NO Excuses here!

So lots of things have happened to our family but I haven't mentioned any of it here. I am a slacker and I'm just not going to give excuses as to why, mainly just laziness :). We are expecting a baby in July. We are so pleased and excited. We have been told the baby is a girl but we shall see. I am always skeptical but pretty sure they are correct :). I am just going to post a bunch of pictures of what's been going on around here and write a brief blurb about each picture. The kids are all growing up so fast.

Victoria and Aiden like to wear mammas shoes :) I'm hoping Aiden will move past this stage. Im worried he will hurt himself because he goes for the highest heals possible.
Aiden trying to say cheese. Look at all his teeth.
Aiden so happy after finding all his eggs.
Victoria is always such a great help with Aiden. She wanted to make sure he would find all of his eggs.
This is a common expression on Victoria's face :) She is telling me something very important.
Tuimana emptying all his eggs. Yummy!
This is a common expression on Aiden's face hahaha Cheeky boy!
This is a common expression on Tuimana's face. I love his natural smile.
So sweet. It's great when the kids get along.
Aiden found an egg. So excited to to find the eggs.
Aiden trying to figure out where those eggs are.
Tuimana finding something other than an egg. Hmmmmm....
Victoria so excited for the hunt.
I love that Tuimana put on flip flops to go Easter egg hunting.
The nicest picture I got of the kids together. And look mamma and dad are on the wall in the background too hahaha.
Right before the hunt.
This is what Victoria gets up to when she has the camera. Toothless smiles all around.
This is what I get to see outside my window.
Aiden is always trying to hitch a ride.
Victoria had a girls slumber party at aunty's house. They painted their toe nails and.......
their finger nails.... Victoria had so much fun.
Aiden when he smiles. That dummy is always attached to this boy.
oops a duplicate.

This picture is cool. It looks like Willie is a ghost in the background.

Victoria half way done with straightening her hair. She loves her hair and loves coming up with different ways to do her hair. It didn't take too long and it was a lot of fun.
The finished product. Here in NC it is very humid so it is really hard to keep her hair really straight, so this is as close as its going to get :) I love her toothless smile hahaha.

Tuimana and Victoria with crazy hair hahahaha. They are still cute.
Victoria is always trying to play "mamma" and Aiden won't have anything to do with it hahaha.

Victoria got an award at school for perfect attendance. That was quite a surprise for her dad and I. We though she had missed a few days of school just because Tuimana was sick and missed some school. So well done Victoria :) Couldn't get her to smile though.

Tuimana will be 11 in just two months which is crazy. I can't believe so much time has passed.

Our new floors.

Since we have moved into our house we have wanted hardwood laminate downstairs. We had someone come out to do an estimate and the price was astronomical. We could have bought a new vehicle with that kind of money. So we waited. Then we decided to go to Lowe's and check them out. Pricing for materials wasn't too bad so we opted to go with having them install as well. I wanted to try and be awesome and do the floors ourselves but that probably would have taken us a very long time and it just didn't work out for us to do that.
So yesterday after waiting about 2 weeks for all our supplies to come in, the installers came to the house about 10 minutes to 10 and started working. So this is the before.....

ok just kidding. i will have to do it later. my computer doesnt feel like puting my pictures up argggghhhhh...... (me with annoyed voice)

Much Slackery

I'm not very good at consistently blogging so I've decided I will accept that and move forward. We have been pretty busy since November 1, since that is when Aiden came into the world. I was induced and it was a little bit weird because we knew what day he would be here. We hadn't experienced that before. I was thinking, as I watched the drug pitocin dripping into my IV, what if this stuff doesn't work. What if he still won't come. I wonder if that has ever happened. But he did come and it was only about 10 hours of labor which is shortest labor. All went really well. The midwife I had is in my ward and she was just fantastic. It was lovely to have her visit with us and having some great conversations about all sorts of things. There was a Star Trek: Enterprise marathon going on that day so I was watching that while I was in labor. It was so great!! I love Star Trek. I think I am the SYFY weirdo in the family hahahaha. It's to the point where my kids know the characters of all sorts of SYFY shows hahahaha.

