Feliz Cumpleanos!

One of the pics we put in her Bday card- Sam, Sammy, and her all got matching Guatemala soccer jerseys and she had hers on a lot when I was there so thought she would like to see them in theirs

Here we are the week we met and then again last year

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS to you.... FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS to you... FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS dear Cristina, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS to you!!!
So our sweet Cristina, the little (or not so little anymore) girl we sponsor turned 15 on Feb 12 and I am just shocked that she is this old now! She had just turned 11 when we started sponsoring her, right after she arrived at Casa (the childrens home we go to on our mission trips each year) and it has been such an amazing experience to first get to know her and then to watch her blossom from this silly sweet little girl to this amazingly strong beautiful young woman of God. She really has matured in just about every way and I am just so proud of her. I tell her constantly that God has big plans for her life and remind her of the verse Jeremias 29:11-12 b/c I just know that God brought her to Casa so she could find Him and learn to follow His plans for her life.

I can still see the first day we met her just as vivid as yesterday. She had some behavioral issues back then and we had just arrived in Guatemala and Jack was giving us our tour of Casa. I had obviously only seen pictures of her and only knew her through letters at that point but I kept staring at every girl we walked by to see if it was her. It was so hard to focus on what Jack was saying b/c I just wanted to meet her so badly (sorry Jack, no offense meant). Finally when we finished and we were standing outside of her dorm talking as best we could to some of the girls I asked if they knew Crisinta and where she was. They said " she punished" and pointed up to her dorm. She had gotten in trouble at school and wasn't aloud to come out. I was sooo disappointed but thankfully Julissa said she would talk to Alex and Sarah and they agreed to let her come down. I thought she may be shy and it may be awkward at first but it was just so unforgettable. All of a sudden this tiny girl bolted from the door and waved, ran full speed down the stairs and threw, literally almost knocking me down, herself into my arms and we both cried a little. It was so surreal to hold her in my arms after all the letters. She looked up and said "hola Teri, me loves you", and I of course had to grab her back up in a hug.

We have grown leaps and bounds in our relationship since then. That first year was rough b/c she was on the worst behavior level so she didn't have as many privileges as the other children and was not allowed to do as much. Carolyn took some of her girls to the pool and let us tag along (thank you a billion times over) and so Cristina and I swam together while Sam went shopping in Antigua. He got her a teddy bear and some jewelry, and she still had it last year when we were there. It was pretty raggedy and dirty but she still slept with her bear. We talked a lot about God and read scriptures together. Communication was somewhat challenging as I had VERY limited Spanish and she had VERY limited English. Thankfully my dear friend Andrea (we actually met each other this trip at Casa!), translated a lot for us and when they left Chica took over for them. We had such a great time getting to know her that year and it made our letters all the more meaningful during the following year. It was so hard to wait an entire year to see her again.

She had improved a great deal by our second trip there but still struggled some with school and behavior. She had learned a lot more English and I had a little more Spanish which was nice and we were able to have more serious talks. Leslie was with me on this trip and she helped tremendously with translating (just as an aside, it was dream come true for us to be on mission trip together. I love you Leslie!). I was able to get to know Irma, Cristina's older sister some the first year but this second trip was when they both really opened up about their past and their family and really how they ended up at Casa. I had a vague understanding of her background just as her sponsor but it just broke my heart to hear the details. I should also mention the incredible bond between Cristina and Sam. The two of them are just so close, she clung to him both years he was there, and I honestly think he would do anything for that girl. This second trip was again, a huge building block in our relationship as she opened up so much more and we not only laughed but cried together. It was so hard to say goodbye. We just held each other and cried for a very long time. We promised to study hard.. me Spanish and her English and she promised to stay on level 5 (the best level) and mentioned in each letter how she was trying. God's timing is perfect, I got a letter from her the day before I went into labor with Sammy and it was just what I needed. I was freaking out about not being ready and feeling like I didn't know how to be a mom, but being almost a week over my due date.. not much chance of escaping it then! ha ha! Cristina's letter was just so perfect. Along with the typical updates on how she was doing, school, etc. she mentioned she was praying for baby Sammy and then she said that she wanted to thank me for being the mom she didn't have and explained how it has helped her, I won't share the rest but ... she said some other very encouraging sweet things and may sound weird but it was just what I needed and I had her letter right by my bed when I delivered Sammy.

