...somewhere between...

hello my beautiful friends!
just wanted to say never fear,
i am alive and well,
just extremely busy with life at the moment.
and i am afraid it may not slow down until next week.


this week we are preparing for a group of
medical personal to swoop in this weekend
and help put on a clinic on Saturday,
along with a kids program.


i have so many things i want to tell you,
but at the moment i am somewhere between,
building sandcastles with this little guapo,
or stuffing my face with fruit pizza
i made myself the other day.
and of course lots of stuff in between.


just wanted to stop in and say,
love you, bye.


ps.
get ready for some pretty insane
awesome-ness next week!

love is...

...color blind

love birds

meet, mom and dad chmelar.

aren't they just the cutest things you ever laid eyes on???

they've been married 27 years, 

and check out all this lovin'.

christmas photo shoot

2011

cute things they do:

-kiss at meal times, when us kids clink our glasses

-my dad is always whistling that sexy whistle (yeah... you know what i'm talkin' about!) to my mom, but tries to disguise it in other songs.  {amazing grace...  wooo wOOOooo.... how sweet the sound}

-taking ballroom dancing classes.

-are super PDA!  (public displays of affection)
-plan adorable little dates.
-the way they call each other bunny and bear.

i guess over the last few days, i've been thinking a lot about my life.

what i am doing and why.

the passions i have in my heart, and how they were cultivated.

of course Jesus put them there but, He used my parents in a big way to form who i am.

they taught me many things:
to work hard.
in order to have friends, i have to show my self friendly.
that a good name, is a good thing.
to look in peoples eyes, when spoken to and shake with a firm hand.
always to look after the underdog.
and much more.

but the biggest thing they taught me, was how to love.
thy did this by how they loved each other.

::  ::  ::

the way my dad loves my mom is super incredible.
how he works so hard to provide.
at times working three jobs.
the way he serves not only my mom but my grandpa.
he takes care of his father in law, like no son in law ever would.
(like i said in yesterdays POST, my grandpa lives with us)
the way my dad forgives and
is in constant pursuit of mom,
shows and makes lasting imprints of love on my heart.

the way my mom never talks bad about my dad,
but always lifting him up to us kids and in public.
i love listening to her talk about how incredible he is.
it shows me the respect she has for my dad.
the way she serves my dad in big ways like,
coming alongside him, to help provide for our family.
taking on little BIG cleaning jobs and involve us kids,
making it a joint, family mission.
or in small ways like serving him first at meal times.
always making our home a haven.
a place of rest.

::  ::  ::

my parents aren't perfect.
but they taught me how to love.
that Chmelar's CAN.
and to Never give up.

so i guess this is a little tribute to you mom and dad.
{i love you}
xoxo

my lil' lumberjack

i have this passionate love for the elderly.

i don't know exactly when or where it started.

maybe all the times my parents took us kids to sing at nursing homes,

and i knew i wanted to be a CNA, and care for these people.

or the fact that my own grandpa started living with us when i was eleven,

and i got to be his very own personal, nurse and therapist.

meet my grandpa.

doesn't he look like a little lumberjack?

he's mine.

i received news last night that my grandpa has congestive heart failure.
his health is failing very rapidly.
today he is getting a blood transfusion.
please pray with me, for my grandpa.

Saturday play date love

sometimes i feel like i live in {durango}.

sometimes that feeling comes with a lot of exhaustion.

emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

mostly because of all the pain, hurt, and need we see.

more then ever, i felt that this week.

but despite all this, 

i still love the fact that i have the privilege to have relationships with these people.

as you all know...  

we tutor the niños four days a week, 

and then on Saturday...

it's play time!

here's a look at what we did Saturday.

enjoy!

::  ::  ::

lots and lots of artistic ability in {durango}

my silly frog with balloons, 

turned into the most sought after painting. 

next female, vincent van  gogh.

she painted about eight paintings.

every time i turned around,

 she was asking for another piece of paper.

love.

at another table we had some serious engineers.

the niños built tall towers.

the niñas, castles.

there's nothing like chubby little hands and faces.

 just want to squeeze and kiss, every last inch of their chubbiness.

street hockey got pretty intense with the older chicas.

we play hard here in mexico.

i was literally sitting in a cloud of dust to get the pictures.

but totally worth it.

the best part has to be all the lovin'.

and those suffocating-ly, good hugs.  

if you've never spent a day in a community like this...

i highly recommend it.

but beware...  

it's highly addicting...  and you may never want to leave.

just sayin.

