All That is Good.

Today is Good Friday.

Life is interesting.

There is a big hoopala at this time in our nation about gay marriage being a 'right' .

Rightfully so.

What is my take on this issue, you ask?


You didn't ask?


Well, stop reading if you don't want to know.   I won't be offended.  My opinion and a dollar might get you a can of Coke.

Yet, I am also not interested in my opinion.

And this may get offensive.  So if you are not interested in being offended, seriously, STOP READING.

Truth is...

I can only stand on HIS say.

And HE said no.

Does that mean I am anti homosexual?  Well, the act, yes, the human, heck no!  Just like I am anti adultery, anti sex before marriage, anti pedophilia, anti beastiality, etc... they all have to do with some sort of sex or another.  None are good, for their own reasons.  Some of these are more readily accept more than others in our society.  Understandibly so.  But all are not good in the eyes of GOD.

Does that mean I hate the person involved in some of these acts?

Again...no.

I remember when one of our dear, dear friends was involved in an adulterous affair.  It broke my heart.  I wept.  I prayed.  I loved them. I begged them to stop, I had to remember it was their choice.  I couldn't change them.  But I never stopped caring and loving them.   Though they cause so much pain and heartache, and the consequences were flung far and wide, I never did hate them.  Or reject them.

But I sure hated their actions.

And personally saw and experinced the fallout.

I know many who have had sex before marriage.  They have deep regrets, and yet do not hide the issue.  Because they have repented and been redeemed!

I knew a person who was homosexual, and was so heartbbroken from some of his actions.  He did not demand his 'rights'.  He was in massive physical pain and emotionally distraught.  My heart went to him.  And did I love him any less than my 'Christian' friends?  NO.  duh.

GOD has HIS reasons.

And I trust HIM above all.

I am so tired of our new society that demands selfish freedom.  At this point I am no longer talking about any kind of sexuality.  Though that is a part of it.

I am talking about our (permissive) rights at all cost.

Such as the woman who is blaming the Monster company because her daughter died drinking their stuff.

Really?

Did you not instruct your daughter in the dangers of massive amounts of chemicals in your body could seriously harm you or kill you?  Be it so-called food, drugs, or alcohol?

If you did and she still chose to do it, you cannot blame the company for her choices.  If you didn't, it is time to step up to the plate and realize intructing your child was your responsibility as a parent.

I know this, because my son has terribly reactions to sports drinks and food dyes.  Amongst other things.

And yes, he does eat/drink them sometimes anyway.

But he made the choice.  Granted we have to pay for the decision when his behaviour is off the wall.  STILL I cannot blame the company.  They did not come to my house, tie him up, forced his mouth open, and poured their stuff down his throat.

We will fail as parents.  We will. at some point.  I have. That is not the issue.

I really do not want to take a judgemental stand, but part of me is tired of the lack or responsibility on the people.  Yes, I make rotten choices sometimes, more than I wish to think about.  But they are my choices.  I will not blame anyone but myself in the end. ( though I TRY to get away with blaming my husband sometimes lol)

ANYWAY, I can go on for quite a while.

But instead, I will go back to the beginning.

Today is Black Friday.

It is the beginning of the end... of the beginning.

Because, we are set free!!!

FREE!!!!

Some people mock us Christians for needing a 'crutch'.  You know what I say to that????

 Bring it on!!!

I KNOW how rotten I am, I DO need a 'crutch'!!!!  I have messed up my life so much, I will take all the help offered!  I can be so miserable, help me find the joy!  I can destroy lives around me with my selfishness, can you help and heal them for me??!!?   I can be a judgemental jerk, can you restore my thinking??  I am prejudice...can you let me see people that way YOU see people??!!??  This list is never ending...

YES!!  May the Cross forever be my crutch!!!

GLORY BE!!!  I will cling to the Old Rugged Cross for all the days of my life.

Easter Sunday!!!!   THANK YOU SWEET JESUS!!!

And for those of you who think they are fine without HIM...bless you.   HE desires more for you than you can ever imagine.  But again, HE will never make you.

It is your choice.

Waiting...

You know, now I know how my mom felt when I was pregnant and she was waiting and waiting and waiting for that grandbaby to come.

