I am thankful for having happy moments to share with the ones I love :)

Good morning my dear kids :)

What a beautiful sunny day huh?!  And we are alive :) Praise our Lord...

Some people don't understand the difference about "bragging" and being "thankful"  that is really sad... Some people ask me if I dont have problems, how can I be happy all the time? 

I will tell you what. I do have things that happens to me that are not worth of mentioning... What for example? Well, dang, I will have to mention now...How about the fact that the holidays are coming and most of you will celebrate close to your family while mnie is miles and miles away? How about the fact that I have to take blood thinner for the rest of my life and keep often testing my blood to always be "in range"  between 2.5 and 3.5. Today for example my test result was 1.9, not good huh!? LOL Most of you dont know the fact that last Friday, due to my web hosting incompetence and misunderstanding, I got both of my website, the Embroidea and the First Birthday Dress ones totally deleted from the server.

My wonderful husband has been working on the Embroidea one but the First Birthday Dress according to the web hosting will take between seven and ten days to be back online. I already know the consequences of those mistakes, Google might punish me for that and I might have to start from ground zero again. Does that bother me? Yes it does. Do I let those "small" problems TOP the fact that I woke up and got out of bed today and I am ready to spend one more day in this earth with my USA Family? Hell NO!!! Do I blame on the "poor satan" for all the shit that happens? Hell NO LOL  That "poor horned guy" is blamed for everything bad that happens LOL I believe in "free will"  I let that satan cooking marshmallow and hot chocolate right there in hell where he lives, cuddling with is "satan wife" LOL

Nothing in this world will be more important and worth of "bragging" about than the fact that I am ALIVE!!! :)

All the other stuff I can start from scratch. It wont be the first time I have to do this :) With any bad thing that happens to me, I learn precious life lessons that makes it all worth. 

So for a few people that might think that I am always bragging about my "perfect life" the fact that I post pictures of my new "satellite looking puppy" my opportunity to see one of my favorites singers, etc. I am not "bragging" at all. I am sharing my moments of happiness with my family in Brazil and with all of you my dear friends love me and whom I love so dearly.

I do have "shit" happens to me all the time BUT,  I would rather talk about the happy things that are the biggest and most important ones to me.

I am normal LOL Yes I am like everybody else here, I have bad and good moments but no matter what happens I will always praise the Lord for the good ones and dont waste my precious energy with those things that are not so good.

Today, I am so THANKFUL that, I am alive, the sun is shinning and I can work from home having our home thermostat on 73 degrees and a space heater right in front of me :)) ah, and yes I am thankful for our beautiful "satellite ears puppy" coming all the time and kissing me :))

Let's count our blessings and dont focus on those not so good things dear kids. Life is short enough, let's use our energy to be happy no matter what comes our way :)

God bless and be with us always...\

Love you all

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

As I was watching Isabella playing with Squeaker, her new dog, she seemed so content, I asked her:

- Isabella are you happy now that you have your own dog?

-Yes mommy, but... (Oh shoot I thought to myself. Is it possible that she is already tired of the dog?)

BUT???? I asked her:

-Mommy isn’t it so sad that in order for me to be happy, someone else has to be unhappy? 

- Who is unhappy? I questioned her

-The lady who had to give her for adoption because she was sick and couldn't take care of Squeaker no more L

Awwww... That made my day kids...Those words, my dear friends, came out of our 7 years old daughter's mouth... That is called compassion. I am so glad that Isabella is not a selfish little girl. We must being doing a good job raising our daughter... 

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive" (Dalai Lama)

Have a compassionate and blessed day you all!

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Isabella thinks she knows now how it feels like to be a mommy

On the way back home from picking up Squeaker

To the doctor who told my mommy when I was born, that I wouldn't live long enough to get to be a teenager (I have no clue why a stupid doctor would say that). Here I am, 46 years old and I just came back from a forty minutes’ walk with my daughter’s new dog on a 33 degrees Fahrenheit temperature, wearing no coat, but a sweatshirt. Didn't plan on that but Squeaker actually is the one who took me for that long walk. The short legged one is fast as a lighting. Whew, I survived LOL

Yeah, I am very proud of myself and proud of believing that God is the only one who knows the time He has given to each one of us to be here in this planet.

I am so glad I got to convince my husband to adopt a small dog for Isabella. 

Everything was decided last minute, like everything else in this household. Sunday when I saw the ad on Craigslist of a lady looking for a good family for her tiny Chihuahua.

Squeaker and grandma

 I looked at the picture and fell in love with Squeaker. She is 2 years old and house broken. I thought maybe this is what we need, not a puppy who needs a lot of training but a young dog. Isabella has been begging for a puppy for quite a while but, my husband had not recovered yet from the last time we got two Boston terrier puppies and a month later I had to go through my open heart surgery. Recovering from a procedure like that having to care of a young daughter, my business and two puppies, wasn't an easy task for me. We had to give them away for adoption… I know we broke our daughter’s heart but at that time, it was the smartest decision to take. I guess I never forgave myself for that since when I was a child, I grew up having not only one or two but many dogs and cats. How could I deny my daughter the same thing I had?

