La Casa de la Zacatecana

In Leiu of Halloween's approach our daughter's school classes traveled into the city of Queretaro, Mexico for a mysterious field trip. We visited "La Casa de La Zacatecana" (The home of the woman from Zacatecas) while we were there we heard a ghost story legend that truly did scare many of the students.

The legend states that 'La Zacatecana' and her husband lived in this beautiful home and were quite wealthy. They lived there with their servant who had been an orphan before they employed him. 'La Zacatecana' had fallen in love with the gardener of the house and her husband confronted her with his knowledge of her clandestine love. 'La Zacatecana' then plotted with her servant to kill her husand, which he did. 'La Zacatecana' then proceeded to kill the servant and bury the bodies in her basement. A short time later, while 'La Zacatecana' was sleeping, assassins entered her home and killed her in her bed - they then took her body and placed it in the middle of the street in front of her home for the people of Queretaro to find. To this day noone knows who killed 'La Zacatecana'.

The home had been bought and sold many times and it is claimed to have the ghost of 'La Zacatecana' roaming the grounds. The legend claims that is why noone has lived in the home for any length of time.

Our daughter enjoyed touring the grounds and hearing about the legend and most of her classmates enjoyed it as well. One of the highlights of the trip was looking in a window at the museum and seeing a 'reflection' of the face of 'La Zacatecana' peering at the group out of a window. We also saw the skeletons of the husband and servant that were down in the basement! We enjoyed hearing of one of the legends of Mexico and being able to enjoy our time together!

Civil Disagreement

I am one who stands on the side of supporting traditional marriage. We are a country that is extremely diverse. I feel that, collectively, we have accepted all forms of diversity as a part of our culture and we have discovered ways for each of us to live together in our society courteously and kindly. I feel that we can continue to live together in this society and allow all people the right to pursue happiness as they so choose, without calling for the change of basic laws.

The issue of legalizing same sex marriage that is now before us will change the bedrock of the founding of our country. I believe that the morals this country were founded upon have been and are being directly attacked. These are the morals that protect not only family but also protect religion, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, etc.

The rights of citizens will be altered if this measure to legalize same sex marriage passes - parents will no longer be able to teach their chosen religion without being legally incorrect and possibly held in contempt of the law; churches will be in contempt for teaching a strict adherence to the ten commandments and the scriptural teachings of Jesus Christ; schools will have to change curriculum to welcome same sex marriage, polygamous marriages, gender confusion, gender change choices, etc. Local governments, National Laws, Federal Taxes, Insurance providers etc. will have to recognize and cover polygamy, same sex marriages and gender change operations or confusion and the subsequent identity changes that would incur.

Although all of us have the right to choose for ourselves what to believe we must realize that these practices are not the norm. These are the exception. I feel that people need to be educated in a manner that allows them to have an open mind but to be taught correct principles and then allow them to govern themselves in relation to their personal belief system. It has been given to the parents and teachers of religion to insure that our children have been taught sufficiently to then choose for themselves. I believe that options and exceptions to the way a child is reared should be shared around high school age when each person has sufficient understanding to choose for themselves what manner of life they would like to lead.

Let me be clear that I abhor prejudice in all forms; including the prejudice against people who practice various religions; all prejudices against race as well as sexual preference. That said, I applaud the opportunity we have to voice our opinions and to disagree CIVILLY at times.

Crossing this threshold of departing from traditional marriage as the 'legal norm', to me, marks the beginning of the unraveling of the basic rights of the country's constitution. The legal norm was what this country was founded upon - even at the time of the founding fathers there were surely those who had various beliefs regarding race, religion and sexual preference. The constitution supports the rights of all people and when necessary changes have been made in the constitution to insure that all people were treated equally. Those changes were vital and important and in accordance with what the people chose. The constitution begins with "We The People" and the voice of the collective whole was united and became the basis for the forging of our Constitution.

