Clear and sunny

Is life all "clear and sunny skies" each and every day? Certainly not. There are cloudy and even rainy days, and even weeks. There are moments of sadness, frustration, and lots of lots of prayers of supplication. But these are so that we can appreciate even more the "clear and sunny skies" type days, so that we can learn and grow, so that we can come closer to Him who has been through it all and endured it well and most gracefully; so that we CAN become MORE like HIM every day. So I write this to remind ourselves that life is all about growing not only physically but most importantly spiritually, and growing pains are an intrinsic part of the process, whether we like it or not. It's that good stuff about having opposition in all things, one of my favorite scriptures, 2 Nephi 2:11:


"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad [... .]" and further, in verse 15 of the same chapter:

"And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter."

I have a very strong conviction/unshaken testimony that we learn the most and we become the best that we can be when our souls are stretched to what it may seem at the moment, the very limit. And that the best in us and those around us can be revealed exactly during those stressful times of trial. How grateful I am for this! And when clear and sunny skies are upon us, I hope we never forget the Lord and His tender mercies.  
Monday was such a day of rememberance of His tender mercies. It was pure joy to be able to relax and enjoy clear and sunny skies in our life, doing yard work together as a family and counting blessings. And I'm so grateful for my sweet husband who is such a great companion and partner. And for our spunky and incredibly cute and smart little girl who simply brightens every day.

And a few pictures from yet another fun-filled (although not so worry-free)  weekend (but that's for another post.)

Birthday party at the park:

"The Prince Frog" at Dallas Children's theater:

Temple grounds visit: we loved walking around and just being there. The flowers are particularly beautiful, so is the massive structure of the temple that I can now call my/our temple. Ella had a very hard time though keeping her hands to herself and NOT picking flowers... we love her to pieces, though! :)

Ella really feels at home on the temple grounds, I just love watching her walk, run and just feel so happy there every time we go. She is always asking with anticipation when she can go inside the temple, especially when she reaches the eastside doors. (And speaking of which, I need to go (in) there more often!)

And one more collage, b/w (I'd say these are pretty good shots for an iPhone 4.)

Smile on, life is great!

Ella the Explorer

We just can't stand how pretty this place is and keep going back there every Sunday after church. The beautiful textures and colors of the rocks and trees, the quiet sounds of nature are all just lovely.

Ella planned a picnick for herself right there in the middle on the creek, on the rocks. After doing some park exploring and wall climbing she sat down to eat. She was also planning on bringing her swimsuit to take a dip in the creek but of course that didn't happen. She still loved walking around and exploring nature (finding bugs, rocks, and plants.)

Fun, fun times!  (and I almost fell off a rock into the deep wild river behind me! Well, not really! :-))

Not Dutch, but certainly fans of dutch-oven cooking ...

The Elder's Quorum in our ward has this fun "Camping 101" type activity last Saturday. Hrishi was invited to team up with his new buddy in the ward and put together a dish. Having never cooked in a dutch oven, we (or should I say "I"?)  were/was a little reticent of the outcome... but I however had full confidence in Hrishi's excellent cooking skills. His buddy had a recipe that involved lots of veggies, chicken, garlic, and ginger but was looking for something a little special to set their dish apart. Well, Hrishi just happened to have that special ingredient: his mom's amazing homemade chilli powder/masala. Now imagine all the chicken, veggies, and spices emerged in rich coconut milk! The outcome was out of this world! Good thing they cooked two pots as many came back for seconds! I was beyond myself, of course, getting praises for my husband's culinary talent every which way I turned! :)

Aside from the delicious food (a couple of the other teams made some really yummy berry, apple, and peach cobblers), we did learn a lot of cool things such as dutch-oven cooking techniques, camping etiquette and gear. Now if I could just convince myself that I can sleep in a tent for one night!!! Just kidding, I do love the outdoors and I'm looking forward to us having a few camping outings this fall. (Summer is just not the time you want to go camping in TX.)

Press Release

This is a little excerpt from Hrishi's press release on his Six Sigma Black Belt professional certification. Yeay, he passed!! He was so excited and happy and we are so happy and proud of him! [I knew he'd get it when I whipped that cake together!!]
It's really funny how we found out (three days after the press release!): a few days ago we were talking how he hasn't heard back from ASQ yet on the test results. On a whim, I said: "Why don't you check your Junk mail? Who knows sometimes stuff lands there..." And guess what, the email announcement or notification was indeed in his Junk mail. Whew!

Congratulations honey, we love you!!!

Art

Ella loves art... she's always looking for things to color, cut, glue, draw, or paint. Her face simply lights up when I suggest that we do crafts (which it's not that often, unfortunately for her I should say.... but thank goodness for those awesome teachers at school who do arts galore with them!)