This last year we visited was just the best yet. Crisitina's English had improved so much and thanks to Gloria I knew just enough Spanish that we didn't need a translator! I cannot explain just how cool it was to sit and talk just the two of us about everything from boys to fashion to future goals to yummy food. I am sure our team wanted to ring my neck a few times as she and I just hid away from everyone and talked, but I just couldn't resist. It was what I had dreamed of but only here on earth! See, when Sam and I first decided to become sponsors I printed out the possible children and silly as it sounds slept with it under my pillow (no clue why I did that now). I had narrowed it down to 4 girls but wanted to really bathe the decision in prayer. After only two days of praying I just KNEW it was Crisitna. Sponsorship through Casa is much more than a financial commitment, you promise to pray for your child daily on a variety of issues. I remember praying so hard for her one night that I was actually crying. I was praying for her salvation, that God would use her in a HUGE and MIGHTY way to bring many to Him. I just remember then feeling so selfish b/c and I confessed my sin right there b/c part of why I was praying that was so I could meet her. I wanted to know she would be in Heaven one day so I could talk with her and know her. Little did I know His plans for the two of us were far bigger and better than anything I could dream up. He must have smiled when I prayed and shook His head and said.. "oh my beloved, I can do so much more.. try me". Well, I am so glad He did!

The trip this summer was just more then I could have ever hoped for and I had tears rolling down my cheek as Mike held an invitation one night for all those who felt called to missions to go forward and our Cristina was the youngest and only girl up there. I was just bursting with joy! I am SOO thankful that not only did she give her life to Him over the years but she is called to serve Him in full time missions and how perfect again was His timing that I could be there to witness this and share in her joy. Plus, the first night we arrived, she took me to the chart and showed me she had made and stayed on level 5 the ENTIRE YEAR since we left!!! Alex & Sarah (her former dorm parents) told me just how well she had done that year, such a change. She has recently moved up to Jack & Carolyn's dorm with the teen girls and their blog post of this mentioned that Alex & Sarah said the few girls that moved up were really good girls. I just couldn't be more proud of her. We had SOO much fun together this last time. I laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt several times. We made a promise to do mission work together in the future, when she is older and that is something I plan to keep, it will be another dream come true! Mike (Papi) talked with me some about her and again had the most incredible things to say. So..yes.. we are just as proud as can be of her.

I know she doesn't live with us, or even in this country, but Sam, Sammy, and I consider her part of our family and she always writes that we are her family that God picked for her. We pray for her every time we pray together and Sammy loves to watch the videos she made for him. We sent her a Valentine's Day card that had Sammy's voice recorded in it. The last videos she saw of him were from when he was 7 or 8 months old so I am sure she was surprised to see how big he is in the pictures.

Well.. obviously I could go on and on about her. I have so many memories and stories I could share but I realize most prob don't care to hear all of those so I will wrap this up for now. I leave you with a few pictures of memories from each year and some videos of our sweet little girl.. all grown up.
Te amo mucho mi princesa!


Our first visit to Casa


Adorable! They are so sweet together!


This was right after we met the first year, she was so little!


Our first trip to Antigua, she had never seen big city like this and was so scared of cars!

She made this tshirt with the names of her Family on it and it even had Baby Sammy!

In Antigua our second trip, I was preggers so Sammy was technically in this pic too

sposor photo from our second trip

In Antigua, we took Chica along with us and had so much fun! Yea, definitely pregnant in this one!

Bear hugs!

Last year in Antigua with Kendall, Karina, & Lilly

This is VERY important picture. We left our group and went shopping on our own! I was able to effectively communicate and barter in Spanish and got great deals on new school clothes for her as a reward for imroving so much. So congrats to both of us! WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!