Anyway Aiden Elijah Wiley arrrived at 6:25pm on the 1st of Nov. Willie went home about 9pm to go pickup the kids at a family's house whose in our ward. Our ward has been so fantastic. We got meals and everything, which was a first for us too. They have also been so willing to help with kids or whatever. It's great to know that help is there if needed. We didn't need much help but it was helpful to know it was there.

So here is Aiden in the first few moments in this world.




Here are some more...






So this is all Aiden is allowing me to do right now. Hopefully I can get more done later.

MElisa

Randomness....

So I will be 38 weeks tomorrow. I have had lots of contractions all over the place but nothing consistent. This is very new to me. Before once I started contractions it was time to go in the hospital. Oh well. Im thinking maybe, just maybe this will help when the time comes. I'm so excited for Aiden to get here. It's tough being so pregnant because a lot of things are "on hold" because it's just too hard to do anything. I am excited about feeling like cleaning is important again hahahha. I have been such a slacker in the cleaning department with this pregnancy. I must be in the "nesting" stage. Although it is not like the nesting I went through with both kids. When I was pregnant with Mana I painted a room hahahaha. I probably shouldnt have done that but I did. Then with Victoria I was cleaning like crazy. This time however it hasn't been until recently that I am constantly thinking about cleaning.

We are all ready for him to come. The carseat and stroller etc etc. My wishful thinking is that I go into full blown labor right after Mana gets on the school bus and then I have the baby by the time he comes home from school. hahahahaa. That would be great. But I know that won't happen. Or if I have him in the beginning of the weekend then that would be great too. We shall see.

On a side note. We went to Florida a little over a week ago. We saw a lot of Willie's aunts, uncles and Willie's moms grandkids. It was a lot of fun chatting and meeting together. We took Moses with us. He did very well and didn't pee or poop anywhere he wasn't supposed to. So that was great. We also got to have the boys for most of the weekend which was a joy. We are hoping they will be able to come see us for Christmas. If so this will be the first Christmas with all of us together. I'm so excited for the holiday season coming up.

Not much else really is going on.

Melisa

Baby stuff...

We went to a thrift store today to look at baby/kid stuff. We found some onesies and one piece pj thingies which I am loving right now. Probably because that's basically what the baby will be wearing for the first few months. I have learned from having children before that babies don't need outfits and all the snazzy clothes so we are going pretty basic this time round. We also got two winter suits one that's small and one that's a bit bigger. I'm relieved about that because I didn't want him to freeze hahahahaha. Even though we will mostly be inside but still if and when we do go out he will be nice and warm hahahaha.

Also we have decided on his first name........ it will be Aiden. Ok so I don't think we have decided on the spelling but I think you get the picture. We both really like this name. There really isn't any big story behind it. I know this time round I wanted to have a name before he was born (if possible) and I approached this with more compromise than before. But I do really love the name Aiden. I don't know of too many Aidens and Im hoping it stays that way.

I have about 7 weeks to go. Willie thinks I'm stressing about some baby stuff too much, although I don't see it hahahaha. I just feel better when my list in my head is getting checked off. Anyway that's it for now.

Bye- O

Oh Willie setup the baby crib and changing table. I still need to get pics taken and I will post it after I have washed the baby bedding and set it up.

Our new car....

So one of our goals while Willie has been home on leave has been to get a new vehicle that holds all of us and our dog. We had a pretty big list of things we wanted in it. Most of it was what we preferred rather than what we would HAVE to have but we lucked out and found one that had everything we wanted and then some. We found this vehicle on Carmax.com. It's a trailblazer with third row. So it comfortably seats 7, it has running boards (which I love especially being pregnant it makes it easier for me to get in :)) It has leather interior which is great for kids and pets, easy clean up. Tow hitch and/or cargo rack is what I really wanted for extra storage. Decent mileage, decent price and the greatest part is it has a dvd player hahahaha. The dvd player even has two plugs for headphones hahahaha. Oh and Willie loves that there is navigation hahahaa. So this time round we did lots of homework before going out. We looked at lots of different car lots and finally we found something that fits all our needs. Im so relieved to not have to worry about a vehicle thats big enough for all of us for quite some time. So here it is.




