Rachelle D. Alspaugh's Blog, page 59

Here are a few traditions I found on another website, Cas...

Here are a few traditions I found on another website, Casa Hispana, that we might try to incorporate into our New Year's Eve celebration at home. I've got the grapes ready to go, and I think I like the idea of cleaning the house to start the new year.  Juan David said he didn't want any yellow underwear, but he told me I'd be amazed at all the vendors everywhere selling yellow underwear this week. I think running around the block with a suitcase would be fun, but I doubt we'll get much further than eating our grapes.  I've got a special Colombian fruit drink that I plan to make for the evening, as well. New Year’s Eve Colombian style: Good luck traditions!Posted on December 6, 2012 by Casa Hispana
Running around the block will ensure future travel and adventure!
By rubyblossom.Every hispanic country has its traditions and superstitions. In Colombia, they have plenty to fall back on if any of the good luck rituals fail!
Good luck traditions: 
Twelve grapes. This is also practiced in Spain. At the stoke of  twelve you need to stuff a grape at every chime! The twelve grapes represent the months of the year. It is said you can make a wish for every grape. Be quick though, and write your wishes down in advance. You must finish eating the grapes by the last chime for the good luck to kick in!
In Spain, some add a third grape. If all else fails you have that last 13th!
Yellow Underwear As in Mexico, wearing yellow underwear will attract money!!!
Shafts of Wheat. Placing 12 shafts of wheat in your dining room will bring more food to the table, i.e: money again.
Run around the block with a suitcase! After the clock strikes 12, you must run around the block with an empty suitcase. This will ensure future travel and adventures. This one can be a little dangerous though! But if practiced in a safe neighborhood you’ll be fine. A backpack might do the job, easier to flee from a mugger!
Starting out on the right foot flamingo style! At the stroke of twelve, make sure your right foot is firmly planted!
Hold money! Be sure to be holding money at midnight! Any amount will do. Again, money!
Burn the old year!  Make a statuette of the old year. If you can find safe fireworks, tie the statuette to the fireworks and blow the old year up, setting it on fire at twelve!  Some people tie pieces of paper where they write their defects. A symbolic way to try to get rid of them.
Sweep the bad energy out!
By YanivGSweep the dirt out.  Clean your home on New Year’s Eve and do away with the dirt by sweeping it out your front door. This will rid you of any bad energy. Keep some dirt to throw out the door at midnight. It doubles your chances of a clean sweep!
Eat Lentils. Many hispanic countries follow this tradition. It ensures a year of plenty.
And how about love? Well, we have red panties or boxers to attract love in Spain and Mexico. Make sure you wear them brand new too! You never know! This will bring in more love into your life or consolidate what you already have, if that is what you want…
And of course! Drink and dance the night away!
¡Felíz año nuevo!

https://casahispanasfca.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/new-years-eve-colombian-style-good-luck-traditions/

I thought about cropping the feet out, but I decided to l...

I thought about cropping the feet out, but I decided to leave it as is because it truly captures the spirit of that day.  It will always be the Christmas that the boys got to go swimming!  Great big family pic, just missing my brother Jonathan and his family.

A different kind of Christmas

We had a different kind of Christmas this year, one I will cherish for many years. Though we originally planned to drive up to St. Louis to spend Christmas with my parents for the first time in a long time, they ended up coming down to Texas since they didn't make it at Thanksgiving.  I know it made their normal quiet Christmas a bit more hectic for them, but we all sure enjoyed having them here.  Not only did we all attend the Christmas Eve service together (my family, my parents, and my brother's family), but they got to spend Christmas with both of our families to experience our own family traditions.

Speaking of tradition, I don't know that I've ever really thought about our traditions until this year. My main tradition for Christmas has always been to just keep it simple.  Simple decorations. Simple activities. Simple gifts.  We always open our gifts on Christmas Eve after attending church together, making it a quiet evening at home together.  Then we sleep in Christmas morning and just enjoy a quiet morning/day together.  Back in Indiana, we hopped from one family gathering to another since all of Mike's family lived there.  Here in Texas, we join up with my brother's family for a dessert in the afternoon, but that's about it. 

