Archive | September 2013

Must See Movies For The Family Girls ….

“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane ?”  – This is one of my all time favorites. I have a love for black and white movies because of our  grandma.

 

” The Color Purple” – This movies makes me cry every time I see it. I imagine us being reunited after this horrible ordeal, and I know in that moment, all the pain will be washed away.

 

“Imitation of Life” – This movie is special to me and I hold it dear. Gam and I used to watch this movie together and to this day, I remember all her favorite parts.

 

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” – Simply a classic. I can’t wait to paint our toes and watch this together!

 

“Somewhere in Time” – The ultimate love story. Much like my love for my niece, it knows no time or distance.

 

“She-Devil” – No matter how many times I see this movie, I love it! I love Roseanne, and she and the amazing Meryl Streep mesh perfectly in this movie! Laughs all the way through, just a cute movie!

 

“Legend” – I love this movie because it really does remind you that there is no light without darkness, no darkness without light.”

 

“Steal a Pencil for Me” – This is a Holocaust documentary. I study this time period and I do it to bear witness to the over 6 million lives lost, and to pay respects to those lives so senselessly taken. Love endures and love survives the most gruesome of circumstances.

 

“The Help”   – I read the book first, and I was literally carrying it around the house so I could read even a page at a time. It is so charmingly written, I wanted  to turn right to the beginning and start it over once I reluctantly finished. I promoted it everywhere I went; the doctor’s office, grocery store, it’s just a book you must read. As hard as it will be, finish the book first! It’s another one of those stories that demands justice in a unique way, it opens your heart and makes you feel….

 

 

 

My babygirl….

One day we will catch up on all we’ve missed, we’ll be free to love and see each other without restrictions. When you’re home, everything that was ever wrong, will be made instantly right…. We are waiting for you, sweetheart.

 

Goodnight my little love, Nevaeh. One more day crossed off and we’re one day closer.

 

Love,

Auntie Elizabeth

On The Menu : Gam’s Potato Salad

This is the potato salad that my grandma, Nevaeh’s great-grandma used to make.

It’s a really simple recipe and very delicious.

She used to make it with empanadillas and Puerto-Rican rice. Her meals we always so well put together and there was always more than enough food to go around. She cooked with love and that makes all the difference.

 

Ingredients:

 

* 14 potatoes

* 7 eggs, boiled and chopped

* 4 cups mayonnaise

* 1 bunch thinly sliced green onion

* 1 can large olives

* 1-2 jars pimientos

* Salt to taste & a dash of pepper

* Paprika for garnish

 

Directions:

 

* Boil potatoes. When cool, peel and dice into bite-sized cubes.

* Boil eggs. When cool, peel and chop.

* In a large mixing bowl, combine green onion, olives, eggs and pimientos. Set aside until potatoes cool.

* Add potatoes to mixing bowl then add mayonnaise. Salad should be creamy but not too much so add mayo according to the size of the batch you make.

* Add salt and pepper to taste.

* Sprinkle paprika across the top of the bowl for garnish along with a few sprigs of julienned green onion slices.

 

 

Refrigerate before serving.  

 

Scrapbook Page: It’s Love

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❤     At one glance, I love you with a thousand hearts….

❤     Love hath no measurement in time, it buds and blooms and ripens in one glowing hour….

❤     Love is a passion which surrenders to nothing, but to the contrary, everything surrenders to love….

❤     Love is a power so powerful that it overpowers reason….

❤     The soul is measured by how much it suffers; life by how much it endures; the heart by how much it grieves; and the senses by how much they feel….

Something interesting on this first scrapbook page I made…. We aren’t allowed to tell my niece who we are or give her photos of us, we’re so restricted on everything, at least until she is of age to make her own decisions. I just couldn’t accept that as her aunt, I had to keep that a secret.

So since I had a photo of myself that sort of blended into the page, I put that specific picture of myself in the bottom left corner.

She is entitled to know who I am and what I look like. Just as she is entitled to know that we love her and she was meant to be with us…. Her Family.

Baby Mine

This song is dedicated to my niece, Nevaeh.

She is and always will be MY BABY, MY LOVE ….

Come Home, babygirl …. YOUR FAMILY IS WAITING ❤

 

 

By: Bette Midler

 

Baby mine, don’t you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes.

