Unexpected blog trip down memory lane

I had sat down with my meal plan, getting ready to work on the new one for the next two weeks, when I decided to come on my blog and take some inspiration from previous menus of years gone by.

One of the first posts I opened was a Happy Homemaker Monday from 2009, and quickly realized that the HHM picture was not working.  So, as a blogger what do you do?  You go and update that post and fix the problem.

As I scrolled down to the photo from the camera, it was one of my favorites of me and my baby Lola.  It made me miss her so so much.  Again, the photo was not working properly and I quickly realized that it was due to the fact that it was still uploaded on Photobucket.

{ Fort Worth Stockyards - Day Trip }

We have lived in Texas for the past 3 years, and had yet to make it to the Fort Worth Stockyards.

When my stepmother was visiting, she asked if we could take her to see the Stockyards, and we thought it was the perfect opportunity for us to finally make it down to Fort Worth.

It was a short day trip, actually more like a few hours trip, but it was so interesting and fun that we plan on returning with the kids, sometime in the next few weeks.

{ Box of memories }

I have a box sitting in my closet, at the top shelf, just sitting there.  I kind of knew what as in it, but not really.  Okay let me rephrase that, I knew what some items were but as is usual, you tend to keep things you completely forget about until you happen upon them again.

As I was cleaning out my closet this morning, I pulled the box down and the very first thing I thought was "it's heavy, what on earth is in here?".

I dragged it into the living room, set it on the couch and opened the box.  I honestly was not prepared for everything that I found, and the next hour saw me in tears, looking through things, remembering certain times and moments, where I was, what I was doing.

You don't really think about how much materialistic items mean to you, until you actually pick them up, hold them in your hand and allow your mind to take a trip down memory lane.  Our brains are absolutely amazing aren't they?

I have my children's hospital bracelets, cards and some paperwork.  They are memories that I will forever treasure, because they take me back in time to the beginning of my journey as a mom.

This is Jasmine's below :)  It's hard picturing her as a 6 pound 7 ounce baby, now that she's 19 years old.

And here is my boy, so crazy.  He is now 6 feet tall and 15 years old.  Wow!!!

I still have all of their booties too, most made by my stepmom, and grandmothers.

And just look at these little crochet and knitted sweaters from both of my grandmothers :)

I need to sit down and go through all their baby stuff, put it in separate little boxes and organize it all etc.  I think it will be fun to do that and one day, I'm hoping to pass some of these, down to their own children.

In that box were also my flutes from my wedding day.  20 years and they've survived moves, sadness, happiness, births and deaths and so on.

Then I found this wooden box and I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was, or what was in it.  Boy was I surprised when I opened the box and found a bunch of envelopes and photos.

This envelope above is filled with letters that I wrote to Curt when he was deployed right after September 11, 2001.  He kept every letter I wrote.

I plan on going through them and reading them one by one.  I know it will be hard because it will bring back a lot of feelings and emotions from that time.  I suffered a miscarriage while he was gone, I was alone with Jasmine who was just 2 years old, for many months.  I was a mess!!!

But it's all those things that you go through, that make you the person you are today.

All those feelings and emotions, are a part of me and who I was at the time, and even if I read a simple sentence on a piece of paper, and think to myself "oh my word, what were you thinking?" it doesn't matter, because it doesn't in any way invalidate what I was going through at the time, when I was younger, much much younger.

So it's good to go back sometimes and think about your past and what you did, where you were, go through old mementos and sometimes even get a good cry in.  It's cleansing, it really is.

And I will forever be grateful to the memories contained in that box, it's like a step back in time, almost a time capsule of where we were, WHO we were and how far we've come.

Just look at how young we looked above, feels like a lifetime ago :)

{ Burnt Toast }

There are moments in life, that immediately take us back to another time.  Maybe it's a memory from adulthood, or as most often it occurs, our childhood.

Burnt Toast!!!

I was making some breakfast for myself this morning, and I used a bread roll in the toaster.  Because it was thicker than the usual sliced bread, some of it caught and burned.

I pulled it from the toaster, grabbed the butter knife and instinctively started scraping the burned edges.  Without even realizing, I was transported back to my childhood.

Standing at the kitchen door, I see my greatgrandmother making toast, and scraping off the burned edges with a butter knife.  The scraping sound and the smell of burning was deeply ingrained in my memory and I hadn't even thought of it until this very moment.

Take for example this cereal above.  When I visited the Portuguese store in San Diego, one thing my eyes caught on was this cereal that I remember eating as a child, in Portugal.

I could almost taste it.

Yesterday for breakfast, I made a bowl and as soon as I took a bite, I knew that this was it.  I closed my eyes and again, was back in Portugal, eating a bowl at the kitchen table, getting ready to head to school.  Mind you, I was 5 years old, so to be able to still remember exactly where I was and what I felt, is a blessing.

Funny enough, I had this conversation with my Nicholas yesterday.  He always comes out of his bedroom and chats with me when I'm preparing dinner.  It's such a small gesture, but it's something I absolutely love and will treasure for many many years to come.  I'm quite certain that in years to come, he will find himself transported back in time to this kitchen too.

