To Jupiter and Beyond

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Traveling in the U.S and around the World

Cappadocia, Turkey 2014

Turkey, 2014

Monserrate, Bogota, Colombia, 2015

Colombia, 2015

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2016

Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2016

Musée de l'Orangerie 2019 (Monet Water lilies. 19k steps today)

Eifel Tower. Paris, France, 2019.

In the city of Love with my Love <3

Florence, Italy, 2019

When in Rome. Roman Forum. 2019

Colosseum. 2019

Featuring @franciscus

First in line today to see him and to hear his message on unity 🙏 Pc: @corazon_y_alma

On our last day in Rome we walked through the streets...had gelato, learned to make fettucine from scratch, and got drenched in water as we walked back home. #success #roaminginrome #wheninrome🇮🇹 @caroldiazv @corazon_y_alma

Arepaehuevo. Santamarta. 2018

Cariblu, Costa Rica, Pura Vida. 2014

Remembering our adventures at #elyunque #waterfall #cascadesandhugs as I call it. @corazon_y_alma

2016

Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2016 (HoneyMoon)

Austin, 2016

Parque Tayrona, Colombia, 2017

Chicago, 2017

Xi'an, China, 2017

Hamilton Pool, Austin, 2018

Hawaii, 2017

Paris, France, 2019

I dreaded this trip for various reasons. One of them: being with a group of people that were new to me and that had bonded and shared 21 months together while I was the new student. I may not get all their jokes... but they sure made me feel like family this past week. To my new friends as they adopted me to be a 2019 grad! It has not been an easy journey but I have had great support at home and overseas. #cheers #longjourney #mba #baylorbear #33monthprogram #takesavillage #prague #adventureswithelthaandchinhknows @corazon_y_alma

Prague, 2019

These are books! Prague, 2019

Prague, 2019

With Dr. Carini, Prague, 2019

Notre Dame, France, 2019

In all its beauty. The cross still stands. This holy week, trying to be more intentional and reconnect with our Lord. He is always there for us

Notre Dame, France, 2019

Made it to Greece. Lovely couple of days with @corazon_y_alma before starting my last class. Already miss you! Very fascinating history and seeing all sorts of math symbols! #geek #longjourney

The food...is another story. I was used to the pizza and pasta diet 😂😂 2019

Greece, 2019

Day 1 in San Francisco. Our first trip outside of TX with the LO. It was a long day! We survived the 3.5 hr flight and went to Alcatraz Island and Ghirardeli square. It was a long day, and it is exhausting to chase a toddler, but it is also fuller. Funner. The last picture was taken at the end of the day. When I saw it, I said 'Perfect'. Not a word I use much, but it felt like it! ❤

San Francisco, 2019

Day 2 in SF: Sausalito, Muir woods and Pier 39. We got to hang out and catch up with @banananads and JG (thanks for first picture). They got to witness all the feelings of a toddler from crying and exhausted to super funny and curious and sweet. Muir woods were unlike anything I've seen! So nice and cool during our hike! Charlesito kept saying 'Bol? Bol?' Short for arbol. And we ended the day with pizza and ice cream at Smitten! Thank you again Nadia for hosting us so well!! ❤

San Francisco, 2019

On our last day we went to church first, then drove through Lombard street, then to the Japanese Gardens, and back to Pier 39 to try and get Charlesito to watch the seals. But one of the most memorable moments was at the gardens, where baby C wanted to walk on his own. There was this rocky road that we decided to let him do even though it was a bit more advanced for a toddler who can barely get his balance on a flat surface. He would fall and get up again and again. This happened at least 4 times that a crowd of people started to form behind us. When we got to the end, there was a tiny step. He wouldn't take the next step, he had to stop, turn around and crawl back, like we taught him. The crowd behind us waited, and when he stood back up and looked at us, Everyone clapped for him. Like a Champ. That is the type of people we need in this world: patient, kind and encouraging! ❤ Thank you SF for making us feel so welcome here!

San Francisco, 2019

We got free tickets to Fiesta, Texas from @samsungaustin (Thank you!!). Was it worth it to go with a toddler? Yeah... He behaved so well... the cherry on top was his check to cheek smile multiple times!!! 🕺🏾💃🏽👼🏽 #watchmegrowcfr3

San Antonio, 2019

With my boys. 💟💟💟

It's not always easy to travel with kiddos but we do agree the memories will be something we talk about looking back.

Like, can you believe how soaked we were and how we dressed like we were still in Texas, but it was actually raining most of the time?

Love to show them that there are different cultures and the way people do things outside of where we live.

"Mom, why don't we have a car in NYC?" While getting on the metro

"Mom, why do we get on other peoples cars" while riding ubers

"Mom, why don't we have a kitchen?" At the hotel.

"Mom, why do we have to go back?" As we head back to Texas 🤣

Happy Mother's day to all the moms! 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

NYC, 2022

White Sands, NM, 2022

Why not be a little silly?

White Sands, New Mexico

2022

Friday, June 9, 2023

Lessons from Seven years of Marriage.