Now that we adopted Squeaker, I know she will needs lots of TLC cause she doesn't have any paper saying what shots she has had or vitamins or whatever, she has not been fixed yet, it’s going to be a lot of work but I know it is going to be worth of it.

Squeaker and Grandpa

Isabella has been a great “mommy” taking care of her Squeaker and last night she told me the sweetest thing ever. By the end of the day, I could tell she was really tired, and so was I, she came to me and said: - Mommy, today I haven’t had time to read a book or play my games on the computer, now I can say that I really know how it feels like to be a mommy... she sighed 

This morning before she left to school, she passed to be the great responsibility of babysitting her dog: "You are the babysitter now mommy, be careful!"

Life is a beautiful thing. I guess that not planning anything, just trusting our guts and  and letting God lead the way is the best way to live life…

Once upon a time a squirrel...

When Isabella came back from school this afternoon, she was very excited, she ran straight to my room and told me: 

-Mommy let's go very fast before he wakes up. I need to show you something!

- What is it? I asked her.

- There is a Squirrel sleeping on the side walk! I want you to see him!

I didn't think twice, my baby girl wanted me to go see the squirrel and so we ran across the street to find the poor squirrel laying among the leaves. She was very happy. 

-Be really quiet Mommy we don't want to wake him up.

- Isabella, I am sorry but, this squirrel is dead.

The expression she had on her face I cant explain with words... It was a mix of sadness and disappointment. She said:

- I am so sorry mommy, you told me once that you wish so bad you could see a squirrel from very close and when I saw this one, I thought you were going to be thrilled. I didn't know he was dead, I am so sorry to make you sad. I thought he was sleeping. He has no sign of being hurt, he is not laying flat on the street like the  dead ones I have seen. He looks like he is sleeping...

- That is OK Isabella, we will have all the time in the world to see a squirrel from very close again, this one is gone to the Squirrel's heaven.

- Maybe he had a heart attack you think?

- Maybe he did...

I felt so bad for Isabella because she knows how much I love the animals, she thought she was going to make me smile when I would see that squirrel.. What was I thinking??? I should have told her when she came to my room, that it was impossible for a squirrel to sleep on the sidewalk! I guess I wanted to believe that she was right  LOL

Poor squirrel...

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

It's not Thanksgiving yet but I keep on being thankful...

Isabella reading this morning

Speaking of keep being thankful, today I am so thankful that our youngest daughter has gotten the passion for reading that her daddy, big sister and I  have in common.

I am so thankful that instead watching TV, Isabella would rather seat on her chair and ready books. I cant believe that she read an over two hundred pages books 3 times!!! For some reason, she got in love with the series of book "Diary of a wimpy kid" LOL She says it is really funny. Yesterday she got the second book of the series. She cant put it down, she pauses during breakfast to read a chapter or another. Isn't it cool?

Isabella and her Godmother

When only Isabella and I are at home, it doesn't matter if it is day or night, the TV is something that both of us don't really care about. We are both seizing our time, not wasting... We are travelling to different places in our imagination, we are finding out so many things we didn't know..

Isabella dancing Ballet

The fun part of it is that we have never insisted her to do some reading, of course we have told her it is a good habit. I think that it is something that in her veins.   

Isabella as a Brownie

We, just like many of  other parents thought it would be cool if Isabella did ballet, sports, etc. So, she tried ballet for four years, we thought she liked it but, she wasn't too happy when we would say, "ballet class today" This year though, she said she loved her teachers, her friends and that she would miss them all but, she didn't want to do ballet anymore. We had tried before taking her to play soccer since it is something that I, as a Brazilian, love to play. Isabella poor thing, was lazy just like Ronaldinho (ex Brazilian Soccer team player) She would just hang around the goal area waiting for somebody to kick her the ball and she would kick it to the goal. 

Other times, she would just hold hands with her friends during the game and forget they were  playing LOL. We learned that is definitely something Isabella didn't get from me LOL

I guess if we trust our kids and let them choose what they want to do, they will find out their way. Isabella, has discovered her passion for reading, singing and creating stories, adventures all by herself. I guess she got the artistic genes from her parents. We both love Arts.