Ok.. this is proof that I'm not there yet in terms of Spanish. I ordered our dinner at this nice restaraunt, of course menu was in Spanish, waitress only spoke Spanish, it was rough. I did my best. yes Cristina speaks Spanish but obviously has no expereince eating in restraunts and had no clue what things on the menu were. SO we ended up with two of every drink, sweet tea, water, coke, a nasty yogurt smoothy thing, etc and then a dinner I didn't intend to get that was disgusting. Thank you to Bill for swaping with me!

one of my favorite nights ever

We had such a blast together she just has such a good heart. She carried my backpack (ie breast pump) all over Antigua b/c she didn't want me to have to bother with it, I said no and tried to take it back several times but she refused b/c she wanted to help. That is just one of many exapmles of how amazing she is

In the market with her mango

She used her sponsor money to buy us these bracelets. Mine has "C" and hers has "T" to symbolisze the string that goes from her heart to mine when we are far way.. so cute! I cried, ha ha!



This was taken on our first trip with my very old camera.. sorry for the poor quality


This too was our first year, Sam and Cristina were being so silly I love it! The were saying our names with a rolling "R" it was hilarious!



These last two videos are from my trip this past summer and were failed attempts where Cristina wanted to make videos for Sam but she was bound and determined to do in English and it just wouldn't work ... ha ha. She was in an EXTREMELY silly mood so thought would put them up, enjoy!

Sammy's Scary Dent.... and some sweet pics!

So I was organizing pics and uploading from the last few weeks and found some extra sweet pics that from when Sammy visited Pops and Ester right after he turned 1. It was such a fun visit, he got to see not only his great grandpa & great grandma but his Aunt Eunice and Aunt Lillian. Sammy loved entertaining everyone and almost took his first steps, he was so close (it happened exactly two weeks later). He quacked at the ducks in their backyard and tried persimmons (they grow on a tree in their back yard!) for the first time. The coolest thing for us was to see how his great grandparents made him and how much joy he brought to them. It also made me extra thankful that he speaks Spanish b/c Pops talked mostly with Sammy in Spanish and he followed what Pops told him to do and would laugh right back with him, very very sweet memories. So, I wanted to be sure to put some of these pics up.
Also.. we had such a scare yesterday! Sammy runs all over the place now and he had on his swishy athletic pants (which have since been packed up since he constantly trips on them) and the pants started sagging, he stepped on the bottom of them while running and down he went. It looked just like the cartoons when a character slips on bananas but it was NOT funny, quite the contrary.. there was a loud crack/boom (we have tile floors downstairs) and then I waited... and waited for the inevitable screaming while I rushed to him but no sound. His little eyes rolled back into his head and I guess the wind was knocked out of him. I grabbed him up and he was only out for 4 or 5 seconds (in mommy time that is like 4 or 5 years) and he just looked at me all dazed and tried to cry but nothing came out, it was just indescribably awful. I literally ran over to Joe & Gloria's house with him and they were such a huge help (both with Sammy & calming me down, lol). He started to cry then and was normal Sammy again (PRAISE GOD!) and the doctor told us signs to watch for, not to let him sleep, etc. He was great for rest of day then last night we realized he had a big ol' dent in his head. We called and the nurse told us that wasn't good sign could be slight bleed on brain so to bring him right in to ER (again.. scary). Sam called the ER to tell them we were coming but the nurse there said no, not to worry that he was fine and dent was ok too as long as he didn't vomit. So, we've been watching carefully and he seems just fine. God is so wonderful! That had to be one of if not my most scariest moment as his mommy!
One more peice of good news.. he moved up to the toddler class at church today and he did so great! He had been having some seperation anxiety issues and cried when we left him each Sunday but this new class seems to have done the trick. We walked up to door and there were 6 or 7 little boys his size (serious lack of girls in there) playing with super cool toys and we set him down and he walked right over, looked back once and smiled sheepishly, and joined right in. So, it was I guess harder on me than him, ha ha! The old class was with the crawling babies and had rocking chairs and cribs and was so baby like. This one is all big kid all the way. Oh well.. guess we will have lots of these little milestones to follow! So fun!
Here are the pics with Pops and Esther but we think we Sammy will end up calling Pops Abuelito since he already calls Sam's dad Grandpa. Enjoy them!

