Clapper

A former student of Elba Cardona.

Ven, Ven, Ven
Siéntese aqui.
Los caballitos corren
Asi, asi, asi...

We Made It

After 3 days of celebration we finally came out on the other side. What a great 3 days it was. I was hoping to post more but a certain someone (ahem…) left his video camera AND digital camera in his garage. The only thing I had was Blue Eye’s camera and my useless phone camera. I’ll have to post the professional pictures when we get them.

Anyway, we all left for Tampa Wednesday morning because we had rehearsal at 10 am. The wedding and reception was held at the Kapok in Clearwater. It is a stunningly, beautiful place.





That night we headed over tothe Iwanski home to have a barbecue.




This is Nathan Poole, Adam's best man who came in from Arizona (he's in the Marine Corp). They've been friends since they were 6 years old.


When you marry someone you automatically become part of another family. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes it’s not. We absolutely love Sarah. She is everything we could have wanted for Adam. When we met Matt and Rita (her parents), we came to understand why Sarah was the way she was. When we met their extended family it became even clearer. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more loving, giving and accepting family. Everyone from her grandparents to her cousins were as gracious as they could be. They also know how to have a good time.

Thursday was Thanksgiving so our rehearsal dinner turned out to be quite the event. We had it catered and had about 65 family and friends turn out. We capped the night with a two hour Karaoke bash. It was an evening we will never forget. At first folks were a little hesitant. We started with a few group songs. When we got to Billy Joel’s Piano Man, we had the whole place rockin’.

We even had our own Ruben Berrios belting out My Eyes Adored You. He did a great job!



The parents got together and sang Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills & Nash.


At one point we had both families up there singing We Are Family.

Here's a video clip of a group singing a song from Grease.



Friday was the big day and it went on without a glitch. It could not have been a more perfect wedding. Here are a few picts.


Whew! I'm tired. I'll post more later when I get the good pictures back.

I leave you with my boy and his boys.

At the end of this, Sarah's grandmother turned to me and said:
"This is the first wedding I've been to that's had a floor show."
What can I say? My son's a ham.
Superman

A FREE ONE FOR VISA

What a beautiful place for Adam and Sarah's wedding. The place was spectacular and everything was just beautiful. The happy couple was gleaming all night long. I'm really glad I could make it. Cheers to the newest Mr. and Mrs. Cardona. May the Lord grant them many many years of happiness.

Married for about 3 hours: Memories

in the making . . .

Married for 26 + years: A proud
accomplishment . . .





















Married for 51+ years: "PRICELESS"

2 hours and counting

Sorry for the bad picts. I need a new phone
Ulyses

My new grandson

I'm finally in with this blogging deal. I'm just starting to wet my feet so for my first blog I will post a picture of our new grandson Omar Miguel Cruz. This onesy that the baby is wearing was the first one that his father Omar wore 25 1/2 years ago. It brought tear to my eyes. We will be abuelita and abuelito to our boys.

Elf Yourself!

We decided to take dance lessons for the holidays and look how far we've come!

Click on the this link.

Feliz Cumpleano, mi hermanita

Con much amor!

Miriam and Papo Grandparents Again

Omar and Abby had a son, Oct.23rd.
His name is Omar Miguel Cruz. He weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Of course, via grandma's eyes, he's adorable. He was born with a full head of hair and features.

Waiting for pictures from Miriam.

Congratulations!

Two Weeks & Counting

Happy Birthday Lisa

28 years ago. Don't they go by in a blink...
Love you, Baby.

Thanksgiving a bit early

El Amor De Familia,

I was so moved this weekend that I thought it was “blog-worthy”. My very homesick Rosi came home for the weekend. Prior to her arrival, she called her family to attempt to gather them all together at a restaurant to see them all at the same time. She was disappointed in knowing that she will, for the first time, be missing our annual family Thanksgiving Day dinner. Rosi is very familial and loves to gather with her uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins.

Jim and Iris, God Bless them, suggested that we surprise Rosi and plan a “Pre-Thanksgiving Day” dinner/birthday party in her honor at their home. Everyone came. We had turkey, stuffing, green beans, potatoes….all the traditional Thanksgiving Day stuff. Rosi and Polito were very moved by our family’s gesture. I was moved even more!

In the words of Rosi, "Que emocion, I love you all!”

Cardona's Annual Christmas Party

Every year for the past 10 or so years, Dave and I have hosted a Christmas Party. It's a combination of family, friends and co-workers and everyone seems to really enjoy themselves. We've had lots of fun with trivia, karaoke, door prizes, dancing, and of course lots and lots of food. We almost cancelled this year because of the number of things going on, including a wedding coming up (Adam and Sarah), but we've decided it's a go! The party is on for Saturday, December 1st. I know it's early but we always have it the first weekend of December and that happens to be on the 1st this year. So we'll kick off the season with a blast! Ulyses will entertain us with his DJ talent and you won't be disappointed with the menu, so come and join us if you can for a fun filled night.

