~ LAULU LOVE ~

Halloween 2011

2011-11-11T10:36:00.001-08:00

Toa with his pumpkin!!
Instead of carving the pumpkin, we decided to get this kit to push into the pumpkin since Toa was too small to carve a pumpkin. He LOVED it and kept showing daddy where to drill the hole so that we could push the pieces into the pumpkin. It was really alot of fun! Toa would make sure the pieces were in good by pushing them in after Alofa and I had already put them in place. He was so cute and funny about it!

Toa with his pumpkin!!

I think he likes it!!

This year we had a TON of festivities that we participated in based around the Halloween season. The Thursday before Halloween was my work trunk or treat so we dressed Toa up in his froggy costume and let him go to town. He wasn't really interested in the candy but LOVED running around and seeing everyone. We had a great time!!

Alofa, Toa and I at my work trunk or treat! So much fun!! :)

Toa got this lion costume for his birthday from some friends and since we already had his froggy costume we decided that he would be a lion for some of our festivities and a froggy for the others. On Friday night Tina invited us to her work trunk or treat. It was so much fun! Once again, Toa wasn't too excited about the candy but loved running around seeing every one!!

Toa with the pumpkins at papa's house

Toa with Cam (who was a spider) and papa with the pumpkins right before we left for our ward trunk or treat on Saturday night.

Great Grandma Howerton has some spiders hanging from her lamp that Toa just LOVED!! He kept trying to show Great Grandpa Howerton the spiders!!

Grandma Howerton with her Toa lion cub!

Sunday we stayed home and enjoyed family time and on Monday we took Toa trunk or treating at Celeste's work. 4 times trick or treating?!?! Yep!! He was wore out and slept like a champ the following night! He had a great Halloween and it was so fun to dress him up and watch him run around!!

10-1-11 Toa's first birthday!!

2011-11-11T09:50:00.001-08:00

October 1st, 2011 we celebrated Toa's first birthday!! What a wonderful day with LOTS of food, family, friends and FUN!! The weather was PERFECT and the party went just how we hoped that it would. We had so much food and fun! It was the prefect way to celebrate the first birthday of our sweet Toa Thomas Laulu

Alofa and his friends manned the BBQ, cooking up a FEAST of meat and food!! We are so thankful for all of the work that our friends and family offered in order to make his birthday a success.
The birthday cake
Toa got his own birthday cake

At first he had NO idea what he was supposed to do with it. He kept looking to me, seeking permission to dive in. It took him a little while and some help from ALOT of the other kids at the party but he finally dove in and had so much fun destroying his very own cake. I honestly don't think he ate very much of it... Bless his heart!

And this is what the cake looked like when he was finished playing with it :)

Looks like a very happy birthday boy!!

Our little family at the end of a wonderful first birthday party!

I can not believe it has been a whole year since Alofa and My life was changed forever, for the better! We have loved every minute of watching him learn and grow over the past year. He never ceases to amaze us as we see him master new skills and learn new things. I never knew that have a child and raising him would bring so much joy and strength to our little family. Toa is the sweetest, funniest, smartest little man. He started walking in the middle of September and has been on the run ever since. He has 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom. There are times where he will just sit down and start laughing at nothing, he's a very happy baby. He thinks it is sooo funny when I get scared by a bug and just laughs as I scramble, trying to figure out how to get rid of the bug. He LOVES his daddy and is super laid back just like him. Toa gives the best kisses and knows that if he really wants something all he has to do is give his momma or daddy a kiss and they melt. Every morning when I go to get Toa out of his crib he greets me with a big smile and a kiss when I pick him up. He loves to play with daddy's ties & belts and ALWAYS takes the spoons away from momma when she is trying to eat. He loves to be chased and will run away giggling when you pretend like you are gonna get him. He gets super excited and tries jumping all of the time, but his feet never leave the floor. He dances when music comes on and it is soo cute!! He is starting to learn new dance moves and his latest one looks like he is doing squats... It's pretty funny. He is such a good sleeper and goes to bed with no fuss most of the time. He loves to play with toy cars and trucks... He will drive them ALL OVER the front room. He also loves to play with balls. He will kick them and throw them just to chase them and do it again. He has completely won over his momma and daddy's hearts. We cherish him and adore him more than words can express. He has the biggest, sweetest, dark eyes that just sparkle when he smiles, and he is ALWAYS smiling. We love him so much and thank Heavenly Father for 10-1-10, the day that our sweet Toa came into our family forever!