It has been 7 years since we got married. We have lived in 3 different houses, traveled together to Colombia, Brazil, Arkansas, Florida, California, NYC, Chicago, Georgia, France, Italy, and Greece (anywhere else?). We have 2 wonderful sons, and twins on the way! I reflect on the last 7 years of our marriage and think of the lessons from being together with my husband. How much more vulnerable we have become. We always laugh, and say that when we said "I do" we didn't know all it encompassed. It's like the fine print in the contract; where we knew the general stuff...but not the specifics until we were there.

So here it goes, the 7 things I have learned from being married for 7 years:

1. We won't agree on everything, but we can come up with a solution together. There have been many times that we don't see eye to eye, but it is important to listen to the other and to understand how they arrived to that conclusion, even if they are wrong. JK. It has been so interesting to know how our families and previous situations shape our beliefs. Remembering that we are on the same team, and knowing that there is different ways of doing things. At the end of the day, knowing how much you care about things and how big or small those thing are. Is the discussion about how to load the laundry, or how we are feeding our kids? Knowing that we both want the best outcome (clean clothes and healthy kids) has helped us find a solution and know how to move forward.

2. Laughter to keeps things lighthearted. I am so happy to have married a husband that keeps me laughing. His sense of humor is amazing. We have laughed so many times in the kitchen, when we travel, when our kids have done crazy things, when we are mad at each other, when we share small jokes. We laugh together. Laughter truly is a medicine for us.

3. If you are upset, take a breather, and discuss when you are calm. There have been times when I'm upset. In my head all of these negative thoughts come. How could he do this, why is he late again, why did he forget. This is ridiculous. In the heat of the moment, it's hard to give the other the benefit of the doubt. When you are mad, I think the worst in you comes out. Going to your rational self first, or putting a pause prior to confronting the other, has saved me so many times from possibly regretting the words that would come out of my mouth. Again, if you are upset, take a breather, and discuss when you are calm.

4. Have a serving heart. Doing things for your spouse is a gift! It is not something you should just do while you are dating, but continue to do while in marriage. I know how happy it makes me to be able to cook a meal for my husband, or to invite him to a game, to treat him. To say with gifts and actions that I love him. Also, related to chores, know that division of labor won't always be 50/50. Just last month I was in the hospital on bedrest. My husband visited me every day and was doing it all. Cooking, cleaning, getting the kids ready. I kept saying how hard it was to be stuck in the hospital with no end in sight, but I know he was definitely doing all the things on top of his job--with a serving heart.

5. Do things together (and travel) as a family and just the 2 of you. Being able to still do things just the 2 of us. It doesn't have to be big. Specially now with kids, it's harder to set up weekly times. But we still leave time to play board games after the kids are in bed. To be able to discuss how our days were and what we are working on. We also love to do things as a family, like going to the park or the library together. A few months ago, Charlie was into completing his Junior ranger book and had to volunteer. We all went with him for him to get his hours and we also celebrated as a family when he got his Junior Ranger award. It has been also great to be able to take trips as a family and just the 2 of us. As a family; we make a lot of memories. It might not be as relaxing, but it is fun to be able to show our kids where we come from and to expand their view of the world. We also take trips just the 2 of us. Sometimes it's not far. For our twins baby moon, we went to a cabin here in Texas, just 1.5 hours from our house. We had so much fun just reading together, fishing (me for the first time), and cooking at the park. It is fun to build that intentional time both as a family and just the 2 of us.

6. Share your dreams and support each other. We are different people than who we were 7 years ago. Our priorities have shifted. This is why it's important to know where your spouses head is at. The professional goals they had 5 years ago, may be different now. It could be the same, but it could have also changed. I know for me it has been a dream to become manager. I got my MBA and although I have not reached that goal, right now my priority is flexibility. My kids are only young for so long, so I want to be there for them. Could both be possible? Maybe. But so far, he knows that I want to be there and present for our kids. Same for my husband. For the longest time, he knew he would not change jobs again. Then an amazing opportunity came for our family. We discussed it, we prayed about it, and he took the offer. There is this quote I heard from one my favorite podcast, Live Free Creative. Miranda says her pastor told her to: Love your spouse, get to know them and love them again. This encompasses the changes that will happen in us and to learn to know our spouses and love them again. Beautiful cycle.

7. Pray together. I remember our first night together, I started praying "Our Father" out loud with my husband beside me. It felt odd to not just pray it by myself, but also odd not to include him. Over time, I'd also share the personal things I was feeling or the people I was praying for. Then would ask my husband if he had an intention or someone he wanted to pray for. Prayer has played a big part in our journey. I remember when I was in labor with my first son. Begging my husband to keep praying, when things were not progressing. "Are you praying??" I kept asking. This labor thing was hard and the baby seemed to be stuck. We prayed together. That is the beautiful thing about prayer. We want to pray in the good times and in the times when we are having difficulty. Prayer has allowed us to be more vulnerable and share who we are thinking about, where our head is at, and to turn to our God, and put it all in his hands.

Thank you for all the lessons you have taught me, for laughing with me, for sharing the hard times and the good times, for sharing your dreams and supporting each other, for praying with me, for being so selfless. It has been a wild ride and I'm glad I get to do it with you and to find out what the next years of "I do" include.

Love you always,

Ana Maria

Fourth of July, 2017

Austin, TX, 2018

San Francisco, CA, 2019

Austin, TX, 2020

New Mexico Road Trip, 2022

Dallas, TX, 2022

Dallas TX, 2023