too cute...

had to steal this from Mike....

......more pics.

Natalia, Moana, and the baby of our family Tiare!
Me and My George!
My little bro.Donny,my bro-inlaw Jr, and Pete!
Group photo while my sister Moana visited from Hawaii and an old friend Carol from Minnesota!
3 of 9 of my sisters...Tiare, Natalia, and Etivise and little Kingston up front (kats son)

Slash :( we miss you....

Slash is our pet COCKATIEL! Butttt....he unfortunately flew out our front door when some of my kids had their friends over.....they forgot to shut the door.

I have to tell you... I was sooooo sad and angry when I found out about it. I trained the bird,..and was so proud of my accomplishment. He learned whistles that I taught it,..and he was so loving and cute...out of all the pets in the house..our dog Proverb,..and Tele's rat Swift..and some dwarf frogs...SLASH was my favorite and so easy to take care of.

I drove around our neighborhood for 2 days hoping to spot him.......
Here's some pics taken earlier that same day....:(

last weeks 1st day of school!

Anzehla 2nd Grader!!
Natalia 1st Grade!!
Vaitele 4th Grade!!
Jj had to feel a part of it...so she got to pick a backpack to take to the babysitters!

bad fruit.....

I just got back from another AMAZING choir rehearsal!!
And I was surprised towards the end when our director read this great quote from Brigham Young (which I will get a copy of the next time I see her) about OUR BAD FRUIT... how when things are not right in our lives... we feel we need to VENT... or share our OPINIONS and we share our bad fruit with others. Brigham Young says in a wonderful way how we should just let those fruits stay where they fall..... be SILENT... and ONLY let GOOD FRUIT come out of our mouths.

A TROUBLE SHARED IS A TROUBLE DOUBLED!! Isn't that SOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUE!

In the preparation for about 300 and sumthing women for an experience that I know we will remember for the rest of our lives... I thought that this particular subject was an interesting one that was brought up and so perfectly shared.

We all live oh so different lives... but to have something like that for us to take home and ponder about til our next rehearsal... its like 'WOW'
the MUSIC and the SONGS and the INDIVIDUALS...SINGING those songs makes a difference in HOW it will be RECIEVED by those who will hear and listen.

-I've learned from this experience so far to ADD to a room instead of TAKE away.

-I've learned to let the bad fruit in my life fall silently where they may and not feel the need to share that bad fruit with the excuse of needing to VENT or share my OPINION...cuz in the end the trouble certainly DOES DOUBLE! I've seen how that is true in every sense of the word thru my own experience with such a big family as mine.

-I've learned to let what I feel in my HEART (whether I'm singing or not) show up in my FACE and EYES.

And most importantly since we've started this rehearsal....

-I've learned that MY SAVIOR FORGIVES ME FOR GOING INACTIVE THIS SUMMER... AND BECUZ OF HIS LOVE...HE's INTERVENED...AND KNEW THAT THIS EXPERIENCE WOULD HELP ME FEEL...AGAIN... THAT WONDERFUL,... FAMILIAR SPIRIT...I'VE MISSED SO MUCH OF LATELY. Its funny how far away you can feel in just a couple months............so in simple terms I've learned or have been reminded that the LORD still loves me and wants me back!

Ohhh George!!

Tomorrow I'm gonna go to work and get a pic. with George!!
George is a special special old man I've really gotten to know.
I guess what drew me to him was the pictures on his wall that showed he
served a mission in Samoa.

As I started to ask him questions,. I found out he served in Tonga as well.
...15 years BEFORE Groberg did. He served in Tonga for 4 yrs. and became
district president in Nuku-alofa..where my dad is from.
He apparently knew alot of my family!!
After serving there,. he was called to Samoa with his wife.

I've gotten to know so much about his life,..his family...his farm...and his accomplishments...
Talking to him has really made me miss my grandparents...and I wish I would have
talked with THEM the way I do with George.

I'm amazed by him... and I ADORE him...I can't imagine taking a boat everywhere and having to learn on your own... the language of the islands....

As I was working...one of the nurses stopped me and asked if I could do a favor.

I guess George is not doing so well.. and declining each day. So with that...he's been hard to deal with and not being too nice to them....BUT...when she told me he asked about ME...and wanted to talk with ME... I was a little taken back. She asked if I could go in and make him feel better....

So I did!!! And had a wonderful conversation... we even got teary eyed and I wiped his tears from his face.... I just LOVE that man.....

KUDOS to GEORGE CRAWFORD

Its our Anniversary!!!

13 YEARS to be exact!!

I can't believe we've come this far....especially as I look back to how we met,.we didn't even like each other....

And all the fights and getting to know each other stage....Whewwww...we made it thru!

But ya know...I truly lucked out. When you first meet someone and fall in love,..you never really know their 'REAL' selves til after you say I DO....

Its unfortunate for some who find out after that their spouse is a lazy butt...or has control or temper issues....etc..etc.

But for me.... Pete's turned out to be none of those things....quite the opposite. I would say after about 3 years of being married...I realized 'I' was the one with all the ISSUES!! HEHE

I can honestly say about the irkiest thing about Pete is that he loves GOLF just a little toooooooo much,..lacks in spontaneity,...and doesn't know how to enjoy the outdoors!...wierd huh..I know...you would think growing up in the islands..but noooo.

