Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Distance does make the heart grow fonder sometimes, and in my case this past week, I had a lot of time to reflect, relax, refuel, refresh, and realize anew how much I appreciate my family.

As a stay at home, homeschool mommy, I am with my family 24/7. Alone time is very minimal. So for Monday´s Making Your Home Sing Meme, I want to share with you some commitments I made on my way home from our, Nina´s and my, European Baptist Missionary Wives Blog Retreat, EBMWBR for short. (Maybe this isn´t funny to anyone else, but it just cracks me up that we actually came up with a name for our get away and that it´s such a long title! )

On the way to Madrid and back, I had a total of 10 hours on the train alone. This was a great time to read, study and reflect. I must admit, that I read a fiction book too. The one Alicia from Confessions from a Snowflake sent me as part of her give away, titled "Ransomed Dreams".

This book started out by introducing a family, a young happy wife, her handsome husband and her two adorable children. In the first chapter, she is following her family to a New Year´s gathering and watches them get hit by a drunk driver. Their van fell over a cliff, killing her husband and her two babies.

What a way to start a book! I sat there just having left my family to start my trip, with tears in my eyes, trying to call my hubby. I prayed and prayed for my family.

Can you just picture me?

Well, before you say, "I am never reading that book." It does end good. It´s really sad in the beginning, but it really makes you appreciate the family you have. In fact, I would have to say, I adore them more now than ever.

This book dove tailed my devotional time I was having. In the book "Mom´s Everything Book for Son´s", every chapter has a passage of scripture and a challenge. I am only about half-way through the book, but I have learned so many valuable things. I learned I am not doing too bad in some areas, like reading to them and playing games with them, but need help in other areas, like not stressing over jobs not done to perfection and not battling over the little things.

Which leads me to my commitments. They are ones I have made in the past. They are nothing new for every Mom, and probably for every believer. These commitments need to be renewed every so often and so does our "Mommy Love Tank" so we can continue on this incredible road called Making a Home.

1.Time alone with God and myself everyday.

2.No more stressed, shrill voice at my family. (It´s so sad that they are the only ones that hear it and they are the ones I love the most.)

3. Only an hour on blogs. (this one will be hard)

I am praying these commitments will make my home be a welcoming place to be.

May there be much singing and laughter there.

Happy Making Your Home Sing Monday! If you want to join in, Moms the Word has the scoop.

**** Caption Give Away still under way till Friday.****

Piano Prodigy and Caption Give Away 2nd Chance

It´s Friday Photo Flashback time! I almost didn´t make it in time. I thought it was Wednesday.

No really though, I have been off schedule and lost a few days, but I´ll be ok. Don´t worry. A little rest and relax had me still on cloud nine.

I have been scanning baby pictures of our oldest. This one was taken on my M.I.L´s baby grand. She sent me this picture with this caption already.

Isaiah´s first recital.

So how are you doing on your caption writing? You have one more week to enter your captions for last weeks picture. I still have to reveal the first place prize this week as well. The second and third place prizes are hand picked from the mountains of Asturias, Spain. Go here to see them.

Only ten of you came up with captions. You can come up with more than one apiece as well for more possibilities to win. I will post the top three next Friday as there were not very many who participated as of yet.

What are you waiting for? This is your shot at bloggy stardom!

What do you say? What are my little men thinking?

EBMWBR - DAY 1

We started our day bright and early here in Madrid, Spain. Nina´s flight came in right on schedule at 8:45am and we were able to hurry over to departures in the same terminal to see Pilar and her family head off to the States. Ashley and her husband (Pilar´s nephew) were so kind to get me last night at the train station, let me stay the night with them and take me to meet Nina and Pilar the next day. They have been in Spain as missionaries for the past year too! So, the EBMWBR group grew to four European Baptist Missionary Wives together in the same room... ehhmm airport for the span of about a half an hour.

ME, Ashley, Pilar, and Nina

Oh and later when Nina and I found this place we were very happy campers indeed.

Won´t someone please help this man?

He´s missing his body! What is up with this?

The caption even says something about making a path by walking????

oooo I know... I can help! I lift weights!

