I still love HIM.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you'd do......?
Anything.

July 5th of 2010 Marcos and I decided that we would try to have a baby.  We had been married for a little over a year at the time and threw the "No kids for 3 years" ideas out the window.  I don't know what it was, I just suddenly had this strong desire to be a mom.  To care and provide for another being.  The opportunity and responsibility of raising up a Godly child...I needed it!

Call me stupid, but I honestly thought that the first time we "did it" without any form of birth control would do the trick.  Time and time again I hear of so many women getting pregnant "by accident", I figured since I'm doing it on purpose it was a slam dunk!

Just a week and some days from our 4 year anniversary of making the "lets have a baby" decision, I am yet to be a mommy.  It hurts.

2 years into the process, I asked Marcos to get tested.  All was well.  Everything was functioning and swimming correctly.  Oh gosh, it must be me...

After several test, exams, screenings, etc... indeed it is me.  Unfortunately, I lack the hormone that creates mature eggs.  It's been almost a year and a half of Clomid Treatment to help stimulate ovulation.  No luck.

Being a Christian, I know what I'm "Supposed" to do...
    1.) Have Faith
    2.) Remain Positive
   
It's never THAT easy!

To have this unbelievably inner-depth desire to carry my own child, to nurse them with nutrients that God has so creatively and perfectly designed me to do...

Last year, this time I miscarried.  I knew what it was, I knew exactly what was happening when I had these pains when I went to the bathroom.  The emotions were an undeniable confirmation.  But even a week later when I read the pregnancy test and saw that it was POSITIVE, I still have no child.  Yeah, it was POSITIVELY a failure!  I had the hormone in my body of being pregnant, but I had already miscarried.  IT, yes IT, was gone.

A year later, here I am.

How can I miss somebody so much that I've never met?!  Not just the one I miscarried, but the one that I've created in my mind.  My daughter that has long, dark hair like me, and fair skin with light freckles like Marcos.  My son who loves music like his dad and soccer like his mom.  Them!  I miss them so much!

I have the best support team behind me.  My husband constantly reminds me to have faith.  To believe and trust God's Will for our life.  While it can be annoying from time to time, I know he says those things because he believes them and because he loves me.  God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed Marcos in my life.

When I look at everything that God has done for me and continues to do in my life, I feel so guilty for losing faith.  For having more focus on what I want rather than what He's already given me.

If I NEVER have a child...I WILL STILL LOVE HIM!

Pray for Your Husband...

If there is one thing to learn in marriage, it's that you can NOT change your husband, but God can. You can NOT change his heart, but God can. 

It must have taken complete trust and faith in God for Abraham to lead his son to be slain. Would you do it? No really, if God told you to take your husband to a place to be killed, would you do it? 

I strive to have this unshaken and relentless faith like Abraham. Not just with my husband, but with everything in my life. 

Repeat after me...

My husband is not mine, He is God's. 

My marriage is not mine, it is God's. 

Say this over and over until it resonates into your heart and soul. If you, like me, struggle with this, ask God to help you. Tell Him it's hard for you to give up the things you love. Ask Him for forgiveness for trying to control things that aren't meant for your control. 

If you truly want to help your husband, pray for him. We all need prayer. Our nation's fall and deterred morality starts at home. With our families. With the head of our households; which ladies, it is time to accept that we are not the head of the households, and if you have been playing this part, it is time you take a step back and fall to your knees to raise up your husband to become the leader he is called to be. 

It's not a natural thing for me to just sit down and pray, so I love guides to help me stay on track. This doesn't mean I don't "care" it's just not my strong point, but "change" isn't "changed" until it's CHANGED. Therefore, I am taking the necessary steps to create CHANGE. 

With the help of Scripture and the handy dandy Internet... I made my prayer list for my husband. 

1.) my husband's relationship with God. 

2.) that God would bless my husband. 

3.) that my husband would be a spiritual leader for our family. 

4.) for my husband to love me deeply. 

5.) that my husband would have a heart for children. 

6.) that my husband would make wise choices. 

7.) for my husband to prosper at work. 

8.) for my husband's power to resist sexual temptation. 