This year my parents joined us for a quiet little Christmas Eve at home, watching the boys open up their presents and even opening a few for them.  I read about the religious history behind a few Christmas traditions (like why we put lights on the tree and outside the house), and we kept a fire going strong in the fireplace. 

Juan David especially likes that we have the tradition of opening up our presents on Christmas Eve because that's how they do it in Colombia, too.  I had all intentions of trying to add in a bit of Colombian tradition to our Christmas, but it just didn't happen. I will try to incorporate a few Colombian traditions to New Year's, I guess. 

My parents got up early Christmas morning to join my brother's family for their own gift-giving traditions, and then we all got together for a big Christmas dinner in the early afternoon.  To add to the fun, my brother heated up his brand new pool, so the boys all swam for hours! I enjoyed every bit of the day and am so thankful for the chance to celebrate with lots of family this year. 

I especially love watching Juan David embrace our family traditions as his own.  Last year he enjoyed everything we did, though he constantly compared it to all he ever knew in Colombia, almost in a defensive way. This year he opened up more about both the positives and negatives of his life in Colombia, showing much more appreciation and gratitude for being part of a family.  We tried our best to connect with Julian during the day, but we only talked with him very briefly on Facebook.  I at least sent him pictures of his brother to let him know we still think about him all the time.  I hope some day he might be able to join us for Christmas here.

Christmas Eve service  Christmas Day activityFamily photos (notice the variety of attire and foot coverings)
  Family photo with the grandparents Matt's family with the grandparents  Me and Mom  We have moved from identical gifts to similar gifts (Dog lover and Cat lover mugs)     (They didn't take long to put on their new soccer jerseys! FC Dallas and Colombia)  A gift from Dad   A Colombia/US picture frame that I painted for Juan David  Juan David's gift to David  Juan's smallest, but very meaningful gift A keychain linking both the U.S. and the Colombian flag together, representing his dual citizenship of both countries.  A gift I couldn't resist once I saw it. Now I'm off to the store to start making preparations for the New Year celebration at our home, trying to combine both cultures a little better than we did for Christmas.

High school soccer

"You are now officially part of the Naaman Forest soccer family." Quite a different response than at the parent meeting for high school football.

There were no tryouts for football. If you showed up, they put you on the JV team. Juan David didn't know anything about football, but he gave it a try, anyway, to get himself ready for soccer tryouts in December. He had his tryouts while we were in Illinois, and on Thursday morning he sent me a text at school to say he made the team! He was super excited, and so proud of himself.

"Mom, I am so happy with myself that I want to have a party!" Funny boy. We took him out to Chick Fil-A instead.

So now we have a very happy boy at home, plus we are thankful he's back on a strict practice schedule every day after school (which requires no running around for us) and an extra motivation to keep his grades up. The soccer coach seems like a great guy, and we felt very welcomed "to the soccer family" at his high school. His games start in less than a month, and I look forward to cheering him on.

Progress

So, we walked in the house after returning from Illinois just about the time our friend dropped the boys off back at home. Juan David gave me a hug, and I said, "I missed you."  He said, "I missed you, too, Mom." (Really? Did he just say that?)

Then he said, "It feels so good to be home."

That's some definite progress. I'm so glad he knows he's really home here.

Anticipating Heaven

Life if full, all the time, with two teenage boys. I have a love/hate relationship with the calendar.  It helps to keep me sane and know how to budget my time, and I love to write down fun things we plan to do together. On the other hand, I hate watching each day slip by, wondering if I enjoyed each moment as much as I anticipated it.  

Then every once in a while, things happen that throw a curve ball into our plans, and the calendar immediately changes. Unscheduled meetings, emergency doctor visits, or funerals you hoped to not see for several more years.

When my mom told me my Grandpa asked for prayers to meet Jesus soon, I struggled being so far away. I wanted to go see him, to tell him goodbye, and to tell him what he's always meant to me. Instead, I wrote it down for someone to read to him, and I prayed for Jesus to take him home peacefully and painlessly.

