A Family's Little Way Podcast
Jesus loving, Home-schooling large family. We Talk about the blessings and the struggles of having 5 kids while seriously attempting to make saints out of them.
A Family's Little Way Podcast
Ep018 - Life Happened... Assisi, The World Cup, and...
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Ep018 - Life Happened... Assisi, The World Cup, and...
Okay. And we're officially back. Okay. It's been a little while. And as always, you know, just life will happen one hundred percent of the time. And I've learned to look at life more like a dance rather than a race. And in a dance we go forward, we go backwards, we go sideways. And a great dancer will enjoy every move. So here we are taking a new step forward, which is simply just getting back into something we love doing, which is this podcast, having these conversations with each other and with whoever wants to listen and take something away from our story and the beautiful things that God keeps doing for us and with us.
SPEAKER_03Yes, it's so nice to be back here with you. I think we said we were gonna be back like a month ago, and I it's just been one thing after another with the kids' life. And but finally we're here and we love being here. It's fun for us. We love sharing what God has been speaking to our hearts with the purpose of sharing messages for other families, marriages, and anyone who wants to listen in and get inspired with these thoughts and experiences that we live as a family.
SPEAKER_00Speaking of experiences, so we wanted to talk about what's been going on in our family life. Yeah, so I think it's been I guess three major things. I am not pregnant. No, no, you're not. I think uh don't panic. Three major things. Um we got a dog, we added a family member, yeah. He is his name is Francis, and he is an English cream golden retriever. I'm just so proud saying that because I never thought I would have one. So it would be Francis, and then the other thing that happened is I went to Rome in a Sissy for a pilgrimage, and the World Cup happened, and it's still happening.
SPEAKER_03Yep, those are the three reasons that we have been away.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, fair enough, I guess, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, pretty.
SPEAKER_00When I went to Assissy, a friend of mine told me he's like, So your wife is gonna stay home with five kids and a puppy, and I was like, apparently, so um, so yeah, so we can we can talk a little bit about that too, because uh that's also one of those things that I never thought that I would do, and I didn't know that I that it was going to happen until the day off because of a good friend of mine called me, a friend of mine who has his own pilgrimage company.
SPEAKER_03What's the name? So we can shout him out. Well, thank you for calling me out. I have no idea.
SPEAKER_00He's gonna be so upset, immaculate something.
SPEAKER_03He's changed the name in our defense several times.
SPEAKER_00One time, so uh anyway. So he called me and he's like, Hey, so you know how you've always wanted to go on a pilgrimage with me. I have this pilgrimage, and it's gonna be just four of us, and if you want to come with us, it'll be awesome because it's gonna be very intimate, it's not gonna be a big group, it's just gonna be us, and it's gonna be for eight days, and we're going to walk a lot and it's gonna be awesome. And I'm pretty sure he said it was the way of St. James, and I was like, hey, cool. I I've always wanted to go, or I mean, I've always thought it would be interesting to go, right? So I sent a message to you, and I when he told me, I'm like, Yeah, this is not gonna happen. But I sent a message to you because I know you like reading those things too, and you know, the first thing that you said was like, Yes, you should go.
SPEAKER_03Well, it sounded to me a lot different at the time. It was like I didn't expect myself also to for you to go, honestly, on this trip. But at the time when you sent me the message, Ricardo, our friend that has the pilgrimage company in Miami, he said, Well, um, the CFRs are gonna go, which was one of the CFRs that we were we knew very well, Father Gabriel, and then another one, CFR Omar, and then a very friend of best friend of ours, also priest um Father Ricardo from St. Joseph, yeah, in Hylia. And he was going, and I was like, oh my goodness, this is a lifetime experience. And I was thinking in my head, okay, that he's going, he would be going with the CFRs, walking with the CFRs, praying with the CFRs. And then on top of that, this year's the Franciscan Jubilee year. So, like, that's what went through my head. And it's funny because I'm not really the type to sacrifice for like long trips or be like excited for you when you're like, hey, I'm leaving for like a day. But when it comes to spiritual things, I don't know, like my heart sparks for your soul. Like, I just I feel like it's like you're gonna bring those blessings home to us. I don't know, it's so different for me. Like it's like I offer it up to the Lord, and and I I'm just wow, like this is a great experience. I felt the same way when you went to Fatima a few years ago.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And it's the only time where I'm like, okay, I can do this because I I just visualize the experience and it seems amazing. It just seems like a dream.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you know, so your the response that I got from you immediately motivated me to say yes. And I think we thought about it for like a maybe a couple days, if that, and we said yes, uh, we should do it. So, again, this was a pilgrimage that I was like, okay, we'll I'll do the way of St. James, but I'm mostly going because of the people that are going, right? Like you said, the FFRs, Father Ricardo.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the connection you had with these priests, particularly, and your friend Ricardo, which is one of your best friends that you've taken uh photography with. Yeah, and he's taught you so many things as well.