9.) that I will show my husband respect, grace, and kindness. 

Dear God, 

Unfortunately, marriage often leads to a commonplace, comfortable feeling and we get distracted by other things in life than focusing on our love for each other. I pray that we would be passionate about pursuing date night with each other. Help us to clear our schedules to make time for date night. I also pray that we can find things to do that are not too costly, yet I hope that you would provide the means to have some really nice dates at time in Jesus Name! AMEN! 

Dead God, 

I lift up my husband to You right now. May You guard his mind and heart from temptation. Give him the strength to resist sin. Continue to mature his character and make him more like You.  I pray that he would recognize his role as a husband and head of our home. Equip him to lead us as You have called him to in Jesus Name. AMEN! 

Dear God, 

Thank You for my wonderful husband. My absolutely amazing husband! I pray that You would give us both an intense passion for each other. Please spark my heart to pursue my husband. Please spark my husband's heart to pursue me. Remind us Lord to touch each other in passing, kiss each other in greeting, embrace one another, to look each other straight in the eyes, and to listen to each other's heart and respond gently and with love. I pray that we would both initiate intimacy and that we would respond positively. I ask Lord that You would infiltrate our hearts with Your incredible Love that it may pour out into the way we love each other. In Jesus Name. AMEN! 

Dear God,

Help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us. To work "that" love into practical things so that nothing can divide us. We ask for words both kind and loving and hearts always ready to ask for forgiveness as well as forgive. We put our marriage into Your hands. Amen! 

I am so blessed. I truly have an amazing husband. He is more than our household provider. He is my best friend. I know looks aren't important, but my husband is so hot! He is handsome when dressed for church, and downright sexy when he wears his baseball cap backwards (which is usually when he's doing work around the house, which is hot in itself, hello!)  

He is so patient! Very calm. I know he loves me! 

I read out of Christine Caine's book Undaunted that this is God's nature:

The very thing the enemy uses to try to destroy our life, is the very thing God uses to help others. 

I can honestly say that my marriage is always under attack. If not by the enemy by family, friends, etc...

My husband and I are far from perfect. But we have both learned that we must ask God to equip us with the eyes and the ears to recognize when the enemy is trying to distract us, dislocate us, and ultimately trying to destroy us. 

I pray that the lessons I've learned in marriage will be used to help others in Jesus Name. 

My marriage will not be a stastic for divorce. In fact, the D-Word is a BAD word in my house. Make it one for your's too. 

God bless! 

31 Questions to Ask Your Future Spouse.

I'm always trying to come up with different and interesting things to blog about and today I received my inspiration from 95.1 Air1 Positive Alternative Radio Station.

The DJ was sharing with his co-host a story of his friends, married couple, early 20's, married for 4 years. 

Apparently, the friend was sharing with the DJ some complaints about his wife. The biggest one being, she doesn't believe in flushing the toilet after you pee. She believes you should conserve water. Another was that his wife doesn't want to purchase a house because she likes changing her address every 2 years or so. From what I understand of the story, his wife was a Military Kid and always moved - as an adult, she would like to continue that. 

Needless to say, the DJ shared about 10 complaints from his Buddy about his wife. The DJ was shocked that none of these topics were covered before The Big I DO!  

This gave me the idea to share a good 20 or more questions that I think would be beneficial to ask your future spouse. 

Now I've only been married about 5 years, so I'm definitely NO expert on marriage, however, I do recognize Marriage to be a covenant between a man, his wife, and God. Jesus Christ has always been the foundation of our marriage and with that, I'm confident in saying that I will fulfill my vows to my hubby - Til death do us part...

Here are a few I came up with:

1.) Do you believe marriage is a promise between you, your spouse, and God? 

2.) Do you believe that when you say I Do that you are leaving your family to start our own? 

3.) Is effective communication important to you? 

4.) Do you believe "what's mine is yours" and "what's yours is mine"? 

5.) Do you want to plant roots somewhere to start a family? 

6.) Do you want kids? How many? How soon? 

7.) Do you believe in saving some money for a rainy day? 

8.) Do you believe praying together is crucial in a marriage? 

9.) Are you Pro-Life? 