We walked all over down town Madrid. It was a relaxing, yet vigorous day. The purpose of this trip is just that, rest, relax, refresh and refuel. (hey, you can tell I am a pastor´s wife I can alliterate)

Nina has a great Photo Journey posted if you are curious. HERE

Big hugs to my men and thank you for making this little rest and relax possible for me.

**** Caption Give Away still under way till Friday.****

Bloggy Buddies in Madrid!

Remember our very first meeting? We posted all about it here. Both our families were so excited to meet each other. After all, it´s not every day you get to meet a missionary family doing the same thing as you are. It´s not every day you find a "kindred spirit."

Nina and I got together through blogging. (Believe it or not something wonderful comes out of the black hole of cyber space. ) We were able to meet for the first time this past April right before Easter. Nina´s family are missionaries to Portugal. They have been there a little over a year, learning the language and getting to know the people and the culture. Nina loves to take pictures and I love her pictures! Portugal has come alive for me through her eyes.

Well, we meet again! Nina and I are going to be in Madrid for a couple of days. We had planned an European Baptist Missionary Wives Blogging Retreat and Nina and I are it! We are the hosts and the attentdees of this European Baptist Missionary Wives Blogging Retreat.

If you qualify and would like to join in next year, you are officially invited.

This is the first time for me to travel by train to Madrid. It was cheap but very enjoyable! I loved standing in the Cafe drinking my diet coke, watching the mountains go by. I almost didn´t know what to do with myself for 5 hours alone though. Thankfully, I have all those new books that I won in some really awesome give aways.

We will be letting you in on some exclusive footage of the first annual EBMWBR once it´s underway. I know you are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what two married women withouth their offspring will do in the huge city of Madrid, but as Nina already stated, We may just find ourselves at a Starbucks (obsolete in our areas) chatting the time way.

****Interested in writing captions? Want to WIN a Spanish gift straight from Spain? Enter your caption here and you could be a winner. ****

My Sisters Are Gone.

"They are gone for ever from Spain. I may never see them again here on earth. I know, it sounds so final. It feels so final.

Rosa and Edith came to Spain from Bolivia. Rosa first came 4 years ago. She was the first one to ever come to our little mission. If she only knew what a blessing she really was that first Sunday she walked through that front door."

The rest of the story has been published on the KJV directory.

**** Caption Give Away still under way till Friday.****

Rivers, Mountains, Falls, and Give Away Gifts

Welcome to the Cares River Pass.

This is a 12 kilometer hike along the river through a mountain gorge. We went to the back side of it and walked a little ways. We oooed and awwwed over the mountains and the river for a long time.

Before entering the remote mountain village there is a picnic area at the top of a small mountain before getting to the Peaks of Europe. Here we enjoyed these rich Asturian cheeses and sausages. (Picture taken by my wonderful hubby.)

Our small church group who were able to adventure out with us.

Here is only a fraction of the pass. Notice the bridge we had to cross to get to the rock cave tunnel like pass.

Here is a view of that tunnel. At one point it sprayed water on you just like a log ride at Disney World. Ice cold mountain water.



They say icey cold mountain water is good for the circulation. I had to try! brrrrr! It was ice cold alright!

And what you all have been waiting for....

The Second place prize of the Caption Give Away will be awarded this pitcher and basin. Oh, don´t be alarmed. It´s really only about 5 inches tall. But it´s authentic! It says,

I was at the Cares Route, Cain, and I thought of you.

The third place prize is this olive oil holder. It too is only 5 inches tall. But they are adorable. It says the same thing.


The first place prize is still a secret, but it´s going to be worth it! To enter just go here.

Pier 39 & Caption Give Away

Here are my Friday Photo Flashbacks better late than never. I have been waiting to share these pictures since the last flashback. Alicia at More Than Words hosts this awesome meme so that we can all jump aboard and share our old photos that were taken before the digital age.

This is my little family on deputation in the year 1999. We were traveling all over California visiting churches and family. Here in this picture, we stopped to smell the roses or as it turned out to be on Pier 39 in San Francisco, we were smelling the sea lions. That behind us is Alcatraz Island, I think.

Look at the pudgy cheeks of my first born, and look at those pudgy cheeks I had, complements of deputation eating.

