My baby and I

Shameless Plug

For those of you following my husband's "blog book", you'll be glad to know that he finally posted a new chapter.
Hey, the man is meticulous! It took him a year to post this latest one, but hopefully the next one won't take as long!

So, go check it out, and see what you think :-)

I run, therefore I am...skinnier?

Many of you know I run. I consider myself a runner even though I still struggle to get up to my goal of logging 20 weekly miles, and even though to the naked eye my "running" looks more like jogging or bounce-walking.

I consider myself a runner mostly because I am dedicated. I started running back in 2002 and have been since with a few breaks in between, some due to injury some due to laziness and some due to pregnancy, fatness and overall out-of-shape-ness.
But I'm at it again, this time since April and it always surprises me how much I like it. It does so much for my self-esteem, for that closet athlete in me who loves the feeling of pushing my body to do things I could swear it could not do.

But beyond that, I just love getting out there. And I like the paradoxical feeling that is how something so simple can be so hard. HOw much it can hurt. Oh but it hurts so goooooood!

So I run, and I will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life, or at least as long as my body allows me to do so.
I ran 5 miles this morning with some friends and that just made my day much better than it would hvae otherwise been.
I run, therefore, I'm a runner. Or actually, I love to run, therefore I'm a runner.

Renzo Bertacchini

Renzo Bertacchini was 91. He passed away last week, alone, in an ICU bed. He was my grandpa. Mi abuelo. Il mio nonno.

I got the news from my sister, poor thing, she didn't know how to tell me, so she wrote me an email because she couldn't call me and say it out loud without sobbing. He was old and ill, so we knew his time was near, and yet the reality of the goodbye hit us hard all the same. We will miss him, with his heavy italian accent, his dry sense of humor, his cheek "pinches". I will miss him.

He made the BEST toasted bread slices (I know, it sounds weird, but in Argentina we don't actually use electric toasters, you have use SKILL!!!) for us when we were kids for our afternoon snack (la merienda, which is an official meal in Argentina).
He walked us to school and picked us up, he loved us in the only way he knew how, with his actions. Sometimes with his super tight hugs. For me the hardest thing has been not being able to be there to see him one last time, to hold his hand, so give him a kiss. To hold my brother and sister as they said goodbye. I was here, not there, and for that I will always be a little sad.

Chau nono. Nos vemos,un beso grande!
Tu nieta, la gordita, la Maria!

Little Children

"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me" said Jesus in Matthew 18:2, and I don't know why but that verse has stuck with me since first I read it.

I have always liked children, and most of the time they seem to like me. And when they like me, it warms my heart! When they smile and greet me, when they hug and kiss me, when they want to hang out with me, it's all a great gift to me.

I'll be honest, sometimes I'm not in the mood...sometimes I'm glad I only have ONE and want to keep my house as relatively quiet and simple as it can be with just the ONE kid. But sometimes I really just enjoy being with children. Today was such a time.
I went to visit my friends the Campbell's and as I came out of my car with Lakelan I heard some noise and looked up, only to see Ian, Alex and Kirstie at the door, yelling "they're here, they're here" in excitement and with big smiles on their faces.
HOW ADORABLE IS THAT?!! They were so excited that aunt Laura was coming to visit. Now THAT warms my heart. THAT puts a smile on my face. THAT is what Jesus was talking about, except, THEY were welcoming ME!!! They sure know how to make you feel special!

We spent time together, I sorted shapes with Kirstie (she guessed my favorite color!!!), made silly jokes to crack Ian up (how cool is it to make a child laugh??!!) watched Alex type to his dad(who was upstairs in his office when I arrived) "aunt Laura is here" and watched Julia eat with a fork (SHE's ADVANCED!!) and had MY little one playing with all the new toys(ones he's never seen before). It was fun. It was great. I thank God for our friends Greg and Jen Campbell, their hearts, their generosity of spirit, and their four adorable children, who for some reason, get excited when aunt Laura visits. :-)

Paul Robert

As most or all of you know, my husband is Paul Robert Jones. It may look weird for me to introduce him that way, full name and all, but the reason I'm doing that is because he was named after someone, someone quite special. His name was Paul Robert Parsons, and he was my husband's grandfather.

Paul Robert Parsons was better known as Bob, and he was a warm, loving, dedicated father, grandfather and all around family man. I had the honor and pleasure to meet him soon after Paul and I were married back in '99 and I was almost overwhelmed by his instant acceptance of me into his family, and his warm and kind demeanor. He always seemed to have a smile on his face.
He was a man a man of his word who knew what was right and never hesitated to do it, even when it included taking in his daughter and grandson when her husband left. He took the father role in Paul's life for the first couple of years until she remarried. And he remained in Paul's eyes and heart the only true father he'd ever had.

Bob died this past weekend of complications from a long battle with enfezema, and his namesake, his grandson, was there to hold his hand and pray for him as he did. What an honor that was for him, to gently hold and love him as he left this world. Although it was difficult and painful to watch his grandpa go, we were glad we made the trip to Cincinnati (where he lived) to see him one last time. We were glad to remember him with family and friends, and be there to honor his life.

The one thing that kept coming to me was the thought of legacy. The kind of legacy we leave behind when we go is more important than perhaps we realize. This was a man everyone loved, everyone loved to be around, that everyone felt comfortable around. This was a man who could be trusted, and a man who knew how to give of himself to others.
Already I can see where Paul gets his sense of responsibility and dependability. His respect towards others, and perhaps most notably, his love of music, for Bob was a phenomenal piano player who filled the home with melody and joy as he played daily for anyone who would want to listen, which was everyone, and who'd want to sing along.

My last thought is this and it goes to you Bob. I hope I leave a similar legacy when I go. One of love, warmth, trustworthiness, and dependability. I hope my child(ren) and his (or theirs whatever the case may be) children will remember me with the same warmth and affection that yours have for you. You inspired me, as you have many others, to be a better person.



Paul, Grandpa, Me, and Uncle Otto in 1999

A little something about my boy

Some of you out there know Lakelan, my 13 month old quite well, and some of you not so much, so I thought I would share some cool little facts about him. Now, as a mom I find these really cute and interesting so bear with me if you don't ;-)


-he uses the word "cookie" for lots of things including cookies, crackers, triscuits, animal crackers,cheerios and cheez-its
-his favorite book is "Pile of Puppies" the only book of his that has no words (except for each number that is written out)
-he loves to give kisses :-)
-he loves to ride Tutuca as a horse
-he loves to play "on" the dishwasher door when it's open
-he does NOT like the sound of my mixer (makes it hard to make bread)
-he loves the vacuum (the sound, the light, the actual movement of it)
-he really likes to feed Tutuca his food
-he has a strong passion for Tutuca's water bowl (no matter how much we scold him to him it's still worth a shot getting into)
-he absolutely LOOOOOVES his bath :-) and loves splashing so much, mama gets a shower too

oh and something about mom and dad....we're disgustingly in love with him :-)