Rest your head close to my heart,  Never to part, baby of mine.

Little one, when you play,  Don’t you mind what they say.

Let your eyes sparkle and shine,  Never a tear, baby of mine.

If they knew all about you,  They’d end up loving you, too.

All those same people who scold you,  What they’d give just for the right to hold you.

From your head to your toes,  You’re so sweet, goodness knows.

You are so precious to me,  Cute as can be, baby of mine….

 

In The Arms of True Love

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This is one of the most painful pictures I look at. Sometimes I smile , sometimes I cry.

It is so bittersweet and it makes my heart ache.

I’ve never seen my sister this happy, before or since.

This is true love, and true love can endure the worst and most awful of circumstances.

When mother and child are reunited, justice will be served.

Time and distance are irrelevant, this is true love.

Preschool: A Dream in Color ….

One of the things that I wish for as well as worry about is my niece getting to know me as a person.

She needs to know I am more than someone who put all the facts of her story together.

Somewhere along the way, I feel like I lost myself and have had to find ways to rediscover who I am. I forgot what a tender heart I used to have before it was ripped out as it was still beating. I used to be fun and engaging, now I’m reserved and have become withdrawn.

I’ve had to fight my way back but the constant prayer has renewed me. I am stronger than I ever believed myself to be. I once again take care of everyone. I lead and live with my heart. I feel bad when I hurt someone and feel guilty when I do something wrong.

My heart belongs to children. They tug at my heartstrings and they bring out the best in me. I am reminded that there is still good in the world and the innocence children possess makes me mindful that there is always hope.

I’m a preschool teacher, but I’ve been teaching something ever since I was a small child. A children’s cooking class, I host a children’s book club, and I share my particular love of art, history, and literature with every child I come across. My students are like my own children and I take care of them as such. I’m the neighborhood mom and have always been part of the Youth Football League.

Growing up, I was always the teachers helper. I got to correct papers, help with slide shows and special projects, I volunteered in the school library and helped with the student store. I was always a leader at school and I loved my teachers. I was involved in every school activity and I was a straight ‘A’ student. I was one of the most popular, and I loved sitting next to the teacher in my classes.

In second grade, perhaps even before that, I knew I was going to be a teacher. I had a love for learning and if I wasn’t at school, I was at home, playing school. I originally wanted to teach the fifth grade, but when I started teaching preschool, I just fell in love with that particular age group. It takes patience and creativity to hold the attention of ten or more small children for eight hours. I have a natural talent for teaching and I feel so blessed that after many years of praying, and wishing on every falling star, that one of my greatest dreams came true. Spending time with the children and getting to know their families is fulfilling and purposeful.

I wanted to share a glimpse of my life and share some personal details about myself.

My classroom, in a new building, had to be put together from the ground up.

One day, we split in groups of two, and had a fun contest for the environmental design of our classrooms. Myself and Miss V. , my favorite teacher and mentor had the “pink room.”

We spent the day putting things together, moving around furniture and toys, and creating a peaceful flow of the room. We put things here, moved things there, and were finally finished. As we were making final touch-ups, one of the owners walked through with one of the contractors. He was unaware of our contest, but the first thing he said was, “what an attractive layout.” I looked at Miss V, and with my eyes I said, “it’s in the bag!” And it was.

Teaching brought me back to life after losing my niece. It gave me hope and the strength to get through the day. It gave me something to believe in, to put my heart and love into.

One of the children’s mother’s told me that her son loved being in my class because he knew I would “protect him.” Those are very meaningful words. Children who were terrified of school were there early and anxious and some cried when they were picked up to go home.

I wanted to share the before and after photos from my preschool class, the place I call my sanctuary. I should have been my niece’s teacher, but that is yet another thing that was taken from us. One day she’ll be here, and she will see and feel for herself the power of love and reconnecting with those that hold her so dear….

Progress of Preschool Classroom

CLASS1

CLASS2

CLASS3

CLASS4

Mommy & Daughter …. Daughter & Mommy

 

Mommy & Daughter .... Daughter & Mommy

It is Love that will bring my niece home….

To all those who helped tear them apart, look what a beautiful bond you broke.

May this image chase you to a place you can’t get away from.