Anna M. Aquino

Recently Dan and I were talking and this story came up. I had not thought about it in years but realized I had never told it in this format and could not resist telling it. It was a funny story. When I graduated high school, my grandparents bought me a ring. It was out of a LeVian collection. LeVian is a well known jewelry designing legacy, and I am a big fan their work. This ring is still very sentimental to me. When I was in college, I had my hand on a door frame and it was caught on the door hinge and literally ripped off my hand. The shank was broken. So I sent it off to a particular store that was to handle repairs for that company. They did replace the back of the ring but they never put the designer’s insignia in the ring. So I took the ring back and told them this. They solved this problem by forging the insignia in the ring. I was not a happy customer. Later that year some friends and I decided to travel a bit over spring break. We ended up spending time in the Pocono’s, New J...

My aunt and uncle recently spent some time in Belize, and they brought back this very beautiful wooden puzzle. It is hand carved with various woods and finishes, and it really is an impressive piece they placed on their coffee table. While we were in Ohio and visiting their house my oldest daughter without even questioning it picked it up, dumped all the pieces out, and began to try to do the puzzle. I had seen the puzzle setting there and I’ve never been a huge fan of puzzles so it wasn’t much of a temptation to try. However, my oldest daughter earnestly began trying to put it back together. Since they had rather recently returned from Belize they had yet to take a picture of the puzzle. It never occurred to anyone that it would be that difficult. My daughter tried and tried to put that thing back together. Then it got passed around the room for others to try, and then she tried some more. My aunt sent it home to my parent’s house with her to keep trying. She spent hours wor...

Recently I was reminded of a story with my sister and me while I was growing up. My sister and I are six years apart. I remember having a horrible time with learning my math figures. Math has never been my gifting. I can remember spending hours looking at flashcards and several educational things my mother purchased to help me learn my times tables. I was told that my aunt remembers my sister was setting on her couch trying to go through my flashcards with me. She remembers that I was setting somewhat high on the couch but could hear my sister and me talking. “Wow you’re doing much better Ann.” My sister would encourage me as we went through the flash cards. My aunt heard me go through a few more, and then suddenly, “You’re cheating!” “But it’s easier!” I yelled. I guess I figured out how I could see the back of the cards and instead of actually learning the math figures, I was looking at the answers. While I had a point it might have been easier to cheat it was not helping me in the e...

As many of you know a few weeks ago my family and I drove across the country for the holidays. As any long road trip it soon became full of its own adventure. Truthfully the way there wasn’t too bad. We took three days to get there because we stopped and visited a few people on the way. It was the way back, when we drove it straight through that I was again saying to Dan we need a jet plane. My oldest daughter was setting in the backseat of the SUV with her DS taking pictures along the way. She was getting very annoyed with us because she wanted to get a picture of all the states “Welcome To” signs, so I started trying to tell her where they were whenever we were going to pass them. On our way into Michigan I said to the girls, “Look there is the sign. We’re in Michigan! Look! Look! Look!” I was sure they heard me. We were nearing the Canada border and all was well. About ten minutes later I heard a “MOM!” from the back seat of the car. “We’re in Michigan! Why didn’t y...

I have heard people tell me over the years that “You are just one person, and you couldn’t possibly make a difference on this earth.” On this Martin Luther King Jr Day of 2012 I want to remind you all that one person can make a difference. Martin Luther King Jr was one pastor, one father, and one man who essentially changed the world. He helped bring about change in this nation, and when the wars of apartheid sprung up in the 80’s in South Africa I know his inspiration was there as well. One person can make a difference on this earth. Names like Martin Luther (who broke off of the Catholic Church in the 1500’s), Nelson Mandela, Corrie Ten Boom, Anne Frank, and Billy Graham. They were all probably people that would have been considered normal. However, as I wrote in a facebook status update yesterday, “God loves to take ‘normal’ people and do extraordinary things. But it takes the ‘normal’ person to step out of the box of normalcy, and dare to believe Him.” Many of you have heard me tel...

While my family and I were in Canada a few weeks ago, Dan and I went to the main bookstore in town. I am trying to get my book tour schedule down for post the book release and am planning a Northern tour this summer. Because we do travel to Windsor a couple times a year, and I already have a book signing tentatively planned in Detroit, I thought going to Windsor would be a good idea. While I had called this store before and mentioned the idea, and they kind of gave me the run around because I am an American, I thought it would still be worth the try to talk to someone in person. I mean really the border is ten minutes from the store. Dan and I arrived in the bookstore and shook the snow off our shoes. We have done this enough. We have the drill down. He went his way in the store and I went about finding someone I could talk to. “Excuse me ma’am do you have an event coordinator I can speak to…” I went into they why’s and the book release. The worker listened to me with a bl...

While my family and I were spending time with my parents in Ohio, I was reminded of a valuable lesson. My daddy all through growing up would jokingly call my sister and I “skunkypoleon’s”. We would wail and giggle and say we weren’t, and it was a big game in father daughter land. I never thought to ask what it was; it just was something I was sure I wasn’t. Now that my sister and I have our own children, daddy does the same thing with them. For several days I could hear my daughters and nieces’ go back and forth that they weren’t skunkypoleon’s. In the car driving to an Amish store the game with my daughters continued. Daddy was calling them skunkypoleon’s and likewise they were saying he was one. Then wisdom from the back of the car piped up in the words of my oldest daughter. “Grandpa? What is a skunkypolen anyway?” I paused laughing and turned to her. I had never thought to ask what one was. All eyes turned to my dad waiting for a response. Surely after all these years of skunkypole...

Greetings all you awesome people! Hope your Christmas was Merry, and your New Year rocked. I am officially back at my desk, though it seems I have a massive amount of things that need to be done. I have decided being overwhelmed is a strength zapper and I refuse to be zapped. I am choosing to be at peace, and rest in the fact that God is able. We had some exciting doors open up for ministry while we were gone, and I am prayerfully working on some others. If you know of, or are a pastor especially in the Central FL, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, PA, etc area please let me know if you’d be interested in us coming to minister. If you are outside of those areas we can make it work, these are just areas I will be touring. Like always when I travel and spend sometime away, I come back filled with stories of our trip and little lessons learned. I wanted to start by writing a blog about getting to meet an extended family member of my husbands. This uncle was captured during WW2. He was ...