Livin' Life in the Fastlane (literally)

New Blog

2009-07-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to tell you that I now have another blog. The Belasco Times is simply a old fashion school type newspaper that tells what's happening with my family and what's going on around us. Feel free to visit at thebelascotimes.blogspot.com.

Fourth of July

2009-07-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

What is the Fourth of July all about? Independence of course. But do we ever stop to think about it amid all the fireworks and picnics? Does the price paid for liberty ever cross our minds? Even though the Declaration of Independence wasn't signed until August 2, 1776, July Fourth was the date the idea was adopted. And that was the date set aside for us to be thankful and enjoy our freedom. But we must not forget to think about the men who died to give us this freedom. The men who took arms and shouted the cry of "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!" If you haven't yet taken the time to thank God and give a moment of silence to those fallen who died for the cause of liberty. If you would stop reading this right now and say a prayer of thankfulness to God, for both those who died and those who are in the field fighting for the cause of freedom. Everyday that we can go to school or work or church without fear of oppression, we should be thankful. We are privileged to live in a country where we aren't slaves. Hopefully others can someday share that same blessing.
Happy Fourth of July!!!

Velma Laverne Haymaker

2009-06-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Recently on One Minute Writer alot of the prompts have caused me to think about my, Grandma. So, I decided to write a post in tribute to her.
Her Maiden name was Velma Laverne Haymaker, born at home in Oklahoma about 70 years ago. When she was still very young Velma, her mother, and her younger siblings moved to California, to live with their grandparents. Her Dad stayed in Oklahoma and remarried, telling his new family that she had died in a car wreck at the age of 5! While growing up in California Velma learned early how to take care of kids, being the oldest she had to be her mothers helper. Her mother worked hard to support them but unfortunately Velma had to drop out of 8th grade to work. Her Grandfather acted as a father figure in her life, seeing how she hardly knew her father. After two marriages and 4 kids a man walked into the store where Velma was working. This man, Arnold Belasco, though 5 years her junior, would be the man she would spend her life with. Some of the kids didn't like this. My Uncle Mike, in a show of defiance stomped on his shoe at the start of the first date! He was a electrician and later when the family moved to Tucson, AZ with their newborn son, Arnold Belasco III or Scooter, my father, my Grandpa started his elecrical company, Belasco Electric. Now, years later that business is still going strong, my father was trained to be an electrician before we became missionaries. A few years ago my grandma died leaving behind my aunt and 3 uncles, my dad, Grandpa and a slew of grandkids and great-grandkids. That was my grandma's story.

Oh, Milk!

2009-06-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

When I was Posting my tire story yesterday I remambered somethings that I wanted to tell you about. First of all, milk. So we were driving down the road, minding our own buisiness, AJ and I were in the back section watching the second season of Gilligans Island on DVD, when CRASH, BOOM, BANG, SPLAT!!! Next thing we know our two band new half gallons of milk are on the floor and one is busted! We pull off and I try to pick up the busted milk jug, unfortunately it was busted on the bottom! (Why do the even put that little X on the bottom of the jug? It's a disaster waiting to happen!) Pretty soon everyone except me is on the ground with a towel in their hands and I'm digging around for more towels. So when we get to where we're gonna stay that night we asses the damage. Half the stuff in the laundry smells like milk, the carpet smells like milk, and there's milk in one of the bins under the Motorhome! It took a week and a half to get the RV smelling better! That was about a month ago. The culprit, the fridge hadn't been latched all the way! That taught us! All I can say is, Oh Milk!

Uh-Oh

2009-06-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Would you believe what just happened to us? Here's a hint: we are sitting on the side of the road, in the car, watching a guy do somehing to our motorhome. Ok, so we were driving down the road heading to our next church when there's this huge banging noise and a thumping afterward! I jump, Dad shouts, and Mom screams. Mom runs to the back window and yells "We lost the explorer!" Meaning the Explorer we pull behind our RV. Just then Dad yells " We lost a tire!" The bathroom smelled like burned rubber. We got out and low and behold the inside back tire on the passenger side is shreded, and the mufler is hanging and the stuff that protects the gas lines and stuff is messed up! Thankfully we didn't loose the Explorer. So we were able to make it to the shoulder of the freeway and call roadside service and they fixed the tire. So now we're sitting in the car about to follow Dad to the place where we're gonna get the rest of it fixed. I'll post some pictures as soon as posible. Exciting right?

The One Minute Writer

2009-06-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

I recently found a really cool blog. It is called The One Minute Writer, and the author has set up this blog to challenge people to write for one minute a day or more about the prompt that she has set up for that day. She even set up a timer to count down from 60 seconds. I found it really neat to be able to go and let my creativity ( what little there is :].) run wild. I chose to post my response to the prompt in the comments section of that day's post, but you don't have to. Like I said, it is quite simply a challenge to the reader to write for 60 seconds. I liked it.

