Volleyball 2014

Almost game time ... Go Cats! #calallenwildcats

Fall 2014

I love the Fall and it can love me back when I need an afghan to wrap up in as  I have my morning coffee outside. #signsoffall #mysoulsmile #fall2014

Family photos

A few family pics with SOME of my favorite people, who happen to be familia. Family wedding in Austin, Texas.   I love all these special times together.  Thank you James and Courtney for including us.

September days 2014

New School Swag

The babies,  also know as  'The New Two' are moving up! It's hard to believe, but they both picked up their schedules and it's all becoming so real! Ten years in Corpus Christi Calallen and Noble is going to High School and Justice to Middle School! They are so loved and we look forward to all the joyous numbered days ahead.   #nobleandjusticescholarathletes

Colorado bound

I'm hoping the trip to Colorado stays this peaceful! 

Moon & Sunsets

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the Creator."

~Mahatma Gandhi 

Real People Immigration

The topic of immigration always makes me call to mind a story of real people in a Real immigration story.

It makes me ponder the current attitude of immigration laws and more importantly the attitudes of people on either side.

My father was a Mexican national who came to America when he was four years old with his Father and mother Isaac and Florentina Sanchez.  His father (my grandfather) was a sharecropper who started his own retail business in the small community of Fentress, Texas.  He worked hard all his life and lived his dream which happened to be on the spot of Earth that we currently call America, a place on earth that was at one time also called Mexico.

My father Delfino Sanchez served in two wars ( WW II,Korean) before he became an official citizen of the United States of America in 1968. He never accepted government aid except for the benefit of a lower mortgage rate for veterans who wanted to become homeowners.  He paid his mortgage completely before he died.  He was born in Matehuala, Mexico in the State of San Luis Potosi in 1917 and lived most of his life in Luling, Texas where he died when he was 78 years old. He was an immigrant, an American, and his life evokes the attitude in me to live as a Citizen of the World.  

I had the privilege this weekend of spending some time on a 10,000 acre Ranch on the border of Laredo and Mexico. I have been there once before but this trip made a particular impression on my heart and mind as we gathered in the kitchen and listened to background noise of reports on the buses of immigrants in California being greeted with the rants of angry Americans protesting their entrance.

We were engaged in activities like cooking, planning meals,retelling stories and preparing our young boys to play baseball on the Fourth of July in Laredo, America.   Us, a group of people born in America with our Irish,Scotch, German, Spanish and Mexican heritage all  melted together.

The stories of the Ranch Managers who have practiced what I call “True Hospitality” and “True Religion” told of how they periodically feed and clothe the lost immigrants who they encounter on the Ranch that they oversee.

They tell stories of how they have doctored them back to health, their ripped feet, parched lips and given them food to eat and clothes to keep them warm and then expecting nothing in return have sent them on or called the appropriate authorities.

They told stories of how these sojourners, trying to find work in order to feed their families back home, endure the most harsh circumstances and injustices from both sides of the border and both sides of the law.

The Ranch Managers understand that according to American law, they are not allowed to hire them to work, but the immigrants tell stories of how they are trying to make it to the big cities of America where they can work for the rich as hired undocumented help.  

They make comparisons of the  quality work that the sojourning immigrants of Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala desire to pay them back with, and how the American workers in the area will not accept the jobs they view as beneath them.

These are real perspectives of Real people and their heart responses on both sides are legitmate.

The following was written 9 yrs. ago by the Bishop of Laredo James Tamayo, Statement at the Justice for Immigrants Launching Press Conference, May 10, 2005.