10.) Are you Pro Guns?

11.) Do you believe in teaching your kids about Safe Sex or Abstinence? 

12.) Do you believe in spanking your child when necessary? 

13.) Do you believe sex is important to have a healthy marriage? 

14.) Are you an animal lover? 

15.) Do you have a criminal record? 

16.) Would you prefer to live in the city, country, beach, or the suburbs? 

17.) If we are struggling in our marriage, are you open to discussing with a trusted family member, church leader, Christian-based Marriage Counselor, etc? 

18.) If one of our parents get sickly, would you be open to having them live with us to provide the proper care? 

19.) How will we schedule holidays with our families? 

20.) If unable to have children, are you open to adoption? 

21.) What does my family do that annoys you? 

22.) What is one thing you admired about your parent's way of raising you? 

23.) What is one thing you despised about your parents? 

24.) Do you feel like you can communicate with me under any circumstance and about any subject? 

25.) What are all of your current personal debts? 

26.) Who will pay the bills? 

27.) What are your views on pornography? 

28.) What's your least favorite House Chore? 

29.) What's your most favorite House Chore? 

30.) What do you love most about me? 

31.) Do you believe LOVE is a feeling? 

Hope these questions come in handy for somebody. 

Turning 13 - Destiny's Party

I have some amazing nieces and nephews. A grand total of  9 - 7 girls, 2 boys.

My niece Destiny is turning the big 1-3 on February 12th. Her party was yesterday at my house. Marcos and I figured it's the least we could do. She is such a great young lady. Well behaved, beautiful, a good student, and an all around caring niece. It was our pleasure - we knew she and her friends would really enjoy the large backyard for dancing, playing, basketball, and all the other "things" teenagers do these days. 

One of the things I'm looking most forward to are the Red Velvet cupcakes I volunteered to make. I figured, being so close to Valentine's Day, Red Velvet seemed fitting. 

I am in NO way to be considered a Professional Baker! With that said, I followed the instructions on the back of the Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix Box. 

Ingredients:

- 1 Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix

- 3 Eggs

- 1/2 Cup of oil 

- 1 1/4 Cup of water

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:

- 16 oz. Cream Cheese (softened) 

- 1/2 tsp. of Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar

- 1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line your cupcake pan with liners. Mixtures yields 24 cupcakes. 

Combine all Cake Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Mix for about 2 minutes or until fully combined. 

Fill each cup 2/3 of the way. Bake for 18 minutes.  You can be sure that the cupcakes are cooked through by sticking a toothpick through the center of one and it coming out clean. 

Remove cupcakes from the tin and place on cooling rack for at least 45 minutes or until fully cooled to the touch. 

Directions for Frosting:

Combine powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Add vanilla extract and cream cheese. Turn mixer to high speed. Whip until you have stiff peaks. 

Pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes with whichever desired tip or simply spread on top with a butter knife. 

Being so close to Valentine's, I melted some chocolate, piped HEARTS onto a wax paper. I then placed the cooled hearts as toppers to half of my cupcakes. The other half - One Direction Toppers.

Yes, my niece is madly in love with this band. And she definitely deserves the desires of her little heart - the cupcakes, not the boys! Hehe! 

Thank you Jesus, these were a hit. Especially the frosting. 

Most importantly - the Birthday Girl was happy, which makes me one very happy Tia. 

I would definitely recommend these cupcakes added to your dessert rotation - they were Mmmm Good! 

Good-bye Grandma

Sunday, January 26th at approximately 3:30am we said good-bye to Grandma Rose Marie Bazaure.  

Saying good-bye is never easy for the family, friends, and loved ones left behind, however, as a believer in Christ, I am confident she is with Our Father in Heaven rejoicing!  

Grandma Rose, Marcos' grandma, has been a blessing to me personally.  Learning her history and understanding the life she lived speaks volumes into the life I move forward with.  

This Woman of God, was an example of what a Wife, Mother, and Grandmother should live like.

She stood by her husband through good and through bad, providing care for him in his last years suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.  

Rose will forever be missed and always remembered.  The Legacy she has left will continue to breath through the lives of her daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

This video below is of a song, titled: You Hold Me Now by Hillsong United.