Website Adress:
www.oneminutewriter.blogspot.com

SORRY

2009-05-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry, about not writing for a while. I'm afraid I haven't had much to write about lately. Well, actually, there are toms of things I could have written about. For example: I went to my best friends B-Day party and was forced to wear a waste-basket/planter pot on my head all because of this crazy game we were playing (Amazing race/Video scavenger hunt)! I broke my glasses and had to get new yet awesome looking ones. They're thin gold wire with the lower half of the lenses unframed, I can hardly see them when I'm wearing them! Grandpa came for Memorial Day weekend, and spoiled us as usual. I've been half bored out of my mind 'cause I'm officially out of books to read, so at this point I'm going through a crisis of boredom. It doesn't help that my best friend emailed me yesterday saying she was going to go to the library. Oh, the TORTURE!!! But, hey, I'll survive. (I HOPE.) Since we decided to use Switched-On-Schoolhouse for home school next year, we had to get another computer. Which means, I have the old computer to use as my own seeing how AJ will share the new computer with Mom and Dad will have his own. Well that's all the news from this MK, so now you're pretty much caught up. Over and Out.

It's raining Cats & Dogs!!

2009-02-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a long time since I blogged! Would you believe that it's already February? So, Happy Valentines DAY!! I wanted to ak an animal question, you see I did this composition in grammar and it was about the favorite animal of the American household. My moms friend, Kea, has 7 cats!! Yet many other friends of mine have dogs. My mom and dad like dogs and I like cats (not as much as horses but that isn't part of the equation). So which is better? cats or dogs? Here are the 7 cats I was talking about. The girl in the 2nd and 3rd pictures is Kea's oldest daughter.
The boy in the last picture is my brother AJ.

<- Someone woke up on the wrong side of the pillow!!

Hey, fat cat!!!

Excuse me, what are you doing?

Christmas Traditons/Its Called Christmas!!!

2008-12-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas at my grandparents house is always very fun. The more family, the more fun! But when we move to Spain we will have to start our own family tradition, problem is, I don't know of any others! My family's tradition is: Our family(and all our freinds) all go to my grandma's house on Christmas Eve, we eat sweets and ham until we can't move, then we would open gifts that Grandma had worked on all year! Then on Christmas morining we would just open gifts that our little foursome bought for each other. Christmas Eve was more extravagant than Christmas Morning! This year is going to be just the same except, we aren't doing all the elaborate gifts. This year my little cousins are getting gifts and everyone else is getting gift-cards. So this year I chalenge you to do 3 things: 1-Be thankful for the gift of family, 2- watch your family's traditions this Christmas and tell me about them. And 3- Remember, the reason for the Christmas season is CHRIST! Thats why its called CHRISTmas for heaven's sake!!! X-mas? Give me a break!! Its called Christmas!!!!

Home Sweet Home

2008-11-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone on a long trip and couldn't wait untill you got home? Maybe you missed your bed or your room or your radio. I only have one thing that is raelly worth missing, my family. They're a weird and wacky bunch, but I love them to death. As a missionary kid I can't really call any bed, mine (except the one in the motor home)! I no longer have a radio in my room and haven't listened to music in a while (my CDs are screaming at me from the other side of the room!). But my family are always there for me to come home to, the whole motley crew of them. True my cousin is in Japan and my uncle in Hawaii, but there's this great invention, EMAIL!! I love my email acount, I don't know how I would stay in touch with my friends without it. But writen words don't compare to hearing someones voice, or seeing there face. So the saying is tue when they say: "There's no place like home." 'Cause home is really Where the Heart is.

My Trip

2008-10-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm back! I recently took a trip to the East Coast for a Baptist Bible Fellowship meeting, during which my family was approved to be missionaries. So, yeah, its official. While we were there we got to go to DC. It was so cool!!! Believe me if you ever visit Virgina or Maryland you have to go to DC. I mean HAVE TO!! We went through Tennesse, and Oh My Goodness, it was sooo BEAUTIFUL. Rolling hills and trees everywhere! That was new for me 'cause I've lived in the West my whole life. So now we're traveling around the West in a motor home that a man in our home church is loaning to us. While we're traveling one thing that I want to see is a rodeo. My uncle was able to participate in one, but I probablly won't be that lucky.

Here are some pics of DC. We saw the changing of the gaurd, at the tomb of the unknown sodiers.

Look at how many awards that the got, and no one even knows who they are!!!

Look the White House! "Hi, Mr. President"

Top: South Veiw. The one they put in postcards.

Left: North Veiw. You know, the one the never put in post cards. HMMM Wonder why not ?

We also saw the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. But my favorite were the statues at the Vietnam Memorial. There was the Three Servicemen statue and the Women of the Vietnam War statue.

The Women of the Veitnam War statue was, by far, my favorite.

