Time to say it!

So I have decided that I’m now a full-time serious writer. I know, that’s what I believed I was doing in the last couple of months, right? Well, yes, but not the full-time part. And not the serious part. So, I guess I wasn’t doing that at all! I’ve started a couple of blogs, had 2-3 ideas for a book, even wrote the outline for one. I haven’t committed to this goal exactly like I know how to. That all changes write now. I mean right now!


I am giving myself, Lord willing, two years to make it. What do I mean by make it? To actually pull in an input to the income. To get a demand for the skill and talent that God has placed in me from editors, not just my family members! To invest my time wisely, plan my life accordingly, and be a witness to the world through the written word of God’s immense grace and love for us all. And ultimately, have published several articles in magazines, and a book (or two!) would be exciting!

Forget failure, that is not how I live! Stopping is not an option. Giving up for any reason is not an option. Neglecting the work necessary is also not an option. The only option is to write in His will, bless the work by His authority, and watch Him work through me in a way I only dreamed about before!

So faithful fans out there, say a prayer for me when you think of me, and I look forward to telling your testimony someday. As well as my new one!

God bless me an’ you!

To my brother Rich

To my brother Rich,


What the enemy meant for harm…

We understand each other as siblings so deeply, always have. Through all the years of our childhood, we held a bond in our hearts. We had a love and closeness that our other siblings envied…

We were moved away at a young age from everything and everyone we knew, from the lush green landscape of Northern Illinois to the dry and dusty desert of Southern Arizona…

We were not even allowed to say goodbye to our closest friends from school and play…

We were moved from a two-story farmhouse to a fourteen foot trailer we called our “house” for the next two years…

Our home was in constant turmoil, leaving us stressed, burdened and bitter. Our parents taught us Christianity with their words, and whole other way of living with their actions…

The abuse we suffered at the hands of those who were most trusted, and in authority over our young lives…

The isolation was draining, especially on us naturally social siblings…

There were good times, though mostly hard times…

Both of us married young, both of us lived through a divorce, brought children into this world, and both of us now walk with our Savior daily!

We made so many mistakes, sinned and fell short of Him so many times…

We’ve disappointed each other, momentarily hated each other, betrayed each other…

We are, however, RESTORED, REDEEMED, REBUILT, RIGHTEOUS IN HIM, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL, EXCITED TO BE HIS MINISTERS, and FABULOUS PARENTS (Just ask our kids!)!!!

We are all these things through the unfailing, incredible grace and mercy of our Father and Friend, GOD!!! He brought us back to Him, He blesses us now, and I am so glad I get to share this journey with you, Rich. My stubborn, strong, fiercely loving, kind, faith-filled, and just overall, fantastic brother!

So what the enemy ALWAYS means for harm, Jesus has turned for our good! I love you, Rich.

Spring in Southeast Texas - Beautiful!

Humidity can be a good thing, in a small amount. As April is progressing here in Southeast Texas, that small amount is growing! As a gardener and nature lover, I love it! The lettuce is already forming small bunches, and I’m salivating at the thought of homegrown salad! My parsley, basil, chives and dill are turning into miniature herb fields, and the okra, peppers and tomatoes are all growing nicely. The flowers here…don’t get me started! My gladiolas are about to burst into bloom at any moment, the deep pink impatiens have become weeds, and the geraniums in red, white and pink are brilliant in the front yard.


So, humidity and I get along just fine. Without the rain, moisture and mist, my garden and flower babies wouldn’t look the same. Trust me, I’ve lived without it! The roadsides in town are amazing, lit up with rose and violet azaleas, which grow like roses here. Further out of town, into the countryside (my favorite place!), the wildflowers grow in abundance, like a flag spread over the meadows.

The critters are also coming out, saying hello to a new year, a new season of warmth and growth. Some are wanted, some are not…like the young cottonmouth we found in our backyard last week! The birds sound like life to me, with their tweeting, whistles and sometimes, songs. They are little pests, as in stealing the first fruits from my strawberry plants! I love them and the perky spirit they bring, though, just the same.

All the babies signify that the winter is through, new birth is here! Driving home just a couple of days ago, the kids and I saw four little calves romping in the field together, leaping and frolicking while their mothers grazed calmly nearby! We’ve seen more foals this spring in Texas, in front yards and on neighboring ranches, than we have in a lifetime elsewhere. Baby ducks, baby chicks – they’re everywhere. Watching babies never gets old!

