Last Family Wintery Event

Before Alex left for the summer, we decided to all go ice skating since we hadn't been for a while and since we're such great ice skaters. No, not really. But it was fun. It was Orion and Chrys' first time. But Chrys didn't really know what to do. I guess we're not good skating instructors ourselves. But Orion did really well with the little walkers. Of course he did more walking on his skates than actual gliding around.

In his hockey skates, ready to go.

The perfect skating duo.

I think the walkers are really funny looking. He looks like a little old man.

And this is where Hinckley hung out most of the evening.

Auntie Gio came along too, to show us her mad skills.

A New Outfit and Outings

We got this cute little outfit from one of our summer friends last year. Hinckley's finally big enough to wear it. It's one of his few new outfits just for him. Most of his clothes are hand-me-downs from Orion. Which I know he doesn't mind one bit. But it's nice to be able to put your baby or children in new clothes sometimes. I really do think it's Dog Gone Cute! Thanks Jennie.

Can you believe this baby of mine is already 6 months old?

And here are the kids on a nature/park walk with their Auntie G.

Orion wanted to take a picture of me as I took one of him.

February 24, 2011

On this date, four years ago, this little guy was born. And we named him Orion Athen Huntington. Where has the time gone? On his first birthday, we took to him to Chucky Cheese's. Probably not the best choice. For his second and third birthday's we stayed home and did something small like cupcakes and a small gift. This year, since we discussed what a calendar was and that he had a birthday coming up, he was just too excited about it for us not to throw him some kind of small birthday party. So birthday party it was. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he said, "A dinosaur, lizard and snake party!!!" So I did my best to throw a reptile themed party. He absolutely loves his reptiles.

When he woke up in the morning to see what sort of paper decorations I had put together for his little party, he was thrilled. And I mean thrilled. I didn't think paper could be so exciting. But apparently he thought it was. He came out of his room a little sleepy-eyed and instantly lit up with, "Mom, this is so GREAT! This is just so GREAT! It's my Birthday! THIS is JUST GREAT!!!" That's exactly how he said it.

It's amazing what you can do with cheap paper.

I don't know why some of these pics turned out so fuzzy. Oh well.

Here is a swampy smoothie with a snake in it. I know. Gummy worms have gelatin. Oh well. Maybe next year, I'll make my own gummy worms. Jk. Probably not.

These were supposed to be little green stegosaurus' on top of the cupcakes. But the raw frosting that I made last minute, just wasn't thick enough. So the little stegosaurus' didn't turn out quite right. Instead, they look just like green blobs with sliced almonds on top. Oh well. For a healthier cupcake, I think the kids liked it.

Here's the big 4.

Another fuzzy photo. But he really was so excited.

His dad was on the phone trying to talk to him after he blew out the candle, but he was just too busy.

Our little neighbor, Emerson.

Chrysalis saying Cheese.

Orion's little friend Noah playing with some party favors.

This is Walter.

My friend Pilar carrying around Hinckley for me. Noah is her little boy.

Uncle Elliot and cousin Tate.

Our little neighbor again enjoying his swamp smoothie.

My friend Suzy and Walter.

Our version of Pin the tail on the donkey. We called it Lizard Lost His Tail. Alex actually came up with the idea and thought he was so clever. Wish he had been there.

Playing with friends and opening gifts.

This silly child could not stand still for a nice photo. I suppose that's just Orion for ya.

We love him the same. Hope you had a fun day Orion. Happy Fourth Birthday!!!

Some Daily Thoughts

Well, I'm sure many of you already figured out that last post was by me, Ligia. Not Alex. I guess somehow I was signed in as him. Probably no big deal to anyone else, but for anyone that knows me, I get a nervous tick when I make errors like that. Must be some kind of OCD. Oh well. So here's my apology on that. Moving on.

