The Cocoon

I wanted to share a little story I read a month or so that has stuck with me and I continue to think of. It is great if you feel that you have had your fair share of difficulties and are ready for a break or if you are in the middle of a difficult life transition, or really any struggle. Hope it encourages you as it did me!

The Cocoon

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.

One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further.

The man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly, because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that restricting the cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as we could have been.

And we could never fly.

- Author unknown

Sammy and his great Abuelito

Before I go on I have to say that Sam and I are working with the kindergarteners in VBS this year and are just so impressed with it all. Last year was great but I was a missionary (talked to kids about Guatemala) in one of the Bibile site rooms and just spoke to each group as they cycled through and so I really didn't get a feel for the whole sh'bang. It is such a huge production. Also, can you believe we have 62 kindergarteners??!! Two of these are special needs so it was a lot of work. There are 5 of us workers and wow, it was just a litte exhausting but so totaly worth it. The kids were cracking us up with the funny things they say and their cute dancing. At the beginning and end all the kids get together for a big group time with lots of singing and dancing and the kindergarteners were by far the best dancers. They can wiggle like nobody's businsess! We had decided at the start when we saw how many kids showed up that we would break them into small groups for each worker to be in charge of. How about Sam got 5 boys and I have 12 girls!!! Fair??? I think not. Anyway, please pray that VBS witll be a life shaping opportunity for all of the kids who visit our church and pray for endurance and patience for all of the workers.

Now, onto the real post. =)

Here is one more post from our recent escapades in Jax. We had a really special visit with Pops and Esther, Sammy's great grandparents. Sammy LOVES visiting them and eats up all of the attention. He loves their parrots from Peurto Rico and plays asks to hold them as soon as he walks in the door. This time he sat at the table with Pops and had a pretty long conversation with him in Spanish about something, I think juice. =) I had asked Pops to impart words of wisdom and tell Sammy something wise he has learned in life but they pretty much talked about the importance of juice. I think I caught Pops off gaurd, he said he needed time to think so I told him next time we come I will bring the video camera to record his words of wisdom. It will be so sweet for Sammy to look at that video when he is a young man and hear sweet words from his great grandpa.

Sammy ate a lot of queso blanco and fruit and then ran around in their backyard chasing all the ducks in to the pond. He was sad when they all swam away but thankfully they came right back quacking and one started to chase him! Payback, right??? It was a really fun time and we only wish we lived closer so we could visit with them more. Here are a few pics!

Sammy with his great grandma

My big strong boy!

Pops is so sweet, he is always kissing and touching Sammy, very very cute
Well, Pops, I personally perfer V8 splash however, this new fruit juice has insprired me to branch out and explore a variety of other fruity options....
and more Spanish! Yay!

Sammy got to see his cousin Dianne!
Loves his Auntie Lillian!
We shortened Pop's cane and Sammy pretended he needed it, to funny
Awww, sweet memories!

the best 15 min of the day

Apparently I am posting some sort of series from our recent travels back and forth to Jax. These are a few pics from Mothers Day. My Sams suprised me in the morning with a little gift and the two of them were just so sweet. I sure am blessed. We had such a great day, we spent the day with my mom and had the most delicious brunch after church. Sammy ate so much food, it was really incredible. He had two plates then fnished with some desert. We won't mention how many plates I had, lol. My favorite part of the day was this particular 15 min that Mom, Sammy, and I shared. We had sat out in her backyard just enjoying the birds chirping and watching Sammy play in the baby pool while our dogs frolicked around. It was just so relaxing and so great to sit and chat for that long about nothing at all. I had actually just said how it felt so nice to relax and then, the most hillarious 15 min I have had with my mom in a long time occurred. I actually laugh everytime I think of it. Ready for this?? Ok here we go......Remember this sequence of events followed right on top of each other and obviously was way funnier in person but thought I would attempt a description so it is documented in history and thus will not be forgotten (we will be printing the blog each year). Anyway...

There we are totally relaxed in our lawn chairs when I notice mom's dog Pixie is chewing something red across the yard. Mom jumped up to go get at her and we realized it was the top to Sammy's cup. Just as soon as Mom sat back down in her lawnchair Sammy figured out how to spray the garden hose into the inside of Mom's porch onto her furniture. So, we got him corrected and resituated then sure enough Pixie had grabbed the top to Sammy's cup again, so I jumped up. Just as I went to Pixie Sammy somehow flipped himself over backwards out of the baby pool and into this giant puddle of mud that he had made with the hose, thankfully barely missing the concrete but he wasn't happy about being all muddy. We were laughing at him trying to get him all hosed off when mom thought best to just strip him and put him in the bathtub since we were about ready to head inside anyway. So, she goes inside to get the bath running and that is when I decided to sit down and relax for another min. BIG mistake! I was just sitting, I promise I did not even move, and BAM! My lawn chair broke and I was laying flat on my back with my legs sticking up in the air. Before I could even figure out what happen another BAM! The botoom of the chair finally gave out so my legs fell too and I was just literally flat on my back in the mud. Sammy was just shocked and then started crying and I was laughing so hard I couldn't even get up, which is how mom found us. She of course came to help just when Sammy (who was naked at that point) began to pee on her. I tell you, I seriously laughed so hard my sides ached. It was too funny. Especially given how relaxing our afternoon had been up until that point. Yes, church was wonderful and the brunch was absolutely splendid but those 15 min were my favorite mothers day memory by far. I am so thankful we were able to spend it up in OP and don't worry, the only thing that was hurt was my pride.

