Happy Birthday "Abuela Nena"

Feliz Cumpleanos Abuela! Today is my grandmother's 97th birthday! It is also Three Kings Day in Cuba which is where she is from. She has always been so proud that her birthday falls on this special day. Three Kings Day is the special day that we remember each year when the three wise men visited baby Jesus with gifts. It is the twelfth day after Christmas, when our Savior was born. What a special day for a birthday! My grandmother is very special. Tonight (its just after midnight on her birthday when I'm writing this) I would like to share some special things about my grandmother and at the same time, ask for your prayers for God to keep her safe and healthy.

My grandmother has a form of Alzeihemers (sp?) called dementia. We have watched her deteriorate slowly and lately her mind seems to be slipping away faster and faster each day. Unfortunately this year she had to be placed in an assisted living facility also known as a nursing home because my aunt could no longer care for her. This decision has been a hard one for my aunt who has always lived with my grandmother and for my dad also. I don't think my grandmother would have ever wanted to go live in a nursing home. The whole transition has been so sad for all of us. Thankfully, she doesnt fully realize that she is no longer living at home. I pray for God to keep her safe and healthy for the time that she is to spend there.

In the meantime I am trying my best to see her as often as I can and more than I normally do. I'm so thankful to God for my grandmother, for all of her 97 years. She has lived a long, beautiful life. And for me personally she as always been such a beautiful example of what a mother, daughter and friend ought to me. Abuela never quarrels with anyone, never gossips and never talks bad about anybody. She's always been so patient. Patience is definitely one of her many virtues. For years I have always heard her say to me "Mijita, hay que tener paciencia" (we must have lots of patience). For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be like my abuela. My family tells me I am very much like her and I like to hear that. It is an honor to be like my grandmother. On the days when I find myself not being so nice, I remind myself that I must live up to her example.

There are lots of things that I will always remember about my grandmother, but here are some of my favorite things:

--Abuela taught me and my sister how to pray. When we moved down to Florida from North Carolina as little girls, we lived with her and my aunt for a few months while we waited for dad to transfer from his job. There wasnt alot of room in her house so my sis and I would sleep on these little sandwich beds, the kind that you pull-apart to open, in the living room and my abuela would sleep there with us, either on the couch or on the sandwich bed (in Spanish we call it pin-pan-pu, dont ask!) Anyway, we would fall asleep listening to Abuela pray and we had to repeat the prayers with her. I still remind her today that she was the one who showed me how to pray: Dios conmigo, yo con El, El al lado mio y yo al lado de el! and Con Dios me acuesto, con Dios me levanto, con la virgen Maria y el Espiritu Santo! Then we would pray the Our Father and Hail Mary. I remember those nights like they were just yesterday.

--Abuela liked to cook. She cooked every day and she enjoyed it. We often had big family gatherings and abuela was always in the kitchen. My favorite "abuela" dish: fried chicken, plantains, and chicken soup. Her soup was the best! In fact, when I got married, I wrote her recipe into my cookbook and it is the recipe that I follow when making soup for the past 21 years. If I close my eyes and think about it I can see abuela in the kitchen, her round belly, her smile and her love for cooking for all of us.

--Abuela still loves apples. Homemade applesauce, apple juice made in the blender each and every night. Abuela never went to sleep without her hot apple juice, made from scratch. In fact today at the nursing home i gave her sips of her own juice. It always there for her, although made by my aunt for a long time now. If I close my eyes and think about it, I can seel Abuela in the kitchen peeling her apples.

--Abuela and her accessories. Oh my goodness, how she loves accessories. She can never have too many bracelets, earrings or rings to wear. She loves to look at them and tell us the story behind how she got each and everyone of them. I know this year for her birthday she will get a new "pulcito" (spanish for little bracelet) to show off :)

Abuela doesnt remember much anymore. But she still talks about her birthday,how it falls on Three Kings Day, and how it is going to be a big celebration. She reminded me during our visit yesterday that she will have a big cake on her birthday and everyone is invited. I promised her flowers. Of course, I will bring along a little bracelet or some other accessory that I hope to find just for her.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of my grandmother. She has taught me so many things, but most importantly she has been an example of what living for You looks like. Please bless her and keep her close to You, safe and healthy for as long as we are honored to have her with us. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Alot in one day.....

Wow, I seemed to have accomplished alot in one day. I decided to throw myself into the blogging world yesterday and somehow managed to learn enough in a few hours to be able to put this little blog together along with customized colors, templates and a few "lists". This is fun! My kids will be so impressed with my computer experience. I announced last night "Mom has a blog!" My daughter couldnt believe it and hubby quickly came over to the screen to see what it was that I was doing! Now i need to learn how to add links on here. Off I go!

starting a blog.....a new adventure!

I've been having so much fun reading and getting to know about others through the various blogs through my pastor's blog that I thought I might give this a try and see what its like. I'm not sure where or how to begin putting this together but I am so intrigued on how this works........so here I go typing something here to see if it works :) my questions so far........what is a blog? I'm thinking this is like an online journal. Ok, here it goes.....I'm clicking "publish post" and I'll see what happens!