Easter Sunday Recap

This Easter had to have been one of the best yet. Mainly because of the fact that one of my daughters is old enough to enjoy the festivities. Either way, it was a great time for family, friends, and food!

500 eggs to hide

My daughter didn’t quite understand that she needed to pick the eggs up, so she just stared at them.

Then there were other kids who knew exactly what to do

What is an Easter party without cascarones?

Here are a bunch of our sweaty kids breaking cascarones over each other’s heads.

PIÑATA!!

And a whole lot of jumping and sliding!

Shout out to Mark and Maria for throwing such fun Easter party, and congrats to them on their new business venture!

Hope everyone had a great Easter! Don’t forget Mother’s Day is May 8th!

I’m alive

10 years ago I made what I would consider the best decision I could have ever made, and that was to make Jesus my Lord and Saviour.  To this day I continue to be amazed by Him, and continue to do my best to be a reflection of who He truly is. I would be a fool to take the credit for the reason why I can be a good husband, father, friend, employee, or a good man in general. He is the reason why I’m not just living, but I’m alive. 

On this Easter Sunday, I pray that we all are able to recognize the reason why we are alive.

“Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? Jesus is not here! He has been raised from death. Remember that while he was still in Galilee, he told you, “The Son of Man will be handed over to sinners who will nail him to a cross. But three days later he will rise to life.” -LUKE 24

Aphesis + Japan

Two weeks ago I posted a blog post informing every one of our attempt to help in this whole Japan tragedy. To be honest, I didn’t have a goal in mind of how much money I wanted to raise, I just knew my heart was breaking for the people of Japan, and I had to do something about this.

Pictures from National Geographics

Let me be honest, this is the very first time Aphesis donates to any charity or relief fund. Why? I’ll admit it, sometimes you can get so caught up with your goals and your dreams that you don’t stop to do something about the needs around you. Well, this is my way of breaking that horrible habit and allowing Aphesis to do more than just release t-shirt lines.

 This is not about me trying to save the whole world, but doing something about what’s clearly in front of my face, and doing something because we have the ability to do it and know that God has called us to be His hands and feet. Please, please, please, make a donation or purchase a shirt. Today is the last day to donate through Aphesis. Go to www.aphesisclothing.com or www.americanredcross.com

Happy Birthday Isabella

2 years ago my life changed dramatically as I was blessed with my first child. People would always tell me, “It’s going to be amazing,” while others would say, “Get ready, your life is over.” I stand here today more convinced about the first statement than I’ve ever been. It is a huge blessing to be able to be entrusted by the Lord to father and raise two beautiful girls. Today I want to dedicate my blog post to my baby girl Isabella Elise Castellanos. One day she will read this and realize that her papi has always been crazy about her. Happy Birthday Isabella.

Aphesis featured in Inc. Magazine

You might remember a while back I mentioned that I had the privilege to receive one on one advice from Norm Brodsky, “Street Smarts” columnist and senior contributing editor for Inc. Magazine  (read about it here) .  Shortly after our conversation I was asked if I would be ok with this being featured in April’s issue of Inc. Magazine. My first initial thought was, “I don’t want anyone to know about the mistakes I’ve made with Aphesis, and if I were to ever be featured in Inc. Magazine I want it to be for my accomplishments, not my mistakes.” Then I was reminded that Aphesis is not  all about me or my name, and if my mistakes can steer someone away from making the same mistakes, then so be it.  Just like there’s been many successes with Aphesis, there’s also been many mistakes, and this is one of them.

With that being said, check out this month’s “Street Smarts” column, featuring yours truly.