Isabella holding the Kangoroo

The funny things was the other day at the store, she was browsing the book session while  Brian and I looked for a new coffee maker since ours had just gone bad.  When we came back, she pointed us that the book she has been reading, it is in the YOUNG ADULT Session. She says: - Young adult... They must be kidding, I have read this book three times already and I am 7! LOL

Isabella Zip linning

Isabella has learned by herself, the love for Animal, adventures, Girls Scouts, sewing, inventing and even got interested about religion. That is something that amazes me the most. I was raised Christian and had always gone to the church with my parents until we moved to the USA. For some reason here, I got a little bit distant from the church but I have always kept GOD, that is the most important thing, close to my heart. Isabella nowadays, has been going every Sunday to the Awana (I hope I am not misspelling) with her little friend Lydia. There they have been learning all about God and the bible. We make sure that we never forget to drive her to this very important appointment. 
I was so ashamed  once when she was small and I was tucking her in, I told her: - Isabella, let pray to Jesus so that He will give us a good night of sleep and thank Him for this day. She turned to me and  asked: - WHO IS THIS GUY????? OMG I couldn't help but laugh so bad... afterwards thought, I felt ashamed.

Today I am thankful first of all, for the GIFT OF LIFE, being able to wake up for another brand new day and a new chance to make it right AND I am thankful that our little girl has discovered her love for READING.

Let's be thankful for everything kids. LIFE IS AMAZING.

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

So many things to be thankful for this year...

At the Lincoln Museum

We are in the month of  November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I am seeing all my Facebook friends with the things in their life which they are thankful.  I am thankful for everyday that I am able to get out of bed and thankful for everything God has given to me. 

This year though, I have so many things to be thankful for… Of course I am thankful for the everyday things, kids, family, friends, Customers, business, First Birthday Dresses but what I am thankful for the most this year is…  God has given me the tools to turn one of my parent’s dreams into a reality. My mom has always been afraid of flying, my dad has always wanted to but, oh well, they could never afford it, so early this year; I called my mom and daddy and told them to go have their passport done because they would be coming to visit us in the USA.

Going for a walk

 Their answer was oh we wish we could but it’s so expensive! I told them to go and I would take care of everything, paid for their visas, ticket and even paid for a friend’s ticket for her to come with them, just to make sure they would be fine since they don’t speak English. I had no clue where I would get all that money since they were traveling during one of the most expensive times of the year to fly. NO, I did not have the money for all that but….I knew I was smart enough to figure out a way to pay for the trips without going into debt. And I would do it honestly and legal. LOL .  And I did!! 

 God has given me the strength to believe that everything would be fine. I was obviously very nervous because my mom’s fear of flying and her health issues.  

My mom caught a nice size fish

I am so thankful that I got to do this for my parents… Watching them walking in downtown Springfield square, my father would tell my mommy; “When in this world would we think that someday we would be here in the USA”? That brought tears to my eyes. I was so happy. I know I didn't have the money to take them to other parts of the US while they were here, but just being here with me and my family was grand enough for them.  My daddy has never been in a fishing boat before but God provided.  

This smile made it all worth of it

One of my Customers who is a fisherman chaperoned my daddy and mommy during a nice fishing adventure. I don’t think they caught any whales but they sure had a great time!!  I am so thankful that we had friends over to celebrate my daddy’s 66th years of life. We had a pool party and cake. My daddy wasn't expecting people to come and bring him gifts because nobody knew him. Oh but, what my daddy didn't know was that his daughter has the best friends in the world. They came over and brought him some nice gifts that he will cherish forever. His only wish was " I wish I knew how to speak English so that I could talk to everybody here" :))

Mom and Daddy with friends

My mom’s dream was to go and visit her church in Chicago, IL.  I wasn't sure about going but I was going to do anything that would make her happy, so we took them to Chicago one day before their departure. I went with them to the Church and I can’t describe to you how happy they both were for visiting their church in the USA and having me with them.  Yeah… I am one of their black sheep who stopped going to the church. So my dear friends, I am SO THANKFUL for turning my parents dream reality.

Going to the church with mom and daddy

I am also thankful for my son, his wife and my granddaughter moving close to my parents in Brazil. I am thankful that they are now close to their family and the ones who really love them. Yeah, that is another dream I want to turn into reality, bring my son and his little family to visit us in the USA, they are young and can wait a bit longer I guess.  

I am thankful for getting back to my workout routine and for trying to get back to my normal weight again, for my heart sake.  I will thank God and my heart will thank me 

I think that even if I spent the entire day here being thankful, I would not have time to describe all the things I am thankful for… God is amazing and so is the life He gave me…

My daddy birthday cake

Oh I can’t forget that I am so thankful for Victoria Secrets as well… Oh no… here comes that Zee that has to come up with something weird to be thankful for. I know, I shouldn't be doing free advertising for a big retailer like them but I have never found a local regular bra that has helped me so much when I am at my normal weight… Yeah... You know… when we lose weight, the “girls” are the first things to go… LOL.  I know Bello…Too much information here, but, I just cant deny that I am so thankful for Victoria Secrets…I’ll hush….for now.  :)
Have a great day kids and keep on being thankful!!!!!

God bless

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com