It's BLUE!!!! I like Blue.

No excuses.....

So I am such a slacker about posting things, but at this point I have accepted that this is just one of the many weaknesses I need to work on.

So I have no excuses.

We have a new puppy in our family. His name is Moses, but I call him Moe, which I think is confusing to him because it sounds like NO!! hahahahaha so I am trying to stick with Moses. I have called him moose at least a dozen times which is just so weird. He is alot of fun and alot of work. We did say we wouldn't get an actual puppy and that we would stick with a dog that was a little bit older so we wouldnt have such a hard time with potty training. Well we looked at several different shelters in surrounding counties but none of the dogs really felt like they were part of our family.

We found one dog that Willie really liked. His name was Boscoe. He never barked even though the other dogs were going bonkers. He was really sweet and gentle. We asked if we could spend some time with him. We took him outside to where they let the dogs run around and have play time. Immediately he pees and then start puting his nose in it. To me this is already a huge sign. EWWWWWW!!!! But I thought I guess this is what dome dogs do.

So he starts running around and we are all smiling and happy to see him enjoy the outside. Victoria is really excited and starts petting him and and jumping up and down, well this makes Boscoe really happy and excited. A little too excited. He jumps on Victoria and knocks her down and continues jumping on her. Willie and I jump into protective parent mode. He takes the dog and I lift her up and act as a barrier. So yeah that was a short time with Boscoe and that is when we thought that maybe we need a dog who is smaller (at least at first) so that we can get him used to our little people in our family.

We did look at two other dogs who were so precious, both were female and I think they were like a Spitz mix. They were so gentle and great but they both shed so much and I dont want so much hair all over especially since we are having a new baby soon and I dont want him to have dog hair all over him.

Well then we went back to our local shelter to see if they had any new dogs. We saw a chihuahua and both Victoria and Willie wanted it but thankfully he belonged to someone and they were coming to pick him up soon hahahaha.

While we were there we saw this adorable whit lab/ possible husky/chow mix. She was so sweet and cute. She was a little puppy too. Victoria and I fell for her but I dont think Willie really liked her as much. I wanted her though. So we filled out the paper work to adopt her. There was a catch though. She had to be in the shelter at least 72 hours before they could release her to anyone. They told us if we still wanted her by the next day we could come back and get her. So my mind was made up.

Well Willie reminded me of two puppies that were up for adoption in another shelter. I had loved them but I put them out of my head because we were told someone had put a hold on them because some people were coming from out of town to see if they wanted them. Well we went back to that shelter one more time to make sure they weren't available. To our surprise they were both still there. I immediately wanted Moses. He had a sister with him. We watched them play together and Moses was a little wimp hahahaha. His sister totally dominated him which made me love him more hahahaha. So we adopted him. Willie and I both felt bad for the sister being left in the shelter but the people in the shelter had told us a puppy rescue was coming to take her up North so she would be ok. We also thought about adopting the little white puppy but I thought about it and got overwhelmed at trying to train two puppies at the same time and not having a fenced in yard would be very hard.

So we decided Moses and only Moses was good for us. He is so funny. He is lazy which is what we wanted, not too much energy that we couldn't help burn off. He loves the kids and the kids love him. They have their own responsibilities to help care for him so they are learning all sorts of things.

So Moses is great, we love him and we have become those people to who about their pets as if they are people hahahahaha here he is.....

So thankful....

Today I just feel so thankful for so many blessings. I'm so thankful for family that are so loving and supportive. I've been especially thankful for having the opportunity to have family visit and to have been able to go visit family so much this year. I just love my family so much and I love every chance we get to all meet up together. This year so far has been so full of so much. I know all is because of our savior Jesus Christ. Im so thankful to have been able to go to the Temple and for the ability to go as often as possible since Matelita has been here. Im so fortunate to live so close to a temple so that regular trips are possible. Even with my ever growing belly :).
Lete is leaving tomorrow and Im so sad about it. It's been really great having to spend time with her. She's been so great and patient with the kids waking her up daily, and Victoria following her around constantly asking her what she is doing and why. She's pretty special. Im excited for Lete and her next adventure in Iceland. I wish I was going as well that would have been so great. Unfortunately things just haven't worked out for that to happen.