If states choose not to legalize same sex marriage it does not mean that the people are bigots or prejudice; it means that the people are exercising their right to voice their beliefs and that the majority supports traditional marriage. We each have the right to voice our opinions and beliefs and that in no way diminishes anyone's ability to form relationships but it does allow the law to continue to forbid polygamy, marriages to minors and other activities our society deems as unacceptable.

If we begin down this path of legalizing something other than the Constitution's legal norm for families we must understand that we are on a slippery slope that leads towards altering the legal norms for the entire Constitution and all the rights that we as a people have been given will be available for a vote. There are unalienable rights that we have claimed and I would suggest that one unalienable right is that of having a mother and father in the family. I know that is an unalienable right of the human race because God himself mandated the necessity of both a father and a mother, not only in His commandments but in how human life is created. Of this right, I have no doubt. I do not believe that we can continue to destroy traditional families without repercussions as an entire society - all races, religions and sexual preferences combined.

We ask that "God Bless America" and state, "In God We Trust". We state that we are "One nation under God" and that we are "Indivisible". Yet, how can we ignore the basic tenets of the ten commandments by getting rid of families with a mother and father (who we are commanded to honor); allowing abortion to act as a method of birth control when we are commanded not to kill; forgetting to love our neighbors as ourselves no matter what their race, religion or creed are? How can we state that we are 'indivisible' when we have become so divided regarding politics, principles and prejudices?

Perhaps these are the exact reasons why so many question the existence of God - because our laws speak against His existence. Thus, my question is: Do we feel that we can maintain the right, collectively, as a nation to call upon God for protection when we are continually abandoning what He has asked of us?

A hunting we will go... A hunting we will go...

This past weekend our family tried our hand at geocaching! After some initial map confusion (meaning Mom was in charge of the map, GPS system and directions) we were finally able to drive to the basic destination! We parked and walked for a bit along a nice sidewalk...then we turned off the sidewalk and ventured into grass, prickers, cactus and bushes! We had fun following the GPS' directions to locate the cache! When we finally got to a small cliff on the trail we all voted that Dad go down and retrieve the cache!

Dad climbed down the cliff, over some dirt and into - yes, into - some cactus to retrieve the cache! He was bleeding a bit and was in some pain... but, he found it! We were so excited to open it up and add our names to the list of 'finders'! When geocaching it is customary to bring things to place in the geocache and to take something out of the cache. We placed some toys from the children, some American and Mexican coins and we retrieved the stone statue that is pictured! It is a wonderful momento of our first modern treasure hunt! We had great fun - minus Dad pulling an entire cactus chunk out of his leg!

We have already mapped out some more caches to hunt! We not only enjoyed finding a little piece of treasure but the view was spectacular as well! This is a wonderful activity for families to enjoy together - every member of our family had a great time hunting for hidden treasure! Enjoy the pictures and let us know if your family enjoys geocaching as well!

What a difference an idea can make!

Looking at this picture one notices the lovely white home with a blue door... but immediately realize that it is a recycled shipping unit like the one pictured next to it! I recently saw these pictures and read about an idea is an amazing idea with tremendous social implications worldwide! This company is thinking 'outside the box' about living inside a box! Below is pictured the basic interior of these amazing homes.


While living here in Mexico my family has been touched by these amazing people that live happy lives in impoverished circumstances. We have done small service projects to help out these families or single mothers with children; yet this idea is a paradigm shifting, life changing possibility! This company wants to take the old, used, metal storage crates and recycle them to create homes for those who are living in muddy, bug infested, rotting shacks. This ingenuity could quite possibly create homes for millions of homeless people!

Visit www.pfnc.net to learn more about this ingenious company! I hope that their idea will inspire you! If you are able to donate please do... and if nothing else sign up to learn how these homes can impact millions of people. What a difference an idea can make!

Giving Thanks

I realize that I am sharing these thoughts a couple of months before the official day of "Thanksgiving" but this morning I have been thinking of some of the more mundane things that I am grateful for.

