My sweet Friend!!

August was a wonderful month. I had my own sweet momma here with me and it was a an absolute joy. It was nice to have her here, it felt like I had a little bit of home here in Philadelphia and I loved it. However I sincerely feel that Hazel enjoyed it the most. My mom and Hazel have a very special relationship. My mom gives all of her attention to her by reading to her, talking with her, and just by basically being an awesome Grandma. Hazel would stay up late with my mom and they would read tons of books, and she even helped my mom pack on her last day here by putting a few of her toys in her suitcase. When we dropped Abuelita off at the airport I was surprised at how hard Hazel took it....she was crying and pointed as Abuelita left, and kept say, "Abuelita...stay here....Abuelita stay here!" I mean we were probably half way home when she finally stopped but still looked kinda sad. Suffice to say, it was a very emotional day and I have felt a huge gap in my life the past two weeks....I keep waking up in the morning and for a second I think, "I wonder if my mom is up" then I remember that she's in California. But like she says, she's only a phone call away...and we talk several times a day!!

My mom has always been a huge part of my life. She is my mother and father rolled up into one little firecracker of a woman...hardworking, sweet, selfless, and awesome!! She has always pointed me towards God, always given 100% of herself to us and that has truly taught be what it is to be a good mom. It's no huge secret that being here has been a struggle for me. My mom has seen 1st hand how I am struggling and was not afraid to tell me how I needed to turn away from my own selfishness and keep my eyes on God. My mom is a beautiful person and we have come very far in our relationship and I can with all honesty say that she is one of my most treasured friends as well as my Momma. Thank you Abuelita for the time you spent here with us...thank you for helping me see the positive in our little old house, neighborhood, and surroundings! Thank you for folding our clothes the second they were done in the dryer (seriously the woman is an artist when it come so folding clothes and removing staines), for always having oatmeal ready for Hazel when she woke, for making me my egg sandwiches in the morning, and just for being here....we miss you dearly and wish you were here....Thanks momma...thanks Abuelita...thanks friend!!!

Saying Goodbye was sooooo hard!!!!!

Edgar Allan Poe's House

"There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man."
The Black Cat, 1843

We recently visited a house in Philadelphia that was inhabited by Poe. It was a really cool experience. The house was very old and had a sort of eerie feel to it, in part because it was unfurnished and not remodeled or anything it was as Poe had left it (even though it was lived in after he left) Well one of our tour guides was this awesome portly gentlemen who was really cool. He told of of how it is thought that perhaps Poe wrote "The Black Cat" or was in the works of doing so while living in the house. So the tale is that this gentlemen, his wife, and their cat were walking down the steps leading to their basement and as it turned out the husband had intended to hit the cat with an ax and accidentally hit his wife...read the rest of the tale to find out how it all goes down(http://http//classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/eapoe/bl-eapoe-blackcat.htm). Anyhow the story is that he was perhaps inspired by the steps leading to the actual basement below. So when you go to the basement you are totally creeped out by the story. Who knows if this it is true that he wrote the tale there....it just enhances the experience I guess. Irregardless, the house is kinda creepy in a super cool way. This was one of the coolest things we have done in Philly...I love books and literature so to be in the actually house of Edgar Allan Poe was very, very cool. So as it turns out there is more to Philly than hoagies, pizza, and total pedestrian anarchy....hmm who knew. Here are some pics...

Check out the pics,

love

mon :)

The basement steps. FYI, Hazel was not prompted to make that face.

Hazel & Abuelita looking through a box of some of Poe's favorite things.

Church picnic

On Saturday, we went to this picnic over in Newton Square. It was set at this beautiful property with a pool and portico. It is just amazing how God has blessed us with the time and new schedule to be able to do stuff like this. We never were able to do any of this back in Cali. We made a pretty good spread. Monica and I tag teamed the effort to produce a Gold medal worthy picnic fiesta. It was alot of fun, with games such as Hazel feeding Dad pudding, and baseball,
and swimming
and bubbles. We got to meet alot of new people and Hazel made some friends.
It was a good time and great food.




The menu was as follows: Fresh fruit, watermelon, kiwi, and our new favorite, Korean melon, blackbean salsa dip, Korean short ribs, pollo asada, hot dogs, jasmine rice, Joe's famous potato salad, watermelon rind kimchee, and Monica's first delicious and definitely not last homemade apple pie.

Who loves ya!!!??

Well, my sister, Ken. Okay, so I don't really have a sister named Ken, but that's what I called Corynne when we were younger. This annoyed her to no end. All throught that, losing teeth, me playing mean tricks on her, Putting her through army bootcamp, rappelling off cliffs, even car accidents, and ya know what... she still likes me a little!! ;) Corynne is really awesome, for those of you that haven't met her. It's really your loss, and you will know what I mean once you have had the honor. She is sweet, funny(in a dorky way, that only our family knows), honest, and I could go on and on. The point of this meandering spiel, is she sent us the coolest little box of joy the other day. It had a little something for everyone in the box. Lookie, lookie,

I felt like at summer camp getting a package at mail call, cmon you know what I'm talking about. You all wish you got something so you could get called up and know also that you didn't jus get dumped off at camp.

Thanks, Ken, I love you, always,

Joe

Arrival of Abuelita!!!

One of the dearest and closest people to us that we miss dearly from California is with us now. Alicia, Moni's mom, aka Abuelita (yeah, Spanish for Grandma) is who we speak of. She arrived about a week ago. Hence, the hiatus... We were all stoked to see her... We picked her up on the 1st, and had a little suprise setup for her. She is very special, so we made her a birthday/wedding cake, a yummy raspberry-cream cheese filling buttercream cake.

All from scratch... It WAS a suprise when Hazel couldn't wait any longer and carried it out of the fridge all by herself to give to Abuelita. Thanks, Haze!! Plus Hazel has a new reading buddy!! 20 books, Abuelita!! Jade especially enjoys having Abuelita around... She gets the personal spa treatment..

We love you Abuelita!! Don't go home!!! Stay here!!!

love,

the monty's

Hoagies and Nature

A couple of weeks ago, after church, we picked up one of Philly's delicacies (a Hoagie) some lovely delicious accouterments (pasta salad & chips) and headed to Ridley Creek State Park. I just had to post some picks of this place. It is probably one of the most lovely lunch spots we've visited. It is also my new jogging spot and we are amazed at just how beautiful it really is.

I had heard on the news that there was going to be a storm and by the photo above you can see just how sunny and beautiful, and how illogical that might seem. I mentioned the coming storm to Joe as being listed as "mild to severe" to which he responded, "severe?". Well almost at the drop of a dime the weather drastically changed, it became grey and then the torrential downpour began. I was raining so hard that the areas we have previously driven through where virtually unrecognizable. I was very scared. I guess all that green, lush foliage comes at a cost...huh. We are still learning to carry an umbrella at all times!!!

Very cool

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6"

I am learning from my Hazel to not be such a weenie...but be "strong and courageous"....see her showing her muscles?

And Jadey is just so sweet....



This scripture above is probably the anthem of my life lately....God is just teaching me so much, daily. I just wanted to put it out there...


Love

Mon