Willie is coming home this week and I almost can't believe it. The kids and I are just so excited. More great adventures to come :). Im still trying to figure out if there are any pre schools around that would fit with us for Victoria. We shall see. If not I think it would be great to have her in a dance class. I think she is able to follow direction and pay attention to the teacher. Like I said we shall see.

Anyway thats about it for now.

Continued....

So to continue on.... While Willie was home we were really fortunate to buy our first home. We were really surprised with how smoothly everything went. I truly believe this was the place and time we were supposed to buy our home because all of the right people were in place in order for our purchase to go through. It was very exciting and stressful and we were pretty calm through the whole ordeal. Ok so amazingly I was calm through this whole ordeal. Willie is pretty level headed all the time and stress doesnt seem to get to him like it does to me :). We kept waiting for someone to say "Oh we're sorry this isn't going to work out" But that didn't happen. Even sitting in the lawyers office I was thinking ok when will he say "sorry there seems to be a mistake here". Im not necessarily a negative person but I just though this was so great to be able to buy and home and maybe we just weren't meant to have one right now. We got our keys and it felt great. We were still pretty calm until we left the lawyers office. We were just so happy and pleased. On our way home we stopped by the home to take in all awesomeness of having our own home.


Here is our house. We love it.
I will post more pics of rooms and such. I am having some camera issues right now.

While Willie was home Mana had his baptism and it was so great. Unfortunately for whatever reason I didn't take the camera to church that day. I know mamma or someone took some pics and I hope to be able to get some copies from them. It was such a wonderful day. Everyone who came was able to participate in some way and that was so special. I'm so thankful for all those that came.

Well I'm going to get off now. I have a low tolerance for sitting at the computer blogging hahahaha.

Hello All...

So this is my first blog in about one hundred years. It has been over 5 months since I have posted anything. So much has happened. Well Willie came home for leave and it was great. It was so wonderful to have him home again and it was for a whole month so we were able to spend a lot of time together. During the time Willie was home we went to Florida and visited our family there. It's always fun to go down there to see everyone. I especially enjoy my conversations with Willie's grandmother Eleanor. She has so much history and wisdom. She is just such a great example of charity and service. I just love her to bits.

We had the boys while we were in Florida so that was really great too. I love it when we are all together as a family. It just makes me feel so blessed to be able to have all of our kids in our lives. What a special role we have as parents. It can be overwhelming at times but I know with guidance from our Heavenly Father my short comings will improve and hopefully won't impact the kids too badly.

I realize I didn't post anything about Victoria's birthday. Well we had a cake. It was strawberry with lemon frosting. (Victoria choose :)) Willie was able to watch presents being open via webcam. (So yeah Victoria's birthday is Jan 11th so this happened before he came home for Leave)




While we were in Florida we had a little birthday party for Victoria at Chuck E Cheeses. That was lots of fun and easy because I didn't have to do anything except pay the cashier hahahaha.





Victoria's party was great fun. There Chocolate cake was so yummy and moist. I will update more later.

A little over a week...

So I'm so excited. It's a little over a week until I go get Willie. Things seem to be coming together well in all areas which makes me a little cautious about celebrating prematurely. Just in my nature I guess.

We were supposed to have a pre move inspection of the apartment yesterday but management didn't show up. So annoying because I was frantically cleaning and such the day before. I think most would not go that far but I am not most. Im weird about having messiness around especially when expecting people to come over. But I do have to say that I love having a clean house so I am enjoying the small cleaning I only need to do now.

Doing all the crazy cleaning reminded me of the part I really HATE about moving. You have to clean really well before you leave in order for them not to hit you up with crazy charges so someone else can come and clean up after you. I've also realized I really don't want to move again in another 4-6 months. So we are going to see one of the houses that is newly built and is for sale, when Willie gets here. I've already seen it and yes it's got a crazy huge masterbedroom but it also has everything we would like in a home. So here's hoping that things will work out.