SPEAKER_00So I that's the reason why I wanted to go mostly, but then going back to what I was saying, that uh I realized I was going to a Sisi the day off, is because I always thought it was we were going to the way of St. James. But then we were sitting down, we met at the airport. Camino, yeah, with what we were doing at Camino, and I was sitting down at the airport with all of them. We met up and we were having uh you know, like a pre-flight lunch kind of thing. And we're just sitting there, we're like, we're you know, we're having lunch, we're having a beer, and then um one of them says, Yeah, I've always you know wanted to go to a CC, and and I'm like, hey, I I thought we were going we were doing the way of St. James in Portugal, and my friend was like, No, we're not going to Portugal. What do you mean we're not going to Portugal? I I thought we were going there the whole time and we're gonna stop at a Sisi, but I thought we were going to Rome and walking to Portugal, and he's like, Bro, are you crazy? That's not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_03No, we're going to Rome and we're walking to Assisi, which made total sense because, like I said, you're going with the CFRs, right? You're gonna be praying with them, and then it's the Jubilee year of the Franciscans, and on top of that, you had bought a book that they told you to read that was friends for the like it was for the same, you know, Saint Francis.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was something like 365 dates with St. Francis.
SPEAKER_03So it totally made sense.
SPEAKER_00Of course, but I never put two and two together. I I was just hey, I'm going on a pilgrimage with some friends, that's awesome. So that day, so we were, you know, it was a really good time. We all laughed, and and I was just, you know, at that moment, I was so like if if I was already like a 10 out of 10, I went to like a 100 out of 10 because I was just so excited. I was like, I I'm dying to go to Italy, and I didn't know. Like, I really want to go there. Like, I can't believe we're gonna be in Italy for eight days, and walking in different like towns and things like that. So it started that way, and then it only got better after that. You know, we made it to Rome, and we walked more than I have ever walked in my whole life, and to the point where I thought about giving up, and you know, and it wasn't just me, my friend who does pilgrimages all the time, and he was very getting ready to give up and in some in some areas of the of the path. But again, we were going with two Franciscan friars, one of them is a priest, and then we're going we went with another friend who is a priest. So every day we would have Eucharist, every day we would have holy hour, and and and then every day we're talking, and this it's not see, I almost felt like it wasn't a pilgrimage simply because I felt like I went with friends. I felt like I went on a trip. It was that good of a pilgrimage that it was a trip, like we were just talking and having fun and hitting up, you know, little bars, little restaurants, little places everywhere, and just like brothers, like just having a good time. And every everywhere we went, you know, we were speaking truth kind of thing. You know, we're talking uh uh meaningful things, meaningful conversations, meaningful conversations, and then some you know, in just little areas of the day or little uh moments of the day, then we would be silly and have stupid conversations, and and it was all just like so beautiful. We we we got to spend really meaningful time together, and I remember almost every single day, and I don't know, I think it's one of those things I while I was going through it, I missed you guys a lot, you know, especially when when we when I would talk to you and the kids, but you know, I I I couldn't believe what I was living, right? Like it was one of those moments that I was like, okay, I I don't think this is happening again anytime soon. Like this is just so perfect. And I don't know. I mean, I could talk about that so much, but also you got to see the Pope. I got to see the Pope.
SPEAKER_03That was the experience you weren't expecting.
