13 Years of Love

Larry and I started dating 13 years ago today.  The past 13 years have been nothing short of interesting to say the least.  There is never a dull moment in our lives it seems.  I thank God that I have had the opportunity to share these years with him and for the privilege of getting to spend the rest of my life with him.

This morning as I wrote the date down and realized its significance, I sent my sweet husband this text message:

"13 years ago today, I started my life with you.  I love you so much.  Thank you for being the best husband and very best friend I could ever want or need."

 

His response made my eyes swell with tears:

"Your beauty is exceeded only by your patience and constant optimism.  My life would be empty without the experience of our love, a dark canvas without the life of color.  May God bless us with seventy more scoons (years) together!"

To say that I love him, almost seems like I'm lying.  "Love" doesn't seem to be a strong enough word or do my feelings justice.  I looked up some synonyms of the word "love", and I think I will try to start using different words that I haven't said to him every day multiple times a day for the past 13 years.  Words that I'll only ever say to him and never another man.  Words that may better capture the depth of my sentiments for the man that still makes me the happiest girl in the world!

Babe, I adore you and think the world of you!

Happy Birthday, Erika!

My sister, Erika, was my very first best friend.  She and I are a little less than 2 years apart and to say that we did everything together is an understatement.    Since we were so close in age, Erika wanted to do everything I did.  My mom who always wanted to be fair, treated us like twins...if I got something, Erika did too, only usually in a different color.  She even dressed us alike. 

Let me just say that having her as a sister, there was NEVER a dull moment! 

If you've ever met my sister, you would probably never guess that she got off to a late start talking.  She wouldn't speak clearly and instead of talking, tried to get away with some kind of baby babble well into her second year.  My mom would ask her what she wanted, trying to get her to talk and Erika would respond with some incomprehensible gibberish and she would say, "Erika, I don't understand you".  Well, it never failed that I would jump in as the big sister and tell my mom exactly what she wanted.  I understood her and I did not realize that my mom was simply trying to get her to speak clearly.  To some extent, this even happens to this day.  I understand her more than most people and usually know how she is feeling or what she is thinking before she can even verbalize it.

Trying to pick a story or two from our childhood to put in this post has been difficult.   We have so many funny memories that we desperately need to get documented before we forget them (if we haven't already).  This is one of Erika's favorite stories, and I'm sure she is expecting I put it in here.  I've never written it down before, so we'll see if it is as funny when you read it as it is when you hear it.  In December of 1987, when I was 8 and Erika was 5 years old, I broke my elbow.  At this point, Erika and I had bunk beds and I normally slept on the top bunk.  However, since I required surgery and had 2 pins in my elbow, a soft cast, and could not bend my arm, my mom put me on the bottom and Erika on the top so that I wouldn't injure myself further trying to climb up and down the ladder.  In the middle of the night, I woke up having to go to the bathroom.  Several things hindered me from going on my own - I couldn't get up out of bed on my own without hurting my elbow and I couldn't pull my pajama pants down (or back up) by myself, so I called out for Erika to help me.  After calling her name three times, I got a groggy response and told her that I needed to go to the bathroom, she said okay, and the next thing I heard was a huge THUD!  When my mom ran into the room, Erika was still laying face down on the carpet trying to figure out what had just happened.  She had totally forgotten that she was on the top bunk and just stepped out as if she was on the bottom.  Fortunately, she was just fine, and now we have a hilarious story to tell our grandkids.

As with most siblings...we had a few years where we didn't get along quite as well as we did in our younger years.  She didn't much care for my advice and I didn't like that she wasn't accepting it and abiding by it.  BUT as we got older, we found a mutual admiration for each other.  I hope she realizes now that my "advice" was given purely out of love and not some sick need to be right all the time.  The last year and a half or so, during the last few months of her pregnancy, and since John Patrick was born, we have been closer than ever.  We love taking the baby and our little cousins, Bianca, 4, and Alexis, 2, to the park, Chuck E Cheese and Disney on Ice together.  It is rare that we go more than a day or two without atleast talking on the phone and we see each other atleast once a week.

Erika has turned out to be such a great mother!  I am so proud of her and John Patrick definitely loves his mommy!  She goes above and beyond to make sure that he has everything he needs, no matter the circumstances.