I had a weird situation yesterday. I picked Mana up from school and he was wearing clothes that didn't belong to him. He told me a teacher had picked 3 kids to go to the guidance counselor. She asked them if they bathed or took showers. Mana said yes. Then she gave them all shirts, underwear and socks to change into. I asked if he had been sick or poured his lunch on himself. He said he hadn't and he had no idea why he was told to change. Well there was no note and no call from the school about this situation.

I was angry ( yeah I have a temper/anger isssues and I know most normal people wouldn't have just gotten pissed off in 5 secs but hey I don't like people messing with my kids) So I wrote a letter to his teacher asking her what was going on and for her to call me. Well I have to say she IS a great teacher. She called this morning and explained what happened. I told her I didn't like the fact that no note or call was made and he had changed his underwear which meant he got completely undressed in school for no reason. Oh I checked his clothes that were in a bag in his backpack. They were clean. They still smelled like fabric softener so I had no idea why he was told to change. Apparently there was an smell in the classroom and it was around Mana and two other boys and the assistant to the teacher, thought it would be only fair to have all 3 boys go see the guidance teacher instead of singling one kid out.

I wasn't the only parent who was upset. Another parent had sent in a letter too and apparently mine was really nice compared to the other. How sad for the teacher. She was very nice and apologized, she even went as far as to say she can see why I would be insulted because she can tell I do make sure my kid is clean and goes to school with clean clothes. During this whole ordeal the assisant teacher was the one who was over the kids and his teacher was somewhere else, or something.

Oh I just remembered I did put that in the letter that I clean his clothes everyday. It's true I hate to see a mountain in my laundry room. Now once it's washed, well sometimes lately it does sit as a mountain on my bed but hey they are clean clothes hahahahaha. Yeah so that was my weird, random, uncomfortable moment.

Oh and I need to go now because Victoria just snuck by me with a bag of chocolate chips and she thinks thats whats for snack time.

Unsolicited advice.

It's funny how just because there is a conversation going that one feels the need to solicit advice. I have tried really hard over the years to only say blah blah blardy blar (this is me giving advice hahahaha Im sure thats exactly what I sound like) when specifically asked or the spirit has prompted. I have recently been bombarded with advice on where not to live where not to put my children in school and where the supposed bad areas to live are. Now I haven't lived in NC for long but from what I have seen I like. Also if money wasn't an issue then yeah I would go live in a community with all the big beautiful houses, and the "safety" that is tied in with that. Alas money is an issue and I believe it is for most people, therefore I am going to have to work with what I have, pray and hope for the best.

I am the type of person who does ask for advice. I'm not too proud to ask for more information or guidance; HOWEVER I haven't asked people to tell me everything horrid and wrong with a specific town or school district. I was told that my son's school wasn't as good as the others around here and I was even told I should take him someone else. I think his school is great. His teacher works very hard for the children she is responsible for teaching during the week. To this advice I said " Well you are free to bus my child to school if you want." To my surprise I got a crazy look. Im sorry but I thought I was allowed to just spit out words as they popped into my head as well.

I have just plainly told the advice givers that I'm new to the state/area and I have a different idea of what ghetto is and Im just going to have to rely on my research and prayer. Funny how when you throw prayer into the conversation it abruptly ends the conversation.

Oh I just thought of something else. I try not to show my angry crazy side to anyone, but WOOWWWWW Im getting close. I just get very annoyed with ignorance/prejudices of all kinds especially when it comes to cultures, religion and groups of people as a whole. It is moments like this that I realize how blessed I have been to grow up with all sorts of great people from all walks of life.
To my siblings who read this.......Do you get crazy looks of unbelief when you tell the tale of your life hahahahaha. I really dispise the question "where are you from?" I don't like to get into the story of my life with anyone but people I consider close. So I just say the name of the city I was born. This is usually a conversation ender or I get prying religious questions hahahahaha. Oh then they hear where my parents are from and they think (well I can't read their minds but facial expressions scream) "yeah right" hahahahaha. Then I am told for the one millionth time about how polynesians always smile and are soooo nice (mostly true but no one is always smiling) or the iceland/greenland story about ice and green blardy blar blar.