SPEAKER_00I got to see the Pope, and it was a very healing expect uh uh experience. It was a healing expect uh experience because I have never been someone who would want to go to the Vatican simply because of the lines. You know, I'm an anti-lines, I don't I don't do lines, right? I don't I'm not gonna wait three hours to you know um so I I was never that was never like in my in my uh bucket list but I was going with the friars and I was like hey yeah I'll we'll go if and and my friend told me he's like hey if we make it at this time when he's just so knowledgeable he's like we if we make it at this time we go through this entrance we have to find the name of his yeah because we gotta shout him out yeah so so he he's very knowledgeable so he told us what to do so that we can so that we can make shorter lines and then still see the Pope so we made it to we made it there to the Vatican about 9 a.m. We only sat in line for about 30 minutes again having a really good time in the middle of the line and then we sat down very close it's not like we got there super early but we got to sat sit very close but we we aimed to to be very close to the aisle rather than the front because if you sit next to the aisle that's where he goes around in the Pope Mobile, right? So that's we sat right next to the to the um to that aisle and he talked for about half an hour and then he went around on the Pope Mobile and that was my favorite part right like seeing one on that yeah in that little car yeah it was it was just really funny you know and then I love how I love people how excited they were to see him so I thought how hard it has to be for him because I know the Pope is a humble person so for him to be in that car with people shouting his name and and you know treating him like he's God I know it has to be hard for him yes but he still has to do it so I I love that I love saying like hey sorry man sorry but you gotta do it I I we all love what you're doing and he has to go out on that car every day I don't think it's every day I think I think it's every Tuesday or every Wednesday. Okay they have like certain dates um yeah every day that we're when kids I love when kids you know when people like yeah when when he blesses the babies and some kids are like super excited you know so how can you get your baby over there to him? We've never gone you just have to be there with your baby and then you hand it on hand it to him and then obviously he doesn't stop for every baby but he stops for a lot of them. Okay. So and as soon as he went by us then we left you know we we just okay we saw him we heard him let's go and but it was a healing experience for me because a year ago when he got when he got chosen as a pope I was going through a very rough time and when I saw him coming out and I saw the look in his eye of of of just being chosen for something he never thought he would do and I thought to myself you see I wonder if he's feeling like I'm feeling because I I was just going through something really hard and so to see him a year later feeling what I was feeling you know I was just so excited to be there and to see him smiling waving and and doing his pope thing it was just so healing to me because God gave me out of that horrible experience he turned everything around for us and to be there with the Pope a year later um it was like God's and it was like a God's message like yeah yeah like he turned it all around for me and he put me right back you know but feeling a much different way much you know like he it was like a full circle yeah moment you know so that's how it that was day one you know that was just day one and and things just kept getting better and better so uh again we started walking and it was during the day it was really it was they were very long walks and when we got to different towns at night you know we could barely move you know we would shower and then go have dinner have a really good time at dinner.
SPEAKER_03How were the showers I haven't asked you was it like cold water or was there hot water no it was good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah yeah it wasn't that kind of a trip like they it was AC where we needed it and um and it was you know co uh hot showers so not a problem there and then the food oh my god really quick so the com the company's called Immacul wait hold on yeah I know it was Immaculata Travel Immaculada what is it Immaculada travel yeah I know it was something immaculate Catholic travel yeah so you can find it on Instagram yeah and he's the one that led us the whole way so he he's such an amazing person and you know because you're you're looking at something at some kind of church the most random church in the way to a CC like it's like the most random church obviously beautiful and then you're just looking at a piece of art or painting or cross or building something and then he sneaks up behind you and then he starts whispering like something about that church like hey so yeah like 800 years ago like you know and it it's so it was so cool it and he's always been like that every time I went to many things with him right not necessarily to Italy but even here in the States and he's always like that he's just so knowledgeable so it's like having your own private you know guide and on top of that he's your friend you know and and he just he just knows so much so so I love those little moments where I would just be looking at something and then I don't know where he comes and he's like hey so that was actually dumb by you know that's cool. So and then yeah and then we made it to to a CC and it it was like a I will I every time I talk to someone they're like hey it's like a piece of heaven and I think that the little town it was just so beautiful like I could I could just while I was there I just dreamed of being there with you and the kids um it was it was just so beautiful but the the I don't know if it's called the Basilica maybe I don't know St.