Erika, I am so proud of the mother and person you are.  Know that if you or John Patrick ever need anything at all, I am just a phone call away. 

I love you both so very much.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Bianca!

Oh my sweet, sweet Bianca!  I can't tell you how much I LOVE this girl!  Just thinking of her makes me smile!  Today, my precious cousin turns 4 years old!  I have so enjoyed the past 4 years with her. 

She is definitely one of the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful little girls you will ever meet!

Most of you know the story behind why Bianca, I believe, was sent to us by God.  If you don't know, it's definitely not a story I'm going to post, but one that I can tell you over coffee one day.  Bianca has definitely filled an enormous hole in the hearts of many.  She brightens up any room and just being with her makes me totally forget any of my problems.

One of my favorite things to do with Bianca is to teach her songs.  During Christmas of 2008, before Bianca turned 3, we started singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".  Let me tell you, that we sang that song over and over year round, and by this past Christmas she had pretty much gotten all the words down.  Back in November, I was able to record her singing the entire song. 

She's so funny, you can see she did NOT want me to help her at all!  I am so happy I was able to capture that because now, only 4 months later, she now knows all the words!

When I say she's smart, let me tell you, I'm not exaggerating.  She speaks mainly Spanish, and it is quite often when she actually teaches me a word I do not know.  She has also corrected my pronunciation of Spanish words on several occasions!  She has also (mainly by watching Blue's Clues and other shows of the sort) picked up a great deal of English on her own.  It's so funny hearing her speak in English and wondering where she got that from.

I definitely cherish every minute I have to spend with her.  I hope she knows how much I love and adore her and just how much she means to me.  How I wish there were more time for me to take her to Chuck E Cheese and the zoo every weekend and spend more time with her, but that only makes our time together even more special!

Bianca, I love you more than you will ever know!  I look forward to every trip to the zoo or to Chuck E Cheese and I look forward to all the new things you will want to do as you get older.  You never cease to amaze me with how smart and kind you are.  You truly have a piece of my heart!

Feliz Cumpleaños! Te quiero mucho!

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

My baby sister, Amanda, is 23 years old today.  I can't even believe it.  If she's 23, that means I'm - well, let's just say it means I'm older than she is. 

Amanda was my baby.  I hated to leave her everyday to go to school and really looked forward to coming home and hearing every single detail of my mom's day with her.  Everything she did amazed me so.

My mom started working out of the house when Amanda was little, and I was left in charge.  This meant that I was able to discipline her.  Funny when your older sister is able to spank and ground you, but that's the way it was for poor, little Amanda.  I'll never forget one of the first times I spanked her and I had to run out of the room and cry!  I couldn't stand to see my baby hurt!

We did everything together.  I taught her how to say her ABC's, how to read, how to swim, how to ride a bike, and how to hide from and get away from strangers.  I taught her all of the states and their capitals when she was 3 years old (she was one smart kid!), and when I got older and wanted to go out with friends, she came with me, which I guess has stuck, since even to this day if I don't want to go somewhere by myself, I call her.

Amanda and I have always had a very special closeness.  When she was eight years old, she had to have surgery to repair her ear drum and have her adenoids removed.  The family waited anxiously in the waiting room to hear from the doctors to know that she was okay.  When the nurse came out, she asked "Is there a "Tina" out here?"  We told her that I was "Tina" and she said "Amanda is asking for you."  Although it might have stung my mom just a little that her baby was asking for me instead of her, I'm sure that she was happy to know that her daughters have such a special bond.

One evening when my sisters and I were at a friends house, I went for a walk around the block with Erika and the 2 older friends.  Amanda begged to go, but I told her to play with her friend and that I would be right back as I just wanted the "big kids" to go.  Apparently, not long after I had gone, the little boy that Amanda was playing with swung a metal bat and hit her in the head.  When we got back from our walk, I ran into the house when I heard her screams.  The lady that was watching us had a bag of ice on her head and she said that she had been screaming for me since it happened.  I felt so bad that I didn't let her come with me.  I just knew that if I would have let her come, she wouldn't have gotten hurt and I felt horrible that she was crying for me and I wasn't there.  My "motherly" instincts came naturally when it came to Amanda.  God definitely knew what He was doing when he surprised us with her!