Granted, my daughter has 10 days to her 'real' due date.

Still, any day now!

On another note, I just remembered that we have to set up a celebration dinner night with the whole family to celebrate our son-in-law's passing his Bar Exams.  On his first try!!  For NY & NJ!!

He is one smart cookie.

We are going to The Soul Kitchen!

And maybe we will see Jon Bon Jovi.  He hangs around there here & there.

Confession:  even though all I know is Jersey, I was not a Bon Jovi fan. He was, you know...eh.

But I like his restaurant and everything that comes with it.

Chances are pretty darn good he won't be there, though, because he is on tour.

Speaking of tour...I am going to go see Brad Paisley!!  How awesome is that??!!??!

Another confession:  I love country music.  Been to several country music concerts, but by far and large, Randy Travis' was my favorite.

14 guys on stage with jeans and black t-shirts, sounding like heaven...life is good.

We FINALLY got a country music station here in Jersey last year.

FINALLY!!!

If we wanted to listen to country, we had to go online and grab Philly's station.  But then we were stuck having to have the computer on and having to be at home.  :P

Whatever.

Though, hard as I tried, both my older children are not CM fans, though I think the oldest is coming around.  Samuel on the other hand, he really likes it.  <3  Trying to get the girls to sing along now.  Elly is ok but Christian is thinking, " I came to the USA for ThIs??!!"  Or at least that is the look on her face.

She will come around.

Maybe.

OK, off to a date night with my man.   Really want to see that movie, though I forget what it is called and what it is about.  I will go ask Samuel to tell me what it is.  I told him so I can remember.  :D.  Good plan, huh?

Irish by Default

I do not have a drop of Irish in me.

But I have become a well educated person of most things Irish.

I tell my husband I am forced to feel Irish by default.  And by 'default' I mean it is his fault.

Mind you, I am not one of those people who wish they were Irish.  I am quite delighted by my own Hispanic roots.  Love them, in fact!!!

Anyway, St. Paddy's Day is his favorite holiday.  Kind of like Thanksgiving in our home.  Big meal with the whole family.

Samuel asked us all to smile.  Then he proceeded to take 3 minutes to take the actual picture.  

Hence the reason I look deranged.  One can only say "cheeeeeeeeeese" for so long before it becomes painful.

Our son in law said cheese for about 1/2 a second then continued to thoroughly enjoy the corned beef & cabbage.  Until he got semi-sick.  Totally worth it, though.

And yes, I know that the Irish don't really eat corned beef and started to do so when they came to 

America, when they were poor and this was a good enough piece of meat.

Our African/Chinese growing up Irish/Hispanic American girls:

They may or may not need therapy because of this when they get older.   lol.  

And how much did they love their 'Fancy Nancy' shamrock necklaces??!!?

Fancy Nancy is a beloved character in our home.

Our new daughter-in-law introduced her to us.  <3

 It is snowing tonight.

AGAIN.

ugh.

I am done with winter.  I am usually done with winter on Dec. 26.  And snow. Don't get me started on how I feel about snow.  It borders on not being Christ-like.  So I will stop.

But everyone else in my house couldn't wait to go outside.

The background here looks mysterious.  Cool actually.

And the 742nd snowman of the season.

Fine, maybe the 4th or 5th.  

Both these girls came from tropical locations.

Why do they love the snow so much??!!??!!??!

WhHAAaaAATTtt??!?!?!Wait.. WhhHaaATTtt??!

We were married young.

Like 12 years old young.

Fine, a bit older, but still... young.

I found this picture of us 2+ weeks after our oldest son was born.

This is us now, 27 years later, 28+ years of marriage.

We may have gotten a bit older looking in that time.

John doesn't think so, but he is in a bit of denial.  

I am thankful for every.single.year since then.

But not so thankful for every. single. pound since then.

:P

Life is good.

GOD is even better.  <3

I love my People. And their food.

So, as you may or may not know, I was not born in the good old USofA.

No sirree.

Came over later in life.  Not that much later, but late enough that I grew up on some wonderful things.

That being the case, I super-love Hispanic food.

My mom went back to our 'motherland' as she does often through out the year.  Most of our family is still back home. She came back with food.