SPEAKER_03Francis that was in Assisi yeah once you guys finally made it that's that was your destination from Rome to Assisi.
SPEAKER_00When we made it in there and we went to mass in there to me was like the most beautiful temple out of all of them the ones I went to in Italy. And I went to beautiful ones right because in Rome every church every temple it's like a piece of art that you you know that you can't even it's it's like you can't you're looking at it but it's so much to take in everywhere the the detail the amount of detail but a CC was my favorite one just the colors in reality was the colours and I thought of you when it comes to the colors right so yeah so many many many cool things um and then one of the my favorite parts was that last time when I went to pilgrimage with dynamic catholic to Fatima I brought you a uh like a poncho right I went to to the town where where where Mary appeared to the to Lucy uh Jacinta and what was the boy's name do you remember oh my god you're asking me this at night Francisco Francisco okay right yeah maybe I remember so I went to the town which I don't know I don't remember the name but they had those ponchos there and I brought it for you and I know you love it and even like here in Florida in the middle of the summer and you still wear it here at home at night sometimes when you get cold and it's awesome you know you told me a friend of ours saw you one time with it and then she's like hey you look like a woman from Portugal oh yes and you were like oh yeah well that my husband brought it always telling me she likes and then now you're wearing a scarf.
SPEAKER_03Oh yes I decided since we were gonna talk about your trip to Assisi I'll say I'll wear the scarf.
SPEAKER_00So I got you the scarf from Assisi and I'm like hey every time I go somewhere I'm gonna try to get her some kind of um cold some kind of scarf or hoodie or something.
SPEAKER_03What was that you said about this scarf that it was like handmade.
SPEAKER_00Yeah I already forgot everything they told me but it was a salesperson so I mean half of it is probably not true but um yeah but it it's everything is like handmade but shopping there would have been really cool like to go there with with good money to shop yeah because I don't think it was that expensive. And then if you pay cash it they drop the price like you know like like 40% like it's a crazy amount. Like they'll sell you something for 1800 they probably get charged a lot to slide the card. Exactly or you know just in I guess in in taxes or I don't know because you know I bought a bag that was 180 euros and then she said if you pay me cash it's a hundred and I'm like it's an 80 euro difference of course I'm gonna pay cash so oh wow so yeah so it's and and then the stuff that they have is just so beautiful like the things that you can buy there in a Sisi and in Italy just in general when it comes to faith it's beautiful so yeah I definitely dream of going to a CC with the kids.
SPEAKER_03I think those are the my two top things like obviously taking them to be able to experience the Pope and then also if if God willing allows us to go to a CC so that they can um see like all the all the things we talk about at home and homeschooling yeah all the things we learn about Carla Cuti, Saint um Saint Clair, Saint Francis I think it would be such a nice experience on top of the fact that it's a beautiful place. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I think they they would just have to be they would just have to be a little bit bigger. A little bit because I don't believe that there was a lot of things to do for kids in a Sisi For example, you know, there there there wasn't. So I think they have to be a little bit bigger, older, so that they could appreciate a little bit more. And obviously we wouldn't stay that long because you know it's not like they have an amusement park that you can go to, right? Yeah. Um, but we can go from place to place and that'd be pretty cool. Um, but anyway, so one of the things I wanted to make a connection to with the World Cup, for example, is that the World Cup is being played here in the States, and it's like a golden opportunity for me to go to a game, uh Columbia game, right? But then the whole thing with the prices, like it was just so much money, and one could say, like, hey, but it's a one-time opportunity, and I would agree. But every time I kind of like I started doing math in my head, and I said, Well, okay, I could get you know, I could get money out of here and money out of there, and then you know, we can somehow make it happen, and I can go and you know live this dream, and then I would be like, I would do like the mental exercise of actually pulling the money out of my pocket, and then I would immediately say, you know, I I went to Italy for eight days on a pilgrimage and saw