We found a house.

We are crazy. But I think it's ok that we are. Afterall life wouldn't be as fun, right?
Anyway, so you know me I can't get on the computer without looking at homes. See, there's this house and I've been flirting with it for a couple of months. We had already made the decision to stay where we are, renting, until we really could find something we liked. We found a house we really liked for rent, which also was listed. Then one thing led to another and we started looking at houses in order to make a decision on this For Rent house. Well, in a matter of a week, we were making an offer on the San Mateo house.

This is a fixer upper in Mateo heights, I guess, across the street from one of the better schools in Santa Fe. Apparently, once owned by a state supreme court justice, the house is in good condition for being 40 years old, but boy does it need style. The 70's chique isn't cutting it.

Today was the 3 hours inspection. I'm so excited that I can't contain myself. December 15th needs to come sooner! So in a few months I'll be posting the before pictures of the home.
Ta ta for now.

Update of updates

Some times I wonder what I'm doing keeping this blog open. I've gotten to be so busy these days I don't know why I even bother. So we are living debt free again(except our mortgage). Life is wonderful. Those two nightmares are out of our hair and we can breathe. And what better than picking up travelling again. Somehow we still managed to go to China last year and planned our Italian-Londonese vacay before we knew what the outcome would be. At last we were blessed.



Italy the country of all countries. How I love that place. Funny, I think our experience in China(the language barrier) made me feel a bit scared of travelling overseas, but maybe it was because this time we had the kids with us. Well Italy as usual proved beautiful and timeless, our Italian got better again and is slowing wearing off again. Seriously the only way to keep it is to go live there for 6 months. Oh well, maybe someday right?

We went to Florida once again this year. Can we get enough of the beach?? Pass A Grille Beach is a perfect substitute for Brazil: pristine, family oriented, quiet, and heck of a lot less. LOL! Back again we were, and this time with yet another goal besides getting a quick tan. We went to the U2 concert. In the words of a great friend Claudia, "St. Bono cures all ails." I somehow had the energy of doing a cross country trip. Thank goodness for friends all over the country, where would we sleep if it weren't for them? Off the Gabby's house in Dallas on the first night, then to Messia's in Alabama on the second. They made perfect stops. I'm glad my mother was with me, I could NOT have done it without her. I drove, she fed the kids. It was great.


We're settling in to normality again. Isaac sometimes wants to go to school and sometimes doesn't. I don't get it, but he's going. I need the break. As life becomes normal again, photography is growing and real state is bugging me. So I'm back taking classes to get my broker's license. At least they will give me credit for my experience in Utah. Which makes me happy because I'll be my own broker, yeah!!! I haven't really been impressed with brokers in Santa Fe, so I'll trust myself to do the job and get paid for it. Yes, we have a property in mind already.... Maybe next time I'll write about that.


We also ended up in London and got to see my dearest cousin Rachel who just moved back there with the family. I wished we had more time in London, but until we figure out something that makes us money while we travel, we have to come back to work.

American Citizenship

You know, it's been 15 years since I first came to go to school here. The plan was always to go back home to Brazil, as the years went by and I grew more and more to be partly American--in thought, emotion and opinion, I found myself feeling depressed.

Yep, not that it's a bad thing, but that I felt like was I betraying my heritage. I think a lot of immigrants go through it and at some point in their path they have to accept that through their choices (or not) they no longer live in their birth country and in order for them to be fully complete and content with themselves, they must accept their new home(the full package as a whole).

I remember vividly when that happened for me, I think I was 21 and it was my junior year in college at BYU. I worried about going home to not find a job in Interior Design, and most importantly I was worried about not being able to find a husband who shared my religious, and social-cultural awareness of being a world citizen. Then I remember meeting a Brazilian, who changed it all for me. She was in the middle of her degree and came up to the US I don't remember why. But...in less than a year, in and out of relationships, she got married. Everything seemed fine, everyone accepted that--albeit not her full intention--she came here to get married and never go back.