The past two days I've been homemaking at full speed.  One of the things I've been catching up on, is laundry, and since it's been so incredibly hot here in Texas, I've been making full use of the wash line to hang the clothes out to dry.

And when the homemaking is done, I always take an hour or two to sit on the couch, catch up on some shows and crochet.

I've completely caught up on Call the Midwife, and am almost done catching up with Poldark, next on the list is When Calls the Heart.  After that, I think I may start watching Anne with an E on Netflix.  I know there have been mixed reviews on it, but I always prefer to watch for myself and make my own opinion, so I'll give it a go.

Life is made of little moments.  Every single thing we do is a potential memory maker not only for us, but for those around us.  Choose wisely how you spend your time and influence those around you.

You could be someone's fond memory, or worst nightmare.  Just think about that for a second.

I had never really thought of it like that, and then realized that just as I have such wonderful memories that take me back in time to my childhood, I could have easily had awful things to block out.  So with that in mind, I'm determined to give my children nothing but wonderful moments to reflect back on when they leave home.

I'll close this with a question because I am quite curious.....do you ever have those moments where you're also taken back in time?  I would love to know :)

{ Not the typical Sunday }

The day started like any other, up early for me, started the dishes and a load of laundry and then sat down on the couch to watch some Vlogs and my Portuguese Soap.

Once the hubby was up, we made breakfast together and then sat down to enjoy it, while chatting about the week ahead and things we have coming up.

The laughs we share

 
If there is one thing about family, and I mean, real family who cares, is that no matter how much time apart you spend, when you reunite it's just like old times.

As you all know by now, my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew, arrived on Monday morning.  They have been wanting to leave Idaho and move to Texas for a while, the truth is that there really are no jobs available in the area they were in and things were starting to get quite difficult.

When they first arrived in South Africa in 2013, we took them in, and helped them get started in this beautiful country.  I am not going to say that it was easy, it wasn't, and if you go back and read some of my posts you will understand that no matter how much you love family, when you have 8 people living in one small house, it's bound to cause some friction here and there.

But it's all part of the family dynamics.  With that said, the financial burden is not an easy one either, but it's one that my husband and I gladly took on.

Fast forward to today and we are doing it all over again.  The difference this time is that we are in a much bigger house, with a much better financial situation to be able to help them.

So, here we are again.

I've been so busy the past few days, not only getting everyone settled in, but catching up, chatting, and laughing like I haven't laughed in a long time.  It feels good, it replenishes the soul and it makes any stress you may be feeling, seem quite minimal.

I don't know how long it will be for them to find jobs, find a home, and get settled in for good, but I'm quite positive that it is not going to take them very long at all.  With that said, I would like to ask you all for some prayers for them, it would be really appreciated.

As for us, well, Curt is still loving his job and doing wonderful, the kids are doing well in school and I'm just plodding along as always.  Oh and I got my results back from my mammogram and everything is clear and normal, which was such a huge relief.  Thank you to all who kept me in their prayers.

Yes I've been busy and haven't had much time to be online, but at least it's for a good cause, right?

Right, well it's almost 7am and I am in desperate need of some coffee and sustenance, so time to hop on off this bed and get to it.

Family, unpacking and catching my breath

Well my friends, one thing about being in the military, is the fact that you kind of get used to being alone, being away from all family members and spending holidays yourself.

Such was our life for a very long time, but since moving to the Texas area, we have been inundated with family and friends who live nearby.

Most of my husbands area are natives to Oklahoma and Texas and so, whichever side of the line we may be on, we are bound to meet up with family and visit.

I can tell you that since setting foot here in our new home, we have yet to have a weekend to ourselves, a moment to breathe or to even catch up from the move, it's been go go go and more go.  Every weekend we have some sort of function that we are required to attend or as we would say in the military "voluntold"  LOL

It's fun but tiring too and I am afraid my body is starting to catch up with me and needing some much needed rest and relaxation, not to mention the fact that we still a house to finish setting up.

Yesterday, I fully intended on posting here on the blog but we left early morning and didn't return until almost 11pm.  We had a surprise celebration party for my husband's aunt and uncle who were celebrating 50 years of marriage.  Such a wonderful milestone and something we were very glad to be able to attend.

My husband was definitely in his element, he is the type of guy who likes chatting and visiting with people and he hadn't seen many of his family members in many years, so he was so happy to be able to catch up and to be there for his Aunt and Uncle's celebration.  Here is is above with his Uncle Richard who was celebrating 50 years of marriage.

Aunt Mickey and Uncle Richard.  We hadn't seen them in so long, matter of fact last time I saw them I was about a month away from giving birth to my Nicholas and we were at my father in law Doug's funeral.

Nicholas is now 12 years old so as you can see, a very long time ago.  We saw aunt and uncles and cousins and little babies who are now grown teenagers.  It was great but also overwhelming and I felt a little out of place, my kids especially who didn't know anyone were a little overwhelmed with it all, but I'm glad we were able to be there and hopefully we'll be attending more family functions and able to mend the gap that has been forged.