the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen in my life. Spent uh you know a lot of money in food, like eating, like having good dinners, good dinner with my friends. And I visited, you know, five, six different towns for this amount of money that I'm about to pay for a ticket for a soccer game that will last two hours. Not saying it's bad, not saying it's wrong, not saying anyone who did it made a bad choice, but for me personally, I would rather go back to a CC or I would rather go somewhere else where I can take a trip to. I just thought about the fact of coming back from the game, coming home, I put myself in that position. How would I feel on the way back? Regardless of my team won or lost. How am I gonna feel on the way back? It will take me less than a second to know that I will be regretting it, regardless of the experience. So, you know, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_03I think it just depends, like, yeah, where you're at in seasons of life, your priorities at the time, and definitely at the time. Well, another thing is that uh thanks to Rick Ricardo being, you know, your friend, this trip was also much more affordable. Yeah. You know, being able to tr you your flight was affordable, the it was affordable to be there, you know, it was the whole experience was just very affordable, you know. And and I think that's also why we agreed for you to go, because we're like, if you ever go on your own, it's not gonna be this price, you know, it's gonna could be a lot more. Yeah. So that's another reason why we agreed for you to go to Italy. So I think it was a very good experience, and I think in regards to the World Cup, it was just like I feel like you know, if if it's it could be it could be a dream to go, but I think it just depends also on timing and the season you're in in life, and as a family that has other priorities right now and has other things going on, like we wanted to fix the grass area in the backyard, so we're like, okay, we could spend money on the ticket, but then we could fix up the grass area for the kids in the back.
SPEAKER_00And and then I think for this podcast and for this conversation and for the purpose of what we're doing, I think one of the biggest takeaways with the trip with the World Cup with the dog, uh, I would say that having a large family, you know, and homeschooling your your kids, uh you know it requires that you give up a lot of things, right? Because maybe I could have done everything. I could have gotten the dog, I could could have gone to Italy, and I could have gone to a World Cup game. But I had to say no because we have other things going on here at home. Like I we really wanted to fix up the grass area in the back for the kids, and it made a huge difference, right? Like once we paid for that, you know, you and I were so happy that we did that. And the kids, if the babies, uh, you know, a couple weeks ago we went out there with the baby, the the one-year-old, and you're like, hey, like it's really cool, but I can't put her on the ground here because it's there's just so many things that she doesn't she just doesn't like it. And I'm like, okay, like what is a backyard if you can if you can't be comfortable if a baby can't be out here. So that's when we made a decision, and we're like, hey, let's fix it up. Yeah, and we did it, and it never hurt to do it, you know. We paid what we had to pay, and the baby was so happy. Yeah, she's been having fun out there. Yeah, she loves it, you know.
SPEAKER_03So it it's a and maybe in another season it would have been okay to buy the ticket. Of course, yeah, except now it's not in Miami, so yeah, but it's not in uh close by or a land.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've learned that from Dave Ramsey. You have to one one of the signs that you're maturing in your life, regardless of your age, well, um, you know, I'm talking about like mentality when it comes to finances mostly. But just in general, when you're able to say to get away from the from the thought of it's now or never. You know, like get that that's not a healthy thought because most of the time it's not true. You will have another opportunity. And two years ago, there was uh uh a game here in Miami, it was Colombia versus Argentina for the Copa America final, and I remember someone called me and they're like, Hey man, you gotta go. I'm like, I'm just not it's just a lot of money, you know? And they said, Well, it's like now or never, like it's messy, he's about to retire, it's probably his last final, and then it's Colombia. Like, when is it Colombia in a final? Like, when do they make it to a final ever? And then on top of that, it's here in Miami. It's like a now or never thing, it's never gonna happen again.
SPEAKER_03For someone who loves soccer, yeah. Well, yeah, of course. We're talking about someone who loves soccer.