When I got the news he went to Heaven, I didn't quite know how to feel. Sad? Relieved? Grief-stricken? Joyful? I guess I felt a bit of them all. I struggled to decide whether or not to make the trip to Peoria to attend his funeral. I was afraid if I didn't go, I might regret my decision for the rest of my life, always wishing I had gone. More than anything, I wanted to give my Grandma a hug. I knew I could only do that in person, so I prayed for wisdom to know how to make the trip affordable.  Mike agreed to take a few days off of work to make the long drive with me, our friends didn't even hesitate to take care of the boys, and I found two good subs. for my class very quickly.

I am so glad we went.

First, I got to give that hug to this beautiful lady, my sweet Grandma. She's the main reason I wanted to go. I have this picture on my phone now, and I pray for her every time I look at it.


I loved hearing the three tributes to my Grandpa, all three stating the same thing seen from a different perspective. My Grandpa loved Jesus with everything in him. I'm sure it was harder on those who lived day in and out with him, but for me, I really saw his funeral as a celebration of his life. I felt like the main message said, "He leaves us a legacy of faith in Christ. Now take the baton (the Word of God) and go forward into the next generation."


I also greatly enjoyed seeing and reconnecting with my "long lost" cousins whom I hadn't seen in over 15 years. What a blessing to spend a day with them. It's amazing how years can pass, yet you can pick up right where you left off.


Here's another one with my only male cousin on that side of the family. I don't remember seeing him since he was a kid!

My mom and her brothers. One drove from Colorado, just an hour longer than our own drive.

And then the spouses, too (my dad and my aunts).
Who knows when we will all find ourselves in the same place again. I wish it could have been under a different circumstance, but at the same time, I could never wish for my Grandpa to leave Heaven now that he finally made it there.
We went back to his house for a few hours after the funeral to spend a little more time together before everyone headed in different directions. My aunt made a pot of coffee, and Mike brought me out a cup in this mug. 


I love you, Grandpa, and I look forward to spending eternity with you in Heaven. 

A Heritage of Faith

A heritage of faith
To live is Christ,to die is gain.To live for anything elsewould mean to die in vain.When I leave this world behindWhat will others say of me?Will my life even compareTo my grandpa’s legacy?A life lived on purposeA man of fervent prayerSo captivated and compelledTo share Christ everywhere.He loved his family deeply,and he knew what mattered most.He lived every day for Jesus,his one and only boast.Today he celebrates in Heaven, face to face with his Lord.He gave his life to Christand now gained his reward.I already miss him dearly,but I’m so grateful to claimthe heritage of faith
that he leaves behind his name.
Philippians 1:2121 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I want to live like that. (Sidewalk Prophets)

Making each day count

This last week didn't look anything like I'd planned or envisioned. In fact, I anticipated a week with my parents here for Thanksgiving, grocery shopping and cooking with my mom, a big feast at my brother's house, Black Friday shopping with my mom, a yearly lunch date with my mom, Kloppmann Christmas (an early Christmas with my parents and my brother's family), a week of cousin fun while we hung out with my brother's family, and maybe a little Christmas decorating at the end of the week. Plus I had the whole week off for the first time this year!

Then my mom called Sunday morning with the news none of us wanted to hear, that my Grandpa's health was declining fast and that he said he was ready to go to be with Jesus. As my uncle stated, he was ready to be with the one Person he loved more dearly than his wife and family.

That phone call changed the whole course of the week, my parents spent time with my Grandpa in his final days instead of coming here, and now the family is making plans for the funeral of a man who touched more lives for Christ than he ever could have known on this side of Heaven.

The rest of the week felt so awkward. Thanksgiving felt incomplete. The day after even stranger, since I'm used to always spending that day with my mom. This time I spent it with Juan David, and then we enjoyed our own family time with the boys for the rest of the day at Six Flags Holiday in the Park (so thankful we got those season passes for the boys!) We all four worked together to decorate the house for Christmas on Saturday, and I bought the boys a Gingerbread house kit after Juan David told me he'd never made one before.  I also finished up all my edits for the revision of my first book, which they told me should be published in February!