The thing with her is that she's not only attracted to creating new things, but also has this nack for finding meaning and form, or some sort of artistic expression in her surroundings. A few days ago "she caught" the moon, like this:

This next one is from last year but it still amazes me (she made a heart out of two potato chips), like this:

Last year we had the opportunity to see an amazing Dale Chihuly outdoor exhibit and she was swept off her feet by the beauty of those pieces, as well as the creative process involved. We caught a small glimpse of it when watching a video of Chihuly's team at work. It was breath-taking. The exhibit included other pieces as well from world renowed artists.

Some more art, this time "home/school-made":



Special

One of my best friend's college friendsand roommate (whom I met once or twice while at BYU) writes this really wonderful blog, Progressive Pioneer (you should check it out sometime.) It's filled with great ideas (some, I must admit, I wouldn't entirely and whole-heartedly be able to embrace) but her thoughts on living green, or living life with purpose in its purest and simplest form fascinate me and motivate me to be a better person, and live a better life.  I absolutely loved her "Hard Conversations" post from a few days back... as I can so whole-heartedly (this time) identify with her thinking and feeling on the matter and how our little children (as all little children) are so alike in their purity and compassion for those amongst us who are less (or least) fortunate.  I often have very similar conversations (like the one in the above mentioned post) with Ella. She too spends a lot of time thinking and asking questions about someone's misfortune or situation, and she prays. She prays, bless her heart, very specifically for their needs. So much to learn from these little ones, so grateful for their pure souls. Below there are a couple of paragraphs I'd like to quote from her "Hard Conversations" post, as her beautifully written words ring so close to my heart:

"Who is that man, mom?" he asked me.  I explained about homelessness.  He wanted to know why he didn't have a home.  I explained that there are a few reasons, and that it was also likely that the man used things that made his body feel good momentarily, but were very bad for his body in the long run.  I try to give him real answers, but in terms he can understand and with a level of reality appropriate for his tender age and heart.  Sam was very interested in this notion of not having a home, and very concerned about how this man might find a home.  We talked about homeless shelters and soup kitchens.  He wanted to know if we could bring him home to our house.  I couldn't figure out a way to explain why we couldn't.  I told him that perhaps we could volunteer at the shelter or soup kitchen and we could help him in that way.  Though it squeezed my heart to see his sweet heart so wide open and full of love and being so newly exposed to one of the harsh and sad realities of life on earth, I still felt that the conversation had gone well and that I had answered him in the best way possible, or at least pretty close to it, if there is a best way. 

"Tonight when I went in to kiss Sam goodnight he asked me again about the homeless man.  Bedtime is often the time when concerns or just things that have been on his mind come to the surface, and it's a time for us to lay quietly and process them together.  We spent about half an hour talking about this man.  Sam did most of the talking and I just listened, ocassionally offering explanations or suggestions.  By the end of the conversation I had tears in my eyes at the tenderness of Sam's heart and his capacity for compassion.  He was worried that the man would be outside in the rain tonight and would have to sleep in the dark.  I told him that I hoped he had gone to a shelter tonight.  "Does he have a mother at the homeless shelter?" he asked, "He needs a mother to help him find a new home."  He wanted to know how he would get to the shelter, he thought a train might be a good way.  He worried that he had lost his coat, because he hadn't been wearing a coat when we saw him.  "I want Heavenly Father to show him how to get there," he said.  "You could ask him that," I suggested.  And so he rolled over onto his knees and said, "Dear Heavenly Father, please help the homeless man to find the shelter.  He doesn't have a house and I don't want him to die.  Please do that.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."  It was the most serious and sincere prayer I've heard him say.  I don't even know where he got the idea that the man might die.  From there he asked me how the man would walk if he died and how he would get back to Heaven.  My goodness, such a heavy conversation for a toddler, and for this mama.  But, so good to talk about, I think.  I don't really know if I handled it right, or if there is a right way.  I mean, really, what is the answer? " (by Progressive Pioneer)

As I'm typing this, a vivid memory comes to mind... many many years ago in front of Bucur Obor (a pretty famous supermarket/store in Bucharest), this teenage girl made a special friend one Sunday afternoon on her way home from church.

Bucur Obor...

They stayed friends for a while, maybe through the whole entire spring/summer, and fall seasons until one of them had to leave. My special friend, Maria, was probably forced to move by either supermarket owners, municipality, or simply by her own demons. She was forced to move her neatly established camp made up of intricately taped-together cardboard boxes and a myriad of plastic bags containing food and other meager belongings. I never found out where she moved, I never saw her again. but I'll always remember how she touched my life. I would go stand there in her little "corner" and listen to her pouring out her soul of all the misfortunes of life almost every day. I'd bring her food and other personal necessities and just stand there and watch/listen to her talk. Those visits touched me in ways hard to put in words but for sure they made the Savior's teachings/words of loving one another, and loving others as we love ourselves, having the pure love of Christ, MORE ALIVE AND TRUE than never before. I learned not to judge no matter how tempting that may be, not to find reasons why, but just be there, just serve in any way possible. Thank you Maria, and thank you Progressive Pioneer for touching my heart then, today, and always.

