My kids were all excited to find out that Cinco de Mayo was coming up and were hoping to have a party. So we decided to see what we could throw together last minute on Monday.
The kids were in charge of doing the decorations while I worked on the food. They made some banners, lanterns and moroccas out of Easter eggs and plastic spoons. (Thank you pinterest!) I enjoy seeing what they come up with for decorations. The made sure they knew the colors of the Mexican flag and created a banner to match.
I started making homemade corn tortilla’s that my sister had taught us how to make at our last family reunion. I am now becoming a regular pro, and they are pretty tasty!
We enjoyed pork tacos, homemade guacamole, chips and salsa, and some homemade horchata! It was my first try at it and there is some room for improvement, but it turned out pretty tasty. We enjoyed a yummy meal with Mariachi music in the background. There’s nothing that can make it feel more authentic than some good music.
One thing I decided to add to our party and work into our family home evening was a little bit of family history. I have loved the fact that after taking this amazing family history class and getting more involved in it, that my thoughts are daily turning to my ancestors. I was making dinner when I had the thought come to me, that we should read about and remember one of our ancestors Laura Thelma Carling.
She was my great grandmother but I never knew her. She was born in the Colonia Dublen, Chihuahua, Mexico when her family moved from Orderville, Utah to Mexico because of beautiful land they heard about. 
She lived most of her younger life there until they were driven out by Pancho Villa and the Mexican rebels. They thought they would be returning to their homes so they left everything except a pair of clothes and some food for the trip. She describes her older married siblings burying their wedding china in a big wash bin in the ground to come back later for. Her sister describes that her and Laura went and tucked and hid away their favorite dolls thinking they would be back. They never were able to go back. Everything had been looted by the rebels when they were gone. 
So we spent some time reading her own story about what it was like to live in Mexico, her fun stories of growing up, and then her experience of being driven out. I have never read her history all the way through, and finished it off that night in bed. There’s something about learning more about where you came from and who you are a part of. I really feel like the spirit has been been bringing them into my remembrance, prompting me to find stories, and having stories just start coming to me of these amazing people. 
I have been reading them to my children and as Mirian declared the other night while reading about Laura. “I love reading these stories! They’re the best!” They are often asking me if they can get on family search, or work on finding their own ancestors stories or documents. They are learning to find records, stories and pictures and are getting addicted to this great work as well. I have loved it when we can work Family history in with school time and regular family life. Finding reasons to celebrate their lives and who they were. I was really glad I was inspired to celebrate her life during our party rather than just enjoying some good food.
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