We're back...

It has been almost six years since I have posted on this blog.  A lot has happened in these past years.  When I last posted we had just moved back to Texas.  After 3 years we moved to Denver and now we are back in the great state of Texas.  And, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. With the entire world shut down and practicing social distancing, we are all at home.  That means for the past two weeks, my family of 6 has been at home, working, schooling, and playing.  We have left the house to go on walks around the neighborhood and I have gone to the grocery store.  That is it.

Reflections after 2 weeks... We've got this! The kids are doing a great job getting to their online school work each day.  We have become experts at zoom and other conference call methods.  I have even taken a video call from the closet when I couldn't find any other quiet space.  J has been working harder than usual trying to keep milk on the shelves while we are all enjoying lots of family time, pool time, walks together and more.  We don't got this!  Little kids don't mind spending all day with mom, teens do.  It is hard to not see your friends - at all.  W's 11th birthday was this week.  We had to cancel her party and she didn't get to celebrate with friends like she wanted. (Silver lining - that zoom expertise came in handy and we gathered lots of friends virtually to sing her happy birthday.) J and A are both coughing - a lot.  J has been coughing for 16 days now and Alex about 7.  J feels mostly ok except for the constant coughing and A feels kind of crummy.  Nothing too bad but the cough and some shortness of breath.  He asked me today if it was normal to want to sleep all the time.  So, we are hanging in there...

I decided today to begin rereading the book of Psalms.  I didn't want another study but just wanted to meditate on God's Word.  So I sat outside (on a beautiful Texas day) and read.  God reminded me that he takes care of his people...  right there in Psalm 1 he reminded us that we should meditate on his law, day and night, and that he will take care of us.  And like a tree planted by the water, we will bloom in time.  For me, I always have to remind myself that it is God's time - not my time.  So, I will embrace this new time of quarantine with that thought on my mind.  Meditate on God's Word, wait on his timing, and ultimately, God's got this!

Here are a few pictures to catch you up on our family.  A - 19, M -16, C-12, W-11.  These are from a trip a few weeks ago before the crazy corona virus in Cancun and the birthday girl!

Honduras Mission Trip

Honduras Mission Trip

Dear friends and family,

This June, my mom and I will be going back to the Jubilee School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. On this mission trip we will be serving the school’s teachers and students. The school has pre-k through 4th grade. We will be doing a lot of crafts and games to entertain and make these students happy. Our goal is to teach the kids more about God and share His word and His love with them through our serving.
Honduras is a dangerous place and many of the kids have lost a loved one. At Jubilee, in each class, approximately 75% of the kids have experienced this kind of loss. Honduras is the second poorest country in Central America with 53% of the population living below the poverty line. Last year, we saw what a huge impact an act as small as a hug had on these children. They are longing for love and attention.

How can you help?

Prayer: Please pray for this trip and our team traveling to serve. Please pray for the kids at the Jubilee School and that we will make a great impact for God and His Kingdom on this trip. Please pray for the kid’s relationship with God to grow.
Donate: To pay for this trip, I need to raise $2,500. You can donate money towards my trip at www.orphanoutreach.org. You just click on the “Make a Donation” tab and tap “Support a Trip Participant.” It will ask you to enter my name and select my trip code which is HO14-06FUEL. You can also write a check to Orphan Outreach and I will be happy to forward it to them. All money donated will go directly towards this mission trip and extra supplies we will provide for the Jubilee school. The bulk of my money is due by April 15th but all donations are appreciated.

Thank you in advance for partnering with me on this trip. I am really excited to go and serve at Jubilee this summer.

Sincerely, 

Alex Monaco

Frozen Party

We finally got to have a Frozen Party!  After our false start last weekend, W was healthy and ready to party this weekend.  We had her little gang over for some Frozen fun.  They watched the movie, played outside and ate lots of sugar!  It was the most laid back party ever and they absolutely loved it!

I was pretty worried about the cake after it sat in the freezer for a week but it turned out fine.  The fondant got a little droopy but overall the cake still looked good and tasted fine.

The ice castle cake! 

 Lots of fun decorating with all things turquoise!

 Being silly as usual!

 Cake time!

Presents!

Frozen in Fun…sort of

Happy 5th Birthday to sweet W!  We were all ready to get frozen in fun this weekend for her 5th birthday.  Sadly, we have just layed around all weekend with a sicky.  W ended up throwing up on Friday night after the cake was made, the table was decorated and we were all ready to go.  So, for now, our party is frozen in time, our cake is frozen in the freezer, and we are hoping for a frozen party next weekend.  In the meantime, here are a few photos from what would have been our fabulous frozen party!

 I made the cake using the Wilton Castle set which I just happened to find on clearance at Michaels a few weeks ago.  Score!  The cake was actually easier than anticipated to make and the turrets were pretty easy to work with.  I covered the peaks in fondant and then rolled in sprinkles.  The windows I just piped with buttercream and then covered in sprinkles.  It turned out beautifully I think and Whitney loved the cake!