And candy.

And food.

I have gained 5+ pounds in a week.

With not a second of regret.  I will work on losing it soon, but this week?  This week I enjoyed everything that came my way.

And a lot came my way.  <3

Son #2 got his braces off yesterday.  He looks...older.  NOT cool.  He is, after all, my youngest baby boy.  Fine, he is 14, but still...

Now to make sure he doesn't destroy his retainer.  :::sigh:::

The new pope has been elected today!

My mom is probably having a cow of joy, seeing as how he is Hispanic.  She has serious allegiance that way.  Not that she doesn't love her new country.  (If you consider being a full blown American citizen for decades a new country, which she does.)  I have been trying to call her with no success for a bit, but I think I can 'hear' her.  I will certainly hear her thoughts soon enough.

Though I am not a catholic, she is.

So, I will rejoice with the catholic people today.  I hope they are happy with the decision.  He sounds like a GODly man.  May HIS blessing be on him.

Just a few more days before St Paddy's Day.

And being married to an irishman... this is not a day to ignore.

I wonder if Grandson #2 will make his appearance by then??!!??

Regardless, it will be fun.  As always.

Wait...Where have I been??!!??

So, it is still cold.  

ugh.

It snowed on Friday.

Even though it snowed almost all day, only about 2 or 3 inches stuck to the ground.

Which is about 2 or 3 inches too much.

It could be said that I am not a fan of winter.  Or cold.  Or snow.  Or never being warm enough.

Unless I am under my ELECTRIC BLANKET.   Not going to lie.  My electric blanket??  I love it.  Very, very much.

Even though we are pretty fruity/granola-y/crunchy in our lifestyle for the most part( thanks to my vegan/hippy husband), I have heard through the grapevine electric blankets are not good for your body...

My response to that is:

WHATEVER.

No one touch my electric blanket.

Do and die.

Or at least get seriously hurt.

Moving on.

My sister came down this weekend!!  She moved far away.  Hours.  And even though she is super happy where she lives now, it is a bummer she is so far away.  It was great to see her.  And it reminded me how much I miss her.  On so many levels.

Last weekend we went to Cabela's.

Son #2's favorite place on earth.   It has everything he needs.  Or wants.  Christian was fascinated.  Elly has been there & Bass Sports before.  It was fun to see it through our youngest's eyes. 

 They have a cool fish tank.  And I use 'fish tank' loosely.  It is a long hallway with neat fish on both sides.  And then they saw the African stuffed animal display.  And I don't mean the cute ones you take to bed with you, but the real ones, that are awesome, using the correct form of that word. 

Then, surprise, surprise...

( if you can read the sign, you will understand)

My husband is not a vegan because it is cruelty to animals.  It is a healthy choice lifestyle.  Our youngest son would like to start hunting.  I can promise you, he will not learn from me.  Me...sit out there for hours on end in the cold??!!??  Without a plug for my electric blanket??!

yeeeaaaah...no.

My rule is...only hunt what we will eat.  I am not a fan of venison, so that is out.

Not a fan of rabbit & squirrel.  :P

But turkey, pheasant, duck, goose, just about anything out of the sky?   Works for me.

They are starting the process with skeet shooting.

THAT sounds cool!  I may have to join them a time or 2!!

On another note, Grandson #2 is almost here!!  WOO-HOO!

Grandson #1?  I can't stand it.  He is so beautiful.  Have I said that before?  He is.  Remind me to remind you about that fact, often.

The newlyweds?  I imagine they are doing well. :)  Don't see them often, and when we do, it is in a crowd, but I can imagine they are doing well.  <3

Youngest son starts high school next year!!!

Can you believe it??!!?

Me either.

I am fixing his schedule.  I have his Science, English, Spanish and Math all set.  Working on everything else.  Harder than one would think, but also exciting and challenging.  After all, it is going to shape his future.  

Last, but not least, I have joined the ranks of reality show watcher.

Yup, I will own it.

Mock me, ridicule, I don't care.

How much do I love Duck Dynasty?

<3

Favorite quote:

"Wearing this uniform makes me want to kick my own butt."

( who said it??)

Oh. my. word. I love this show.

LOL.  Yup worth the mockery.