I guess I just wanted to write about my excitement for General Conference this weekend. Normally, though I do look forward to it, I'm somewhat grudgingly rolling out of bed with my pen and paper to write down my thoughts as I follow the talks. Anyways, perhaps it's all the chaotic events in my life right now, but I am feeling some pretty special messages are coming our way. Not that they never do. Maybe I feel more submissive and receptive than I have felt in a very long time. I'm anxiously awaiting any words of wisdom that may give me the answers to the questions of which I've sought further understanding to. I seek to be enlightened at the moment. But I just wanted to jot down this little note because I know there are many things about my life that are rapidly changing. Some things, I'm not sure I'm ready for. But I want to be. And I'm doing my best to take in each day one at a time. Like a deep breath of life, I need to learn to appreciate each one I get. And I feel as though, I'm slowly but surely coming to a deeper level of understanding on how that works. I guess that what it all comes down to is that I'm grateful for life. I'm grateful for a good, honest husband. I'm grateful for my sweet and silly children. I'm grateful that I have my parents with me at the moment. I'm grateful for hugs. I'm grateful for the Savior and his Atonement. And I'm grateful for each breath I take and each day I have on this earth to further my own development with this mortal life.

A quick update on my Dad: He arrived here Thursday evening. He is well. Small fragments of Spanish are slowly returning to him. He remembers me a little better. Still doesn't remember my husband or my children but is enjoying them very much and it's quite endearing to see him act like one of them sometimes. It's like he's meeting them for the first time. He's absolutely in love with them. I haven't seen my Dad so happy in a long time. The stresses and burdens of the world he carried with him for so long have somehow been lost in his inability to access certain parts of his memory. He's still stubborn in some ways which definitely shows me his character is very much still alive in him. I love him the same. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.

I'll try to keep more updates coming. And some back-blogging may be posted soon. I have so many things I've wanted to write about lately that I just haven't gotten around to. I love you all out there in blog land who care to follow along and keep up with our family.

I Just Want a Hug

Today, along with many members of my family, and friends who have never fasted in their lives, we have gathered together to do a special fast for and on behalf of my father, Jose Sangtiago Velez. I have never believed in the power of a fast more than I do now. I am comforted today as I realize that the Lord does indeed hear our cries and prayers. He will deliver us all.

I've spent this last week in many tears but I know that everything happens for a reason. There are no such things as coincidences. And as hard as it is not to be able to embrace my dad, I know I will in the future. Hopefully, soon. All I want is one good hug.

Because I Need to Get This Out

Sometimes we are faced with trials that seem like more than we can handle. I know that this is not one of those times. That doesn't make what has happened to my dad any easier on both him and my family. Things we've argued over in the past are exactly where they should be. In the past. It is only through things like this that we are able to gain perspective sometimes.

I don't mean to write about things like this as though we're the only people around the world with trials. My heart goes out to the people of Japan and the tsunami that hit them last week. My dad has been working hard in a different direction lately that I now feel may be one of the greatest projects he has ever worked on in his life. He has been making business trips to Peru in order to do some things that may or may not be put on hold under the new circumstances of his physical condition. He was making yet another trip down there last week in order to present his ideas and possibly close on some promising deals. Shortly after having arrived, he suffered a stroke.

While at first, he could not do much with the left side of his body, he is now able to walk around and insisted on taking a shower all by himself today. His speech and memory were foggy at first but seem to be returning to him slowly. He has somehow forgotten his first language which has been somewhat comical in that now it seems his first language is not Spanish anymore. It's English. For the time being at least. I'm amazed at how many prayers and thoughts are coming our way from people all over the world. People across the country and outside the country are being so helpful and encouraging.

I finally spoke with him for the first time since his stroke today. While I was thrilled to hear his voice and that he is well and alive, I must admit I was not prepared to hear how childlike his diction was. He seems to be trapped in different time periods as he doesn't seem to remember my husband or that I'm married and he was shocked when I told him I had three kids. I had to spell out their names because that helped him pronounce things better. He was a little emotional at first because for some reason, he thought that I had died and was overwhelmed with joy to hear my voice. He confuses all of our names but I don't think he means to. My mom and I both believe it is just because his speech is not allowing him to say what he really means to say. His gestures and the way he lights up about certain topics tells me that he hasn't forgotten it all. He remembers more events of the past years than those of the more present ones. He asks, "Who?" a lot when he simply just wants more information.