Happy first birthday Toa!! We hope you had a WONDERFUL day!!

It's a BOY!!

2011-09-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today we had the opportunity to go to the Dr. and get our ultrasound done. Alofa had taken the day off and so we both went with Toa to the appointment. At first Toa was an ANGEL! He sat in the chair and behaved himself so well! I had drank some juice before we went because I wanted to be sure that the baby was awake and so we could see him moving around and OH BOY was he awake!! It made it very difficult to get the pictures that the ultrasound tech needed so the ultrasound took FOREVER!! Toa wasn't so happy about that and started to get a little fussy. Alofa left the room with Toa and the ultrasound tech continued to work to try to get all of the pictures that he needed. Alofa kept coming back to the room to see if we had found out if it was a boy or a girl and even though we had tried to look a few times the cord was in the way and we couldn't tell. I thought we were going to have to leave without knowing what the sex of the baby was but then the baby flipped and there it was! A BOY!! Alofa was elated!! The tech said that the cord was still in the way a little but that he wouldn't go buy any pink because he was pretty sure it was a boy. It was so fun to see our sweet baby boy on the big screen!

We are so blessed to be able to have two of Heavenly Father's choice spirits in our home! We are so excited and humbled that he trusts us enough to raise His children! We love them so very much! We love our Father in Heaven for the blessings that we enjoy! Two very healthy, active boys!! We are so grateful!

Later that night Alfoa, Toa and I were downstairs playing in our living room. Toa has made it a habit to walk along our sectional and is now starting to get a little bit more brave to the point that he tries to walk really fast, maybe an attempt to run, around the sectional. On this night, he was going back and forth from Alofa and I as we sat at each end of the sectional. When he got to Alofa, he turned around and tried to walk across the room to his momma!! He took two steps and then fell down!! His FIRST STEPS!! I can not believe how fast these little ones grow! It has been such a wonderful experience to see them learn, grow and develop! To watch Toa discover the world through his own eyes! My whole life I have waited and wanted to be a mother, but I never dreamed that it would be as wonderful as it really is! My heart is full of gratitude and I love my Father in Heaven for allowing me the opportunity to be a mommy! I wouldn't change anything in my life for the WORLD! I already have the world! :)

2 WONDERFUL years!!

2011-08-21T20:17:00.001-07:00

August 22nd, 2009

One of the very BEST days of my life!

The day I married my very best friend and eternal companion. I have no idea how I got so lucky! I find that I fall more and more in love with him EVERYDAY, he is the perfect man for me! He still makes me laugh everyday and does the dishes everyday. He is the perfect father and husband! He has a heart of gold and is so thoughtful of others, just the other night, we were in Wal~Mart checking out when there were some people ahead of us a few spots that couldn't pay for their groceries. First thing Alofa did was pull out his wallet and offer to pay for them. I stood there with my eyes full of tears at how generous and kind my sweet husband is. He does things like this ALL of the time! He makes me want to be a better person! I will be forever grateful that Alofa was willing to take a chance and marry me! My life is forever changed, for the better! 2 years down, an ETERNITY to go! There is nothing more that I look forward to than ETERNITY with my sweet babe! I love you Alofaaga Laulu! Thank you for giving me BEAUTIFUL children, being the PERFECT daddy and the BEST ETERNAL companion any woman could ask for!

Life is so GOOD!!

