Happy Anniversary #10th

For our anniversary Kiki and I went to Cancun with some friends. We had a wonderful time. We stayed at Dos Playas which was similar to a Motel 6. It was just a place to rest your head at night. I'll give you the play by play because I don't think many tourists visit the places of Cancun we did.
Day 1 We rented a car and took the 4 hour drive to Merida. Merida is the capital city of the Yucatan. It is a city full of culture and beauty. Go to Merida on Sunday. The city center comes alive with music and dance. The city park turns into an artisan market where beautiful dresses and collect ables can be found. We ate on the streets and loved the culture. Okay, it helps that both Kiki and Morgan speak Spanish and that Elizabeth and I are adventurous. We took a drive and found the LDS Temple in Merida. It was wonderful to see a temple in a foreign country.

Soccer Season Opens

We had a great weekend! ESUFC Spring season has opened!

Why I teach

This week has been a huge week for us. We had the home visit as part of our homestudy for adoption happen yesterday. I would like to say it went great, but after 4 hours of being drilled about everything from credit card interest rates to in depth questions about my father who has been gone for 13 years now, I felt spent.
As I returned to school today after a day off, one of my very sweet students asked me how it went. I have to give you background on this kiddo. His name is A.M. and is quite possibly the sweetest young man around. He said he had been thinking about how we could make a child's transition into our home easy. As he pulled me in the hall to talk about it, I have to use his words. "Mrs. Cuevas, what type of kid would you like to adopt?" I told him we were looking for a Hispanic or African American child. We didn't care if it was a boy or girl. "Mrs. Cuevas, it doesn't matter what they are, you just need to find a child who needs a good home. A child who needs to be loved and cared for." I agreed then he said this, "you have to promise that you will love the child and take care of it." I agreed then he asked me to cross my heart (who says middle school kids are grown up?) I agreed and went to the stick needles in my eyes comment, then he said, "no, stick 5 million needles in my eyes." I asked why his eyes, then he said, "I know that way you would keep your promise because you would never do anything to hurt me." I told him he was right and I started to cry. A little boy who is 13 gave me perspective today.
People always wonder why I do special education. It's days like today. Today is a day I felt the pure love of Christ come through the voice of a child.

Go Blazers!!!

Lastnight was Ron Russell Middle School night at the Blazers. As we rode the bus, Enrique and I commented on how we can never get over how the smell of a school bus hasn't changed in the 20 plus years since we rode. We had a wonderful time. One of the things I enjoyed was in the program there was a section of what the players non-NBA job would be. Many said teachers, coaches, and other professional careers. So many of our students think the NFL, NBA, and MLB are just waiting for them. While I would love to see them play at that level, I want them to have something to fall back on. Thank you to the Blazers for providing our students with a 3.0 gpa and higher to attend the game for free.

President's Day Weekend

Yea!!! I love 3 day weekends. We decided to take Enrique's new car out for a long drive. We ended up at Cannon Beach. The incredible news is that it wasn't raining at the Oregon Coast. The wind was strong, but it only made for better kit flying weather. Enrique and Jacob flew kites the whole day. We later walked down to the tide pools for some "educational" time. The tide was out so we were able to explore the tide pools at Haystack Rock. We had a great time!!!

Welcome to the Cuevas Family Blog. Since we are so bad at writing and calling people back, we decided to write a blog. I hope you enjoy getting to know us a little more.