In between this, I've been trying to soak in life here in the country.  Mornings are filled with coffee cups and moments watching the sun rising and the world spring to life.

The living room is slowly coming along and it's become one of my favorite areas in the house, I sure do love walking in there and seeing the green minty walls with my Americana decorations and my little pieces here and there.

It is the best part of moving in, isn't it?

Getting to make it your own and given a blank canvas to get to work on.  I admit I'm not exactly the best decorator in the world, I tend to get stuck between a couple themes I like and somehow feel like I throw them all in the same room, or try to.

But it works, at least for now.

This is the family room and it sits right off the kitchen.  I am in love with the fireplace, just absolutely in love with it and I can't wait to do more with it.

I'm not a fan of paneling, at all, but my husband loves it and it's the one room he is not budging on and won't allow me to paint, so I'm going to let him have it, the room I mean....I'm not going to yell at him LOL

I've decided that the only way I can really live with this paneling is to embrace it and try to make something out of it, so I'm thinking maybe a cabin style?  I may need to make some trips to Hobby Lobby because they have SO much I would love to put in here.  We'll see.

I think I also mentioned in a previous post about going to the library?  Or maybe I thought I had, I know for sure I said something on Instagram.

But yes, I picked up a few books to peruse and I'm certainly enjoying them.  Being a huge fan of Phillipa Gregory I just had to grab this one, I haven't read it yet, but plan on starting tomorrow.  If you've read it let me know what you thought.

A very busy weekend we had, and today my brother in law is here with us, he'll be leaving tonight as he has to be back in Lawton tomorrow for work, but we've certainly enjoyed having him so much closer.

This week I have some grocery shopping planned, some more unpacking and laundry and all that fun stuff.  I'm also very excited to be back blogging which means my Happy Homemaker Monday will be back tomorrow morning.

I better get on out of here and go visit with family, have a wonderful rest of Sunday :)

The Newest Love of My Life!

I'm extremely blessed to have the most beautiful and amazing nieces and nephews and last night, I got a call at 3am from my baby brother Bruno, letting me know that I was an auntie again. It makes me SO happy. You remember the fright we got back in August and as always you all answered my call for prayers for this little one :) Thank you again!

She's a little early so she's still in the NICU, please send some prayers her way, we want her to thrive and be allowed to go home as soon as possible.

So here she is, Anastacia....the newest love of my life.

Some of you wanted to know her weight, she weighs 1.6 kilos which is about 3 lbs 7 ounces.....Tiny little sweetheart :)

I'm Blessed!

I often think how incredibly lucky I am, or rather, blessed, that I can do so many things, some well and some not so well, others not at all, but for the most part I consider myself a pretty creative gal.

I think it all came from the amazing strong women in my family, women who have fought the odds and have struggled through most of their lives but always with a smile on their faces, women who knit and who crochet, who cook and who bake, who sew and who darn, who sing and who talk and have this intense love for the family and the Lord. Ahhh would it not be for their faith, I don't know where they or ME would be today.

After all anything that happens to your family happens to you too right? It's all a big circle and when you do something it tends to reverberate and send off all these little waves that affect all the members of the family.

So when I think about my childhood and I think about the things I've learned, I smile and I am overwhelmed with love and with pride and ever so thankful that I had the role models to teach me how to be a woman, how to take care of a home, how to be a wife and how to be a mother. All things that I could have learned by myself, but it makes it that much more poignant when it's been passed down from generation to generation....when you have a problem or a question and you know that no matter who you ask they will have an answer and not just one that they've heard somewhere, it's something they've learned through their years of life experience and it's advice that comes from "being there and doing that".

As I sit today and watch my 9 year old old start to turn into a young woman, I often wonder just how she'll turn out, will I have the same strength and courage that my greatgrandmother, grandmothers, mother and stepmother had, will I know how to answer her and give her the guidance she needs in her life?

I think the answer is yes, because I was taught by the best so how can I not know how to pass that on to Jasmine?

What got me thinking about all this is the fact that while watching some of the young girls around here, it struck me how little they knew about cooking or cleaning, most of them don't even want to know how to do these things, they laugh it off and say things like "we can just go out to eat everyday"....or "that's why I plan on living near my parents so my mom will do my laundry".

I would rather my daughter was prepared and knew how to do everything, obviously doesn't mean she will like it, chances are she'll probably turn her nose up at ironing, scrubbing toilets and dishes, but I want her to have the tools she needs to go out there on her own and know that if mom is not around, she can take care of herself, at least make a meal and have clean clothes. That's a starting point.

But as I was saying, I'm blessed, blessed because thankfully my daughter shows an interest in some of the things, she wants to cook and she loves cleaning (I did too until it became a daily thing, now not so much).
So I'm showing her everything I can and hope that one day, she may come to feel the same way I do about the wonderful women in my family.

I love you Bio, Avo Jacinta, Avo Odete, Mae and Nela!


I leave you with a question: Are you planning on teaching your daughters everything you know, or do you want to leave it up to them whether they want to learn or not?