2011-08-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

"And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."
- Anna Quindlen, Loud and Clear

Toa is 10 months. I have no idea where the time has gone. I love him to death! He makes me smile EVERYDAY, multiple times a day! He has 4 teeth, two top and two bottom and the sweetest smile that I ever did see. He shakes his head "no" when anyone says "no-no" to him or when he is full and doesn't want any more food. I really think he knows what it means. He calls me mama sometimes and it just melts my heart! He isn't much of a cuddler so when he lets me love on him I take the chance. He just recently started doing the "motor boat" thing with his tongue when I try to kiss him, guess he doesn't want momma kissing on him so much! :) He just started crawling and is now keeping Alofa and I on our toes! When he is going to get something that he knows he shouldn't have and I go after him he tries to crawl faster to get away from me, silly little man! Just a few nights ago he crawled up the stairs and now this is part of our nightly ritual, climbing the stairs to bed, eating one last bottle while he plays with my lips as I cuddle him and hum to him and then he drifts off to dreamland. I hold him for a while before I put him in his crib and thank Heavenly Father that I get to be his mommy.

I worry at times that my house isn't clean enough or that I am not doing everything that a wife and a mother should be doing. I am so tired from working full time and being pregnant. The quote on the top of this post helps me not to feel so guilty, knowing that the time that I do get to spend with Toa, I TRY to cherish and treasure! I know that I can do better and I will work at that, he is growing to fast not to. Alofa is so kind and patient. He is the best father and husband that I could ever ask for. He can get Toa to laugh harder than I have ever seen him laugh, Toa ADORES his daddy!!

I love my sweet boys more than I could ever express. They are my heart and soul! I am so thankful for the blessings that I enjoy! I am thankful for the amazing man that I call my husband and is the father of our children. I am thankful that Heavenly Father has trusted us with Toa and is sending another sweet spirit to our home. Life is SO GOOD!

Toa's First Circus!!

2011-07-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

We took Toa to the circus for the first time this year and really didn't know what to expect from him. I thought he might enjoy it but when we very first got there Alofa tried to give him a ride on a little pony and he started SCREAMING because he was so scared!! Bless his heart!! I was pretty nervous after that and wondered if he had just made a bad choice to bring him to the circus, with clowns and elephants that can be super scary, at such a young age. I was nervous that we would traumatize him for life!! Turns out that he LOVED it!!

We sat right by where all of the clowns and animals came out onto the stage and he was memorised!! It was so fun to watch him try to figure out what in the world was going on!Momma and her baby boy waiting for the show to begin!

Our sweet little family! Daddy and Toa
It really was such a good show! Alofa and I enjoyed it just as much or maybe even more than Toa did! We will for sure go again in the future! SO FUN!!

Toa's bed time hit at about half way through the show. So we just put him in his car seat and he slept through the rest while Alofa and I enjoyed what was left. We had a great time!

It's so fun to be able to take Toa to things like this and see him watch in amazement! He is growing so fast and we are LOVING every minute!

Toa at 7 months

2011-05-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

The month of May has been a super busy month for our family. Baby blessing, birthday party, baptism, first tooth and the list goes on and on! I will warn you that there are ALOT of pictures in this post, we tried to get pictures of everything.

My handsome little man all dressed up for Eli's baby blessing in Salt Lake

I think it is so funny how Toa hangs on to the handles of his car seat! Cracks me up!! Whenever he is in his car seat he will grasp the handle with both hands and HANG on for a "wild" ride!

On the way to Salt Lake. He thought it was so funny when I would wiggle my finger while he held it. He has been doing that ALOT lately, holding my fingers and just staring at me while he is eating or when we are just hanging out together. I love it so much!

Violette, Toa, Miles, Eli, Athena and Celena at Eli's baby blessing

Toa sitting in a big boy chair

Trying on a hat at the Zoo. He didn't like it and wouldn't wear it, too bad, it looked so dang cute! :)

Daddy and Toa

Toa is at the stage where he is chewing on EVERYTHING! SOOO CUTE!

Super excited at the Zoo. He LOVED the monkeys!!

Family picture at that Zoo

Toa's first taste of ice cream... he wasn't impressed! :)

Alofa and Toa with aunty and uncle in Springville

Toa and I with Alofa's aunty in Springville! We LOVE her!!