New life – that’s what spring means to me, and I appreciate every minute of the season. Is spring a favorite time of year for you? Do you have any spring babies to talk about? I’d love to hear your spring story!

Martine - Dauntless Diva - My Sister

Just a musing on my younger sister, Martine, and her impact on my life. There are eight siblings in my family, I fall third oldest, Martine, second from youngest. There is seven years between us, and as you can imagine, this left quite a considerable gap in our relationship. She was the pain-in-my-butt sister, always “in the way” and if I didn’t prep her with plenty of threats in time, she was our “mole” to mom! What I failed to recognize out of my teenage intolerance of her, was that she really adored me, wanted to follow me in most things, and just had the innate desire we all do - to belong.


Martine is one of those people who is impenetrable in Spirit. No matter what occurs in life, she thinks the best of the situation, the people, the circumstances. She was like that as a girl, she’s even more like that now. She would sing all the time, sing in the bathroom, sing over cooking dinner, sing getting ready for bed. No wonder she loves opera, and she’s good at it because she was in training all those years!

She always enjoyed everything so much – riding in the “bus” of a van as kids, crowded, so many different moods at play. “Oh, what a lovely day to be going to the mountains!” she would state, breaking into song for all of us to hear. Having lunch during a hot, dry day of homeschooling, “Oh, this tastes sooo delicious!” (Peanut butter and jelly.) Her favorite words, “marvelous,” “lovely,” and “wonderful.” The sky was always blue, the sun always shining to Martine.

Despite her contagious joy, I was a bully to her for years, waving her unimportant self off with my “dominant” hand, ignoring her pleas for attention and value, and generally in a state of annoyance toward her for most of her first eleven years. Then, after I left home, starting my own family at the ripe young age of eighteen, I softened. Towards her free and youthful Spirit, innocent wide eyes, and cup-half-full outlook. Not only did she forgive my roughness with her tender-heart, she pretended (or unbelievably really did not hold grudges!) all those mean things I said, or rude ways I treated her. That my critical spirit hadn’t really impacted her. Whatever the case, we don’t talk about it. We’ve had many sister-to-sister talks since, and she is always supportive of my dreams (some faded as they are) and life happenings. I worry for her, because she is much too innocent for this harsh world we live in. She is an adult though. Wiser for her hardships, hopeful in her sufferings. I am proud of her, a writer, an opera singer, an actress, a model, a beautiful young woman who lives life in joy, compassion, hope and truth. She is a victim magnet because she is an over comer. They want to feed off her, learn from her, break into the secret of her inner strength that shines like a beacon in a wanting world.

If you would like a taste of the inspiration this young woman has to offer, check her out on her website at dauntlessdiva.com. May she continue in her path of positivity, growing every day into the purposeful woman she loves to be.

I love you Sis, and I’m glad you’re in my life!

AnaSophia - never a dull moment!

I just realized that you and I are getting to know each other some now, and I haven’t really shared with you much about my family! So, I am going to introduce to mi ninos, one at a time! We’ll start with Sophie. AnaSophia is our baby who is two, and she is a fierce individual. Fiercely loving, and fiercely strong. She is also one of the most stubborn children I’ve ever met. She tries to run the house, her siblings, and her father and I. And most of the time, she succeeds!


I love her absolutely, but she makes me tired! She and Bella have a strong bond, and she uses that to its full potential. If I am yelling at Bella over something, she comes up to me and says “Mom!” – like, “Stop picking on Bella!” Lately, she has grown closer with her nemesis, GiGi. It started just a few days ago when she started calling her sister by name “DeeDee.” “DeeDee this, DeeDee that!” So now, I can’t yell at “DeeDee” either. THEY can fight and argue, but the minute I discipline her sister, she’s at her defense in jibber jabber talk!

Sophie is our singer. She sings in the car, she sings in her bed before nap, she sings in the kitchen while I prepare dinner. And every song is to the tune of “ABCDEFG…” Some words are recognizable, like “Daddy,” however. Most are not! So, you hear “Gagaga jibber jabber Daddy! Dooo doo baa baba Mommy doo!” It is adorable!

She is a happy little girl with sunshiney eyes. She reminds me of my Grandpa, and his eyes. They sparkle when he is happy, and when he smiles, he lights up the room! Her eyes are a green-blue, and she has a large dimple in her left cheek that’ll knock your socks off. She was our surprise and every day, she brings new surprises to our family’s life. Never a dull moment with Sophie around!