Samuelito getting his fat rolls pinched.. happens everytime poor thing!

Sammy with Pops, I love this one!

Playing with his new car with Abuelito and Brennan

Chasing the ducks with Daddy

Practicing for those first steps

Center of attention and loving it!

Sam DeLucca #s 1, 2, & 4 (not sure where my # 3 was)

Lillian, Esther, Sammy, Pop, & Eunice

For all the mommies out there...

So Leslie just sent me the link to a video I think is worth taking a couple min to watch.. it about preventing babies and young children from drowning, I think it is well worth consideration given how many of us are in FL and our kids are constantly around water... it is for 6 mos and up and really freaked me out b/c the baby on the video was just like Sammy, he even has similar blue pjs. It made me feel sick so I am sure Sam and I will be looking into some kind of infant swim lessons, hopefully with this component.

Well.. this is all for now.. no time for fun blog I have over 100 papers to grade by tonight.. eeeks!
http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html

La Vaquita... MOO!!

So, for those of you who know my son well, you know he is OBSESSED in every sense of the word with cows. We can't really explain it, he has always loved them even when we was only a few months old. One of his first belly laughs and smiles was in response to a cow figurine at Gloria's house. Just a side note, he was so fond of her little smiling cow and begged for it each morning so she moved it and hid it in her kitchen cabinet (it was glass). Sammy still would point to the cabinet and ask to see the cow and get this.. she gave it away as a white elephant gift this Christmas! I still give her a hard time about it. Poor Sammy still misses that little cow and asks for it and the sad thing is the person who got her gift lives in CA and was only visiting. I told her we need to pay for a plane ticket to fly that little cow home.


Anyway, Sammy does a great "moo" and he moo's literally anytime he sees a picture of a cow, hears the word, etc. He tries to say "la vaquita" (little cow) which is what Gloria calls them but it comes out "eeta". We decided to visit Paines Prairie to see the wild horses. It was fun and Sammy had a good time. On the way home though, we drove by a cow pasture and all the cows were by the fence. Sam drove our car up on the curb and we rolled down the window and there really are no words to express just how happy Sammy was! He was literally ecstatic! So, we took him up to the fence and he "moo"ed his little heart out. He was yelling at them and talking up a storm. His eyes were as big as saucers. The entire herd came up to the fence and we stayed until the sun went down. I never would have thought I could find so much joy standing and watching cows for that long. It just makes my heart so happy to see him that happy. The video I posted is of him after we got in the car to leave. He wouldn't get in his seat, he just kept yelling and moo'ing at the cows. Then the whole ride home he just repeated "bye bye Moo" "bye bye eeta moo" over and over until he fell asleep with his hand in mid wave. It was by far one of my favorite memories of him so I wanted to share the pics/video (at the bottom).

Proud of my country!

Just had to note how proud I am to be an American given the heroic acts of US Airways Captain Cheslsey "Sully" Sullenberger and those on board his flight. I know you all have heard the story but what was most amazing to me is how those on the flight pushed the lady with her 9 month old to the front and how Captain Sullenberger was the last off of the plane, after walking the isle twice as the plane sunk to be sure everyone was off safely before he exited the plane. Wow. Truly a hero. That event followed by today, a day God had planned in history from the beginning of time, President Obama's inauguration, gives me a surge of patriotism. It makes no difference how anyone voted, he is our president and our leader and we need to be unified as we support and pray for him and our nation. Most importantly we need to pray that God will give him wisdom and that he will follow God's direction at all times, regardless of what his political advisers suggest he do. We need to pray for his family, for his marriage, for protection of his sweet girls, and for our new First Lady as she supports him and uses her new platform to effect our country for good.


