Allie's Pageant

Allie Ann participated on the Nibley Miss Sweetheart Pageant last Saturday the 22nd of May. It definitely fits Allie because she is a Sweetheart!!!
She looked absolutely beautiful in her light blue dress and light blue flowers sticking out of her hair.
I think it was a fun experience for her but I'm not so sure that Allie is much into pageant things because it does require to feel comfortable in front of crowds and judges and Allie is shy and really does not like to show off. It is good for her to have this type of activity because as she gets more exposed to audiences so does her self esteem develop but pageants may also interfere with that as girls get older and others get picked over them. But this was fun and very enjoyable and Shari and I had the most fun getting her ready and making her even more beautiful if that is possible.
Allie had a chance to work on a project all by herself and her theme was horses (shocker) under the overall theme: Imagine if...and it turned out very cute! Good job!
Also she had to present a talent on stage and she played piano and performed a piece related to horses of course. Later in the show the girls were individually introduced to the audience as they were escorted to and on stage by a man or boy of their choice and Allie picked her father. It was a nice program.

Josh was able to film the whole program and also take more pics so I will have to ask him to make me a copy, in the meantime enjoy these pictures.
The outfit she is wearing below is for the group performance (dancing) as they opened the show. All girls dressed in the same colors and style for the dance.

                                           

                                            Way to go Sweetheart.

Ronaldo watch out!!!! pics 2010

Brenton loves to play soccer and I truly enjoy watching him. O meu menino tem estilo:)!!!! I love the way he moves in the field!!!! If his interest for soccer is channeled in the right direction and motivated the right way he will continue to love it more and who knows go somewhere with it.
I hope that his experience is positive and happy in the process. He has a natural touch for this so hopefully he will continue to have a great time and will continue to be great at it as well!!!


WELL DONE BRENTON!!!!!!

                                        look at this move:)...nice...

                     Brenton on the ground sacrificing for the ball:)

                                                         olha o estilo!!!!!

Truly Handsome!!!!

Mother's day

Someone in my ward who is a woman and a mother started her talk in Sacrament meeting by saying:
"Today is Mother's day and just because it is Mother's day it does not mean that every woman is happy today." Everyone started laughing maybe because of how true it that is! hahahaha!
Isn't it interesting how hard this day can actually be on us?...

My day started a little rough, a little sad because somehow there are those who in their quest to make things right in other areas make you feel that you are just in the way and that you are not that important after all. That really hit me that morning but as the kids and I went to church and listened, and enjoyed that time together, and as a I taught my lesson in Relief Society, those feelings of inadequacy almost imposed by circumstances slowly disappeared and I really enjoyed myself. I was again reminded that I am a good mother to my children and the love I have for them is unique, unconditional and incomparable. I love them in a way that only a Mother can, one who has chosen their well being over hers and one who chooses to continue to be there for them no matter what. In my blog's playlist I have a song by Martina McBride entitled "In My Daughter's Eyes" and that has been Allie's and mine song since she was very little and she says so every time it plays:) but the lyrics are definitely about what Allie and Brenton mean and do for me and how they have truly changed my life.

After church the kids and I spent a good time together and the cutest thing was when without me saying anything they came up with some surprises of their own. They told me to go sit down on the couch and wait for something they were going to prepare. After a while:) they showed up with this very yummy treat they prepared which included yogurt, sliced bananas and strawberries, chocolate and amendoas de chocolate that my mom had sent from Portugal! It was awesome!!!! Those two little ones are the best. Shari also helped them give me something for Mother's day which was a necklace with a key to their heart") so cute!!! I love you Allie and Brenton:)

Mother's day in Portugal is on the 1st weekend of the month of May so I got to wish my mom a wonderful day both times:) She is undoubtedly the best mother anyone could ever wish for. Always has been and I love her with all my heart. She is what the word Mother is all about and I'm among those few that have actually been truly blessed with a wonderful woman in their life. She is my hero and I look up to her. Para ti, maezita...