1. Dishwashers - for my first three months here, in Mexico, I did not have a dishwasher although I DID have wrinkled, peeling skin on my hands, two less hours a day to do other things and lots of bubbles!
2. Medical Advice in your own language - Enough said!
3. Monitored Security Systems - With all that is going on in Mexico at the moment I wish I had BRINKS watching my house when I'm not there.
4. Bicycles - Our kids really miss their bicycles! It will be nice to get home and be able to buy some... they are about $170 USD+ here!
5. Crisco or Vegetable Shortening - They don't have that here - a friend just did tell me about it in an 'American' store but the price was over $15 USD for one tub!
6. LDS Bible References - No, Spanish Bibles DO NOT have our cross references. (I hear the church is translating and working on it though.)
7. Target - Yes, Target or any other store that has reasonably priced, cute clothes. I have not bought any clothes for our family here in over a year! (We do our shopping only at Christmas and our quick, summer trips back!)
8. Casual Conversation - To just 'talk' to other mothers or friends requires so much WORK when you are translating everything! (Although, now it is much easier than it was!)
9. Family - We miss you all!
10. Right to Bear Arms - I so wish we could have a gun in the house down here... in fact, when I come home Rey, Michael, David and Jimmy - will you teach me to shoot? Then I can give Angelina Jolie a run for her money! Seriously, I wouldn't mind knowing that I can protect my beautiful children in any given situation. They do make cute, designer guns, right?

Those are the things I am grateful for that I miss having. There is so much in our lives that we take for granted and I am learning first hand what we really need and what constitutes wants! This experience has helped me see how happy people truly are when they have little more than family and friends. It has given me a new appreciation for the tremendous blessings I took for granted everyday.

Take a break today and kiss your dishwasher and your family!

A Gal with Gumption...

Gumption: –noun Informal. 1. initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: With her gumption she'll make a success of herself. 2. courage; spunk; guts: It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job. 3. common sense; shrewdness.

Sarah Palin seems to be a principled woman who is taking the spotlight and the nation by storm! She is articulate, beautiful and brave. She is standing as role model for women everywhere and I LOVE that she is defending her decisions regarding motherhood and pro-life! She is truly giving back to women (in a public way) the choices the feminists pulled away... the innate choice to CHOOSE to be a mother!

Many in today's society look down on the choice to be a mother because it is a 'waste' of talent, resources, time blah blah blah... in fact, I have even been personally asked, "Why did you bother going to college for your degree when all you do is stay home and waste it?" YES, I was actually asked that question!

My answer is - I am here, as a Mother, because that is what I WANT to be. I could be a great many things but foremostly I will be a wife and mother! If women truly have the right to choose anything they want to be then the choice to be a wife and mother is not only defendable but commendable! In this day and age when the world is an open door of opportunity I personally applaud those who choose Motherhood first and truly make a difference!

I am grateful that such stellar, female role models are on the national stage at this time and they have put Motherhood first and then they have fulfilled their roles in the community!

I applaud Sarah Palin and hope we will see more of these women speaking up and coming forth to support the idea of Family First even as they fulfill community roles!

It must be added that I do earnestly hope that her morals, values and principles are as solid in her personal life as they appear to be in her public life. I hope the best for this VP candidate and I hope that those women who are looking to her as a role model will find that their confidence in her is well founded.

¡Bautismo en Mexico!

We celebrated our daughter's important decision to be baptized at the end of August! She chose to have her service in Spanish and her Dad learned the necessary words to perform the ordinance in another language! What a wonderful experience it was - she invited many of her school friends and their families and she enjoyed the support of her grandparents (Grammie & Gramps Smith) being here as well!

The talks were given in both Spanish and English by her parents (who were nervous - but made it through the bilingual talks) and our little Ballard Bunch sang a musical number in English.

Overall, the baptismal ordinance was the same... but the service was unique due to the language differences! It was a spiritual and memorable experience! We are so proud of our daughter's decision!

Afterward she received some special gifts including her first set of scriptures and her first journal with all of the testimonies of her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that were sent just for her special occasion!

She is a special, young lady and we are grateful to have the privelege to have her as a part of our family!