Oh and today Willie called me a foreigner because I didn't understand his joke hahahaha. I laughed so hard and I was proud too hahahaha. Im a foreigner who just so happened to be born in the US. Im weird what can I say.

Ok a more serious thought. I'm so thankful for the Gospel. For the knowledge I have and the continuous learning involved. Prayers truly are answered when you prepare yourself to hear and receive the answers. I was able to share just a small part of my testimony today with my sister in-law on faith and my belief in our heavenly father and how we are not alone no matter what our situation is. It felt good to be able to do that. I appreciate Willie's families deep rooted love and faith for heavenly father. It makes it easier for us to openly practice and share our beliefs with little resistance.
It's 3 weeks until Willie comes home. Yay!!!

Updates and whatever.

So I always think I just posted but I realize I haven't just posted anything. Christmas went well for us. We went to a family in the ward's house on Christmas Eve. It was fun to talk with different people that weren't just kids. We opened presents on Christmas morning with Willie watching on the webcam. It was great fun to be able to do that.

New Year's Eve we went to another family's house and played games. That was fun too but it reminded me that I am very different from people. My sense of humor is different and hobbies and such are different too. But I am similar in the way of the Gospel. It's amazing how many different types of people can all come together with that. I think it's great and I appreciate living in an area where there are so many active members who are service oriented.

I put up Christmas stuff on the 7th. I organized some things around the house. I cleaned cleaned and cleaned. It's what keeps me sane. We are moving in march for sure. Whether we move into our own home or another rental remains to be seen. I really hope everything goes smoothly to buy a home. Won't know if we don't try right?? I am so happy that Willie has agreed to have movers come pack up our stuff hahahaha. I don't mind packing the stuff, it's the moving part I can't stand.

Willie will be home in a few weeks which is so exciting. Victoria is so excited she keeps talking about how we are going to do all these things when he comes home. I can't believe it's almost been 6 months. At times it feels like time has past by so fast but then I look at the kids and realize how much they have grown in the time he has gone and I see that time hasn't really flown by. Still I'm excited to have him home for a little while. Willie and I have realized that over the pasted 15 months we have only lived in the same house for 3 months. It's crazy because I didn't think it was only 3 months. Im grateful I am able to speak to Willie on a regular basis.

I'm sad about possibly leaving my ward. They have been so good to us and Im getting the hang of teaching my primary class. They are mostly listening to me and they are even participating with asking questions and answering questions and I have finally figured out what works and what doesnt. It's been great being their primary teacher. Who knows, perhaps we will get lucky and end up staying in this area for a little bit longer. I know all will be well and we will be where we need to be.

Great times.

I am so excited for Christmas. We received Christmas cards today. We loved it. The kids had their own cards and they felt special. We had a lazy day yesterday but today it was full and lots of fun. Mana's primary teacher had set up a lunch date for all the kids in his class. They had lots of fun playing with each other. They also received little gifts from their teacher.
We did a lot of cleaning this morning. The kids room and bathroom are all cleaned up and ready for Christmas. The kids did a great job helping with cleaning. They were wonderful. It truly helps me when the kids do their part. It makes cleaning a lot easier and cleaning time gets cut by a lot.
After lunch the kids were invited to one of Mana's friends house to play. This was actually perfect timing. My visiting teachers came by and I was able to have some quiet time with my visiting teachers which was really nice. We were invited to stay for dinner at Mana's friends house and it was so yummy. The kids had some noodles and the adults had quiche. Now the kids were offered quiche but not many of them ate it. So now I'm thinking I'll try making some quiche because it was so good.
I have to say the house we visited was so awesome. It was huge and very open. It was one of those dream houses that you think,hmmmmmmmm this is what I would buy if money was no object hahahaha. It was very pretty.
I like going to other people's homes and seeing what they have done to decorate and such. It gives me ideas on what I like and what I don't like.
Oh and while today was great and lots of fun. I ended up hurting my back some how. I really didn't do anything too strenuous but nonetheless, I hurt my back. It's funny how things work out that way. Im pretty much all better from my month long cold/flu, whatever you want to call it then I go hurt my back hahahaha. Oh WHALE!! hahahaha.
Oh and then someone told me today that epidurals eventually affect/effect your back. It weakens the discs somehow. I thought that was scary but I don't know if there is any truth to it.
That's it.
Melisa

After the sickness comes the OCD clean freak...