SPEAKER_00So I was like, you know what? Yes, you know, this I gotta do it, it's just never, it's now or never. And I did it, and I had one of the most horrible experiences in my entire life, you know. There just many because of many things, you know. The I guess a lot of people know what happened in the stadium, it was chaotic. But the worst thing was that I felt, you know, like a clown while I was there. I was like, why am I here? I don't think I should be here. And I spent a lot of money to be here. I understand if I was obligated to be here and someone paid me, and I would have been like, Man, I still shouldn't have been here. Money's not worth it. But I paid to be where I was, so I felt like a clown, and on the way back, I said, I never want to feel like this again in my life. And but going back to the it's now or never, you know, two years later, we're back again with the hey, it's now or never, because now it's the world cup here in Colombia played here in Miami against Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo for a World Cup bigger than Copa Medica. So it happened again. So the whole the whole thing about it's now or never two years ago was false. It happened.
SPEAKER_03Now this year it could have been now and never. Yeah, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_00That's okay. It it could be now or never, but I think that that is not a good that is not a good motivator for good decisions.
SPEAKER_03Well, going back to the faith aspect about it, you know, I would say as a marriage, it's more of a reminder that you have to consistently be discerning, you know, and in asking God, okay, and talking, having conversations, communicating as a marriage. Like, you know, I think that's one of the things that we realized we were doing wrong of um maybe a few months ago. We're like, okay, like I don't know how, but we weren't like on the same page all the time. Like we thought we were on the same page, but these little things kept kept coming up, and we're like, wait, no, like we're not on the same page. Like you're saying yes to this, I'm saying no. He's saying, you know, I'm saying yes to this, and then you're like, no. And so we're like, what's going on? I you know, so then we're like, okay, we have to like reconnect. Like, what's important in this season? What's we heard a quote that was really good, and it was like, okay, sometimes you have to say no to the good to say yes to the best. And the best is not gonna look this the same for every family. That's also what is important to know, and it's not gonna look the same for each family. The best for us is might look different for another family, and that's okay. But we have to be communicating, and what are what are we gonna say no to and what are we gonna say yes to? And what season are we in, and what's really important to us? Yeah. So I think for us this year, uh what did we say yes to? To an a a spiritual experience to for you to go on this pilgrimage. And then what did we say no to? Well, maybe like it was kind of hard to just spend money on like the World Cup because it was a lot, you know, and it was just on one a ticket, which is an amazing experience, but it was it we had other things going on at we have other things going on at the time.
SPEAKER_00Well, we said no to a game and yes to our backyard, yeah, and yes, which was awesome.
SPEAKER_03Exactly, which we were so happy about. We're like, oh, good thing we did this because we needed to fix this grass area, it was so needed for the babies and for the kids to be joyful, and even us, we were like happy out there because before we had like this hard, like what do you call that stuff? Mulch mulch, and it everyone was like their feet were uncomfortable, and yeah, it was just not good. So, so yeah, so I feel like at the time for us, our backyard was the yes and to the best. So, and when moving forward, like I know that you also saw in Italy lots of golden English creams. That has been an experience for us.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, the puppy, the puppy's a puppy, you know.
SPEAKER_03We've been adapting to having a puppy, which the puppy now is very big, and he doesn't look like a puppy, but he's still a puppy. Yeah, six months old, but he's pretty big. Um, it's been challenging because I didn't expect it to be as hard as it has been, but I have been also very happy with the way the kids have been enjoying Francis and how they he's a cuddler, he loves to be you know hugged and he loves to play, and the kids love him. They do help out at the beginning. They weren't like all on board, but quickly we were like, Okay, you guys wanted this talk, you gotta, which I have kind of loved, kind of showing them. Like, my I've been talking to my older kids and telling them, like, okay, like, you know, you asked for a dog, and we said we talk about love is sacrifice, right? We tell them all the time about Jesus, love, and sacrifice. Well, look, sacrifice, picking up poop, picking up after, you know, me, my my oldest daughter's like, oh my god, this is so hard. He's not listening. I'm like, yep, you see, but we're you know, we're not gonna give him back, right? No, that's why we just keep moving forward and we keep loving and and loving him and we keep trying to teach him, you know, and that's how it is that's for us as parents, because sometimes um my kids will be like, Mommy, are you tired? Is this hard work for you? And I'll be like, you know, the truth is mommy is a little tired, but I love you, and this love is sacrifice, and God has called me to be a mother, and it's not always gonna be easy. There's gonna be days where I'm gonna be tired, there's gonna be days where I'm gonna have to surrender, and this is the job that God has given me and trusted me with, just like He's trusting you with Francis now, and I'm trusting you to go help with Francis, and love is sacrificed, and you're not gonna give him back, right? So you're gonna we're gonna keep him. So I think it's been a good comparison because we're always having those conversations, yeah. But I'm not gonna lie, it has been kind of hard, but I'm hoping he's gonna turn one or two and he's gonna calm down.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and he will. Well, just like with babies, you know, when they're when they're I'm used to babies, I'm not used to dogs.
