back in Lincoln...

Daddy...he is so happy with us, he loves playing with the girls, and i love watch them, how carefully he is with sophie, how he likes her to laugh, give all his attention to emily and her silliness....and mommy's silliness too...

Emily...she is happy to see daddy, she plays with every single toy she finds and is not much into helping put them back...i have to put half of the toys away because of that...all in my big corner pile....she is not speaking to much english, it seems like she has forgotten a lot, but she is trying every time she meets her friends....

Sophie.... climbing climbing and falling falling....eating paper, i vacuum every single day, and she keeps finding them!!!...she even chew the baby wipes!....she doesnt eat much, probably is the new food she is trying (gerber products), the first weeks are still hard to get fresh food on the table, but now it is getting better....

after two weeks of crawling to every corner of the house, she decide it is time to walk a little more than two steps!!!, i love when she walks towards emily, and how the big sister encourage her to keep walking...

Ericka....for me it has been very weird, since i have arrive i seem kind of lost, trying to think twice to be sure what i am doing, i trying to hard to speak english......this last sound so weird to me, to hear my voice like that....and the worse is that not much people understands me anymore!...what happened, i dont know, it it not the first time i have been away for that long....

on the other hand, i am happy to be at home, taking care of my "ninias", with emily it was very different, i was desperate to get out and talk to other human being, i mean not a baby being.....things are quite easier here, sophie is free to go everywhere she wants and for that i had lots and lots of things to do to baby proof the apartment, but i took the easiest way, i just grabbed every harmfully thing and made a big pile on one corner where sophie cant go, and then i will organize it little by little...it may take one year or so, ja, ja, ja (maybe when my mommy visits me again!).....life keeps going, the cooking, the cleaning, the playing, etc...they dont stop just for me....

this weeks i have been trying to take sophie to the doctor for her poor eating, her vaccinations, her changes...., i guess the worse was to get an school for emily, just few days after i came back my friend told me to hurry up because registrations for kindergarten were pretty close and i needed many things like her vaccinations list, an appointment for medical, vision and dental, her birth certificate (i had one, i just had to look in my big pile at the corner!)....and my big shook was to know that i can not register in the school i want, i have to register in a school of my area (i wanted one close to work), after searching my friend found there is a petition to transfer her to another school, but on the day of registration the school told me the dead line for that application was already in january, but i can take a chance sending it to the public schools department...and from there it was almost sure they will denied, but i can re-apply within 10 days......

well if i cant change her school it is ok, at the end, i guess, i just didnt like not to find this information on the web page of lincoln public schools before all this...

then daddy had to travel to Brazil for a job interview, so he was pretty busy too, with his work and this presentation...

We have had 2 "snow storms" since i came back and on the day before the last one, a lovely sunny day! we visited the big park! i was happy to do all the walk and specially of not being tired...at least not for walking...

it has been pretty busy, but the weather is a relief, i take my stroller and just go out to get the lovely spring air to fill my lungs and give me some happiness to continue my journey in this life....

and by the way, we also celebrate my 35th birthday!, i almost forgot about it with everything going on, but my lovely husband remind me just after 12 am...i was watching a late movie!...and of course few days later, sophie's 1 st year!, we are going to properly celebrate it after daddy comes back...we dont want her to be mad of not having anything on her First B-day after her sister had her nice party...that woulnt be fair...

last pictures from Peru....

i wanted to show many pictures from Peru but of course, there were no much time for that...but here are some from the farmers market that make me smile, because it is different i somehow i missed...i think because of the interaction with the people, you go there everyday, find fresh food, and they are really nice and kind...

like: good morning!, what would you like to have today!. ah, you are going to prepare chicken with rice!, oh yes, today i have my kids here helping; so how many pieces of chicken, would you prefer....etc....

this guy was very attentive and kind....for chicken you can choose any part of the chicken, and by any i mean ANY...includind heads and feet, liver and heart, neck, etc...

and you can watch how they kill the chicken and how they take the feathers off...very scary when i was young, but i haven see it this time...maybe they do it very early now...but, they have some chikens and hens alive just in case they do need more to sell.....

the fish section was even scarier when i was growing up, they sell fresh fish and they cleaned in front of you, and cut it the way you like...you can find crabs walking in the big pan...and lots of sea food!

