Marriage or Money?

It seems like the answer would be obvious but for some the choice would not be what I would have expected it to be.

I've heard it said that everyone has a price; how much they are willing to do for a certain amount of money.

But a price on your marriage?

I realize that most Americans do not value their sacred marriage vows and this is why the divorce rate has sky-rocketed in this country.

It's truly a shame how little marriage is valued by so many, yes even Christians.

I've been watching way too much TV, I know. But recently on some enterntainment show, I viewed a discussion about whether or not Jamie Lynn Spears should marry her boyfriend who is also the father of her unborn child. Shouldn't marriage have come before the child? I realize that that is what God intended but unfortunately we live in a world that has made a mockery of marriage. People go about not respecting their marriage vows, especially in Hollywood. If it doesn't work for me, I can just get a divorce. Right? I disagree.

It's quite sickening to see and God is watching all of this. What must He be thinking?

We couldn't expect God to be happy with these choices. God is the creator and He designed marriage. He is very clear on what He wants us to do.

I admit I am still appalled by what some people would do for money. I know, call me naive but I'm still a hopeless romantic who believes that love can conquer all.

So this is why I've been having a hard time watching A Moment of Truth and seeing all these people choose money again and again over their marriage. Of course if they had that much secrets in their closets anyways, what type of marriage did they really have?

This just proves to me why this world is heading in the direction it is heading, as far as marriage is concerned. If people don't value their marriages and are willing to ruin it at a chance of $500,000 then no wonder divorce rates are so high.

Some of you might be thinking $500,000 is a lot of money and you are already thinking about all it could buy you. Just remember this: money does not buy true happiness. Jesus is the answer. He is the only way. The difference between some of us, is that we have truly figured that out. That does not mean that our marriages are divorce-proof or that we will not have hardship in this world. The bottom line is that if you want to have a good marriage it will require work.

No matter what, no amount of money should be valued as more than your marriage.

Glimpses of our getaway

Here are a few pictures of Greg and I at Timpano's on Las Olas, Ft.Lauderdale.

We also attended our godson's christening. I'm posting some of those pictures too. His name is William. Isn't he adorable?




I have to include some pictures too of our children all dressed up in their Easter outfits.








We also had a lot of family time.


We had a lot of fun and are very thankful that we were able to getaway but also see family.

Our Time Away

My husband and I had an opportunity to get away for a few days this past week. We were able to leave the kids with their grandparents and spend some quality time together. We celebrated my 30th birthday and our upcoming anniversary. We had a fabulous time.
We enjoy each other's company but don't get to go away a lot because of the kids. Our family is in Ft. Lauderdale so we don't always have a babysitter handy. However, we make the best of what we have and plan ahead so that we can spend time with each other. I'm so happy that we had 3 days of "our time" and no kids. We missed the kids though and it was nice when we finally saw them again. They missed us too but they were really good to their grandparents and we are so happy about that.
We stayed in a hotel that had a spa and were very blessed to get a massage. It was exquisite...absolutely awesome. I felt so relaxed after the Swedish massage that I wanted to sleep. Of course I am not doing the spa any justice because it is so hard to describe every detail to you. All I can say is that it was truly an experience!
We ate at Timpano's in Las Olas and we really enjoyed ourselves. We had to get dressed up, not too fancy (no suit for men but a nice shirt and tie). It was incredible. We had reservations but we arrived 30 minutes before our time and they seated us 15 minutes after we arrived. The whole time they apologized that our table was not ready, are you kidding? We were the ones that were early but they were really classy about everything they did. The women staff wore black dresses and the men staff wore black and white. We sat in a very cozy booth and quite romantic too. The whole dining room had the lights turned down really low and then each table had a candle. I loved the ambiance of the place. They also had a band playing and the food was phenomenal. It is an Italian bistro but they are also famous for their steak which we ordered and loved. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and also intend to go back there too. The next night we tried P.F. Chang's with some friends and enjoyed it too. The food and the company was awesome.
We also spent some time with our family. One of Greg's cousins asked us to be godparents for their son and so we went to the Christening while we were there. It was a nice way to spend our Easter and we are happy that we were able to see our family. The kids also enjoyed their time with the family. I'm going to have to post some pictures.