I want to remain strong so that he doesn't get overwhelmingly emotional when he hears me cry. I wait to let it out after I've hung up or closed down the video windows. What's really hard is not being able to hug him. I grew up the kind of person who thrived off of hugs and kisses and physical touch. Being countries away is not easy and there is nothing I can do about that. But I am hopeful and more prayerful than I have been in a long time. It has truly been a most humbling experience and there are many things to think about and consider as we go about trying to make decisions about how best to help him recover and heal. I love my father tremendously. And whether he understands this post or not, my urgency to write about this experience is strong. We've both made many mistakes and argued about things both big and petty. But none of that matters anymore. I now see this as a blessing. A way to start anew. We still have him here and it is only by the grace of God that we do. And whatever we must learn from this experience, I know he will guide us and teach us line upon line.

Sorry if this has come out all jumbled and disjointed. My mind is on overload and it can't sleep. Now, that I'm done, I think I can sleep. Daddy, I love you. I will post lots of pictures in the next few days and weeks so that you can see your grandkids and hopefully you will be able to remember them soon.

The True Meaning of Patience

Well, to set the scene for this little incident, I must start by posting pictures of these cute and fun little figurines we've been collecting. You can get them at Deseret Book or order them online. They're not exactly cheap, but in my opinion, they're an excellent teaching tool and my kids think they're just playing around. They have no idea I'm teaching them about the Book of Mormon this way.

Here is a close up of King Benjamin. Orion actually learned this story the best so far. He knows it so well I caught him re-telling what I'd told him, to Chrysalis once, ending with, "Remember to serve your flow beans." At least that's what it sounded like when he was retelling the story.

Here's a close up of some of the others. What child wouldn't love to have these as learning aids for the scriptures? I know I would have loved playing with these just as much as Barbie.

Here's what we've collected so far. We only have a few left. Anyways, we took these to church one Sunday and since my two older children are still learning the concept of sharing, they had a hard time playing with these quietly. Here I am, as a mom, thinking to myself, "What a great toy to take and play with during Sacrament Meeting. They will play with these ever so reverently and remember the stories of the scriptures in so doing." I'm not so sure the image I had in my mind of my kids playing with these was quite the image that will forever be etched into my memory of what really happened that Sunday. Anyone who knows Chrysalis, knows that when she gets in her moods, she gets really loud and shrieky. Is shrieky a word? She has been this way since she was three months old. So, during sacrament, Orion took out the Book of Mormon Heroes to play with and Chrysalis tried to grab one. When he pulled them away from her, because he wanted to select which one she would have, she quickly turned it down and threw it on the ground. I calmly told her not to do that. And of course her reply was, "Leave me Alone!" I then asked Orion to please let her pick the one she wanted. At that point, she was already too upset to be pleased with any outcome. "Leave me Alone!" is what she stubbornly repeated. Orion tried to hand her Nephi, in a sense, as a peace offering because now she was determined not to take any. "Leave me Alone!" is what came again. This last time was loud enough to turn some heads as everyone else silently partook of the sacrament. I was already frustrated because I was at church alone with three kids. Alex was in Phoenix. Orion sweetly laid Nephi on her lap without saying anything and I guess that was her last straw. She flipped out, and took the bag of action figures and dumped it on the floor along with Nephi, hit Orion and then said, "Don't want Nephi!" Since Hinckley was sound asleep and Orion was behaving fairly well, I decided it was time to take Chrysalis out and have a talk. She obviously knew this wasn't a good sign. I tried ever so gently and patiently to pick her up and carry her out at which point she began crying and wailing and kicking her legs furiously all while practically screaming, "I want my Nephi! I want my Nephi! I want my Nephiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" I could literally feel the heads turning and the eyes staring and though I was slightly shamed by my child's lack of reverence, I stop to think about what it might have been like from the others' point of view and I have to laugh. I think I may have finally learned the true meaning of patience.

February 18, 2011

Because of her love for children and young moms, Robyn Openshaw has created this book.

On this day, we went to the book signing and reading of The Adventures of Junk Food Dude by Robyn Openshaw herself. She has put together the most clever and educational little story book for kids to better understand the consequences of the decisions they make in life. I loved it. So now they have their very own signed copy of the book. And they've asked me to read it to them more times than I really want to. Afterwards, the kids got green smoothie samples which they gobbled up, and some fun stickers that said, "I'm a Green Smoothie Guy/Girl!" I wish I'd remembered my camera so they could have taken a photo with Robyn but here's the aftermath instead. Yes, more green faces.

So sue me.

But they're so cute covered in green. It really is a pretty color.