the vegetables section looks like this, but is not the only one, they are maybe 10 like this in the market (as well as for the chicken and meat and just few for fish)....most of people now sell vegetables peeled and cut it already!....depending of what are you preparing they will mix some of them in small bags, and in a Peruvian food you will need carrots cutted in circles, squeares or grated (big and small)...i hate that!....

when my mum was in US, she took some of the mix vegetables (the frozen bag) and separate what she dont use for lets say "chicken and rice" (like beans and green beans) and start cutting the carrots really small, etc.....i just use everything together...

they also sell already cooked beans (and some veggies too), and when you get home just have to seasoned and add anything else you like.....i guess they are trying to compete with some big markets with ready to use foods that nowdays are getting very popular...

and the fruit!, yummm!!! lot and lots of cheap fruit! like: lima, uva, maracuya, carambola, peras, tunas, melon, papaya, naranja, durazno, melocoton, mandarina, mango, lucuma, etc.....different kind of bananas (they are not in the picture), pineapples, etc...

i ask my mum to get this pictures when i was already back in Lincoln....she took them from a bridge and i guess it maybe around 9 am because just the upper bridge is full of cars...around 8 to 9 am both lines going to the city center are very very busy...they just go maybe one meter every 10 minutes...it was really bad...and i also wanted to show the buses at this time are full of people, they even block the doors!...

on the right picture, also to the right you may see a light blue house with 2 floors, to blooks from there is my parents house...i grown up here, next to a very busy "highway", but before it was just two lines to the north and two lines to the south....what you see know was made 3 years ago and it took 2 years to complete it!...crazy!!!

i coulnt find the pictures of my parents home...what it is interesting is that next to our block there is what is call a "huaca" and this is like hill with rest of ancient civilizations...you can see some walls, and if you search (like my friends and i when we were kids) you can find some material and broken pieces of ceramic..... houses around here get very dusty beause of this hill.....and on the top we have a crucifix, i think this a tradition, for the souls to rest in peace....

i found this picture of my mum...this is a cementery on the countryside...my mum and my grandma's sister went to visit their relatives...this kind of cementery is very common, and cheaper.....we have some cementeries like in US very nice ones and more are being built....

i took this picture at the back of my parents house...there are 3 schools very close together...and one of them had a "procesion"...this is a famous celebration of a paint of Crist that a slave niger paint in a wall, and this was the only wall that didnt brake during a big earthquake...during the october month we have many small quakes and we have this procesion in that month too....this is a copy from the real paint, in Lima city center the celebration is really big, some devotes wear purple clother during this month and they walk many kilometers praying and singing...some of them go by their knees...

this orquids from Peru are my passion, i love them...and some day i dream i will grow them and sell them....i would like to do this know, like working at home thing...but i guess i will have to wait a while...

this is another pictures of my parents...this is call la laguna de huacachina...it is south of Lima, 2-3 hours from the city by bus...is an oasis..it ia really beautifull...

this is a beach at the north of Lima, 1 1/2 hour from my parents house (because of sophie i didnt want to go far) we went in january..bad weather but we coulnt wait to go...i would recomend beaches from the far south or far north part, because they have less contamination from the city....

here is something i also miss a lot...my church....this is just half a block from my parents house...it is more like a chapel but a prist come for just sunday mass...i love the songs, the lirics that make me cry everytime a hear them when i visit Peru....unfortunately, this year i havent visited as much as i wished.....this is one of the songs, it is not my favorite but i felt a little bad filmimg (so i didnt try it again), i didnt know if it was correct or not...

in this past 5 eyars i saw Lima growing bigger and beatifull...Lima the horrible, was the nickname of the city...but not anymore!!!...now is a renowed and safe place to visit, and mainly CLEAN!!!!...

before not even I visit the city center! i was to afraid to go...i always have been...but know it is nice to walk around....The city has grown with lots of malls and markets and now i can find many thing from US and europe in Peru, and i dont have to go too far from my parents home for my shopping.....

but appart from all this, my family is what i miss the most...i loved this time with them...with all the difficulties...which i dont remember that much right know....i love my family!, my brothers, so caring with my "ninias", my dad (always coming earlier from work to play with them), my mom (taking lots of care, watching their food, their health), my aunt hortencia (always helping me and my best confident), my cousins "las marias", always coming to visit me or calling to asking for the girls....my neighborgs, etc...it was awesome!!!!