Mom's Morning Out

Today I had the opportunity to spend the morning away from home. I went to the hairdresser to get my perm and my ends trimmed. It was so relaxing to just sit and have someone work on my hair and not have to hear children in the background. I love my children but every once in a while I need a break!
Unfortunately, I did not like how the hairdresser styled my hair. She insist on putting in rollers to give my hair volume. I hate rollers and usually have my hair wrapped. I guess she thought she would be able to make it look "wow" but I did not like it. She did a great job with the trimming but everything else was not how I usually like my hair and I could not wait to get home and style it myself. I didn't let it ruin my day though and I actually got a compliment from a stranger saying that my hair looked nice so...
It didn't work for me though because I don't like too much volume in my hair, it makes it look poofy to me, kinda like the 80's. Of course that is my personal opinion and I know people usually think it looks nice when my hair has some volume but like I said, I don't like it. However, it is something that I can fix so enough of my ramblings about it.
Afterwards, I went to the nail place and got my toes done. I've been wearing red for a while now. I did it in Christmas and everyone liked it so I just kept getting red again but now today I felt like going back to my old ways; I love french pedicures/manicures. They just look so much more professionally done. I didn't get a manicure today but it was so nice to just relax again and have my toes done. It was also time to do eyebrow waxing again. I was not looking forward to that but beauty is pain (is that what they say?). I can't say I enjoyed the waxing part but all in all it was a nice morning out for me.
When I got home, the pleasant feeling from the morning left me as my day unfolded. First I started doing some laundry because it was piling high as usual. But I got really frustrated because I had to re-do my daughter's laundry. She left a crayon in one of her pockets and it was all over most of her clothes. I had to use a stain remover and after a second wash several pieces of clothing are stain-free but there are still some with crayon marks. Ugh!
Later as the day went on I had to deal with a lot of craziness from the kids. My son did not get a long nap and he was cranky and whiny and my daughter was complaining about her eyes (allergies). I don't know about anyone else but when I have 2 crying kids, I'm usually one step away from losing it. Jesus help me! That was my prayer for most of the afternoon but I also told the devil that he was not going to get me down. I knew he just wanted to get me mad because he didn't like that I had such a nice morning off. Isn't that just like the devil? Satan get behind me!!!!
In all of this craziness, I still managed to make dinner. When Greg got home we ate and then he bathed the kids while I took a long hot shower. Soon after we put Arjay to bed; he had to go a little earlier today. He wasn't too happy but after he calmed down (maybe 10 minutes) he was out like a log.
Now, here I am venting. Thanks for listening. I'm off now to have some tea and go to bed.

This Is The Day...

That The Lord Hath Made...Me! Yes, it is my birthday today. God created me and I entered the world on this day 30 years ago. I can't even believe it!!! My birthday is off to a great start. Greg stayed up until midnight to wish me Happy Birthday (that's a biggie for him because he likes to go to bed early). He gave me a kiss and sang "Happy Birthday to you."
This morning, Greg brought breakfast in bed and had Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday To Ya" playing on our sound system. Adryana sang for me too; she was so excited. She's all about having a party so she got her Dad to buy a birthday cake and we lit the candles and cut the cake. It was wonderful, although it was in the morning before Greg went to work. So it's kinda like we had cake for breakfast. It was really nice though and the cake was yummy.
I got a lot of telephone calls from family and friends. Now the kids and I are going to take a nap and later my best friend will come over and we will hang out. I'm looking forward to a relaxing day most of all. It will be a low-key birthday because we have plans to celebrate next week in Miami. Greg made reservations at a hotel in Coconut Grove for us. The grandparents will watch the kids and we'll get a much needed break to celebrate my birthday and our upcoming anniversary. I am so looking forward to it. I cannot wait!! I will post some pictures of my cake later. Hope you have a great day on MY BIRTHDAY.

Is The Grass Truly Greener?