Spring Break (so far)

Well, we're not taking time off from work or school to go anywhere exotic, or really anywhere but for some reason there's something in the air this week that makes it fun and maybe just a bit more special. It's Spring Break! We spent a little more time outside after school, watched some favorite movies (i.e. Ella's newest  favorite, "MegaMind"), did some spring clothes shopping, and just mozied our way through. School is sure fun this week as every day brings new adventures and things to look forward to: crafts day, sports/favorite team jersey day, PJ and movie day, St. Patrick's Day (today), and lunch picnick on the playground tomorrow. Oh, how I wish I were a kid again  going to Primrose school where they "cook" up all these fun things.


Go Lakers....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!! (Had "pot-of-gold" shaped pancakes with "omelet coins" for breakfast, sorry no pictures of those... the typical morning rush.)

A nice discovery and weekend business

Yesterday after asking around in church for picturesque surroundings in our area that would be good for family pictures, we were told about this park, just a few streets away from us. It was a wonderful discovery... the park had a lovely creek with huge stepping stones lining it. And since it was a park, it had a playground. A real nice one with climbing wall and all. Of course, Ella went right to work. :)
It was a perfect little Sunday afternoon outing: nice and quite, you could only hear the water flowing through the rocks. Oh, how I love nature! We took some "casual" pictures just because we couldn't pass on the beautiful surroundings but with our phone cameras...[I know not ideal but I think they turned out ok.] We're definitely going back!

Ella gave a talk on prophets yesterday and she did an astounding job. This was her second time but first time since we moved into the ward. Here's her talk:

-Heavenly Father and Jesus gave us prophets because they love us.
-The words of the prophets are found in the scriptures. They teach us the Gospel.
-I know we have a living prophet today; his name is President Thomas S. Monson. We can listen to him in General Conference.
-Now I will bear my testimony: "I know the church is true, that God loves me and my family and I love Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
She "illustrated" the talk with Gospel Art posters. Although she was nervous, she managed to still keep her signature smile on throughout sacrament and right before her turn. Hrishi and I watched from the back row. So proud of her! We love you baby! Just pray for mommy and daddy to be there for you and continue to teach you the Gospel. I pray for your sweet tender testimony to continue to grow stronger and stronger and light up your life, always. You are absolutely amazing!

Before...

She posed for me after in front of the church building. She was snacking on some skittles, as it's our "customary after-church" snack for her to have a little piece of candy, happy as can be that she was through! :) Later on she told me that they gave out candy and chocolate in Primary that she couldn't have so I'm glad I took those skittles with me. What's really sweet is that last night when I was putting her to bed, a family from the ward who apparently serves in Primary rang our door bell and dropped off three little candy boxes (Nerds) for Ella as they realized she didn't get candy that day, like all the other children. That touched my heart. I need to thank those folks!

After...

On Saturday after ballet, Hrishi and Ella went to the zoo. Loved it as always. This time around, Ella was very interested in reptiles, probably because they were welcoming visitors at the entrance with baby gators and snakes.

And while they were at the zoo I went to this amazing friend's baby shower who "happened" to have served a mission in Romania a few years back. It was great seeing her and catching up with everyone in our old ward. You see, that's how I met Anna: when we first moved to Dallas/Coppell she and her husband were in the same ward. She is simply amazing!

Celebration

We had a great weekend, loaded with lots of work, exam nerves, but also with fun and relaxation. For Ella work consisted of a lot of piano and ballet practice at home and classes at school. Her relaxation and fun started when I took her to the Dollar store (in between classes) so she could pick up a little toy, and then when daddy got a little surprise toy for her after his exam. She was in heaven!! As we started saying our "highs and lows" at the dinner table, all I heard during our Sat and Sun meals was "My high was when I got this toy and this other toy, etc.!!!" So funny! [I gently reminded her that some things that we could count as "highs" are simply being together and enjoying a nice meal, being healthy, etc. "But mom, I do like my new toys a lot!"...]

But the highlight of the weekend, through all the running around to classes, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and gardening (those were some of the things that kept me busy this weekend), was celebrating Hrishi's completion of a few hundred hours of study for his Six Sigma Black Belt Quality Certification Exam,  taking the actual exam and feeling good about it. He still has to wait for the final score which will arrive in an email within a couple of weeks. But boy oh boy, I was itching to make this cake for him...so I did. I got the idea online and although it didn't turn exactly as I was hoping (I don't know how to make fondant and honestly didn't have the time even if I wanted to), it was still pretty close in appearance and most importantly, DELISH. It was chocolate with sweet dark cherries and white fluffy vanilla frosting. (Ella added a few red skittles for the "heart"- isn't she a sweetheart?) The cake was yummy!