My Birthday:)

Well, my birthday was on the 29th of March as you know and it was a really fun day. I was at work as most days of my life but had plenty of calls and expressions of wishes of a wonderful birthday from family and friends so thank you to all:) Obrigadissima.
The surprise started with a birthday cake which is very known by its suggestive name, don't worry I won't say it here.., hehehehe... and it was very very yummy, thus its name! hahahahahahahah!!!!
That took place in Provo at Claudio's and Olivia's house where along with Shanna, Wilson and Steven we enjoyed a nice meal with the birthday cake for desert. They sang Parabens a Voce, sem velas:) mas eu fiz o meu desejo e fiquei muito feliz. I hadn't had a cake just for me for 10 years, since I have been here.
It made me cry...
This was on Sunday and on Saturday the girls took me to a very nice place in Provo to get my toe nails done! Man, it was soooooo relaxing and fun!!! Thank you guys!!!! Obrigada por tudo!!!!!

The day of my birthday I had a few more surprises, real surprises:) Shari showed up at my work around 11:30 a.m.with Draycin and Cael and a very creative birthday "cake" which is the best kind because you don't have to bake it and it has all you need: chocolate and strawberries!!! Yummy! Plus, it was decorated with a very special pink flower picked by Draycin for Dini. It was really, really nice! 
Around 4 p.m. Shari comes back to my work this time with Allie and Brenton as well and they had a bouquet of beautiful flowers for me, cards and a balloon. It was awesome!!!! It brought tears to my eyes and so had all those surprises along the way!!! It was such a nice surprise and it really meant more than words can say.
Later that same day I received a bag with gifts from Shari with some really cute clothes, a lipstick and a bracelet! Thank you very, very much Shari!!!! I loved all of it!!!!

I received a card from Fatinha, goodies at work from my co-workers and messages from my brothers, cousin, friends, nephew and from my sweet mother who also sent me money to spend for my birthday as she always does:) She is awesome!!!
To end the day, we went to the movies and watched How to Train a Dragon in 3-D which was amazing!!! I absolutely loved that show and so did the kids!!! We all had popcorn and enjoyed our time!!!
Thank you once again to all!!!!

last 10 years!!!!

... so it has been now 10 and a half years that I have been in the States and therefore in Utah! Isn't that insane how time just flies by?
10 years are indeed a milestone and I can honestly say that they were the worse years of my life as well as the best ever.
On the positive side I experienced pregnancy which is a gift and an awesome feeling and went through delivery of the human beings that mean the most in my life. These two little ones and their existence definitely make up for all the not so happy times.
But I also have to be honest and really say that these 10 years have helped learn more about people in general, of what we are all capable of under various circumstances and how much family and real friendships truly mean. Real relationships with family and friends can either make you or break you depending on how real they actually are.
The experiences of these last 10 years of my life brought me to a point that I had to rewrite my story and I'm amazed at how resilient one can actually be.
I have been amazed at the inner strength that the Lord has given me and how He has blessed me to challenge the obstacles that come and turn them into an opportunity t look at it in a different way and actually embrace what I can not change all along keeping in mind the well being of my two children, Allie and Brenton. Because of them I have left my comfort zone and have taken steps towards what most describe as impossible and I have allowed myself to be blessed by those who otherwise would not be able to reach me. I have been blessed by my family, true friends from the past and those friends that have emerged in the last few years and even by a friendship that has blossomed from a very, very unique situation.
I look back at these last 10 and a half years and there are so many things that I would choose and do differently. It is a cliche when people say that they wouldn't change a thing if they could go back! Of course they would!!!! Anyone in their right mind would take that opportunity to change things to try and make different choices! hahahaha! But with that in mind, my regrets are carefully selected because I wouldn't be who I am today without my most precious gifts: Allie and Brenton and that I would never, ever change.

The three of us are an eternal family and it is indeed priceless to think that we will be together for Eternity...and because of that I can't even wish to change the circumstances in which they became mine forever.
Ultimately, our time in this life is truly a gift despite being the best or worst years... The truth is all these years and its challenges teach us how to truly become refined, polished and shaped just the right way in order to truly enjoy that eternal reward. So... let's make it count.

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit

Um adeus...

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you plant your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every goodbye, you learn...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLIE ANN!!!!

Today is such a special day!! Allie Ann is turning 8 years old! Time sure flies by!!!

I think back at the day that she was born and i fall in love with her all over again!

8 years ago on the 27th we went to the hospital in Brigham City really early in the morning because the doctor was going to induce me. Very nervous and yet so excited!!!

Yet Allie was not born until the next day, the 28th at 4:00 p.m. That was after pushing and pushing and pushing and even forceps were utilized!!!