Things haven't always been peachy between Amanda and me.  I think with every "younger sister/older sister" and "mother/daughter" relationship there is usually a period of time when personalities clash.  Not to mention that I never wanted to see Amanda do anything that would be bad for her.  It really is so difficult to see someone you love so much doing something you know is going to turn out badly, especially if you have gone through it yourself and are wanting them to learn from your mistakes or hear your advice.  There were several instances when Amanda went in a direction opposite from where I would have liked.  Where even though I begged, pleaded, bribed, yelled and cried for her to do one thing, she did another.  It was those times, I think, that have made us closer.  I have ALWAYS told her what is on my mind, and regardless of whether or not she agrees and/or listens, she knows that no matter what she does or decides, I will be behind her 100%.  It has also been nice to see/hear her use my very same words of advice now.  When I ask her "So, you were actually listening?", she always says, "Tina, I always listened".  It is nice to know that even though she didn't always do what I wanted for her, she was listening, and didn't just think that I was some crazy, raving lunatic!

About a year after Larry and I were married, and 6 months after we moved into our new house, Amanda moved in with us.  It was SO much fun!  She was the best roomie ever!  We (yes, even Larry) really enjoyed having her with us for that year.  Too many funny things happened while she lived with us to put in this post, but one thing is for sure, Larry, Amanda and I will never forget that year!

Over the years, the "Titi" turned into "Tina" and before I knew it, my baby was all grown up!   Fortunately, she will ALWAYS call me Tina, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  As a matter of fact, when she was in Junior High, she tried to call me "Christina" one day and it was horrible!  If she started calling me Christina now, it would be like you calling your mom by her first name instead of "mom".  To me, it is just a constant reminder of our close relationship and it is a reminder that I love to hear!

Amanda, you have turned out to be a beautiful, fun, loving, mature, responsible woman.  I hope you know that I will always be here for you.  Know that I will always be honest with you and that I absolutely want the best for you. 

I love you so much!

Happy Birthday!!!

SURPRISE!!

We totally pulled off a surprise party for my mom's 50th Birthday this past Sunday. With the help of the entire family we all pitched in, schemed and plotted to make sure everything went off without a hitch. I must say, I think it went pretty well. She was totally surprised and she really loved seeing and visiting with everyone, especially those who came in from out of town and who she hadn't seen in years.

She was so excited, she didn't sit down the entire night until only 2 of her friends remained. Even then as she was finally eating the dinner we had catered, she was still noticing the old pictures we had used as decorations and going on and on about how excited and surprised she was.

Thank you all who attended and made her day oh so special. She will never forget it! A very special thank you to all my friends who were so generous in giving their time to help out and let me borrow things. THANK YOU to both my sisters for helping make this party happen. Couldn't have done it without either one of you. Thank you Nana and Papa for everything and Mike for keeping her in the dark until the very last second!

Here are a few pics...



Please see my facebook page for more pictures.

Hope you loved it Mom!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad is the lucky father of 3 daughters. Fortunately, he has my brother and Larry to even things out, but nothing trumps a daughter!

With three daughters to support, my dad quickly climbed the ranks in the restaurant industry through an amazing dedication and determination to succeed. He definitely taught my sisters and I our work ethics that so many of our bosses have praised us for.

I remember walking home from school in the 5th grade when some horrible high school boys pulled up on their bikes and showed me some inappropriate pictures and said some really mean things to me. When I got home crying, I told my dad what had happened and he literally jumped in his car and started to hunt these boys down for making his little girl cry. He never found them, but when I remember that incident, I always remember what my dad did for me and I smile. Although he has slowly had to let go of his little girls, I know he'd get in his car and chase someone down even to this day, if I just asked him to.

He and my sister, Erika, live together. Which I think has worked out well for both of them, especially since John Patrick was born. My dad loves this baby! I was too young to remember how he interacted with Robbie and Amanda when they were babies, but let me tell you that I have never seen him gush over a baby like he does with his first grandson. And this boy loves his Papi! If my dad is in the room, John Patrick wants to be with my dad. It doesn't matter who else is there, if Papi is there, John Patrick wants to be in his arms. It really is so great to see the two of them together.