Or are you just green? I pose this question to you the next time you find yourself daydreaming about the other side and how much greener the grass is over there. A friend of mine, during a conversation in which she was complaining about her job, said to me that she couldn't wait until she was married and had a child so she could stay at home like me. I laughed at her comment and remarked, "the grass is always greener, right?" Then I told her about my week last week (in which I had 2 sick children which meant a lot of sleepless nights). I also reminded her that I couldn't call in sick at my job, I never get any vacation time and the hours are long.
Normally, I'm all for encouraging women to stay home with their children. I believe it is very rewarding and it is in the best interest of the whole family. However, I do not take it kindly when people have negative remarks to say about me being a stay at home mom (SAHM). Just because I am not out somewhere at a 9 to 5 does not mean that I do not have a job. If you are a SAHM or have ever been one you know exactly what I am talking about. Everybody's situation is unique so just because you work outside of the home doesn't mean that you don't value your children and family too (don't get me wrong on that either). I'm just saying that some people are sometimes too negative about women who choose to be stay at home moms. We are often looked up on as lazy or as uneducated women which I'm none of the above and both my BS and MS degrees are hanging on my wall to prove that).
In any case, to humor my friend I told her that she was free to quit her job but in my case I didn't have that option (not unless I wanted to be locked up for negligence, being called an unfit mother, and whatever else they could throw at me). I think people need to realize a few things about the whole "the grass is greener on the other side" mentality:
1) Like everything else in life, keeping the grass green WILL require work. You can't expect to have a great life without hard work. If you see someone with a nice big house, an awesome husband and a shiny new luxury car, chances are they worked really hard for them (and are still working hard to keep them). They were not handed down to them freely (there are some exceptions of course). Stop being so envious of someone that you allow the devil to lie to you and tell you that "the grass is so much greener over there" and if you could just steal that other person's husband, your life would be great. THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!! Please remember that. He comes to lie, steal and destroy. He doesn't want any thing good for you so how could you possibly think that what he has in store for you is good? People get so caught up sometimes in "the grass is greener" mentality that they truly believe that their lives would be so much better if only they had the new job...the luxury car...the big house...the "A" husband/wife. They cannot be happy for someone's blessings because they are so "green" with envy.
2) Do not assume that someone doesn't deserve something good and you are such a good person that you deserve it more. First of all, if YOU were as good as you claim you would not be thinking that way. Because that type of thinking is pure evil. Be content with what you have. Realize that what you already have and anything else you may receive is a blessing. We are not guaranteed anything in life. Do not let the devil lie to you again and tell you that you deserve something more than so and so. You don't know what so and so went through to get to the place where they are at. Until you walk in their shoes you may never know...

I Don’t Mean To Offend You…

but ____________ (fill in whatever offensive thing you think someone would say). I hate when people say this statement. It really bugs me. It annoys me too that while they are saying this they will lean in towards the person who they are speaking to and sort of whisper this offensive thing that they don’t mean to offend you with. It’s as if they are doing you a favor, that’s why the whispering since they don’t want to embarrass you. People use your common sense here. If you are about to say something to someone and you have to begin with, “I don’t mean to offend you but…” Chances are… YOU ARE GOING TO OFFEND whoever you are speaking to. Just say what you have to say and get on with it. There’s no need to rub salt into someone’s wound. Obviously you think you are so right and you are about to have the final say…you know, clue this clueless person in about something about themselves that is so offensive and you are really helping them so you don’t want to offend them. You just want to tell them the truth, right? Let me just inform you that there are right ways to tell someone the truth and wrong ways to do it as well.
It’s probably a silly pet peeve of mine, but it really drives me crazy when people rise to the occasion to tell someone about their faults. I think that you shouldn’t always agree with someone even when you know they are wrong. However, it is totally unnecessary to “rub it in” when someone is wrong. We are all humans and we WILL make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. Just because you are being critical about something doesn’t mean that you have to be negative. Ever heard of constructive criticism?
We all have to deal with criticism. Every once in a while we also have to tell someone we love something hurtful…it may be the truth but it will still hurt. Am I saying you should avoid telling them the truth? Not at all. I’m all about keeping it real and telling the truth. However, I believe that you can tell someone the truth about themselves in love. Proverbs 15:1 says “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” The way you speak to someone and the words you use can make a huge difference. If you say something to your friend like…“I don’t mean to offend you but you look fat in that dress!” You probably are going to offend your friend. You could tell your friend the truth in a much nicer fashion. You can always find someone to agree with you, even when you are wrong, but it takes a real friend to tell you the truth when you are wrong. So I am not saying that if you know you are going to offend someone you shouldn't’t say anything at all or just say something lovey-dovey that you don‘t really mean.
I recently read “Jesus Chronicles: Mark’s Story” and in this book, the story of when Peter had a dream about eating animals that he called “common” was discussed. A voice spoke to him saying, “what God has cleansed you must not call common.” The voice spoke 3 times and then told Peter to meet with a Gentile man named Cornelius. Peter realized that God was telling him that he should preach the gospel to the Gentiles and not just the Jews. Later the Jews were really upset with Peter for having dinner (“breaking bread”) with Gentiles. Peter decided, in fear of offending the Jews, to stop breaking bread with the Gentiles. Did he not realize that he would now offend the Gentiles?
Paul rebuked Peter for shunning the Gentiles by getting up from eating with Gentiles when a group of Jews came in. (See Gal. 2:11-14) This shows that even Peter, who have been used to take the Gospel to the Gentile Cornelius (Acts 10-11) did not fully understand or had not totally accepted the Gentiles as equal with the Jews in the churches. Peter did not want to offend the Jews but in the end he offended the Gentiles which was just as bad. Sometimes we are faced with a situation and in not wanting to offend someone we offend someone else. Is this right? No. That’s why it is always better to speak the truth. Just how you speak that truth though is also important. God commanded us to love one another. Speaking the truth in love can save a whole lot of hurt.