I was too narrow though, therefore she came into this world through a c-section. After a painful day and a half it was all so worth it the minute she was here and healthy. My life was never the same. I woke up from the anesthesia almost 2 hours after giving birth and was told the good news: that I had delivered a healthy baby girl!

The nurse handed me my baby and I met my Allie Ann for the very first time! And there she was, so beautiful! I held her as tears came down my cheek amazed at how perfect she was. I noticed her dimples and thought she was the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world!

8 years have gone by and Allie continues to be the most beautiful girl in the world to me. She is a sweet little girl who is unselfish and very kind to others. She is a wonderful daughter and I am very proud of her.

The only trauma i have of those 30 something hours was having to endure this movie on T.V. in my hospital room. It was called Oh Brother where art thou?!! Man, that drove me nuts especially when pain would take over and I couldn't find a comfortable position to lay on!!

Epidural was heaven sent and it worked out pretty well. When you are heavily medicated anything sounds great!! Then I was able to endure that movie in the back ground for what it felt like 20 hours!!!! I do not know what that movie is about, in the name of memories i have tried to watch it since but i think that having that movie playing in the background for so long has created some kind of trauma that i can't get past!!! hahahah! So I still haven't watched it but I will never forget its title!!! That is for sure!!!!

Anyway, fun wonderful times! Parabens Allie... Wish you all the very best throughout your life. You will always be my baby girl!!!

Allie: Origin and meaning of the name: of a noble kind, brightness, exalted, happy, lively, merry, noble friend, inspired advice. Allie's origin is Germanic, Old English, Italian and Hebrew.

It is the pet form of Czech, English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese Alice in the English language.

Allie's name was picked after her grandmothers. My mother's name is Albertina and the name Allie is a nickname for any name beginning with AL plus Allie's paternal great-grandmother's name was Alice which also influenced our decision to name her Allie. The name Ann was given to her after the name of her paternal grandmother's middle name.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Many years ago the First Presidency issued a statement that has had a profound and lasting influence upon me. “Motherhood,” they wrote, “is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels.

Because mothers are essential to God’s great plan of happiness, their sacred work is opposed by Satan, who would destroy the family and demean the worth of women.” Russell M. Nelson, “Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women,” Ensign, May 1999, 38

Mothers find the beauty of life wherever it may be...

Womenhood - Mothers Who Know Who They Are...

President Julie B. Beck on motherhood:

“The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”

"However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children.” Julie B. Beck, “Mothers Who Know,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 76–78

Elder M. Russell Ballard on mothering:

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008, 108–10

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

(“To My Child,” quoted in Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest [1965], 54)

Field Trip

Earlier this month, I went with Brenton on a field trip to the American Heritage Center. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a chance to see how people lived in 1917. They talked and watched the blacksmith work, they played pioneer children games, did some laundry, made some butter and watched how to use a 1917 wood stove. It was really interesting. They sat in one of the pioneer living rooms and listened to a gentleman tell about the people that used to live in that house. They saw pictures, clothes, instruments and furniture used by them. After this they still had an opportunity to milk a cow! One of the interesting things we learned about the 1917 wood stove was that mothers used to place their premature babies in the stove warmer that is situated in the upper part of the stove!! The warmer was designed to place the bread after it was baked but they also used it to place their premature babies for about 2 weeks!!!! Isn't that amazing???? So right then I told Brenton that since he was born 2 months early that he would have been place in one of those too!!! And he thought that it would have been cool!! The lady who was talking to us about this part also said that a lady who went through this tour was 90 years old and that she had been placed in one of these warmers for two weeks when she was a baby. Wow! Pretty cool! the kids then enjoyed a cookie (and so did I:) baked in that cool 1917 stove and the taste was incomparable.

So last Sunday, April 26 was the anniversary of my own baptism. It did not take place around my birthday because my dad was working in Libia (North Africa) and hadn't arrived yet so we waited for him to baptize me.

What a special day it was!! I was able to have my own day and enjoy the start of a new beginning!

My family had been baptized 4 years earlier when I was 4.

As I have mentioned before, my family lived in Africa for quite a few years before I was born. I was born in Carmona, Uige in the North of Angola, (central Africa).

Due to a civil war, my family had to flee and went back to Portugal. I was only 3 years old.