I love you Mom! Thank you for always being there no matter what and for all you continue to do for us each day. Thank you for your example of faith, your gentle guiding, and all the many life lessons you've taught me. Thank you for all of the sacrifices you've made over the years for me. You were such a great example of a strong women and always encouraged me to be confident in who I am and to find my own strength in Jesus. Thank you for teaching me how to truly be beautiful by defining beauty according to God and not the world. You taught me to dream big and set goals for myself and gave me "roots and wings" (still display the snow globe proudly). =) You have always been my biggest cheerleader and best friend, thank you for never giving up on me during the rough times. You taught me to put others first and nurtured a servants heart within me. I hope and pray every day that I am able to be as good a mom to Sammy as you are to me. I love you with all my heart and am so thankful for you and for our relationship!

He truly enjoyed his fancy pudding
My mom and Richard, thanks for the fancy-smancy brunch! Love you both so much!
My lilttle family eating out, yay! We sure miss restaurants, ha ha, it was delicious!


Sammy played in the pool all day after church, here he was laughing at the water rolling down his big belly


He loves water and loves to plunge his face into it, this is right before he did a summersault out of the pool for the second time. =)

Less than ideal trip to the beach

So, while visiting Sam's family a few weeks ago we thought it would be great to take Sammy to the beach and spend some fun relaxing family time. Grammy & Aunt Sarah came with us and it was fun day, for the most part. Sammy had not been to the beach since he was about 8 months old and he absoultely loved it then so we were super excited to take him back. Sammy had loved playing in the sand, loved watching the birds, and most of all loved the water. Yea, this time.. not so much. He was very excited in the car but our first clue came when we were talking about all we would see when we got to the beach. The min he heard there would be sand, he whimpered a little and shook his head no. He was a little hesitant when we got there but he ran right out to the waves and took it all in, things were good. He even dug in the sand for a little bit. Then, sadly, a wave came and knocked him down, not fully but his feelings were still hurt plus, his favorite blue shoe had come off. He just watched it float away and cried.. "boo shoe" over and over and yes, it was downhill from there. He was not a happy camper. Thankfully he took a long nap on Grammy and felt a little better when he woke up but we have decided we will need to try again another day. Not sure what it is with the boy and sand. Maybe we should have packed his socks and then it would have been no problem?

Loved jumping in waves with daddy
He looked for seashells with his arheologist Auntie.. that's right, he has Laura Croft for an Aunt! Cool times ahead for you Sammy.... can we say, adventure please??!!!
Apparently all he needed was a little of Grammy's loving to make it all better

Sam and Sarah worked so hard on their well planned castle
San and Sarah being.. well, Sam and Sarah. They are seriously hillarious when they are together, think Ross & Monica from friends and that pretty much sums them up. They even have a dance. Yup, that's right. Too cute, I love it and their relationship is one reason why I think Sammy needs a little sister. We love you Sarah Michelle!

This is about when it all starting going downhill... that sand just wouldn't leave him alone
Chasing seaguls with Grammy, so fun!
Don't fall over baby!
See, this is what I don't get. His legs were covered with mud and he was fine, but a few grains of sand of feet and oh my, it was all over??? I guess I just don't understand my silly silly boy.

Sam's Job Update: Also, many have aksed the job status. Still hasn't started yet. He has called and gone by and they do confirm the job is his. Apparently they are putting together an new service team and still in hiring process of others so Sam is just having to wait until they are ready for him. We are hoping in next few days but will keep you posted. Thanks for your continued prayers!

Fun at the farm

Quick post to put up some pics of Sammy & Layla at the farm. Our friends Louie & Tereasa have a farm on their property that has some really unique and sweet animals and is just a great place for toddlers with lots of energy to run around. We met up with Little Miss Layla-bug who was just so sweet and so very entertaining, oh yea and Grammy, Sarah, and Ashley too. The moment we got there Layla ran out to us "Baby Sammy, look this" and from then on they were on a mission to explore every inch of the farm together. I still remember talking with Ashley when we were preggers about how she wanted a boy and I wanted a gril, we laughed saying how would prob get the reverse and yes we did! I just can't believe how big Layla is now! She was talking up a storm and just so sweet and funny. Her mommy Ashley is expecting her second and there is no doubt Layla will be a great big sis! Oh, I have to mention, Sammy had his first kiss this day. We were looking at all of the cars in Louie's garage and thought would be cute to take pic of the kids in the car from the Munsters (sorry, I never saw that show so can't remember the car's name, oops) and their little kiss was so cute. I had the video camera and right after the kiss I asked Sammy what he thought of his first kiss. He just got this big grin and said "whoa!" really loud and started jumping up and down, too cute. Maybe will send that one on in to America's funniest videos and make some money off of them. =) It was a super fun day and we can't wait for Sammy & Layla to play again soon.

They were oinking together at the polka dotted pigglets

Rocky the Monkey was their favorite, and mine too!

Louie was imparting his wisdom to Sammy.. uh oh that can't be a good thing, lol

"Follow me baby Sammy" is what we heard all day, so cute!

"Muah!!"

Sammy was so very brave! He seriously has no fear around animals, just loves them all

Sammy's now famous hugs, love it.

He shared his blueberries and green beans fine but it was hands off the carrots! Oh well, maybe better sharing next time. Sorry Layla!