What a fun guest, Kate was! She walks us through her childhood all the way to her current life. Having grown up with a mother with mental illness and a grandmother that was her shelter from the storms of life, she shares what she has learned from their lives, from her own mistakes and how she views herself, God and life, now. 

Link for Trades of Hope 

Magdalena was our guest in episode 12 and I had her come back to share her Christmas Traditions as a Pole that was raised in Canada and now resides in Texas with her American husband and children. We end up discovering some similarities in our cultures and I totally enjoyed learning about hers. 

Merry Christmas to you all! May the miracle of Jesus' birth shine a light on all those tender places that this year 2020 has created. May you find hope, comfort and his eternal peace when you meet with Him. 

Even though Leslie, Jessica and I are Puerto Rican, well, Leslie is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, our traditions were not the same. We remember the similarities and share the differences. Since I am the only one that has actually lived in Puerto Rico, I was able to experience the full Christmas experience from childhood to adulthood. Jessica may have lost her Puerto Rican card after saying she doesn't like Bacardi. Also, you must listen in and hear all about my Christmas Branch. Totally not a Latin tradition, just me being funny!

Here is the recipe for the Coquito. It's our Christmas Drink and I refuse to call it a type of eggnog, because...just NO!

1 can of Cream of Coconut

1 can of Evaporated Milk

1 can of Sweet Condensed Milk

2 cans of Coconut Milk

2 Tbls of Cinnamon

1 cup of Bacardi Rum (start with 1/2 a cup and add until you hear the angels sing!)

Put it in a blender until the cinnamon is well incorporated and everything is creamy smooth. Store in glass containers/bottles with lids and refrigerate. Serve COLD! You can add a dash of cinnamon to make it look pretty! Enjoy!

Kai shares her childhood Christmas memories and super funny stories. There is a lot of laughing and talking about food. 

Leslie, Jessica and I talk about how we handle praising God in the middle of hard times, even when we can't thank Him in the middle of the storms.

Author, Kara Alberico, tells us what she has learned about being married to, and choosing to stay married to a drug addict. She tells us how she learned how to put up healthy boundaries and allow her husband to deal with natural consequences of his decisions. Her decision definitely affected her and her children directly, even to the point of driving a wedge between her oldest and her parents. Kara has now earned a bachelors in Criminal Justice and Human Services and hopes to help other families that are affected by drug addiction. 

Find a link to her book here:

My Marriage Through Recovery

How do you handle thanking God for the good and the bad? I don't handle it very graciously and I sure could use a change of heart. In this episode I share a story about a different perspective on being grateful for it all and especially when we are in the middle of the hard times. I share a few scriptures on Thanksgiving, but focus primarily on Philippians 4:4-8.