So those are little irks I can live with...well HAVE lived with... so I'm not gonna complain.

I don't really take pics with him that much...I'll try to look for some and post them.

feeling 'generated'!!

I just came home from an amazing rehearsal.
I was asked to be a part of the next 'General Womens Conference' womens CHOIR!!!
Its made up of the Highland and Alpine area wards.
About 4-5 women from each ward were asked to participate...about 350 total women.
I am so greatful to be a part of it...and after going to rehearsal...I'm just so excited.
We were pronounced a blessing by the Stake pres. which I never experienced before,..
and I was humbled by just how everything was organized and the way it all was presented.
The focus was on the spirit,.. and the message and not so much the music.
The music directors name is Sister Web,..and she kept us laughing and made the whole experience so meaningful and fun!

I'm just at a loss for words to what I experienced tonite...and I can't wait til our next rehearsal!!

'Generate' was one of our key words tonite.....

its official...well almost..

When I blogged about the pickles,..I didn't think it was becuz I was pregnant...
and the comments made me laugh...I was saying to myself..
'No way!!.. They're wayyy off...I'm just simply craving pickles...'
Heehee...
So here I am...I started feeling extremely tired and out of sorts last week and decided
to go buy a home test.

So its POSITIVE and I'm pretty sure its accurate!!
I'll go in to a doctor soon....ughh..I hate this part of being pregnant.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly. I miscarried twice last year,..and the first was
horribly painful. I dont wanna go thru that again.

But I'm so excited...I LOVE little babies...and after holding my sisters new baby..I was really feeling baby sick.... Its wierd cuz I'm sort of feeling sad that my 'having baby years' are almost over... I can't imagine being DONE...and into the next phase in life where you just see your kids grown..and THEM having children of their own....wierd....

I'm gonna really soak in this TIME of their lives..cuz it will never be the same again..time goes by just too fast.

Lets cross our fingers for a BOY!!

random pics

Olimpia's first day in the 7th grade!!! I am so excited for her. The school is huge inside...we had a blast going thru it yesterday!



A group of young men showed up @ work to do the ladies nails...it was sooo cute...then afterwards one of them jumped on the piano and they all started singing them songs....





Natalia lost both front teeth now.... I can't believe I'll never see her with her baby teeth again...time flies...she's my little princess for sure!!


JJ wasn't too happy with me yesterday....she's been acting honory the past couple days....hmmm

feeling somber...

alright..so I never thought I'd be affected by the people who live where I work.
Yesterday I entered work where a disturbing scene was taking place. During breakfast one of the residents choked on her food, fell unconcious and the nurses did all they could to resuscitate her til the paramedics came. She past away when she arrived @ the hospital. Her name is Larena Friant. She had beautiful red hair,.. and was a pretty straight forward and loving woman. She was I think 93. I had just helped her fix her closet door just the day before.

Then today I come into work and another beautiful soul had just barely passed in her bedroom. Leona Tillman. After family members left,..I went in and had a quiet moment by myself as I looked and touched her and thought a few thoughts about LIFE and DEATH. I was surprised that I wasn't scared. I lifted the sheet and felt her hands and feet,..touched her forhead...then looked at the pictures of her and her family...and thought she must have lived a wonderful life. She too was in her 90's. I was surprised her body wasn't as stiff or cold as I thought it would be.

I didn't get to really know Leona like I wished. She could hardly talk. But I guess it doesn't really matter whether you knew that someone or not. There's just a feeling of love and appreciation for any human being who leaves this earth,...it makes the thought that every child of God on this earth really is so special............. I am happy for the both of them who are now pain free and with their loved ones on the other side.

lifes surprises!

i think its interesting what life throws at you sometimes. Just when you think 'everything' is 'nothing'...then something GREAT happens and you begin again to appreciate what and who is around you...and you start feeling confident about going on with life.
Then just when you think things are great and dandy....you find yourself in an 'un-intended situation..or maybe not even a situation,... maybe just a feeling...that icky feeling of wishing certain things never happened....whether your the cause of it or not...

I just had an amazing week with my sisters....well the older ones I grew up with. I have great respect for ALL of them... I'm just closer with the older ones...its the generation thingy.
Anyhow... we had fun hanging out. My sister Moana flew down from Hawaii...we spent a couple days practicing for our performance...and thats always so much fun as we joke and tell stories...despite all the ruckus from the kids... (there are 19 kids between us 5 sisters)..and yep they are all there running around...fighting..making wierd noises...laughing....ughhh..it really is a miracle that we can still put a show together with all that.

So the show went great... I loosened up a little more this time, after seeing what a stiff wad I was at our New years eve performance...and Ireally enjoyed myself.

We sang for some old folks @ the assisted living facility I work at the next day. I think we enjoyed it more than they did. These people are so special...you don't even know.

Oh...my sister Kat had her baby the day before the show....so we were back and forth visiting @ the hospital....practicing...trying to keep the kids in check....it was crazy....

Its good to have sisters you can trust and rely on.....forever!! We had a blast.
The batteries fo my camera went missing...and I've been super bummed,...didn't get any pics...
I'll have to wait and get copies to post from my other sisters.

I won't go into the sour part of the week.... I guess its good to just stay positive.