Yesterday, she was eating her sandwich at the lunch table, when I noticed her talking to Lacey, our “doggie.” She was putting her half-eaten sandwich down towards the dog, then, just as Lacey would longingly head toward the food, Sophie would jerk it back, and say “No, doggie!” Then she laughed hysterically, as Lacey tilted her little head quizzically at her. How funny! (She can be a little mean!)

She loves dresses, and swirls and twirls in them to see if they flare in the breeze. Her Abuelita sent her some new ones recently, and she gets excited just to put them on. As cute and springy as she looks in them, she is a pure hillbilly like her Mama, because she absolutely refuses to wear shoes! She turns down just about every pair she receives, and we have a heck of a time getting them on her. She has really large feet (she’s gonna be tall) and shoes are just NOT comfortable! Pobrecita!

So that is a little about Sophie. You’ll hear more about her as time goes on, for sure. She is never boring, and brings the final spice to complete our family recipe!

Sometimes it is Good to Get Away

Sometimes it’s good to just get away from it all. That’s what our family did this past weekend, we went to visit family in San Antonio. We met a cousin we’d never met, and got to know one that we hadn’t seen in almost three years. We played at a country park in the warm spring sun and sand on Sunday, and later on, we were tourists for a day at the Riverwalk and Alamo.


No computer, no work, just play, play, play! Papi Juan even got down in the dirt with the little ones, and I seesawed with mi ninas. Tio Jeff and Tio Byron grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, and los ninos “spanked” the Spongebob piñata until lots of candy fell out! Sophie cuddled with Tia Iliana while Spongebob was getting tortured, because she is afraid of the loud noise, and everyone yelling “Dare, dare, dare!” (“Hit it!”)

Later on, we parked in a downtown parking garage on the sixth floor, and our adventure was started! We rode the boat up the river and got to hear about who killed who back in 1852! On the boat, we met two very beautiful girls who are from China, but have American mommies and daddies. They are five and six, but they said they are sisters, and share a birthday. I know, it was confusing to us too! The girls had been adopted out of China, and even though their individual families live in Nevada and Pennsylvania, they keep the girls connected to each other and their roots through trips like these. I’ll never forget those girls and those incredible parents who gave them an opportunity at life.

We toured the Alamo, and took lots of pretty pictures, as everything is already in bloom and green there! The kids got so tired of me saying, “OK, stand over there, in front of that purple tree, now, smile!” They would go, “Oh, mom!” But out came the smiles anyway. Bunch of hams!

Then we bought some cotton candy from a street vendor, and everyone’s fingers and faces were sticky. Later, we saw baby ducks with a mommy duck in the River. They were so tiny and cute! You know it is officially spring when there is baby ducks!

Tired, sticky and dusty, by nightfall we were headed home through the scenic drive between San Antonio and Katy. Green fields, tractors tilling up the hay fields to get ready for planting, and plenty of cows greeted us from the roadside. It is a beautiful life, and we are grateful to be living it!

The Blancos and the Mystery of the Unseen Alligator

It was almost immediately apparent to me when we arrived here in southeastern Texas last fall that we live in a swamp. Now, it’s not the Everglades by any means, but it is a swamp! Keep in mind, I am a desert rat who spent most of her life on the Mexican border of southeastern Arizona, amidst mesquite bushes and cacti! This is a major change for me, one that I am enjoying immensely. Mi ninos and I were walking in our neighborhood park yesterday, just as the sun was hovering over the western horizon, sending gorgeous pink and orange rays across the sky, when I stopped short.


In front of me, in the grass on the edge of the pond stood a very clear sign. “Beware of Alligators!” Alligators? Right here? In the middle of a suburbian housing development? The kids were excitedly pointing, then peering into the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of an alligator nose. OK, I’m used to lizards the size of my thumb, even rattlesnakes and scorpions don’t scare me. What would I do, though, with an alligator?!

We continued on, and as Jovanni and I pushed Sophie in her stroller into the gazebo on the water’s edge, he yelled “There’s something in the water!” I followed him to his perch, and I saw it too! The water swirled a little, then a nose came poking up into the air! A turtle nose! So maybe we missed the alligator this time, but if you know my kids, you know they’ll be the ones to spot him. Maybe he’ll be sunning himself tomorrow on the big hill behind the waterfall!