Jan 1st 2014…

I wanted to catch you up on what’s been happening. A lot. Amanda, we headed to Hawaii for a good long, much needed vacation, your great grandmother passes away, I had a scare with my stomach, I proposed to your mom, and you kept growing.

Your mom and I just got back from Sami’s birthday where you had a blast and Sami was doing her thing.

I cant stress enough the importance of helping Amanda. We are here to help those that cant help themselves. Just remember were we came from, where your parents grew up, and how much we struggled to get where we’re at now. I guess thats why I keep going no matter how hard it may seem. Being told that my dad, your grandfather picked up card board to sell, collected cans so our family could get by doesnt compare to anything we might encounter in our every day lives at work.

I know i’ve slipped and havent sent you emails lately I will.

A few weeks, more like a month or two ago I woke up feeling interesting. I felt like I was already dead. It felt so refreshing and in a way liberating. Since then I’ve been in this strange daze feeling really good about life, what I can expect, and just enjoying and not really stressing over the small things. The best way I can describe is how I would feel during an interview. I would stumble in the initial question and realize I didn’t get the job. At that point, since all was lost, I would have fun with what tends to be a really stressful situation. Same situation but its now with life.

We’re planning to have another baby. Not sure when but seeing you alone, playing with your toys, I tend to agree with your mom. You need a companion. You will be a great sister and I hope you grow up to show your siblings your creative spark and awesome sense of adventure. My biggest fear? My biggest fear is not knowing how you’re going to react to the negativity of the world. I hope I engrain in you the need to seek your creative side.

To this day I dont know what I did to be so lucky. That’s what bugged me for year.

I’ll leave you with my latest musical discovery, Of Monsters and Men (I’ve heard them before just never knew their name or heard their full album…not bad)

Armando Padilla