hold his own for a young boy with three sisters! He is at the stage where he can be the cutest, moost helpful young man one minute and the next minute he is flooding the bathroom while his 'Star Wars Galactic Heroes' are taking a bath - or swimming - or drowning in galactic goo or some such thing! He has a great imagination and a ton of energy - he stopped taking naps at about two years old! He gives the best hugs in the world and loves to 'snuggle'! He adds so much love to our family and we are grateful to have him here with us!