SPEAKER_03No, this is new for me, yeah.
SPEAKER_00But it like you said, I mean, it's you know, love is a sacrifice. So um it to me has been my dream dog, right? Like I went all the way to Atlanta to pick him up and bring him here, and you know, it we saw And in Italy you saw a bunch of them.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00Well, I was in Italy, you know, we would walk around towns and you know they were everywhere, and I was like, okay, I don't think they're that expensive here.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's what I was thinking when you kept sending me pictures of them. I'm like, wow, they're popular over there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you know what? I saw a place where it was like uh I think it was like an adoption center. And of course there was a lot of dogs, but there was a lot of these dogs, a lot of golden retrievers, English cream golden retrievers. And I'm like, okay, I you know, I don't think they're like that special here. And each house, not each house, but in a lot of houses, it wasn't like one that would come up, it was like two that would come up to greet us, you know. And I'm like, oh wow, okay. But I guess here they're you know special and expensive. But and I think the first time I saw them was when we went to pick up our Christmas tree two years ago, and when we uh rolled up to to get it uh tied up in our roof, we would see two dogs uh you know hanging out with people there, and then I was like, man, I think those are those are golden retrievers, but they're white, they're like pure white, and this is a cold season, so and around Christmas style, so they just look so beautiful, and then and then last year happened again. We rolled by, they they put the tree up on our roof, and they were tying it up, and I saw the dogs again. So I asked one of the guys, I'm like, hey, uh, are those golden retrievers? And he's like, Those are English cream golden retrievers, and I was like, Wow, that would be so cool to have that dog. But I saw it, I said, like, man, I I'm never gonna have one of those. And then we started like doing our research when we said, Let's get a dog.
SPEAKER_03Well, and our oldest starter started praying for like a year for a dog, and she kept like drawing letters to Jesus and please Jesus, and then she'd like tell daddy, like, send it in the mail to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then we wrote like a Christmas letter to Jesus. And then she did a final Christmas one that just convinced Daddy to get it.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, so I understand that having a lot of kids may not be like the per perfect time to get a dog, but you know, it's just the all the letters that kind of like and then she was turning 10. Yeah, so I was like, okay, let's do it. And I'm not I'm not sure, you know, how good of a decision it was, but you know what it's been but here we are, you know, and and we love Francis and and he's warmed up to us a lot, and and the kids love him too, you know. So we'll we'll have an update soon. So far, he eats absolutely everything that he finds.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, that's been the surprising part for me. Like, he loves food, it's insane.
SPEAKER_00Like you cannot have anything out exposed, and he's not like you can get it out of his mouth, like he will swallow it immediately. So, okay. Um, so hopefully he's yeah, so hopefully he gets better when it comes to the chewing on everything he sees, and um and yeah, but yeah, those are the three big big updates. We have really cool stuff coming up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we are excited. We're going to start being a lot more intentional about our podcasts. But there's but I don't know if you want to announce anything now of the things coming up or yeah, we have um a f a guest coming up this month that I'm really excited about. We are really excited about it. And then, you know, we have also we're in we do want to do more talks, you and I.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And be more intentional about that. Um, and yeah, we're gonna try to keep trying to get the podcast going and expose it to more families and marriages. And we ask that if it's possible, if you can like, share, subscribe on Apple, on YouTube, it helps get it to more people with the intention of sharing good and beautiful messages for families to be inspired in God's love. And that's kind of like our purpose just inspiring families to live out their faith and trust God and share these stories from for the families and for those who are maybe desiring to start one or doubting if they want to get married.