The first picture is of an African American woman crying out to God while protecting the other two women. The second picture is of a woman behind the baracade, holding the helmet of a fallen soldier. The third, my personal favorite, shows a nurse, putting herself in harm's way, to try to save a wounded soldier. This statue really reminded me of what happens to the women when the men go of to war. For the women at home, they're flung into an emotional and mental battle, they havto hold the fort here, at home, while the men are gone. As for the women on the feild, everyday, whether they're fighting or nursing the injured, they are in phisical danger. That is why I beleive that not only should the men on the feild get credit, but the women also. On the feild or at home, women aren't insignificant to a battle, many times they are the key to success. On the feild the can save a life, at home they hold the family and the home together. Many times, men fight the battle, but without women behind the scenes, and on the stage, the US would be a complete mess.

Owwwwwch! What a Cluts

2008-09-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

I love all the churches that we go to, but some times I just have to look back and laugh at myself. For example: We were going to a new church, and we had the usual anxiety attack, right before walking in the door! Well after braving the emotional elements I finally get enough courage to walk through the door into the teen room. (Which, by the by, is big enough for three wild mustangs to have fun in without hurting themselves.) Here's what I see, one door into the children's class, four TVs along the left wall with some kind of electronic device hooked up to each one of them, in front of the many chairs is a stage that looks set up for a professional concert( Not that I would know, I've never been to one.), to my direct left (at the back of the room) is a pool table with two people playing at it, far in front of me is a door to a kitchen, and covering the walls are banners of a bunch of different schools. Everyone is really nice and eventually we get around to playing Red Rover, about three people go and then they call me. Only they don't use my name they said "The girl in the striped shirt." I look down, OK that's me, and I start running. Now I'm in a skirt and heels and their line is frighteningly close to the wall. I turn and go for the weakest link in their line, big fat mistake! Their hands come apart like thread and I know I'm about to hit the wall but I can't stop! BAM!!! I slam into the wall face first, hit one of the TVs, my glasses are now halfway across the room, the TV stand goes forward, the television backward, the wheel to the stand comes off, and the door to it hits me in the shoulder! I'm positive that I'm gonna have a black eye but I'm okay with it, the only thing I can think is "That was FUN!!! I want to do it again!" Then I realize that everything is silent. So I do the first thing that comes to mind, I say what I was thinking. "That was fun!" Then everybody starts talking at once. I can pick out things like: "Is she okay?" or " You gave the Missionary a black eye!" and " Go see if she's okay." my favorite was "Her parents are gonna have your hide.!.!" Finally I got my glasses back and went to sit with another girl I met. After the lesson no one could wait to tell my parents what happened, and blame it on the youth pastor, but he just laughed it off. That was on of the funniest churches that I went to.

Labor Day

2008-09-01T14:24:00.001-07:00

You know, Labor Day was really created in honor of all the working people in America, yet we get to celebrate it too! Well I had a really fun Labor Day, the people in my church went to the park to celebrate. I went on the jumping castle, played Hillbilly Golf, ate alot of good food, and took a few pics. I also did alot of talking, and even baby sat the cutest new born baby while his mom and siblings had fun. Hey, blog me and tell me what you did this Labor Day.

Our Spain Trip

2008-08-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

I want to show you some of the places that we went while we were in Spain on our missions trip.

The kids at the baptist camp love Foosball.

This was in Madrid.

What?!? I was tired and that puppy was cute.

These are the Mowerys, we'll be working with them when we get to Spain. They have another daughter who isn't pictured. Here are some of the people in their church.

This is Mom with Quagi. She isn't spanish, Quagi is South American!

Grandpa(right) with Ephraim(left). Ephraim isn't spanish either!

This is Tony, his wife, and Baby Ruth. They're spanish.

If I put any more Pics on this no one will read it so I will do the rest later.

God's house + a mouse

2008-08-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

I love it when funny things happen at churches. Like one church we went to , they had their very own church mouse! No lie! Dad was preaching in this little one room church and there was brisket cooking in the back, so as Dad was doing his best to talk over all the growling stomachs, this mouse darted out from behind the stage! Not kidding this little piece of gray fluff was trying to get to the food! Every time it came out he darted back two seconds later. I thought he wouldn't go because I kept talking to him but, turns out, the whole time Mom had been shooing him away with her hand, which was down by her side. But mice very are stubborn and so, eventualy, Little John Churchmouse's nose got the best of him and, against all common sense, he ran back, TOWARD THE BRISKET! I never saw that little mouse again, but I know he didn't die, well not that Sunday anyway.

Hi there.

2008-08-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first day of having my own blog, which is really exciting for me. But that could be becouse I don't get out much. True to my name I am a missionary kid. My parents are starting deputation. Deputation is where Missionarys like us go to different churches to gain support. For what? To go to the field. For us that is Spain. Spain is where we will tell others about Christ. If you want to see our website the adress is http://www.spainstakes.org/. Well right now we're not out and about much but soon we will be approved to be missionaries. Then we'll really live life in the fast lane.