OK so I don't know about anyone else, but when Im sick I generally don't clean. I do put dishes in dishwasher and wipe counters etc, laundry when clean clothes are needed. However I don't do my regular cleaning. So today I felt better. Usually after I am sick I want to clean.

Today I looked at my carpet and just wanted to scream. I have white carpet. (Dont ask me why anyone would put white carpet in apartment complexes.) I have tried to keep the carpets clean but it's almost impossible. So I took out my vacuum and carpet cleaner.

It was such a release cleaning the carpets. I did have to refill quite a few times (refill the water) but I kept using the sprayer hahahaha. I guess I got a little trigger happy. Just watching all the spots and pieces of whatever the kids put on the floor, disappear was a wonderful feeling. I'm so excited. I want a complete cleaning of my house before Christmas comes. That will be such a great relief and relaxer for me to know everything is clean. Also it gives me an opportunity to see what things need to be donated or stored.

Oh and I almost forgot. I don't know how, but it slipped my mind for just a moment. It seems someone has chosen to give my family the opportunity to participate in 12 days of Christmas. There was a knock on my door at 9pm last night. I have to say I was worried because I looked out my peep hole and saw no one. I am very cautious with those sorts of things. I opened the door and there was a gift bag with 3 oranges in them and a little story. I have to say I felt so excited and appreciative that we were even thought of. I read the story and realized that they had put 3 oranges in the gift bag, so that each one of us could have an orange. It may be hard to understand but that touched my heart. It let me know that we are loved and cared for. It was a great moment.

I too started the tradition of the Santas and the shoe. I spoke with the children last night and told them the story of the santas and their mamma. They are intrigued and a little worried that a santa can come into the home while they are sleeping. I must admit it is scary hahahaha. They received chocolate hahahaha. They were so excited this morning. I need to get more creative and not just give them candy hahahaha.

We also had our ward Christmas party on Saturday. It was a dinner. I had volunteered to help with the Childrens Nativity re-enactment but somehow became in charge on saturday night. That was a bit annoying but I was happy when it was all done. People enjoyed it, we had ample children ready to take part and the spirit was there. What more can you ask for?

Oh and I was still feeling crappy on saturday and I guess I looked that way at the christmas party hahahaha. I was asked if I wanted sunday off from teaching my class. I said I would be fine. On sunday I left church after my class was done because I was still a blundering mess. Mana got to stay for all of church because someone offered to take him home. I am just loving my ward more and more I have to say. There is so much love and service. Everyone seems to try to help in whatever way they can. I think that is great.
Victoria was very upset she didn't get to stay at church hahahaha. She went into the primary room asking for Mana so we could go home. hahahaha She makes me laugh. She is always so concerned about her brother and what he is doing. Then again I think she wanted him to leave especially if she had to.

I think thats enough for now.

Some recent Pics.

Ok so most of these are of Victoria because lets face it I'm with her during the day.

Victoria mashing the potatoes we made for Thanksgiving. She loves to smell, taste and make all things relating to food. Hmmm I wonder if this will continue throughout her life?
Victoria went to a princess themed birthday party and they had different areas with different crafts and activities were going on. Here she is getting her nails painted. Yes I don't have a problem with nail polish. Sometimes we have "girl" time where she and I manicure and paint our nails. It's a fun time you should all try it hahaha.



This may look familiar. Victoria wore her Halloween costume for the princess party. She went as a fairy princess hahaha. She got her face painted and glitter in her hair and some other stuff too. She had a great time. There were like 20 girls at the party. I wouldn't be able to have a party with that many kids hahahaha.

Victoria in her Chamora tupenu hahaha. I did put the top on her but she didn't like that it was too small hahahaha.





Here are some of my Christmas Decor. I love my Islenskt Jolasveinn, well this is my version hahahaha.






Oh some more Christmas decor. I just found them.





Victoria was at playgroup and she decided to put this head piece on hahahhaa.


Here's Mana waiting to eat at a restaurant.