David only met my Grandpa a few times in his life, and Juan David met him once. They sympathized with us in our grief, but they couldn't share that grief. I tried to make the week fun for them, though I often found myself with thoughts wandering and tears welling up in my eyes, thinking of the rest of my family and remembering my Grandpa.

Here are some pictures of memories we created, despite the change in plans and the sadness we feel.

Picnic lunch at the parkOne of our many roller coaster rides for the day

Thanksgiving. Missing my mom's additions to our plates. :(Juan David and Uncle Matt (Realizing the family this boy gained still brings tears to my eyes.)A quick pic by the tree in the park

Juan David's first gingerbread house experience

The whole reason for the season--Jesus
My prayer corner now holds my favorite Christmas decorations, my Jesus tree and a nativity. This morning I took a good long look at my little nativity and my ornaments that say so many different names of Jesus.  I looked at that little baby in the manger, the baby born to die, and I thanked Him for being each and every name on that tree. Then I realized, my grandpa finally got to meet that precious little baby in the manger, face to face, and thank Him, face to face, for being all those names to him in a personal way. I'm sad for us to lose him, but I'm so, so happy for him. What a privilege to be in the presence of Jesus.
Christmas just took on a whole new meaning for me. 

Reflecting over a great example

I am sitting at home this morning with a heavy heart, tears in my eyes, Thanksgiving plans overturned, reflecting over one of the greatest blessings in my life. My grandfather.  He currently is living out his last days on this earth, and I am overjoyed that he will soon be in the presence of Jesus. I am, on the other hand, incredibly sad to be losing him.

His passion to live for Christ above all has inspired me since my childhood.  I remember writing a paper in elementary school about how much I admired him.  I still do.

I have not been the greatest at keeping in touch. I am a person of very few words on the telephone, I rarely use Skype, I don't have Facetime on my phone.  I got to see him for his 90th birthday last March, which happened to be the first I'd seen him in about ten years. The first I'd been back to his house in nearly twenty years.  I write on here often, though, and he's gotten every blog entry I've written over the last seven years.  I hope I've made him proud.

My grandfather is a pillar of faith for my family, and he taught me years ago to lay my family down in prayer every single morning before I do anything else. He taught me the importance of prayer through his example, as I, myself, have coveted his prayers each and every morning, especially during difficult seasons of my life. He prayed me through marital struggles, financial struggles, through grieving the loss of Juan David and his sister, through our journey to meet Julian, and through our fight to finally bring Juan David home.  He is leaving a legacy of faith for his family, and I commit to carry it on through his example of daily prayer.

Thank you, Grandpa, for everything you've taught me by your example, even across so many miles. I love you dearly and will miss you more than words can say.

100 Happy Days

I don't know if you remember, but I went through quite a slump this last summer.  I think it started when the camper got smashed and the AC leaked all over our new floor. One negative thing led to another, and before I knew it, I found myself griping and complaining about everything.  My husband quickly grew tired of my negativity, as did the rest of my family.  I grew tired of myself, too.

Then I read a post on Facebook about a friend who challenged herself to a goal of living 100 happy days.  I thought I'd give it a try.  So, in mid-August, I opened up an old journal and started Day 1. Each day's entry began with the words, "Today I am happy because . . . ".

After about a week or so of writing something that made me happy each day, I felt awkward about the word happy, so I changed it to what I felt thankful for. It became my gratitude journal. I couldn't believe what a difference it made in me to start my day out being thankful. One thing each day led to two or three things each day, and now I find myself writing nearly a paragraph each day about what I'm grateful for.

Today I finally reached my 100th day. I have no intentions of stopping, though, and I encourage anyone in a slump to start their own gratitude journal.  I start my day thankful, and then I notice more and more things to be thankful for all day.

What a difference from that negative mindset that captivated me late this summer.