Meli's world

  Our family before you. When I was just a mother of one. When I thought I had the whole parenting thing figured out. When I was all into boy stuff and didn't know what having a girl was all about.   Eme, my baby girl today you turn 3 years old. 3 seems like such a big number to me. Perhaps, because you're my baby and I'm not ready for you to grow up. I remember finding out we were having you. I didn't think I was ready but after that dream of me buying pink baby stuff, I took a pregnancy test to find out indeed you were on the way. No one could convince me you wouldn't be a girl. And the name Emeli, your dad had made up a few years earlier for his video games combining both of our names was yours instantly. Emeli meaning eager. And an eager little girl you are! We tried to find a middle name that would go perfectly and decided Sofia meaning wisdom would make you an eager wise girl. We were still living at your grandparents house saving up to buy a pl...

  Growing up in a Hispanic household, things were a bit old fashioned. My dad worked; Overtime, double shifts, and more than 1 job if necessary to take care of us. My mom, as far as I could remember in my childhood was a stay at home mom. As a kid, this is what I envisioned all marriages were like. My mom was up early to see my dad off for work, and have breakfast served and his lunch packed. When he worked the overnight, she also made sure dinner was served at 11pm before his shift. She stayed at home taking care of us, taking us to the library, playground, outside, anywhere we could go without a car. I watched my mom serve my dad daily. Day in and day out, washng dishes, cooking, laundry, and all the to do things in the house while my dad worked. I never thought any less of any of them. As a kid, I loved having my mom home and getting to spend time with her. And in my mind, that’s what the man did, work to provide. Sure, I missed my dad, but the one Saturday a week he was ...

  I never thought too much about the word hope until 2 nights ago. This is when I sat at my church while Australian-born world wide evangelist Nick Vujicic was speaking. This man has gone around the world bringing hope to millions of people in schools, business meetings, and churches. He who was born without legs or arms has traveled around the world, to tell people about the purpose of living. His depression and loneliness he dealt with as a teen, led him to question his purpose in life. This man went from living a life without limbs, to a life without limits.   Have you found your purpose? If you haven't, you haven't found what to live for. If you haven't found what to live for, then you're living for the sake of living. If you're living for the sake of living, you will find yourself searching for more. And nothing tangible will ever satisfy.   Even in dealing with the tragic passing of someone known worldwide like Robin Williams, who was a...

That's it. The kids are off to bed. His uniform and shoes are all laid out. His transformers backpack is packed and his lunchbox is set out in the kitchen. His first day of first grade awaits him. And all I want to do is cry. When I was a kid, I hated school. It had a lot to do with not knowing any English as I started kindergarten and being placed in an E.S.O.L. Class with a teacher who only spoke Creole. I was sent to timeout all the time for not following directions. Directions I could not understand. After various doctor visits, plenty absences and even trips to the psychologist, they finally found out what was wrong. I hated school! Eventually, I got a new teacher, learned English and made friends yet somehow the damage was already done. I dreaded going there. I can still smell the expo markers and the BBQ sauce from the cafeteria. Perhaps that's why I graduated early and never went to college. Thankfully, our son has had a different experience. English is his firs...

Today was a beautiful day here in Florida...hot, sunny and humid. Typical for an August day. We spent it at the park at a picnic from my husband, Emerald's job. With all the things I witnessed today I figured it be a perfect time to follow up on my blog series: MIA Marriage is awesome. Today's topic: boundaries. My husband works as a customer service representative at an A.C. Company. Its like a store and a warehouse where he sits at a counter making sales to customers or clients that walk in or call on the phone. Its a mostly male dominated field and he's had great opportunity to move up from warehouse manager and driving deliveries. Now its a great job, and I've always trusted my husband because as I've said before we tell each other everything, but recently a female got hired to work there to do the same thing he does. Sitting at the same counter 40 hours a week. I have to admit, it was a little difficult to get used to the idea, but having learned so much...

M.I.A is a hashtag trend I've been using on Facebook a lot. It stands for Marriage is Awesome. Last week, I felt the need to put up a disclaimer with it letting people know I am in no way putting it up as if my marriage is the only awesome one, or better than anyone's. My reasoning for starting these series of posts is because I find it so disheartening and discouraging that statistics show less and less people in my age group are getting married or want to be married. And for those that do marry, more than 50% of those marriages end up in divorce. I think a lot of people have misconceptions of marriage and are letting things keep them from entering into one of the greatest relationships and commitment that exist. I know most people will question a 25 year old's ability to speak about marriage and give anyone any type of counsel, but speaking from 10 years of experience, I think I have seen a lot of things I wish I could have done differently and am constantly growing...