Let's just say that I was pretty pleased with the end result considering that I only had a about 5 mins to apply the frosting on.  Hrishi was pleasantly surprised and "got" our theme right away.

And now some of the more random everyday things we are blessed to do...

• Soak in after-school time at Kid Country park. We absolutely love that park!

(Note that I got the best "model" to work with. She poses for me freely almost any time. How lucky am I? :))

• Assidously create beautiful art every single day (thank goodness for those amazing teachers!)

• Do a tiny bit of landscaping... plant hycinth, fresia, and lily of the valley bulbs. Now if they can just bloom (quickly, please!) (No pictures since we did this pretty late in the evening.)
• Nap... that's one of my most favorite! (no pictures here either, everyone was zzzzzzzz....zzzz!)

Dr. Seuss Week!

I love how all schools across U.S. celebrate "National Read Across America Day" on Dr. Seuss ' birthday, March 2nd. Ella's Primrose school had a sleuth of fun activities throughout this week that just made every day special and to look forward to. Monday was "mismatched clothes day", Tue was "crazy hair day", Wed was "funny hat day" with a visit from Sister Cat who did tricks and danced for the kids, Thu/today was "mystery readers day" (this is my favorite one!), and Fri will be the finale with lots of games and breakfast for lunch!

I was a "Mystery" reader last year when we first got introduced to this school celebration and looked forward to doing it again. I love to read to her and know how happy she gets when I pop in unexpectedly, so today "voila!", I showed up as the first "mystery" reader in her class. Her huge smile splashed all over her adorable face was the BEST and just made my day! She was so excited and immediately picked up a chair and sat next to me in front of the classroom. She was also my sweet helper and held up the books to show her friends the illustrations. We read two Dr. Seuss books I never read before. They were really funny.





The kids loved the stories and asked questions about words that were unfamiliar... luckily I was able to explain them well (I hope!) ;-) You see, this is also kind of challenge for me, as I'm not a born public speaker, especially because English is not my native language. I take the challenge every time though in hopes to turn this weakness of mine into a strength (someday.) But again, that precious smile of hers is worth going to the end of the earth and back.

Ushering in Spring

Back in Romania, we have this really nice tradition of Martisor! Thanks to wikipedia, you can read more about it, if you wish: 

Mărțișor (Romanian pronunciation: [mərtsiʃor]) is a traditional celebration of the beginning of spring, on March 1st. The name Mărțișor is the diminutive of marț, the old folk name for March[3] (Martie, in modern Romanian), and thus literally means "little March".  The tradition of Mărţişor is very old, going back more than 8 000 years ago, according to archaeological research.[7] Some of ethnologists consider Mărţişor to have a Roman origin, while others believe it to have a Daco-Thracian origin.

In ancient Rome, New Year's Eve was celebrated on March 1st - 'Martius', as the month was called in the honour of the god Mars. Mars was not only the god of war but also an agricultural guardian, who ensured nature's rebirth. Therefore, the red and white colours of Mărţişor may be explained as colours of war and peace.

The Thracians also used to celebrate the New Year's Eve on the first day of March, a month which took the name of the god Marsyas Silen, the inventor of the pipe (fluier, traditional musical instrument), whose cult was related to the land and vegetation. Thracian spring celebrations, connected to fertility and the rebirth of nature, were consecrated to him.

In some areas, Daco-Romanians still celebrate the agrarian New Year in spring, where the first days of March are considered days of a new beginning. Before March 1st, women used to choose one day from the first nine of the month, and judging by the weather on the chosen day, they would know how the new year will go for them. Similarly, in other areas, young men find out what their wives are going to be like. The first days of March are called Baba Dochia's Days, Baba Dochia being an image of the Great Earth Goddess. It is also the folk name for this month. In modern times, and especially in urban areas, the Mărțișor lost most of its talisman properties and became more of a symbol of friendship or love, appreciation and respect.

It's a very dear tradition to me as it is a way to celebrate beloved women or girls in my life. I love that you can offer them "Martisoare", beautifully crafted talismans or jewlery that are tied with red and white thread and tassels, as token of your love and appreciation for them. You can make hand-crafted ones too (which I think are even more beautiful as you trully put a part of yourself in them.) A dear friend and her sweet children made such beautiful martisoare for me and Ella. Thank you, Livia! You are wonderful!!! I will follow your example and start our own Martisor-making tradition to share with dear family and friends next year. Until then, here is a digital martisor I "computer-crafted" :-)

 And since we're celebrating Dr. Seuss this week, today is also crazy hair day at school:

This morning we woke up to Hrishi's compliment that we are his "martisoare"! We love you, daddy!