That's when I realized that if I had been here since I was 15; had gone to high school; had experienced my formative years as an American; spoke and wrote better English than Portuguese; could not adapt to Brazilians in America at that age; why could I not have the desire to stay? Why was it unacceptable for me to do so? Why could everyone else who were illegal; who didn't speak English; had no goals of assimilating into the melting pot be able to stay?

Some how the years passed I graduated from college, got a job, got married, got divorced, got married again, had kids, had many jobs etc etc. Now I'm here, I'm an American. Friday I was sworn in. I wasn't as excited as 99% of the people there. I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because I've been here so long, and have been here legally(with a few dramatic moments and exceptions,when laws are changed and I've had to scurry and make sure my documents were in order), I've been leading life as I would have anywhere else in the world; pursuing my dreams, working towards eternity, still trying to fit into my pink size 6 pants. I've always felt Brazilian, and I've never not felt American.

You know what did it for me? What made me break my quiet yet arrogant feeling of entitlement, that I somehow deserved more than others and now I was taking it for granted? It was when we were asked to stand when your birth country was announced. A handful of the 300 people becoming citizens were from countries such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries who have in one way or another oppressed their people. It was seeing the elation in their eyes from being able to learn from their past, and go forward with their goals of their own American dream.

Coming home I told Mike about that. He commented, "it's amazing to see so many people seeking the same things that you are." To that I promptly replied "No, we were not seeking the same things. I was born free, I have always had my freedoms to dress how I wanted, to be educated, to speak how I wanted, and worship how I wanted. I was probably the least deserving of them all. I've always had what I wanted or needed. They haven't."

Bella's Blessing

Bella was blessed by daddy today in Church. Grandpa Gueiros came from Brazil to visit so we decided to wait until he got here. It was a beutiful blessing. Here are some pics from today. Thanks to Beca Price for making Bella's beautiful dress.

We're especially thankful for Daddy for honoring his callings and for his inspired thoughts. What a wonderful day!







Bella was blessed by daddy today in Church. Grandpa Gueiros came from Brazil to visit so we decided to wait until he got here. It was a beutiful blessing. Here are some pics from today. Thanks to Beca Price for making Bella's beautiful dress.

Family time = good time

At the Burro Alley, where people would come to town with their burros to sell wood.

My mom has been here for almost two months, and my dad just arrived to visit. Love have family around. Today we took them to see a bit of downtown Santa Fe. We had lunch at La Casa Senna, which used to be a spanish mansion. It has a beatiful courtyard with a fountain, and that's where we ate. For the first time in my life I had muffins with green chilis in them. What?! I know. I guess I have no choice, I have to start getting used to chilis in everything now that I'm a Santa Fean.

A righteous child.

Isaac never ceases to amaze us. He continues to soak up everything we do and say, and consequently we need to put on a best behavior around him. Lately I've been feeling like we need to hurry up everything we are doing spiritually. And teaching Isaac is on the top of the list. I've always had thoughts that he would grow up to be a special person. And it's amazing to see him learning so quickly.

While we were in Atlanta I was talking to my mom to see how they were all doing, and she kept mentioning how wonderful Isaac is. How obedient and sensitive and happy can a child be? Well, today I made Isaac his favorite breakfast(waffles and sausages) and ran to get Bella a blanket. Two minutes later when I got back to the kitchen Isaac was saying a prayer all by himself. He didn't see me come in so I stayed really quiet to listen in. All I got to hear was him thanking Heavenly Father for his parents, and sister and grandparents. I think he might have forgotten to bless the food. LOL!

We are so glad to have a such a sweet boy!

To whom much is given, much is required.

Today as I worked on the houses I once again was thinking how I could seriously beat the crap out of some people right now. Anyway, one thought that has been on my mind lately is the scripture that says "To whom much is given, much is required."

I wonder if the opposite is also true. To whom less is given, less is required. Either way you understand it, it just doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem fair that if you are not as blessed you don't need to do much. It also doesn't seem fair to say that if you are not as blessed as others that Heavenly Father just doesn't expect too much from you.