Checking out his tail...

Toa cuddling with the giraffe that we got him at Hogle Zoo

"How do I look daddy?" "Looking good son!"

Toa trying on daddy's sunglasses at the baptism :)

This was on Mother's day just as we were leaving the hotel on our way back to home sweet home! I had a wonderful Mother's day weekend and enjoyed every single minute with my boys! Alofa even surprised me with a Mother's day gift!! A SWEET card with a gift certificate to get a mani and a pedi!! I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be a mother! It is by far the best thing that has EVER happened to me and I will be forever grateful! I am so thankful for my husband as well!! He is the best daddy and husband in the whole world!

After church on Sunday we decided to get out of the house and take Toa to the park to play on the swings and check out the grass! He loved it!! He is such a curious and adventurous little man! We are gonna be in trouble when he gets more mobile, that is for sure!

Checking out the swing!

My handsome boys!! Love them more than words could describe!

Toa was pretty excited that we let him sit on the grass!! Look at that grin!

Such a handsome, happy little man!
Toa LOVES his daddy!! He gets soo excited when daddy comes home and I catch him just staring at his daddy smiling sometimes when we are just hanging out around the house. I can't blame him! I catch myself staring and smiling at Alofa too sometimes because he is just so dang WONDERFUL!

Toa LOVES to pull grass!! I was worried that he was going to pull it and start putting it in his mouth, since EVERYTHING goes in his mouth at this time, but he didn't. He just pulled it and let it go. I had a hard time getting his attention away from the grass. He was pretty fascinated.

Toa's first tooth!! It broke through on May 21st!! I was starting to get worried and wondered if this child would have any teeth so I was sooo excited to see that my little man was starting to get some chompers in so that he can start getting ready for the foods I am sure he will love, just like his daddy!! He is always playing with his tooth with his tongue now, just trying to get used to it and figure it out! Such a silly boy! He has recently started chewing on the nipple of his bottles as well. He will grip it with his gums/tooth and pull out the nipple as hard as he can. I am pretty nervous that he is going to pull the nipple right off of the bottle one of these days and I am gonna have milk EVERYWHERE!!
Toa isn't much of a cuddler because he is SO interested with EVERYTHING that is going on around him but when he does cuddle it's wonderful!! My favorite thing lately has been that he will lay in bed with me in the mornings after breakfast and look into my eyes with his hand on my cheek. Melts my heart! Such a tender and special time! I would give ANYTHING to know what he is thinking during those times. Other times he will just push me away when I try to cuddle him or help him get his binki in the RIGHT way instead of upside down. He gets pretty feisty at times too. Bless his heart! Such an independent child! 7 months of FUN!! It's gets better and better everyday!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T11:31:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Our little Poly Boy

2011-03-31T11:13:00.001-07:00

Oute Alofa Ia te Oe!!!

Our good friend, Victoria, asked my husband and some of his friends to teach her boy scouts the Haka for their boy scout award dinner. The sons of my Husband's friend, Ben, went and taught them how to do the Haka and then on the award dinner night we all went and watched them perform it together. I loved it!! It was sooo fun to see all of those sweet boys standing in front of a big group of people doing the Haka. I dressed Toa up in his onesie that says "I love You So Much" in Samoan that my good friend, Danika, got for Toa and his bead necklace. He looked sooo cute and so Samoan!! I am so thankful for my husband and his culture! I love learning about it and hope to raise Toa in such a way that he will want to learn as much as he can about it too. It will be soo fun to watch Toa doing the Haka someday!!

Oute Alofa Ia te Oe!!!

New Bath Time Toy

2011-03-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

Toa LOVES bath time!! He kicks and splashes throughout the WHOLE bath!! He tries to catch the bubbles with his little hands and takes a DEEP breath in every time I pour water over his little time then gives mommy and daddy a big toothless smile. Alofa and I always give Toa a bath together, it's kinda like a special family time that we both enjoy so much because Toa is so fun in the bath tub. Just recently Alofa and I decided that Toa was starting to outgrow the bath tub that we had been using since he was born so we decided to get him a new, fun bath tub. It is an inflatable duck that quacks when we squeeze his beak. Toa LOVES it!! Gives him more room to kick and splash around. He laughs every time it quacks at him. I haven't gotten any pictures of him taking a bath in it yet, I am kind of nervous to do that for fear of dropping the camera in the water, Toa grabbing it and pulling it in the water or getting it splashed on. Here are some picture of Toa checking out his new ducky when we first filled it up with air...

