Easter 2011

What a wonderful Easter! It was so fun to color Easter eggs with my son and my husband, Alofa had never done it before. It went pretty well, Toa only kicked over one cup FULL of Easter egg dye :)

Here Toa is PATIENTLY waiting to see what in the world we were going to do with all of the eggs and the COOL stuff that he found when he tore open the box for me

He thought is was ALOT more fun to chew on the eggs than to put them in the dye and wait for them to turn colors :) He was pretty intrigued by the eggs
Toa trying to help daddy color Easter eggs. I love my boys so much and am so thankful that we are a FOREVER FAMILY! Toa's first Easter egg! Toa's egg, Mommy's egg and Daddy's egg Even after his egg was all decorated he STILL wanted to chew on it. I shouldn't have been surprised though, EVERYTHING goes in this child's mouth now. He KNEW exactly which egg was his!! Such a smart little boy ;) Toa with is VERY first batch of colored Easter eggs!! Happy Easter Toa! Proud daddy and Toa showing off their eggs! Momma and her sweet baby boy!! The Easter bunny sure was good to Toa!! I guess he deserved it because he has been such a GOOD baby boy!! It was so fun to see Toa checking out everything that he got! There is such a very special spirit about having a child during these sacred holidays. I feel so blessed and very thankful! I love this picture so very much!! Toa's sweet smile is just priceless and if you look close you can see on the frame in the background the word, "Happiness" That is what the Plan of Salvation, the Plan of Happiness, is all about. I am so thankful for the role that our Savior completed in that Plan of Happiness in order for us to know what true HAPPINESS is! Such a HANDSOME little man!! Cuddling with his new found friend, the football Easter bunny! Toa, Mommy and Daddy LOVE you so much and hope you had a very happy Easter!After all of our Easter morning fun, we got ready and headed to church where the spirit was strong and we were able to renew our covenants with our Father in Heaven as well as reflect on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what that means for each of us.
"It is the celestial glory that we seek. It is in the presence of God that we desire to dwell. It is a FOREVER FAMILY in which we want membership.

"Of Him who delivered each of us from endless death, I testify He is a teacher of truth—but He is more than a teacher. He is the exemplar of the perfect life—but He is more than an exemplar. He is the great physician—but He is more than a physician. He is the literal Savior of the world, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One of Israel, even the risen Lord, who declared, “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:4).

“Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’"
~Thomas S. Monson
This Easter was a wonderful and glorious first Easter for our sweet baby boy and our family. How wonderful it was to reflect on the Atonement of our Savior and remember the amazing blessings that it means for each of us and our families. I am so thankful for my Savior and his willingness to sacrifice all so that I might be able to have a FOREVER FAMILY. I am thankful that I am able to humble myself and repent for I know that I am far from perfect. I love my Savior and hope to become more like him as each day passes. While it is SO fun to color Easter eggs, have Easter egg hunts and see what the Easter bunny brings, I hope that I might be able to always remember the true meaning behind Easter and celebrate it appropriately with my FOREVER Family as well as better understand the importance of the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior and communicate that effectively to my son in the future!

6 Months

What a fun month it has been!! I honestly CANNOT believe that my little man is 6 months old ALREADY!! I guess time really does fly when you are having FUN!! Toa is a little MONKEY!! He loves to jump so much! Alofa and I decided to get him a jumperoo because the saucer that we had just didn't seem to cut if for him. I have never seen him so happy or excited about anything except for food before :) I love this picture! I captures the PURE JOY in his face. He is such a happy little boy! He also got a high chair to go along with his jumperoo. I will post more pictures of both in another post soon! He loves them soo much!!

My GREAT friend, Stephanie, came into town to visit from Arizona. It was the first time Toa got to meet her and he LOVED her!! We were so thankful that she was able to make it back up to Pocatello to spend some time with us 'small town folk' :) Cherisa, Amy, Stephanie, Toa, Alofa and I were able to go out to dinner. Toa was quite the ladies' man!! We had a great time and dinner was DE-LISH!!