I have to say, that one of the most amazing things about my father is how he took in my brother. With all the dead-beat dads out there, it is a rare occasion when a man takes in a child as his own on his own free will. From the time that Robbie came into our lives when he was 6 weeks old, my dad believed his prayers of having a boy were answered. My brother has told me on numerous occasions how blessed he is that God put dad in his life, and I know that my father feels the same about him. My dad has made sure that Robbie has always been taken care of and truly, without a doubt considers him his son. They share a special bond that only a father and a son share.

My dad is one of the most generous people I know. He never forgets a birthday and is always willing to give whether it be monetarily or with his time or excellent cooking skills! He loves a good party and having a good time. Whenever anyone in the family is looking for something to do, we always call him. He is always willing to host a family get together, even at the last minute.

Thank you Daddy for being there for all of us. We all know that we can always come to you if we ever need anything. Thank you for being such a great friend and dad! I am so thankful for you!

Happy 40th Birthday, Daddy! I love you!!

Happy "Big" Birthday, Mom!

My mom is definitely one in a million. If you have met her, you know this already. If you haven't met her, it just takes one time, and you too, will know that Sieglinde is not your ordinary person.

The first thing you notice about her is definitely her smile! I used to always say that her teeth were perfect like Sebastian in The Little Mermaid. She absolutely brightens a room whenever she walks in, and just FYI, if she's not smiling something is wrong - really wrong! I can't tell you how many times, even to this day, people have thought she was my older sister. It used to annoy me beyond measure when I was in elementary school, but now I think - hey, if that's what I'm going to look like in 20 years, it's not a bad thing at all!

After you've barely had a chance to distract yourself from her smile, she's most likely already got you locked in a hug. If she kisses you on the cheek, don't worry, she isn't making a move on you, and no, you're not special, she does that to everyone! She genuinely loves people and it doesn't take long for her to warm up to anyone.

Which brings me to my next Sieglinde-quality. She is NOT shy! She very well may be the most outgoing person I know. Unfortunately, I did not get that gene. She absolutely loves the spotlight, and I must add, the spotlight loves her! She can entice a crowd in moments with her quirkiness and she is NEVER at a loss for words! As a matter of fact, she has more things to say than can physically come out of her mouth in a logical and understandable manner. She talks so fast, that often I have to ask her to slow down. What I still find so hilarious, even to this day, is when she flips from English to Spanish in the middle of a story. I have gotten so used to it, I don't even think about it, that is until she does it to someone who doesn't speak Spanish and I see the look of utter confusion on their face. When brought up to her attention, she is usually confused herself as she doesn't even realize when it happens.

There is no doubt that I got my love of kids from my mother. She adores kids and they adore her. She started babysitting when I was 2 years old, and I'm pretty sure she did it simply because she loved having the kids around - the extra money was just an added bonus. As a matter of fact, my brother, Robbie, is in our lives as a direct result of her love of children. She started babysitting Robbie when he was 6 weeks old. He was at our house from before 6 am to about 6 pm everyday for the first 10 years of his life and she literally took him as another one of her children. In addition to my two sisters, my brother and I, she has opened her heart to her husband, Mike's, four boys, and has also taken them as her own. Even with 8 children of her own, and a grandson she melts over, she still has a heart of gold that seems to be overflowing with love to give out!

It is amazing to me that I am almost 30 years old and I still "want my mami" whenever I get sick. And don't think for one second that I'm taking advantage of the fact that she would drop everything to make me my favorite soup if I'm not feeling well, she loves it. She is so caring and selfless that she loves nothing more than to help people. And its not just her family she loves to help, if anyone needs anything that she is able to do, give or provide she'll do it.

My mother has taught me so many things. She taught me manners and being polite go a long way, it always helps your chances of getting something if you just say "please" first. She taught me responsibility and discipline that I will without a doubt be teaching any future children of mine. She taught me to strive for greatness and never do things without giving 100%, if it wasn't amazing, that was okay, as long as I gave it my very best try. She taught me that honesty is the best policy, even if it means you are going to get in trouble, and she taught me that simply saying "I'm sorry" can get you out of lots of trouble!