You Are An ISFJ The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excel at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

In love, you express your emotions through actions.
Taking care of someone is how you love them. And you do it well!

At work, you do well in a structured environment. You complete tasks well and on time.
You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

How you see yourself: Competent, dependable, and detail oriented

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, dominant, and stuck in a rut

What's" Your Personality Type?

Back To Normal?

Today we resumed a bit of normalcy here in Toddsville. Since both children have been sick over the past few days, I have not been getting enough sleep. Last night I finally got some good sleep. Yes, sweet slumber, thank God.

I woke up this morning feeling renewed and ready to get back to living. Yes, it was that bad these last few days. Arjay's fever turned out to just be from teething but that made him very fussy. Adryana had some severe problems with her seasonal allergies. We are not sure yet what is causing her allergies, allergy testing did not find anything abnormal. We know that it only happen in Spring and it's worse when she goes outside. We figure it's from a tree just not sure which one yet. She's been taking Claritin OTC (obviously it's not working). She's on some prescription meds right now to help her get over the congestion she has with the allergies. After this we are going to try Zyrtec (we heard it's pretty good and it's OTC now).

Adryana has been really miserable along with Arjay so it was no fun in this house. To say I was overwhelmed and exhausted would be an understatement. I was so exhausted that I was also emotional. Yesterday when I woke up to Arjay's screaming that really pushed me over the edge. I was near tears when Greg walked in the house (he was out running). I did not want to get out of bed. My body was aching, I had a headache that would not go away for 3 days. Greg felt sorry for me and agreed to give me a back and neck massage. That really helped. I'm happy that the kids are feeling better today and so am I.


Today I was able to get some house cleaning done and I'm really happy about that. I love a clean house and I love to clean. I really cannot stand mess. Our area rug in the living room was covered in Cheerios and lots of toys. It's nice to see the design of the rug again. I also cleaned the bathrooms and finish the laundry that I had started a few days ago and never finished.

It's a good feeling to feel like things are returning to normal.

Search Your Heart

Today is a very crucial day in the political world of America. I think it is even more significant on the Democratic side than the Republican side but in any case, it is a very important Super Tuesday. Last night while watching CNN, I began to really ponder on a few things that has already been playing around in my mind. I've said this to my husband several times before and I believe that it has now come into fruition. Early in the campaign, I told him that things are going to get ugly (and we've seen some ugliness played out in the last few weeks between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama). Why did I think this would happen? I'm glad you asked. Well, it comes down to this. Hillary Clinton assumed that she would have already been the democratic nominee. Since she was the front runner for so long she just pretty much thought it was in the bag. Now she's opening up a can of worms. She's bringing out the ugly. I think we are beginning to see people's true colors all across America. The bottom line: Many Americans simply will not vote for a black person to become President of The United States. I believe Hillary Clinton already assessed that and was banking on that assessment. Therefore, she believed that she would be named the democratic nominee. Now that that has not already happened, the claws are coming out. She's bringing out all the "dirt" that she can find on Barack Obama.

God forbid that everyone should just be honest for a minute and say that there are so many Americans who will not vote for Barack because he is black. They beat around the bushes and find every excuse. "We have a problem with his middle name." "He is Muslim." "He must be a terrorist in disguise." Even in the churches that is supposed to be so conservative, many are choosing to vote for Hillary Clinton when picking between the 2 democratic candidates. It was all over CNN last night when they showed the statistics and even interviewed some elderly white females from Catholic churches who were pro-Clinton. The interview was showing how the religious groups (on a whole) who when choosing between the two Democratic candidates seem to be voting for Hillary. Shouldn't they be more open minded in the churches? Don't they realize that heaven will be like a rainbow of colors? Another interesting point that was brought up on CNN was when they did the exit polls in the Southern states and Virginia... in certain rural areas, it was interesting how the voters that voted Republican typically voted for Mike Huckabee (due to his views on family values and solid Christian beliefs, but in those same areas the Democratic voters voted for Hillary). It is very evident that the vote is divided upon racial lines, especially in the religious sector. Don't kid yourselves. Racism happens all across the board; yes, even in churches. I'm tired of hearing people say, "I don't know why black people are complaining, it's been so long since slavery has been over?" Yet, we still have to deal with racism--particularly hidden racism every single day. That's the part that bothers me the most. It's one thing when racism is blatant because then you can deal with it with your eyes open. Hidden racism comes at you like a dagger only your eyes are blindfolded so you don't know when it will hit.