I love how as Toa grows I get to see more and more of his sweet personality. He seriously CRACKS ME up! One thing about my little boy is that he LOVES his blankies!! He Always has to have a blankie to cuddle up with and if I try to put him down for a nap without one I am in BIG trouble with him!! I guess he thinks I should KNOW by now that his blankie is a NECESSITY!! The other day I was going to the store with Toa and his blanket blew RIGHT off of him in the wind. I was FRANTIC!! I chased down his blanket in the rain and wind because I KNEW what those blankies mean to my little man! The people at Wal-Mart must have thought I was CRAZY!! Oh, the things we do for our little ones! ;)

I love this picture of my sweet little man! He looks so innocent and sweet! I hope he ALWAYS stays that way!

In the middle of April a few of my good friends, Shannon and Maila were able to go out on a "girls' day out" We had so much fun while the boys stayed home and took care of the babies for us. When we came home the boys were SHOCKED because they thought that we would be gone ALL DAY. Guess we missed them and our babies too much! :)

Here is a picture of Shannon & Eugene's baby, Jaden with Toa! They are gonna be the BEST of friends, I am sure of it!

I love my Alofa and Toa so much! They bring so much JOY into my life!

Sweet baby Toa!

Alofa and I decided that at 6 months old we were going to move Toa to his own room. I struggled with it so much! I think it was because I work full time and in my mind having my baby sleep next to me in his bassinet at night time helped me to feel closer to him not only physically but emotionally as well. I knew it was time to let my boy grow up a little and have his own room. I am not sure who cried more that night, me or my sweet baby boy :)
Alofa is such a great daddy and did a great job of putting Toa's crib together.
(I think Alofa is a little of me taking pictures ALL of the time :))

The mat hanging on the wall is from Samoa. A friend of mine was so excited that I married a man from Samoa that she brought over A TON of things that she had brought home from Samoa in the past. I like it hanging on the wall there but I know that as soon as Toa gets a little bigger I am going to have to move it or he will have EVERY single piece of yarn pulled out in NO TIME! :)

Toa wasn't sure what to think when I laid him down in his new crib.

But then he decided that he LOVED his new bed!!
Toa fell asleep pretty quick but he woke up about every 2 hours crying because he didn't really know where he was out. That waking up and crying every 2 hours only lasted for about 2 nights. He now sleeps really well through the night, just like he has ever since he was 6 weeks old! We have been sooo lucky to have such a good sleeper! I am so thankful!

6 of the most WONDERFUL months of my life!! And it just keeps getting better and better everyday! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a mother! There really is no greater calling!!

Grateful

Alofa, Toa and I had an opportunity to go to Shannon and Eugene's baby blessing. Awesome!! As we attending that sacred meeting, I had a lot of thoughts run through my mind about the importance of parenthood and the awesome responsibility that comes with it. I thought about teaching Toa to be a good, righteous member of society and how to go about doing that. There was a man in the congregation from Australia who stood up to share his testimony. My heart was very touched by his words. He was a convert to the church and had come to Idaho to visit the missionary who served in Australia and taught him the gospel. My thoughts immediately turned to the missionaries who taught me and how my life has changed forever because of the sacrifices that they made to come to Idaho to find me and to teach me about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings that allows me to enjoy if I am obedient and faithful. I will be FOREVER grateful to them for the precious knowledge that they shared with me.

I then thought about the opportunity that I had to serve a full time mission as well as all of the people and experiences that I was able to have that have solidified my testimony of the restoration of the fullness of the gospel and prepared me in so many ways to be a wife and mother. I am so grateful for those 18 months. I am a better person for having had those experiences and meeting the wonderful people who I still LOVE and respect more than words could express.

Finally, my thoughts turned to my sweet baby Toa and the responsibility that I have to teach him and prepare him to serve the Lord in whatever ways the Lord has prepared for him. I thought about how grateful I am for a faithful husband who LOVES the Lord and is willing to serve in any way that he can. I am so thankful that I share the responsibility of raising a righteous and faithful son of God with such an amazing man. I love my boys so much! I have been so blessed! I just hope that I can be the best wife and mother that I am capable of being.