I could go on and on about my mom, but in a nutshell, she's amazing.

Mom, I love you so much. Thank you for all that you've taught me and for always being there.

Happy Birthday!

My Love

Today is another Valentine's Day with the love of my life. The 13th one, actually. Honestly, sometimes I can hardly believe we have been together that long. I am constantly learning new things about him, and each day, even on the hard days, I really do love him more than the day before.

Larry makes me happier than I could ever have imagined. He can totally make me laugh like no other. He is truly gifted in being funny and I often find myself just thinking of something he said or did and literally laughing out loud. He is, by far, the funniest person I know which is absolutely wonderful for the marriage. I can't imagine going through life without laughing, especially after the rough year we've had with my health and the accident, it really is the best medicine. If you've ever heard me say that the only reason we are still married is because how much he makes me laugh, that is a little bit of an exaggeration. I think we'd still be married, just definitely not as happy.

We don't anticipate or expect gifts on Valentine's Day. We did gifts for a long time, and now the fact that we are still together and still in love more than ever is gift enough for me. He has bought me one store bought card in all the years we've been together that I can remember, but I can show you the most beautiful things he has hand written me on food tickets (when he used to be a waiter) and notebook paper.

I can't imagine that its easy to love or live with me. I work on being a better person daily. I am so grateful that he is willing to stick by me while I work on me.

Babe, I love you so much. Thank you for being my own personal comedian when I need to laugh, my handyman when I need anything in my life to be fixed, my muscle when I need to be carried, my nurse when I am sick, my rock when things in life aren't good, a shoulder when I need to cry, my best friend when I need to have a good time, my lover when I need to be held and my soul mate when I need someone who just gets me. You are truly amazing.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Nephew!!

My Sweet Nephew, John Patrick, is one today. I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by! It really is true when they say "they grow up so fast". Each and every milestone he accomplishes, while my heart nearly bursts with joy, I also want to cry because he is literally growing up right before my very eyes.

While I sit and try to document my feelings of his life thus far, I cannot help but think about all the things I love about him. I love that his favorite things are to be thrown in the air and playing peek-a-scoon (or peek-a-boo for those of you who aren't down with the lingo). I love how his face lights up when he sees me walk into a room, and how his little giggle always makes me laugh. I love how he reaches for his Tio Larry to hold him and then quickly reaches back for me. I love how much of a personality he has gotten in 12 short months. I love how he thinks it is hilarious when I try to get him to say "TIA", and how when I count to three slowly he immediately starts giggling because he knows I'm about to throw him up in the air or swing him around. I love how he uses his entire arm to wave bye bye and how he claps anytime anyone says "yay!" I love saying prayers with him when I get to put him to sleep, I love teaching him new things and watching him learn. I love how he has completely changed the lives of our entire family.

If you have ever met him, even just once, you know how happy he is. He has a way of making me smile like noone else.

He has a huge part of my heart!

Happy Birthday, John Patrick!

New Year, New Post

Ever since the event that I can still only refer to as "the accident", I have had a hard time updating my blog. Every time I get on here, I see my last post and feel guilty for "moving on" and writing about something mundane. Granted, my nephew being able to walk now is definitely something I am so proud of, but I cannot help feeling guilt-ridden that life is going on. Does that make any sense? I know life has to go on, it is going on every day, and I know Robert would want us to go on, but I can't help that feeling of shame I get. That being said, I'm going to write something really quick and without much thought, just to get me going again. So that way, when I pull up my blog next time to post something, I don't feel like I am dishonoring him by posting something new.


Needless to say, Larry and I are more than happy to put 2009 behind us. We are both looking forward to the fresh start the New Year gives us. We are so glad to have a clean slate. Mentally, it really helps to know that we can basically start from scratch on the 1st of January, well, really the 4th this year since that was when we went back to work. While we still have some 2009 issues and circumstances threatening to bog us down every now and then, we are striving to have a brighter, more positive outlook on things.


We are truly blessed to have surrounded ourselves with such a loving group of people. We have an amazing support system of family and friends and we are extremely grateful for and love each of you.