Greg recently had one patient at his clinic make this statement, "I'm a democrat and it's really hard for me because look at my options: a woman and a black man." You can't get anymore honest than that. Of course Greg did not agree with her but at least she was being honest about how she really feels. Another one of his patients said to him, "I really want Obama to win, but if he does, I think he will be assassinated within the first year". Both of those patient were white. I think people need to be honest. They need to search their hearts. Deep inside their hearts they know what the real issue is. A predominantly white America is not ready for a black President. It was all fine and dandy when Barack Obama was in the background but now that he has a chance to be the nominee, they are ready to pull the rug out from under him. We've heard that we are all equal, at least that's what America has been moving towards. While I agree that there has been much progress, you are fooling yourselves if you believe we are all considered equals. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that one day we would be judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin. Well, I am here to tell you that Martin Luther King, Jr. is still dreaming in his grave because that day has not come to America as of yet. Of course I'll be happy to be wrong; but it's up to America to prove me wrong. In my family, we have family members who are voting for McCain, Clinton and Obama.... they are weighing the issues and seeing who is right for them. Not looking at who is a certain shade of skin color. In closing, I want to advise you to search your heart, and make sure that the real reason that you are not voting for a particular candidate is because of their gender or the color of their skin. Only you know the truth....

Over The Weekend

On Saturday morning we noticed that Arjay had a fever. I had plans to go with one of my friends to David's Bridal. She's getting married in December and she asked me and 2 of her bridesmaids to go with her to look at wedding gowns. I didn't want to leave Arjay like that but he was taking a nap and I had already given him some medicine and I knew Greg would take good care of him so off I went.

We had fun trying on dresses and also watching my friend trying on several gowns. She finally decided on one she really like but she said that she was going to try a few more stores before she made her final decision. I agreed with her and told her that when I was getting married and looking for a gown, I remember a lady told me that "you will know you've found the right dress if it makes you feel like dancing!" My friend smiled at that but said that she would definitely keep it in mind.

I absolutely love weddings and also really enjoy all the planning that goes with it. I know it can get stressful but I really don't mind it. I know that my friend is feeling a little confused right now with gown selection and even color selection but still I say that it is one of the most exciting time in a person's life (at least it should be). After all is said and done though, it is important to remember that the wedding is not what it's really all about. What happens after the wedding--the marriage--is really what is most important. Marriage takes a lot of work and we have to always remember that whether times are good or bad. My husband and I are about to celebrate our 7th anniversary and we are so happy about that. While it may not seem like a whole lot of years with how things are these days (high divorce rates) we feel really blessed. It is a great accomplishment to us. Yesterday we were discussing how wonderful our marriage is and how much we are looking forward to many many more years together.

Greg and I taught Sunday School (4&5 year olds) yesterday. The lesson was about the armor of God. We discussed this with the children and as Greg was working on an activity with the children, I was thinking how blessed I was to have him. I'm the one who signed up to teach but still Greg always help me. I was thinking about how much of a help he is to me when we teach and found myself thinking that he is my "secret weapon." I call him that because I plan all the lessons but whenever I give him an activity to do with the kids, he'll read it over and then put his own "special" touch on it. This usually includes lots of animation (he does really cool impersonations) which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. He brings a lot of humor to the class and it also help when we are in a "tough" situation. He know that I will get worked up about it so he will give some jokes that usually ease my mind and help me relax some. This is really important when dealing with kids but sometimes it's not easy to stay calm so I appreciate Greg's help with that.

After church we took a much needed nap. We did not sleep well Saturday night because we had to get up every 4 hours to give Arjay medicine for his fever. While we were taking a nap, the phone rang several times. This usually wakes me up and then I can't go back to sleep but I guess I really needed the sleep because I was able to continue sleeping.I did not cook yesterday too which really helped because I was just so exhausted. I felt much better after I woke up. After dinner I helped my daughter with her homework. Then Greg and I watched a a little TV before going off to bed. That was our weekend...I hope you had an enjoyable weekend!

Happy March!

Today is the first day of March and I am really excited! This means that we are now in my birth month. In 12 days I will be the BIG 30!!! (I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet). On one hand, I feel like I'm getting old. On the other hand, people tell me that I look really young and I should be happy that I don't look my age. I'm happy about that but still not sure if I want to be 30 yet...maybe I could wait a few more years, right?

Another reason to be happy in March is that my husband and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on March 31st. March is a great month. Lots of exciting times ahead for us. I'm not sure how we will celebrate my birthday or our anniversary but both of them are really special to me and I want this month to be memorable.

I can't wait to celebrate!!! Celebrate good times, c'mon...
I hope you all have a great March too.