"What's that mom?"

"Well, Little Toa, It's a little patch that tells us if the water is too hot, too cold or just right so we don't burn you cute little bum." :)

I couldn't even get him to look up for a second to take a picture because he was so intrigued with his awesome bath tub ducky. Such a sweet, cute little man!! LOVE HIM!!

Valentines Day 2-14- 2011

2011-03-31T10:41:00.001-07:00

This Valentines day was pretty low key this year for our family. Our neighbors brought us over some cup cakes that they made for us and we went out to dinner. We did get Toa a bear for Valentines Day this year and LOVE as in the AIR!! :)

Toa was mesmerized by the heart. He kept staring at it and trying to pull it off. Made me smile! Here is a picture of him checking out the heart. The look on his face cracks me UP!! :)

Toa giving his Valentines bear a great big BEAR hug! :) Happy Valentines Day sweet Toa!! Mommy and Daddy LOVE you sooo much!!

Alofa's Birthday 2-6-2011

2011-03-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

This year Alofa's birthday fell on the Super Bowl. In Alofa's opinion that was the BEST day ever to have a birthday, LOTS of food and football!! What more could he ask for? :)

He and Toa were going for the Steelers and got all dressed up in their gear. Too bad the Steelers didn't win!! That would have made his birthday even BETTER!! We went over to my dad's house and has a birthday/super bowl party. It really was sooo much fun!! I didn't get any pictures of his presents but he got SPOILED!! He deserves it!! :)

My little Laulu boys showing off their Steelers gear. Too CUTE!! Like father like son!!

Looking good Toa!! :) Go STEELERS!!

Toa fell asleep before the game even began! He was all tuckered out from the pre-football/ birthday celebrations! Momma with her sweet little man! I love Alofa so much and am so thankful that he is my husband and the father of our baby boy! Alofa with his cake!

Emma, Toa and Cam were so much FUN at the party!! I love this picture of them! Sooo cute!!

Can we say OUT OF CONTROL? ;)

Alofa's Birthday/Super Bowl cake

Alofa with his baby boy watching the game. Alofa isn't smiling because his team wasn't winning. Bless his BIG heart!

Alofa and Joe bbqing in their Steelers Jerseys. The BEST bbq in the world!!

There is so much I could say about my husband and how amazing he truly is. He makes me smile EVERY single day!! He's always doing everything he can to make our life better. He is a HARD worker and is very sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. I am so thankful for Alofa's birthday! He has been such a blessing and source of strength in my life! I love him with all of my heart!!

COSTA VIDA!!!

2011-03-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was just RECENTLY introduced to Costa Vida about 3 weeks ago and I am in LOVE!! I can honestly say that it is my favorite place to eat now. Just thinking about it makes my mouth WATER!!!

Just look at that DELICIOUS GOODNESS!! Alofa isn't such a fan. He is more of a Chinese food type of guy so I don't get to eat Costa Vida as often as I would like to but when I do, I am in HEAVEN!!

Get Ready...

