28 March 2010

Happy Easter

We may be far, many miles apart, but nothing will stop me from wishing you a very happy and sweet Easter!

24 March 2010

SPRING







FATHER'S DAY


"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

19 March 2010

17 March 2010

The Flower Garden

A blur of color in the wind
Fertile soil as nature’s palette
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin



A gardener’s work must begin
Work the soil before he sees
A blur of color in the wind


Damp earth the gardener’s canvas
Spring warmth brings the seed to sprout
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin


A fiery sun nurtures the seed to begin
Emerald leaves open to feed and bring
A blur of colour in the wind


A palace of wild beauty within
The gardeners reward of toil is
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin


And within this plot of raging color
The worker’s castle for months to stay
A blur of color in the wind
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin.



By Wayne Jarus

16 March 2010

11 March 2010

IRENA SENDLER

Irena Sendler. An unfamiliar name to most people, but this remarkable woman defied the Nazis and saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto. As a health worker, she sneaked the children out between 1942 and 1943 to safe hiding places and found non-Jewish families to adopt them.Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two entrances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They entered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. "`Can you guarantee they will live?'" Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. "In my dreams," she said, "I still hear the cries when they left their parents."But the Nazis became aware of Irena's activities, and on October 20, 1943 she was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo, who broke her feet and legs. She ended up in the Pawiak Prison, but no one could break her spirit. Though she was the only one who knew the names and addresses of the families sheltering the Jewish children, she withstood the torture, refusing to betray either her associates or any of the Jewish children in hiding.Sentenced to death, Irena was saved at the last minute when Zegota members bribed one of the Germans to halt the execution. She escaped from prison but for the rest of the war she was pursued by the Gestapo.After the war she dug up the jars and used the notes to track down the 2,500 children she placed with adoptive families and to reunite them with relatives scattered across Europe. But most lost their families during the Holocaust in Nazi death camps.The children had known her only by her code name Jolanta. But years later, after she was honored for her wartime work, her picture appeared in a newspaper. "A man, a painter, telephoned me," said Sendler, "`I remember your face,' he said. `It was you who took me out of the ghetto.' I had many calls like that!"Irena Sendler did not think of herself as a hero. She claimed no credit for her actions. "I could have done more," she said. "This regret will follow me to my death."

8 March 2010

On this day...

"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt

7 March 2010

About the sea

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came. John F. Kennedy

6 March 2010

5th March - Happy birthday dear MUM


I love you!

Congratulations my love



I´m very proud of you. 4th of March was a different day in Fantasporto!!!

3 March 2010

One more baby to say hello!

Hello, Tomás! Here you are! The world is whole yours. It's a small world and it fits your little hands perfectly. It's a small world made of love. Your mom's love! Your dad's love! Only you can make it move. Be happy, little Tomás! May all your sweet dreams come true!

Doll's Festival


The Doll's Festival (Hinamatsuri) takes place on March 3. Hinamatsuri is a time to pray for the health and well being of young girls. Most homes with young girls will set up a display of dolls. Around the display dedications of peach blossoms, cube rice cakes, special colored and diamond shaped rice cakes, and white sake are made. This ceremony is similar to a Chinese ceremony in which the sins of the body are transferred to a doll that is then set adrift on a river. The celebration of this festival in Japan is traceable to the Edo Period (1603-1867).

2 March 2010

Colette's New Baby!

It's a boy and they are very happy!
Dear Colette and Ricardo: This baby makes us feel happy too.
We wish you, little Raul, a long and happy life! May your mom and dad be always by your side, specially on those very special moments.
They will always thank God for this enormous blessing: you!
Here is a poem! We want to dedicate it to the new-born-family!

A Baby Changes Things

A baby changes things;
They’ll never be the same;
Your life is filled with wonder,
Since your little miracle came.

There’s lots of things to do now,
But with the new tasks you face,
Your family gains more love,
And bonds time will never erase.

By Karl and Joanna Fuchs