10 years ago....

The first time we ever meet was at the end of 1997, when i went to his university to get some lab experience in plant tissue culture, by then i was in my last university year and he was the lab teacher....then we meet again in the middle of 1998, after he came back from Atlanta; we date for a while but he had to come back to his studies in the EEUU.....

He came back at the end of 1998 and we started dating again....

In november of 1999 we got engaged...here we are with some friends....

and in march 3rd 2000 we got married....

a couple of weeks after, we celebrated my 25th birthday as a married couple...

few months after we did travel to study in Ireland...it was very hard at the beggining, but the beauty of the country and the friendship of our lads really help us to feel like home, day by day....here we are in Glendalough, the glacial valley......

Traveling around ireland, here at the north-west, in Donegal...

here in Northern Ireland (Causeway) the north coast, our friends Connie and Stephen showed to us this incredible rock formations!

here at Bushmills, trying many different kinds of whisky....they got us drunk to choose the best of them!...and give us a certificate!

At the weats coast in Connemara....it was reeeaaally sunny, but the water was so cold, it really hurt my bones!

In 2002 we travel to Paris, it was in november, kind of sad weather, not as rommantic as i expected, but the museums, the churchs, the palace, etc, were really amazing!

My graduation was in summer 2003, i really missed my parents....

In 2003 we visit York in UK, we went to a conference and end up traveling around with some brand new conference friends! they were really really great people!

Same year we traveled to London to celebrate Armando's 30th birthday!

In 2004 we visit Czech Republic, Prague is such a beautyfull city....we enjoy it with our best couple friends erika and michael!...we heared that the city wasnt bombarded during WW because of its beauty...

Our religious wedding was in Peru, march 11th 2005, Emily was in her way!...We moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in the states, i was at home during my pregnancy, and i just ate and slept all the time...

At 7 moths pregnant the baby's room was ready!, we didnt know if we were expecting a boy or a girl, but because of my mom i really believe i was going to have a boy!...i got few blue outfits and just one was pink....thanks to our friends Nivea and Marco, we were not lost in the city or in the parenhood journey because they were expecting too...

On september 14th 2005, my beautyfull daughter was born by an unexpected c-sec! thanks mamita came to help us out a couple of days later....Emily weighted more than 8 pounds, my OB told me it was good to had an emergency c-sec!

by Emily's second month!

Emily's first year!, she didnt talk much, but she was walking since her 10th month!....Larissa and Salvador help us in everyway with their experience as parents, and as incredible friends ever since we meet...

i cant believe Emily was so little once.....sometimes i really miss her like that, then i see her again and i realize she is still my little baby!, she maybe four now, but yes! it is just four tiny years!....

Autum 2007, Emily is 2 years now!

Christmas 2007 family picture!

Christmas 2008 family picture! mommy is 6 months pregnant!....we meet our lovely new neighborgs Lori and Kyle, they have a cute little boy Caileb and are expecting too!.....our due dates are 2 weeks apart!

Winter 2008, Emily is 3 years old and mommy is 8 months pregnant!

March 19th 2009, my precious little Sophie was born (by c-sec).....mamita came 2 months before to helps us out!.....when emily was born i had to much anesthesia, i was very sleepy, but with Sophie i was so awake that for me it felt like a had a natural birth! (without the pain)....i cried so much when i heared her crying...

My sweet Emily meet her little sister Sophie, this time we knew we were expecting a girl.....she was close to 8 pounds, so i was happy with my c-sec again!

Sophie is now 11 months, she is real trouble, and she doesnt walk yet!, she is a real talker, she ask for water, says woof when she hears a dog, she says up, night, she calls her sister Emiii, and of course her favorite, mommy!!!

Emily has been a real helper with her sister and they are best friends!, they play and fight, they give kisses to each other and pull their hairs too....i love to watch them playing, not much when i take sophie from the back of her sister but it is still funny!

This 10 years have been amazing, with ups and downs, but mostly for the great gift of my girls....for my family and friends....Thank you God for all your gifts and help me to be a good mommy and wife every day.....Amen