I don't know, but of this I'm certain, we as a family, have been given much. Consequently, much is required of us. I keep having to remind myself that these two houses Mike's old partner left us to deal with, is a trial and that there's no blessing until the trial of our faith. It's been a while since I've felt that "but when is it going to end?" or "Are we there yet?" feeling, so it's time to go through it again. In any case, I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

I sure hope so.

The trials that help us grow.

We've inherited two major problems from UT. When Mike had the construction company, he and Dave accepted to build two $500K+ homes for an investor. Someone whom they had done a bit of business with. Knowing that she was shady, not listening to me at all and being the happy go lucky guy that he is, Mike chose to sign a personal guarantee on those homes without really considering their consequences. Well a year and a half later they are pretty much ours. Mike has been supporting the loan payments all by himself for the last 4 months and now we're trying to get the homes done in order to rent them out.

We have three weeks until the homes need to be done and so Mike asked if I wanted to go over there and try to get them done with Dave and Chase. So last week we sold Mike's truck(another miracle and blessing sent by our Heavenly Father), and drove to UT where I stayed with the kids to get going on the homes. I think we will need all 3 weeks we have to finish those homes. On Tuesday I went to visit a friend who will be making Bella's blessing dress and got in a car accident leaving her house. A 60 year old lady hit me while I was stopped waiting for traffic to clear before I could turn. Two and a half hours later, the woman was arrested on a DUI for prescription drugs and her car towed. Luckily for me, she only swiped my bumper which will have to be replaced but it won't be too big of a deal. I felt so lucky that nothing happened to us physically, it could have been a lot worse. Especially because since she was coming from my left and Bella sits right behind me she could have T boned us. Once again, another angel was looking over us!

On Wednesday night as I was pooped out and ready to go to sleep, I remembered that I had my immigration appointment back in ABQ on friday at 8am. Thank goodness someone up there reminded me. I was able to pack everything and leave early on Thursday morning for a long 11 hour drive back home. The appointment went very smoothly and now I have to study for the citizenship test. Also, it's so good to be back at home spending a bit of time with my hubby. Now I get to go back to UT tomorrow(Monday) to try and finish out these homes. Poor Mike has been so stressed out because of them. I was thinking about the huge trial we are going through and thinking that the Lord has promised that blessings come after our trials.

For me the trial has been to get a calling that I so didn't want. To be in primary to me is the last thing I want to do, especially with a newborn baby. But I have been asking the Lord's help in order to do a better job at teaching little kids and juggle my newborn while I'm in there. Mike just got a calling to teach sunday school to the teenagers of our ward. I feel like we are being bombarded from every angle, but today in church I've been really feeling like we can pull through and be successful at our callings and at overcoming our trials. If the Lord didn't think we could make it, he wouldn't be allowing us to go through it all. Elder Maxwell's thoughts of trials, that pull on our heart strings in orde for us to grow, have been with me too. In the end, we are going to come out on top and very blessed for taking the road less travelled.

Anyway, that's quick update on the last couple of months at Vee Company.

Feeling that inexplicable burning in the bosom.

To many, my religious fellows, today may seem like a sad day. This is unfortunate to behold. To me, to us --I think I can speak for my husband--today is a beautiful and glorious day. Today is not about politics and its parties. It's about history, and it's about mental and emotional revolution. It's about change, and not to be plagiarizing, but it's about unity.

I'm grateful to live in a country where, finally, equality is has taken a huge chip off the walls of prejudice and racism. I'm grateful that many have taken risks, and have stood up for more than just political agenda of their own parties. What this new adminstration brings, we will all have to wait and see. Afterall talk is always cheap, no matter who it comes from. But, for today, we who are of the same religious affiliation, who have been and continue to be criticized and attacked, can stand as one with those who have been attacked not for their religious beliefs but the colors of their skin. I myself stand as one of those who feel prejudice for both.

Today we need to start over, with a clean slate. We need to be open to what the future can bring. Stop being judgemental because our new president maybe from a different political party, that's the main reason why our religious leaders do not take sides. In fact today, we need to be like our dear leaders: do not judge in any aspect. Be true if anything to your spiritual beliefs and not to the belief of your political party.