This next one is an extra Flashback. One for the money. Right?

It´s such a good picture that I can´t come up with a caption for it.

Wanna help?

What do you think my eldest is thinking?

What might my poor baby Andrew be wailing?

My friend Nina had a caption give away and it was so much fun, that I wanted to do one too. There´s no better time then the present.

Here´s how it will go. I will collect all the captions and my dear hubby will pick the top three. (shhh he doesn´t know yet. nor will he know where the captions come from. ) You have till the next Friday Photo Flashback to enter your awesome captions. Have fun with this and you could win.

1. Comment with your caption.
2. Come up with several for more ways to win.
3. Then come back next Friday to vote for the first place winner.

Yes, it´s a secret give away. I will reveal the gifts throughout the week. Just to prick your interest... it will be worth the gears grinding and the smoke above your ears... it will be something you can´t get in the good ol´U.S. of A. or any other country. It will be something you can´t even get in any other part of Spain. ( well, maybe not).

Ok... So stand by as I will be unveiling the gifts as the week goes on. There will be a first, second and third place winner. These three will be chosen, as I said, by my hubby. Then there will be a vote ( kind of like those reality tv shows) where you all can vote for your favorite.

So, go ahead dream away.

Slimy, Squirmy, Specimens and Bible Opoly

Yes, these little fellows hitched a ride down the mountain in my son´s water bottles. Did I mention the cow watering trough was full of these little buggers? After many tries, the boys gave up at catching,saying that it was no use. These slimy, squirmy specimens were too fast. I felt some how guilty, as we had tried to find these special specimens a few years ago for our science class and failed. (it was October. duhhhh)

I need to interject something here.

You know those homeschool moms who buy incubaters to hatch chickens and these squirmy specimens for their eager learners to watch the wonderful changes to occure? Well, I have tried and tried but, I just have not become one of those hands- on teaching/learning type of moms. Till now.

I said to the boys, "Check this out!"

Well, something like that, anyway.

I took one of the water bottles and proceeded to put my arm in the slimmy, cow drinking water. (bare with me, I am trying to be a hands-on homeschool Mommy)

I really did it. Would you know it? On my first try, I caught the biggest tadpole ever !!!

Now we are raising not only 3 hamsters and an obnoxious dog, but now Six squirmy specimens of the frog family in their tadpole stage.

We learned today, as my oldest looked up on the computer, that tadpoles like boiled lettuce, fresh water without any traces of Chlorine as it will kill them, and that they may sprout legs as early as a few weeks or may stay in their tadpole state for 8 months.

Now aren´t you glad I shared that. You can go and start your very own tadpole farm! It is fun and secretly I can´t wait till they sprout those scrawny little legs.

This could have been a post all by itself, but I was so excited to share another wonderful occurance. We love playing games but lately they seem to end in some bickering (yes, even from the adult population of our family) about rules, winners and losers. Today, we got to play this really great and gratifying game. We played for over an hour, I am sure, with very little or no bickering. Only tears once, because one of the boys had to give back a brick of his church, but then the attitude changed and he was ready to give offerings once again.

This new game is BIBLEOPOLY.

I totally recommend it!

Thank you Mom and Dad for sending it and for all the effort you put in to be sure our boys have Birthday gifts from you. They will always remember you for that.

So, am I now a hands-on learning Mommy? What else is there? oh yeah art... well, that´s my hubby´s department. Maybe next year, he can teach art, and I will disect frogs.

Happy Hopping,

Wednesday - What´s up with the Crew - Photo Journal II

Here is the official Contreras Crew! Tito (uncle) and Lolo (grandpa) all the way from the other side of the ocean came two weeks ago to spend some time with us. The Crew was almost complete!

No, this is not family!

Can you guess what we had for dinner the last day my in-laws were here? Such a special treat.

Atlantic Crab!

Prepared by our very own Spanish Asturian Chef

(well, as close as we will get. Maybe even better than a chef)

I was so happy to give my kitchen over to the Pro. Amos is our faithful brother in Christ who attends our church services reguarly and is a huge blessing to us. He bought these huge crabs and cooked them in true Asturian Spanish style. Now I m not a big seafood eater or at least I wasn´t till I came to Spain. If it smelled like the ocean it came from, I use to think that it must taste like the ocean too. Well, these crabs were sweet and an awesome delicacy. What fun we had smashing those crab legs and getting out the incredibly yummy morsels.