4th Annual . . . More Pics

4th Annual Rolon-Pérez Father-Son Retreat

Update on #35 Ryan

As most of you know, Ryan (35) has excelled in football in Florida. He is the starting defensive end for the East Ridge Knights. In Florida, it is rare that a freshman starts for JV. He has been doing extrememly well.

However; he dislocated his shoulder twice in three weeks. After the second one, the team Dr. order an MRI....... Needless to say, he is done for the season....

We learned on Tuesday that Ryan need Arthoscopic surgery. Surgery is schedule for next Friday, October 19th. After surgery, he will have to rehab for 4-6 weeks. Dr. Ryan (team's doctor) says that Ryan will be ready to go by January. Football starts again in May.

Phil Keaggy - Still Emerging

My family and I saw legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy in concert this past Sunday. His talent went far beyond what I could hope to write on this simple Blog. He had senior citizens on their feet applauding and teenagers asking for an encore. But beyond that we saw a master musician who humbly showcased what God-given talent is all about.
While we often wish to let our "light shine" at work, politics, education, home and at church, we often forget that God is the creator of creative creativity. And if we as Christians, don't let that artistic light shine, who can blame the world (and our children) for looking elsewhere for originality, design and genius.
Many of the early renaissance painters and writers (Bach, Mendelssohn, Handel) contributed to a culture in a healthy and lasting way while maintaining a Christian perspective on life. They did not allow mediocrity to reign supreme nor should we.

Like the man said, "Everything's Alright. Just turn on the Light".

enjoy

Check out this funny commercial based on OSU Coach lecture to newspaper. See 2nd link if not familiar with context.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_QMGPnTNtyA

If you haven't seen the original, see it here - http://youtube.com/watch?v=aoMmbUmKN0E

Prequel to Ghosting Update

Sorry about that...I had posted this on our Strayer Blog and not the Cardona Blog but put the update on both. Here is the story of Ghosting event in our neighborhood.


Well my favorite time of year is here! I love October through December...there's always something in the works to plan, etc. It's the first of October and we were all ready to go "ghosting" in our neighborhood but we have to wait until tomorrow because of the rain. This is where me, Dave, Bob and Lisa (our neighbors) jump in the golf cart (the get away vehicle) with our goodie bags. We leave a goodie bag at someone's house, tape a ghost to thier door, ring the door bell and RUN.......... Well, I'm not too good at the running part so I like to drive the get away vehicle! The idea (and instructions to the recipient of the goodie bag) is for them to "ghost" two other neighbors. Of course the neighbors that get ghosted by us have it the best because I make sure that the house that we're ghosting has kids (good kids!) and that I have plenty of fun stuff in the goodie bags. Actually I have plastic pumpkins that I fill up. Anyway, it's the beginning of our Halloween season. Next we'll be working on costumes. It sounds like Jenn is going to be Jasmine (from Aladdin) so that will be our first costume. Addison is going to be Piglet (I can't wait to work on that one) and the jury is still out on Angela. We have some birthdays this month too: Me, Jenn and Jonas.

Ghosting Update

Well we did the deed.....The four of us took off on the golf cart and the first house we targeted, nobody came to the door. But we left the goodie bag and ghost for them for when they get home. Our second house was a success. Lisa was the runner and Dave the get away driver. We watched as they opened the door and we gone in a flash. Our third house we were so BUSTED! I was the runner, which was a feat in itself. I could see the kids inside at the table, I put the pumkin filled with goodies at the door, taped the ghost to the door and ran as fast as I could to the get away vehichle. The timing was bad because as we were about to screech out of the driveway, a car was coming and was going to block our getaway path; and then even worse, the car belonged to the house we were in the middle of ghosting! Mike (the Dad) was coming home with two of his kids in tow and they caught us red handed! By that time Janet (the mom) and their daughter came out the front door and we were surrounded. We moved on to our next victim which was also a success (we think). We decided that we should not go into any type of criminal business because our odds are not the greatest. We actually got caught last year as well by another couple who were pulling up into thier driveway as we were leaving. All in all, we had fun!

The Builder

In an effort to train this young man in the ways of men (can i get a grunt from the guys out there), I've been teaching the Little Guy how to use tools and other manly objects. He now knows the difference between a nail, bolt, screw and tack. He's mastered the art of swinging the hammer. I even threw in a few power tools: the drill and a jigsaw.

He's really loving it. So much in fact that for the last four weeks he waits for me at the door when I come home and yells "Papa! Can we play with wood today?". Well buddy, that's a discussion we'll save for a later date but we can work on the birdhouse.

Viola!