Happy Birthday to my beautiful Sister!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS! You are in my thoughts today and even though we are not together you are with me in spirit. I love you so much and miss you more than you know. Thank you for being so awesome and being there when I need you! I could not imagine my life without you in it. No one makes me laugh like you do! Your sense of humor has gotten me through some tough times and I thank you for that. You are an extraordinary mother, sister, aunt, wife, friend and principal. You have touched more lives than I think you know and for those who know you, we just adore you! We are truly blessed to have you in our lives!

Here are a few memories that I would like to share:

#1 I know you are sorry for slapping me with the wrapping paper tubes
until I had welts on my legs.

#2 Thank you for hitting me on the back when you made me choke on
the tortilla I was eating.

#3 I have finally forgiven you and Norma for taking my new 1980 Corolla
and not stripping the gears when you got stuck on Gage Ave. when
you were both just going to move the car from the street to the driveway!

#4 I am truly sorry for laughing at you at J.C. Penny's Beauty Salon
when you got that really poofy, and I mean poofy perm!

#5 I really thought it was cool that you liked that song
"Don't give up on us baby" by "Hutch" from Starsky and Hutch.
Didn't you buy the 45?

#6 After 26 years, I can now use Super Glue without having
flashbacks about gluing tiny rhinestone to the netting of your
bronze prom dress!

#7 Thank you for running super fast those times Mom was chasing
us around the kitchen and living room at the house at Park Drive
when we would get in trouble!

#8 Thank you for being the best Tia in the world to Andrew and having
laugh- fests with him about his crazy Mom! He adores you more than
anyone in the world and considers you one of his parents!
That boy of mine just thinks the world of you.

#9 Thank you for allowing me to give my nieces candy when I visit
staying up past their bedtime when I come to visit.

#10 and... Mom was right when she told us that when she and dad
were gone we would only have each other to count on.
How did she know that we would be as close as we are and
we are there for one another even if we are separated by 900 miles?
Thanks for being the best sister in the world! I could not
imagine my life without you in it!

Happy Birthday Mija! You are truly a Phenomenal Woman!

I love you so much!!!

10 years...

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of my beloved mother's passing. Right now at this moment, it seems like she has been gone 100 years. Not a day goes by that I do not think of my mom. I have learned to keep her alive with stories, her funny metaphors, her childhood stories, her love for family and her devotion to her faith. I make sure that I share every memory that I have with Andrew. I decided 5 years ago when my niece Isabella joined our little family that I was going to do everything I could to share my mother with her grandchildren. So, between Lisa and I, we are doing our best to keep her traditions alive. My mom loved the holidays! She went out of her way to make each holiday special and memorable for Lisa and I as children and we are doing the same with our own children. Lisa has kept up with the holiday traditions and learned how to make Mom's Tamales the way her mother taught her. Each Christmas we always have dozens of Tamales during the Christmas season. We cannot help but think of Mom each time we take a bite of a tamale.

When my mom died suddenly I thought I would not be able to go on with my life. I was very lost without her and it took my sister to finally snap me out of it. I had gotten myself into a deep depression that I could not get myself out of it. I felt so alone and we really didn't have anyone around to help us. So Lisa and I had to depend on one another to pick ourselves up and move on with life. We had our father and we both had to help him as well as ourselves. So together, Dad, Lisa and I picked up the pieces and kept on living. Now that Dad is gone, Lisa and I are the ones who keep the memories and the stories alive... and boy, do we have some whoopers to share. Those who are close to us know the hilarious stories about mom and dad and our wacky childhood. Will I ever live down the humongous candy cane ornament story from Newbery's!

I don't know how I would have gotten through those dark days without the love of my sister and my son. Still, 10 years later, Lisa and I are closer than ever. We are keeping my mom's memory alive through our children and I know that Mom would be so proud of us. We are good mother's and we love our children so deeply. We are very affectionate with Andrew, Bella and Maggie, and make sure they know they know they are loved with tons of hugs and being told they are loved each and everyday. One thing that was important to my mom was that you told one another you love them. Even if you are angry, you end the conversation with "I LOVE YOU." You just never know when it will be the last time you will see that person you love. So, whenever Andrew and I say goodnight to one another, end our conversation on the phone, or leave for the day, the last thing we say to one another is, "I love you." When I talk with my precious nieces Bella and Maggie, we always tell each other "I love you"... it is so cute to hear Maggie say "I love you" in her sweet 2 year old voice. And my remarkable sister... not a day goes by that we do not talk on the phone and repeat those important words, "I love you Sis" to one another. There is just so much love oozing from my little family! Mom would be so happy!

Andrew and I are going to spend the day together and I am going to share more stories with him about the grandmother that adored him so much. She just loved being his "Mom" (that is what Andrew called her) and so I am going to share some precious memories with him about the things she did for him, we will go to Mass, then to breakfast and take a drive to the North and enjoy the beautiful weather in Northern New Mexico. I will spend the day smiling and laughing out loud just like my mom used to do. Andrew and I will end the day by purchasing a banana cream pie (one of Mom's favorites) and indulge in a slice of pie in honor of my beautiful Mother!

I love you Mom and miss you each and everyday of my life!


Helen's 3 grandchildren she would have just adored! This picture says it all about Grandma Helen; from her sense of style, her political beliefs, her love of music, keeping the party alive, and keeping a watchful eye on your surroundings always! The legacy lives on...