Thoughtful moments by Isaiah

(up in the Peaks with our family)




The Crew on top of the world... Or almost on top of the Peaks of Europe.







After Emmi´s notorious cow pattie rolling on our camping trip hike up the mountians, she then proceeded to pose while drying in the sun.





A rose from Michael to his mommy for giving birth to him 8 years ago.



A camping traditional picture. This tree trunk must be hudreds of years old also! We have gotten pictures on this tree trunk every time we go camping.

Reminds me of Fern Gully even though I haven´t ever seen the movie. Just think it´s a great title for this picture.

Hope you enjoyed another edition of "Photo Journal" through Spain and "What´s up with the Crew" If you want to get to know my Crew a little better they share a little and construct a lot here.

Also if you missed Photo Journal part I you can catch up here.

Thanks Rocío

Rocío passed this award to me last week. She is a new bloggy friend but we have some things in common. Spanish, children and a love for pictures. Her blog is lovely but more than that that it´s fun. You can go and just get lost in all her fun pictures.

Muchísimas Gracias, Rocío! Thank you so much for this sweet award.

Here are the Rules:

Rules:1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered.( or 10-15. I hope it´s not a sin to change the rules but I have spent way to much time on this already.) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. Well, if you can. I don´t want you to have to do this to put this on your blog. If you can choose some it helps others to find new lovely blogs.

I enjoy reading your Blogs! They are lovely!

Please accept this lovely award, and do the best you can passing it on when you can. No pressure. Use it at will.

1. Pilar

2. Nina

3. Lisa

4. Kristy

5. Alicia - even though you already have one. ;)

6.Julia

7.Alicia

8.Erin

9. Tori

10. Joye

11. Rachel

Have a lovely day too!

As easy as 1,2,3!

Did you know you could learn some valuable life lessons camping? Today for Making My Home Sing , a meme started by Nan over @ Moms the Word, I will share with you all these wonderful lessons that make camping and maybe even life, as easy as 1,2,3.

In the past, camping had been more difficult and not as restful. Don´t get me wrong, I loved it, but there wasn´t too much alone time as the boys were alot younger and in the same tent with us.

This year, we bought the boys their own tent, a little pop up for three! They loved it, took good care of it, and kept it clean. This made my hubby and I feel like we had a little get away and really made our family and home away from hom sing. ;)

Lesson 1 : Get separate tent for offspring.

(pictured to the right is their pop up.)

In the past, the boys followed us up and down any path, any stream, and even any mountain. This year, they must have been out of practice. (Well, one of them anyway, whom I won´t point out so that he does not resent me, but he knows who he is.) All they had to carry was one backpack with a few little bottles of water in it. They were to take turns. This started what ,for us, was an hour of teaching about mountaineering and character. They did finally make it up about 2 1/2 hours close to the foot of the famous moutain peak we were wanting to see. We were proud of them and we learned many lessons about ourselves and our offspring.

Lesson 2: Give margin for offspring to have preferences.

We took a new hiking route this year, as we do every year. It´s always fun to see and experiance new things. This mountain pass took us up to some cow pasture land that resembled something out of the "Hiedi" movie only smellier. It seemed everywhere we stepped we had to watch out for cow patties. Our family dog, loved it! She really got into it , literally. She rolled and rolled in this muddy cow patty infested pond to cool her self off! All I could do is laugh a crazy, unbelieving laugh. Can you picture it? Can you smell it?

Lesson 3: Keep family pet away from roaming cattle and muddy drinking puddles.

Over all, I had a wonderful restful time. A much needed unwind time. Maybe we will get to go again before school starts. Oh, and remembering the lessons learned this trip inorder to implement them next time.

Happy Summer, everyone!




PS: Just had to upload some of my favorite pictures.

The Peaks of Europe

The most famous peak, Naranjo de Bulnes pictured to the left. Looks like a loaf of bread.

My Three sons

My dear Hubby and I.