Our lucky garden

One afternoon, a few days after Santiago's birthday party, Santiago and I were in the garden talking. He was telling me about how sad he was that it had rained on his birthday. I told him about the belief in our culture that when it rains on a special day, it is actually good luck and a blessing from the heavens. He smiled but I could tell he was still frustrated.
Then we started weeding the garden and oh...my God, what do we see...many "treboles" (clovers) but there was something special about them...they had FOUR LEAVES!! and even some of them had FIVE LEAVES. Santiago's face lit up with excitment and then it was of course very obvious!!
We are soo lucky!!
Lucky to be with one another in this journey!
Lucky for the love we feel for each other
Lucky to have a family who loves us just the way we are.

Lucky for our guardian angels who are constantly lighting our path and taking us just where we need to be to love and help one another.



Lucky to be alive in such an exciting time in history, when love is strong and people are realizing how powerful we are!

Then his sadness and frustration turned into gratitude.
Thank you rain for falling on our garden that gives us so much joy!

Thank you for teaching us that everythin happens for a reason and even though sometimes we don't understand why sad things happen...it is all part of a Divine plan.

Thank you for letting us see the perfection in every flower, in every moment!

Thank you for the sweet fragrance of the lavender, the roses and the jasmins.
We love breathing in God's gifts.

Thank you for allowing us to savor the most delicious fruits and successes!

And now, time to use those carefully whittled sticks to make ...smores of course!!

Santiago's 10th birthday party

The day after Santiago's birthday, we invited his friends from school to have a camp out on our backyard!! Him and the whole class were soo excited about the idea of sleeping in a tent, roasting marshmallows and having fun together for a whole day and night.

We talked about the party for along time, made this invitations and planned out the activities.
When the day finally came, Santiago could hardly believe it!

We picked up your friends from school and Daddy and I drove everyone in both our cars to our home which is far away from school...a good 45 minute drive.

Everyone was hungry when we got home, we all ate and conversed for a while. Such a sweet group of kids to have around.

Everyone found a comfortable place to sit and eat. Daniel sat up on the little playground house and ate with some of the girls. They made him feel so special and included him in their games the whole time. Needles to say, he had the time of his life!!

Pretty soon after lunch, we started to grind the wheat into flour to make our pizza dough. Everyone had a turn and we all mixed the ingredients and kneaded the dough.

Daddy liked it too!!!

In the middle of our pizza dough preparation, Santiago got tired of it and went looking for thin bamboo sticks to whittle and have ready for later in the night for marshmallow roasting time.

Pretty soon, more kids became interested and wanted to whittle too...

The bunnies were a hit!!

our friends from Spain came and joined the party, then we played games...

Then it was pinata time!!!!

After the pinata, it started raining like never before... it was quite a rainstorm with hail and all.
Needless to say, the camping out in the backyard idea ended there..:(

Santiago was very sad and he also started to feel ill.
He had a headache and a low grade fever. He went upstairs to sleep very early.

Meanwhile, the rest of us had pizza. My good friend Libe came over and helped me with the kids.

They were so excited about the sleepover.
We organized all of their sleeping bags in the living room, told stories and went to sleep.

The next morning, thank God, Santiago was feeling all better. They played together for a while, had breakfast and we sang happy birthday to the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
We love you
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
May your dreams come true

When you blow out the candles
One light stays aglow
It's the love light in your eyes
Wherever you go!

Cumpleanos de Santiago

It is hard to believe that you are turning 10! It's been an amazing journey, watching you grow, mature, and become that wonderful boy who I'm soo incredibly lucky to call "my son".
I love you sweetie, more than words can express...I love your smile, your jokes, which by the way are getting better now...jejeje...I love those huge hugs that I get from you when you come home from school, I love watching you sleep in your bed at night, with your teddy bear "toto" so close to your heart...hugging him the same way you did when you were a baby.
This year you have learned so many things...your spanish is perfect..now with a mexican accent...so funny to hear you say: "mami, esto esta padrisimo", your friends at school love you and when you are absent they miss you and welcome you back with bear hugs, showing you how much they've missed you.
You were blessed to have had the opportunity to fall in this special place here in Mexico. Your school is so rich, has a huge heart...al of your teachers are such incredible human beings with such open hearts and an amazing dedication to their work. They go above and beyond to make sure they meet their students and help them become the human beings that this society needs.

You continue to love all animals and this year with your farming block and your fieldtrip you have had a great time. The bunnies have been a big hit for you and they respond so well to your love and care..if you could have your way, we would live in a big farm with all kinds of animals and at least a dozen dogs.
Horses are very close to your heart and Benito and Canica have been your horse friends for this year. You are riding so well and even though you've fallen a couple of times, you are still very interested and eager to go to your next class.

Books have been a big hit for a while now, but this year, they are your companions. In those long drives from and to school, they have kept you company and you love the Laura Ingalls collection. You have read it several times already and are becoming quite good at telling me how to cook the "Ingalls style" or describing me how to use a whole pig and prepare it properly.

This is the first year when I have noticed a little bit of sibling rivalry between you and Daniel. It makes my heart ache when you two fight, but I know you are learning to get along with each other and then there are times when the most amazing connection is shown thru your play and your games and I keep those memories very fresh in my mind to help me overcome the dark days. I know Daniel is still little and cannot play the same games you want to play sometimes but I see how you can lower your standards sometimes and invite him into your play and I thank the heavens for the opportunity to pause and savor those moments.

Thank you Santiago for being who you are with all your gifts and with all your challenges too for it is those difficult times that help me become a better mom,to grow spiritually and to stay present to your needs, and my needs too and then magically I see myself being guided by our angels...thank you for lighting my path! Te amo hijo mio.

As usual, the birthday fairies left a path from his bed to the birthday table.

As usual, they did a fine job at decorating for your special day!! Birthday banner, ballons and the puppets for the birthday story. This year, for the first time you said you did not want to hear your birthday story with the puppets and I said ok, so we just told little stories of your life for this last 10 years..wonderful memories!!!

You had a lot of fun playing with the magic science experiment gift you received and daddy loved it too...he took the day off work to be with you all day...so special to have daddy all to yourself for a whole day! You and him have such a special connection, you both have so much in common and is delightful to see you too having conversations and connecting in such a deep and unique way! You are a lucky boy to have such a caring and loving daddy and you know it too. I see those hugs filled with love that you give him when he comes home, especially after a long business trip. You miss daddy when he is not with us and can't have enough of him when he is back.

It was a magical day where you got to be the king and chose the activities and the menu...of course it included chocolate!!
At the end of the day, you took a birthday bath with some herbs and rose petals...quite a Royal treatment!!

Feliz Cumpleanos mi lindo!!