SPEAKER_00Or they're in one, they already have a large family and they're struggling. Thinking that, you know, maybe they're not doing things right because they had too many kids. That's because I've heard that. That's true. And and that's it's not true. Like, yeah, it's true. Yeah, that's what I meant. But they're they're they're wrong. You know, it's not it's not a mistake, and having a large family is not Yeah, there's different seasons.
SPEAKER_03I think like you know what I that's maybe that's something good to talk about real quick. Like the Lord has been stirring my heart, like, you know, we just can't compare each other. He has a calling for each family, he has a mission for each family. Some might have one child, and that's a blessing, and you're a holy family, you know, just in the image of Jesus' family. That's beautiful, you know? Yeah, and then some of us might be called to have more children, and God gives us that, and that's a beautiful too because we're also like growing God's kingdom, we're bringing more souls to the world that are gonna be taught about God in our home, and that's also beautiful, and a special calling, being open to life, and if God allows it and gives it to you, you know, if he's trusting you, it's because you guys can do it, you know, and because he's going to provide. But I think that there has to be a lot of intentionality behind it. It is important for both couple, both of husband and wife to be united in those decisions and thoughts, you know, and in prayer. And um, again, going back to what do we have to say yes to and what do we have to say no to.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, that it's a big subject.
SPEAKER_03And maybe we could do it next podcast.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Discerning your family size or discerning family decisions. Yeah. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00For now, I think I will leave you with a with a thought uh or phrase that uh has helped me a lot. Just because it's a good opportunity doesn't mean that it's a good opportunity for you. But how does that like how can we apply that to what it's a good opportunity for the World Cup game to be in Miami? But it's not a good opportunity for me.
SPEAKER_03Oh, we're talking about the World Cup again.
SPEAKER_00Or anything in life. Just because it's a good opportunity, like hey, this car is it's a deal, you know, like hey, it's you know, half off. Sure, it's a good opportunity.
SPEAKER_03What about in regards to like family life and what you were saying?
SPEAKER_00Well, just the decisions we make, you know, like you can't come here with a new car simply because it was half price.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah, it was a good opportunity, but I'm just not in a financial position to get a new car. So it could be the best deal in the world.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Also, we homeschool, and there could be uh some judgment in that, oh, like people who homeschool is because they're able, the wife is able to stay at home, and you know, it's not that simple. Like, I think that depending on what you choose to prioritize, right? I think for us, one of the something we've loved is just me being with the kids, you know, and I love it too. I love being with my kids. So in that sense, I think we've surrendered maybe certain kind of trips or certain, you know, having more things, or I don't know, in different seasons we've said no to different things, and then you know, because there's only you're the one providing, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think and then that's allowed us to um be able to homeschool because maybe we're like, okay, we're maybe we're just gonna go to the beach this summer.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, I I think we've we've talked about we've all we said that homeschooling is a calling. So if God is calling you to do something, He will provide and He will pave the way and He will show you and He will give you signs. Yeah. He will not be showing signs. Yeah. If that's your calling.
SPEAKER_03And what I'm saying is more of like the decision part, like in the sense of like in that sense, we've also had to say no to certain things to be able to homeschool too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, exactly.
SPEAKER_03Or make these decisions, or you being the only one providing.
SPEAKER_00Just imagine the the amount of things that we have to say no to because we're a one-income family.
SPEAKER_02Exactly.
SPEAKER_00You know, so yeah, you give up a lot of things, but like you were saying with the dog, love is a sacrifice, and homeschooling our kids is one way that we choose to love them. So we have to sacrifice other things.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, depending back again on your season of life, your priorities as a marriage and as a family might look different, but being in communication of what you guys want to say yes and what you guys want to say no to.
SPEAKER_00So thank you very much for being here with us today in this episode. We love being here with you, and then again, hoping that this could reach the right person at the right time. Thank you for being here with me for your patience. We had recorded an episode about this already, but I forgot to hit record on the audio part. So you've already gotten over it. I'm over it. It's a new day, a new opportunity.
SPEAKER_03So all right, see you in the next one.
SPEAKER_00We'll see you next time.