I was so moved and touched by Dr. Joseph Lowery's benediction during the inauguration. I don't agree with all that Dr. Lowery supports politically but I am thankful for the large role he played in the civil rights movement. He started shortly after Rosa Park's arrest and led the bus boycott among many other noble acts. He actually founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King, Jr. So to think of just how our country has changed, admittedly we have a LONG way to go, but how far we have come and how surreal it must have been to him standing up on the stage as President Obama was sworn in thinking back to how he once marched on capital hill fighting for equality. It just makes me proud of our country.


On a very different note, Sammy is still sick! We were back at pediatrician today and his ears are still pretty bad, we will most likely go back on Thursday for recheck. Keep him in your prayers and Sam and I as we try to somehow continue working without any sleep. It has been super cold here in sunny Florida and Sammy is just so funny when he is bundled in his jacket so had to post a few pics of him. When we are out he likes to wave to everyone he meets and it is so funny b/c all you see are his little fingers poking out and fluttering, can't even tell it is a wave with his ginormous coat. Stay warm in whatever part of our country you are in!


All bundled up and hating every min of it!

A few Christmas Pics

Hello!Here are a few Christmas pictures for you. . it was fun putting them into an online scrapbook again. For those of you who haven't viewed one before, you can click on an individual picture if it is small and it will enlarge, have your sound on as it plays music, and you can use the arrows to turn pages instead of using slideshow function. Enjoy them! I have pics from Sam's parents house after Christmas that I hope to have uploaded soon. Sammy had so much fun with them.
Sammy has been keeping us very busy this week with a double ear infection, he is just pitiful. It started last week and so he was fussy when Sam's parents visited and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. Last night he woke up shortly after we put him to bed and was up crying until 3 am. We just felt so helpless, it is so hard to see your baby so miserable and not be able to do anything. I would have given anything to trade places with him. When we said our bedtime prayers tonight we specifically prayed for him to feel better and to for SLEEP tonight, so we'll see how he does.
Just a few more pics for you...

Sammy playing piano with his Aunt Heather
.
Aunt Sandra & Uncle Tom


Griffin Family~ My cousin Paul and his wife Kristen with Duncan & Quinten

Cindy loving on Sammy

Chapman Family~ my cousin Debbie with Glen, Julie, & Bryan

Sammy with Julz & Debbie

Grandaddy spoiling Sammy.... Sammy wanted a car ride before bed so Richard pushed Sammy super fast in his car across the living room to Aunt Heather about a million and one times with Sammy giggling & squealing the entire time


Here's the scrapbook... yay!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Check out these pics of our Angel!

Hello everyone! So we recently had an amazingly fun family photo session for Sammy's 1 year pictures with Stuart and Susan of Powers Photography. It was a simply amazing experience, we had so much fun. I wish I could show all of our pics, but I do have a link for you to see a few of them that they posted on their blog. They are so skilled and the session was more like a structured play session rather than a photo shoot. Sammy had an absolute blast and was really hilarious. I don't think he really even realized he was having his pictures taken! Being Sammy, he responded well to being the center of attention for that length of time (lol) and was just all laughs and giggles for the most part. Very entertaining! He had all of us laughing so hard at one point I had tears in my eyes! I sure wish we could do that every month! The pictures are absolutely beautiful to say the least and if you are in the Gville area I would HIGHLY recommend them for baby, family, wedding, or really any photos you are in the market for. Here is the link to their blog where you can see some of Sammy's pics.. http://powersmerrygoround.blogspot.com/ Seriously every pic they took is perfect. Hope to get some on here soon.

Also.. if you don't follow Sam's blog regularly, then please check out his most recent post, it is just so sweet.. http://mouth-of-sam.blogspot.com/ I am just so in love with my sweet husband.

As in my last post.. still working on getting Christmas pics together but hope to get some up soon!