“We can no longer accept a situation in which some public officials and members of our communities scapegoat immigrants at the same time our nation benefits from their labor. We can no longer accept a status quo in which migrants are compelled to risk their lives in order to support their families. We can no longer accept a reality in which migrants fill jobs  critical to Americans and U.S. employers without receiving appropriate wages and benefits. We can no longer tolerate the death of human beings in the desert.” -Most Reverend James Tamayo, Bishop of Laredo

“While many may condemn the presence of the undocumented in our land, we willingly accept their hard labor,.....  While we accept these contributions, we do so at the expense of the human beings who come here not to harm us but to help us.  They are often ridiculed, exploited, and abused. “ Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brookly, Statement at the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, Oct. 2003

I will always try to keep my response in accord with the words of the Peacemakers.

I am an American, a daughter of an immigrant and a citizen of the world; a universal society.

I am most proud to be a citizen of the world. 

July 5, 2014

Happy Birthday Justice! Born on the fifth of July! 

Scholar Athlete

He finished his last year in Elementary school strong! We are proud of his hard work  and the young man he is becoming. My heart is full,  but it is also somber at this last chapter in our lives with no more elementary aged children. Moving up to Middle School.  Joyous numbered days.  The Scholar athlete earned all A's all year long, level 3 on all STAAR tests, Reading , Math, Science and a perfect score in Math. He also ran the most laps (414) as a Magee Miler (69 miles) , UIL Chess team, and recognized as a top AR reader.  On top of that he grew about 2 1/2 inches which easily made him taller than me, but more importantly, taller than his sister Noble!

Full moon

 On my front porch swing, through the trees I see this beautiful moon on this special day which will not present itself again for another 35 years! 6/13/2014 -6/13/2049. #mysoulsmile 

Memorial Day Weekend 2014

I'm trying to get a Memorial Day Weekend meal made in between baseball games! It's tricky but having vegetables growing in the yard makes it a little easier. #homegarden = #yardmarket 

May 2014

Beautiful weather = light up the grill! Flame success for Tilapia & Lamb burgers! Moscato as well! #mysoulsmile #thisdaywillnevercomeagain 

Derby style

Derby style with my sweet girl.

Lunar Eclipse

This moon makes me want to cry tears of joy and sadness for every person I have ever loved. #moonshine #mysoulsmile #thisdaywillnevercomeagain

Storm watchers

They are watching the April storm come in. #thunderstorms #springshowers #april2014

Rainy Day journals

Putting pen to paper makes sense today. Sometimes writing in beautiful journals is the only way to write.  #dreams #ideas #thoughts

Sea of Cortez

Recently I became bothered with the idea that my  restlessness might be a need to “replant” myself.

So I consciously took some time to contemplate what that might mean and how I might do it..

These are some questions I asked myself…

What have I been or not been as a mother, wife, friend, and human?

Where have I been and where do I hope to go with my teaching vocation?

How and where will I live out the rest of the days of my life, be it one year, two years, one week or even one day!?  

All the questions have been helpful and the answer I have concluded with is that I have actually been in need of “unplanting” or sprouting and cultivating new leaves.  New nutrients in the form of new experiences has actually made me feel more grounded.

Brayde and I, by way of his hard work and dedication were able to take a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico and experience the rich culture and delightful experience of Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos and La Paz.

There we experienced the  much louder roar of the ocean as it hit the rocks abruptly with no gradual waves, we drove up the Pacific Coast and saw the lay of the land and mountains and met a special new friend Daniel (Lee Giju).

While there were many other interactions that planted something in my soul, there were none that gave me a sense of perspective like snorkeling with the whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. Yes WHALE SHARKS!

My 5ft. frame in the the beautiful clear water with a whale shark over 3 times my length helped me to realize that I am such a small part of my universe and it was truly humbling.  I was ecstatic when I caught my first full view swimming over the whale shark!  I had to turn my head as far left and right as I could to see the full length of this gigantic fish!  I did have some fear the first time I jumped off the side of the boat, but on the fourth and last time I don’t recall even waiting for the Captain’s ok.

I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I haven’t been thinking in terms of ‘replanting’ lately, but instead of ways to add different nutrients so that I might grow new leaves and deeper roots that will bear a variety of fruit.  

These are some pictures of our trip.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

-Jacques Yves Cousteau