We lost everything we owned and my parents started from scratch once back in Portugal. We were spared our lives and that was all that mattered. I was 3, Samuel 9 and Paulo 8. We did have guns pointed to our heads several times and were miraculously spared. Little girls my age were being raped by the guerrilla in front of their parents as well as women in front of their husbands. Our family lost all that was material but we did not suffer one scratch.

For many years Portugal had been under a dictatorship which obviously did not grant the freedom of speech or of religion. The church had not been able to get in for a very long time. But by the time my family got there the church was just starting and my family met the missionaries shortly after we arrived.

My mother is originally from Coimbra and as you know that is where we settled.

My father was very knowledgeable of the Bible and had very tough questions which had never been answered throughout the years in the faith he was living at the time. He had searched other religions but was never able to get answers that would actually put the pieces together.

Finally he met the missionaries and asked those questions. The missionaries did not have the answers. At least not at that moment and asked permission to go home and study and get back to him. My father was pretty sure that due to the fact that they were so young that there was no way they would know the answers and thought they would never not go back.

Well, they did go back and answered every question! My dad was very impressed and everything made perfect sense. They took the missionary discussions and my brothers and parents were all baptized. There were no church buildings since the church was so new in Portugal so they were baptized in a huge rubber swimming pool. The meetings were held in a local building that served other purposes. We were only the second family to join in Coimbra and one of the first few in Portugal.

I had to wait until I was 8 years old and was also taught the discussions. The missionaries gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me if I would like to be baptized. I was very young but I already loved the gospel in a way that I can't explain. I was so happy every time I went to church. We always had family home evenings and I loved my dad's prayers. It was my pleasure to accept to be baptized.

I will never forget my own baptism. I had a wonderful experience that day which will always be sacred to me.

I know that my parents went through many trials as they faced that war but I believe that it definitely prepared them to meet the missionaries and be ready to receive what the Lord had in store for us.

We were spared our lives and also given a spiritual beginning.

High School Quinta das Flores

This is one building of the High School I attended. This is situated about 8 minutes from my house on foot. This building is the one where I had most of my classes in my first few years there. My English, History, French and Math classes were all here as well as Art classes. All of the others took place in other buildings like this one. When I was in 7th grade, in this very building, I decided to buy smelly bombs and drop them in the classroom during History class. My objective was that it would stink so bad that we wouldn't have that class and that math would also be canceled. Well, it didn't really go as planned as far as cancellation goes but the place stunk SOooo bad!!! Our teachers made us sit there in class and endure that nasty smell. One of the students got really sick to his stomach! ahahah! No one could concentrate in that math class. It was horrible! Finally I told them I did it and they sent a note to my parents saying that I had placed two smelly bombs in the classroom and that I could be suspended for 3 days. My dad tried so hard not to laugh as he read that note and gave me a lecture, but I know that he was about to crack up laughing. I never got suspended because I told the truth voluntarily. I love a good prank, that's just me!! But shhshhhshhh...! don't tell Allie and Brenton about this!! ahah

This is my Middle School

This is the Middle School I attended and it is called Escola Preparatoria de Eugenio de Castro. I went there for 2 years. Here you can see some of the buildings, but this school's area was huge! It is located about 20-30 minutes by foot from my house. Fatima and I always walked together. We made sure we went way early so that we could play with marbles. The loser had to give up at least one marble to the winner. Racing marbles was awesome!! I started attending this school at 10 years old and that is when I had my first English class. My English class name was Daisy! hahahah! I really had a lot of fun here!! Fatima and I and her two brothers were the only members of the church in the entire school. My schedule was classes every morning starting at 8:20 until 1:30 p.m. and twice a week it would go from 8:20 until 6:30 p.m. I had classes on Saturday morning as well. Fatima reminded me that we also used to go to school way earlier not only to play marbles but to play dodge ball!! Man, we killed everyone!! hahahah

My Elementary School!!

This is the entrance to the elementary school I attended. It is bigger than you can tell on this picture! My room was number 4 on the 1st floor. Right across from the windows you see here on the first floor. Our windows faced the opposite side where we could see more of the playground area. It has grades 1st through 4th and we have the same classmates and teacher all through the 4 years. Two of those school years I had classes in the morning and two in the afternoon. Good ol' days!!!

Coimbra!

Coimbra

City Park (Coimbra)

City Park (Parque da Cidade) in Coimbra / Winter

Coimbra City Park

City Park (Parque da Cidade) in Coimbra