I was a sucker and bought the vinyl characters off of Amazon and paid about $30 instead of $12.99 they would have been at the Disney Store if they were in stock.  This shortage of Frozen merchandise made for some creative party making.  We went with all turquoise and just winged it.

 I printed an Ad and cut out the Elsa and Anna so that we had a little bit of the princesses at the party! I am making turquoise ice cube jello jigglers to fill the plastic wine glasses for a little more frozen fun!

Turquoise jewels, lollipops, and hershey kisses gave us a great look I think!

So much fun decorating!  Hopefully next weekend when we try again for a party, the girls will enjoy the frozen look and have a great time!

First Day of School Through the Years!

Honduras

This week, A and I have been on a mission trip in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I have been processing much of our week and wanted to share some of it with you all. We have spent most of our time working with the kids at Jubilee School in La Era. La Era is a barrio of approximately 10,000 people. Driving up the mountain in La Era is to witness poverty as I have never seen before. The houses are very small structures made of pieces of steel, cardboard, wood, or whatever materials are available.  It is dirty, dangerous, and scary. 

Jubilee School is a private school in the area that charges parents $5 a month to send their children there. They are trying to educate these children to help get them out of the barrio and at the same time, teach them about the love of Christ. Approximately 25% of these children have lost a parent or grandparent by murder. Many of these children live with a grandparent or aunt because their parents are living in the US trying to make ends meet.  The stories are heartbreaking. 

While I knew to expect such sadness, there has also been great joy this week. I have spent time with these kids and seen the love of Christ in so many ways. These children are joyful. They have truly taught me that to live is Christ.  They know the good news of Jesus and they are content and even joyful, despite their dismal circumstances.  They are excited to spend time with us - their brothers and sisters in Christ. What a privilege and a joy to be able to love them and serve them this week. 

 

This is Daysa. She has been my special little friend this week. She is one of those children that lives with Grandma because her mom is in the US working.  Daysa has sat on my lap and held my hand for the past 3 days. Even though we don't speak the same language, love has crossed all barriers. I have been able to hold her and love her when her mom can't.  Saying goodbye tomorrow will be heartbreaking but I will find comfort in knowing that someday, there will be no more hurt and instead of worshipping together in a classroom, we will walk the streets of heaven together. 

Summer Fun

Forever and day since I have posted on this blog.  The sun is hot and life is good in Texas. I finally downloaded the app to update my blog from my phone. So, here's to many more updates! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We had a wonderful Christmas here in Texas.  This Christmas Eve we were blessed to spend time with another family from church.  We all attended our church service together and then came home for what has become our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner.  Yummy lasagna followed by Happy Birthday Jesus cake!  We had an evening of loud, wild, chaotic fun with the 8 kids in attendance. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus at least 5 times - every child had to have a turn blowing out the candles!  After dinner, we shared our Christmas Eve tradition of reading the Christmas story - no not about a red rider bee bee gun - about Jesus's birth.  The kids all opened one present (new pjs of course) and snuggled up together to hear about the first Christmas when Jesus was born.  It was a wonderful evening and so great to hear so many little voices speak with such confidence about the true meaning of Christmas.  Some of the things said by the 4 three year olds in attendance... "Jesus came to save us"  "He died on the cross to save us." "Mary was Jesus's mom."  "They went to Bethlehem to be counted."  "The angels praised God in heaven!"  How special to hear the truth from such little mouths. 

Four adorable three year olds...

The Jesse tree filling up with ornaments representing God's story

 Christmas Morning!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

 Merry Christmas!

We are in full swing getting ready for Christmas around here.  This year we are enjoying a new nightly (hopefully) tradition of the Jesse tree.  We have a devotional each day that is a story from the Bible with a corresponding ornament to put on the tree.  The stories show God's plan throughout time to send Jesus, a savior for the world.  It is a fun way to dig into the Word with our kids, and to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

 

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Possum Kingdom Posse

This past weekend we had the opportunity to get away from the city and explore a little of Texas.  We headed to Possum Kingdom with three other families from church.  We had such a fantastic weekend.  Our children played the weekend away, exploring the woods and being silly with their new buddies while we sipped coffee in the cold.  And yes, it was cold!  I know, I have been complaining about the heat all summer - finally the cold hit us and we had temps in the 40's and 50's all weekend.  A welcome change, if you ask me.  It almost made me feel like I was in the mountains of Colorado again.  (Or maybe at Port Hacking for a chilly church weekend away in Australia.)

Check out the cactus!  I did not expect to see these on our hike.

The closest thing to a family portrait...

The view from the top.

She thinks she is a koala bear!

Brrrr....  it was cold on the water!

This weekend held many things for me.  For the extrovert in me, there was non-stop social activity.  For the nature lover, there was a morning hike and a boat ride.  For the rest of me, there was great fellowship with new friends.  What a blessing these guys have already been in our lives just by including us in their group and making us feel at home with them.  Weekends like this make me feel like Texas is almost "home."