It speaks of that moment of entrance into eternity.  Being embraced by Our Father.  Where the streets are made of Gold! No Weeping.  No hurt. No more pain.  No more suffering.  God holds you at that point.  No darkness.  No sick.  No Lame.  God holds you! 

I find hope and comfort in that Rose is no longer sick, no longer suffering, no longer feeling pain, but she is rejoicing in the presence of her God, dancing, and singing.

You will always be in our hearts!  Each time I look at a red rose I will remember that is your favorite flower! 

I will remember the time you gave to Marcos and I, sharing with us the history of the Bazaure Family.  

I will remember all of it and share it with our children so that they will know there was a generation before them that left a Legacy for them to carry on as good and honest people, as you were!

Program Cover from Funeral - February 1, 2014

Marcos and Grandma Rose at her 80th Birthday Celebration.

Grandma Rose, Marcos, and I on our Wedding Day - May 16, 2009

I love you Grandma Rose.

In the Beginning...

This blog has been a long time coming.

I've always had this urge to write, but my initial understanding of blogs was that is was very self-focused.  With that said, I strayed away from the idea until recently.  After reading other blogs and getting real education (I'll let you know what I learned in a minute) on the purpose of blogs, I decided - LET'S DO THIS!

I guess I also had to get to a place of understanding and acceptance in my own personal thoughts that I may never have a Subscriber, nobody would be interested, and Google may inconspicuously divorce my blog for reasons of boredom, therefore not even putting up a fight for custody of it's content.  (see what I did there - haha)

Moving on:

Okay, so after carefully looking at other blogs that are comparable to the ideas I have for mine I have come to learn that they aren't Self-Focused AT ALL!  They are ideas that others share from THEIR real life experiences - but in a very non-selfish, look-at-me kinda way. This is exactly what I want to come from my blog.

With that said, you can expect to read about and experience with me a little from my Faith, in some sort - my Love, my Family, and of course the good, bad, and indifferent of my day-to-day life.

About the Author:
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Tried to dodge this part, but I think that would leave for a lot of confusion down the road if I didn't give at least one sentence about myself.  So here we go...

My name is Teresa Serrano.  I've lived my entire life in the High Desert of Southern California, specifically, the Antelope Valley.  I'm 27 years young, strong believer that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, an animal lover, and happily married to my best friend of nearly 10 years, Marcos.

Marcos & Teresa Serrano Wedding 05/16/2009

I absolutely love Hallmark Movies, some of my faves are Back to You and Me, Matchmaker Santa, and Backyard Wedding. Each of these movies hold a little bit of a fairy tale that I secretly (well, not anymore) wish for!  The "small town", old-fashioned, and traditional living style is just so....BLISSFUL!  It's comparable to living in a Nicholas Sparks Novel, who by the way is my most FAVORITE Novelist.

My day-to-day living pretty much consists of the typical Homemaker duties (cleaning, cooking, and cleaning some more), working on building my company One Way Marketing (www.Facebook.com/1WayMarketing), playing with my two adorable doggies, spending time with my husband, going to church, serving in Ministry, and hanging out with my family.  When I'm not doing all the above, I like to Crochet (I just started), Watch Movies, Blog, Try out New Recipes, Bake, and Listen to Music.

 

Chewy Serrano, Shihtzu

 Buddy Serrano, Westland Terrier

I have a feeling, I will have a few people question my choice of Blog Title: Simply Spicy Serrano.  Again, I want my blog to cover both the simplicity, old-fashioned, and traditional side of my life, as well, I don't want to hold back the more chaotic, sometimes hectic and spicy side of my life.  That's exactly what a Serrano Pepper is.  It's a simple ingredient that can be played down into a simple salsa to compliment chips, or it can be left in it's natural form in which packs a lot of heat!  Take that as a WARNING before biting into one please!

I truly hope you enjoy the things I share and I would love to hear your feedback.

I'll end with sharing one of my fave scriptures:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Special Thanks to my dear friend Sara H. for your indirect, yet very helpful way of getting me to figure out my Blog Title.  You are much appreciated!