Dear...

dear little family in {Durango}

thank you for the sweet, 

out pouring of love, 

and thankfulness,

you showed us, 

by baking us a cake last week.

the thought still brings me warm fuzzy feelings.

dear amanda,

(aka: mama chicken foot)

thank you for being my bestie, here in mexico.

thank you for your heart of compassion,

and teaching me what it means,

 to truly pour yourself out, 

to a needy community.

oh and for the tea, advil, and pepto, last night!

you pretty much rock!

dear ninos of Lupita,

know that there are many people praying for you.

your mama is going to heaven.

but that doesn't mean you will be alone.

amanda and i, and so many others will never forget you.

you are now, a permanent part of our lives.

we hope you feel our love,

but most of all, we hope to show you the love Jesus has for you.

and that you will come to know Him,

and see your mama again!

dear diana,

thank you for being mis gemela, mexicana.

the way you struggle through conversations with me,

in your broken english,

and my broken spanish,

is beautiful, just like you.

podemos ser amigas para siempre?

dear spanish church family,

thank you for giving me an opportunity,

to be apart of a community.

thank you for allowing me to play my violin in spanish worship.

thank you for showing me how to really "hangout".

todos ustedes son SHIDOS!

dear Jesus,

you are so awesome!

thank you for showing yourself strong to me in the last week.

i'm sorry for when i fail you.

thank you for not ever failing me.

Jesus, i need you.  

"you are so good"---  doesn't even cut it!

xoxo

"what is heaven like?"

this is what i heard from a young lady with terminal cancer say, as i knelt beside her bedside yesterday afternoon.  i couldn't help but allow the tears, spill over the edges of my eyelids, onto her little baby that i was cuddling.  

you may remember me writing about a few months ago.  {click HERE to read her story.}

recently, we found Lupita to be suffering a lot from the pain, and not getting the proper treatment and care, from her very dysfunctional family.  the last few weeks has found her in and out of the hospital and clinics, but now with a recommendation from the doctor, is home for her last days.  she had told us months ago that she wasn't afraid to die, only worried for her children.  yet, every day that goes by, with the reality of death so real, fear seemed to set in, not allowing her to rest.  

yesterday, Amanda and i stopped by for our daily visit and prayer for Lupita.  we brought her a cd player with four worship disks to listen to.  we talked to her about her pain.  we cried and prayed. we talked about her niños, and the funny things they do and say.  we laughed.  we read psalms and prayed over her.  we cried.  

and then the most beautiful thing happened.  she started crying and asked, "where will i go?"  she told us she was afraid to die.  Amanda was able to pray with her and ask Jesus to live in her heart and be her Savior.  

when we were done praying, she opened her eyes and asked, "what is heaven like?"  Amanda started describing things like;

peace. no more pain. love. no more suffering. new bodies. complete happiness. that there will be niños there, lots of niños. and it will be complete light. and forever with Jesus. 

i whispered, 

"tell her there will be streets of gold!"  

she got a big smile on her face and said, 

"will i be able to walk?"

"not only walk, but run, jump, and dance Lupita."

pray for this dear sweet lady, as she suffers.  pray for peace, hope, and love, to reign supreme in her home.  pray for the pain.  pray for her six babies that are going to be left behind.  pray for her dysfunctional family.  pray that Jesus name would be ultimately glorified! 

that's the power of Jesus, lovies!  it's never to late.

Feliz Dia del Amor y Amistad

Saturday morning found Amanda and i, busily decorating every square inch of the kitchen at the ranch.

it went from drab colors or brown and white, to splashes of red and pink, everywhere.

you see we were having a Valentines day party, and nothing was going to be untouched.

from the pink tissue paper poofs

the strawberries in the fruit salad 

the table cloth

to the chocolates that got delivered from the states, 

everything was a touch of a little bit of love.

four beautiful older muchachas from {durango} graced us with their presence.

and then...

we let the festivities begin.

we ate lots of good food,

created our very own valentines for friends

made head bands

decorated cupcakes

and of course we licked our fingers

at the end of our afternoon together, we sat down and played a few games, and then talked a little about friendship and love and all the work that it takes to cultivate good relationships.  

but most importantly we talked about the greatest love.  

{agape}