2011-03-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

So I have gone private with our blog. It was a decision that I have been waiting to make for a while now given the population that I work with and the concern that some of my less "stable" clients would get a hold of some of the personal information (which would be DISASTROUS!) When I saw one of my good friends decide to do it, I decided that it was time for us to do the same thing too. It seems as if I have been some what reserved with what I post on the blog due to EVERYONE (even some of the less stable clients I referred to earlier) being able to see it but as I have thought more and more about the purpose of our blog I realized that it is great opportunity to keep a somewhat detailed record of our lives and eventually turn it into a book!! I get pretty excited at the thought of that!! So I finally made the decision and here we are... a PRIVATE blog. I feel good about the decision. I plan to post some of the more personal experiences and thoughts that I have on a more regular basis. For example: About 2 weeks ago Toa woke up and his bed was all sweaty from him BURNING up. I took his temperature and it was 102.6!!! I was pretty worried and I just knew something wasn't right even though others told me that it was probably just a little fever from him teething. I had a feeling, a prompting from the Holy Ghost. I decided to take him to the Dr. and when we got there he was all smiling, happy and had NO fever (the fever had gone down since I had given him some Tylenol). I was so worried that I was worried for no reason and the Dr. would think I had lost my mind. The Dr. found that he had the startings of an ear infection and that we had caught it early. I was very relieved that the Dr. found out what was going on and that he caught if before Toa was in A LOT of pain, that would have KILLED me to see my baby any worse than he already was!! They gave us some medicine and we were off to our home where I could stay home and take care of my sick little boy all day, just cuddling him and loving him the whole time. The next day he just didn't feel good. I could tell because he just would not eat, and that is NOT like Toa, he eats ALL of the time!!! Around 7 p.m. that night he was just the saddest little boy and I couldn't help by cry with him. Then it dawned on me. I had prayed my heart out that Toa would feel better but I hadn't asked Alofa to give him a blessing yet. Alofa got dressed in his Sunday best and gave our little boy the sweetest, most heart felt blessing. My eyes and my heart overflowed!! As soon as Alofa uttered the last words to his blessing Toa fell asleep for about an hour and then woke up and ATE!! Oh boy did he eat!!! My worried little heart was calmed by the Spirit and priesthood power that my righteous husband was able to exercise. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life. For the strength, the direction and the stability that it provides for me and my family. I am thankful for my sweet husband who holds and honors the priesthood. I don't know what I did to deserve him but I would do it all over again a million times. I am thankful that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to be a mother to one of his precious spirits. I hope to become the wife and mother both of them deserve, I know I am no where close to where I need to be but I will keep pressing forward, looking to My Heavenly Father and Savior for direction.

The title of this post is "Get Ready" because many more posts are on the way, even though they might be out of order, they are still on the way!

2010 Cutest Baby Contest

2011-02-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

We put Toa in a "cutest baby born in 2010" contest held by the Idaho State Journal. It was really A LOT of fun! We submitted this pictureand then got EVERYONE that we could find to vote for him. There were 219 ADORABLE babies in the contest and A LOT of steep competition. The competition lasted for one week and there were a few babies giving Toa a run for his money BUT the night that the contest ended Toa pulled ahead by 22 votes and WON!! I hardly EVER stay up past 10 p.m. but on this night I stayed up till midnight to see if Toa had won! I was sooo excited and happy!

We were told when we entered the contest that the winner would receive a GIFT BASKET. So when we showed up at the Idaho State Journal and saw ALL of the gifts that Toa had won we were SHOCKED! Here is a picture of Toa with his winnings! Too cute!

This picture of our little family went into the newspaper on the 2nd of February 2011 as a special "thank you" to Bingham Memorial Hospital for donating the gifts

Toa at home with all of his gifts

Getting EXCITED to open them and see what he had won!

Can you BELIEVE everything that he won!! I was AMAZED as we helped Toa open his gifts and saw Toa's eyes start to SPARKLE with EXCITEMENT as he saw all the books, toys and clothes that just kept coming out of those bags!
The after math of opening ALL of those gifts!! Toa LOVED playing in the ribbons and paper that came from the bags!
This is what was published in the Idaho State Journal on the 30th of January, 2011

and then the picture published in the paper on the 2nd of February, 2011

What a wonderful experience and memory that we will cherish FOR EVER!! We love our little Toa-Tot and are so thankful to all of the friends and family who voted for Toa (he couldn't have done it without you ALL), Idaho State Journal and Bingham Memorial Hospital for providing such a great opportunity and the AMAZING gifts that were provided for the cutest baby born in 2010

TOA!! :)

Christmas 2010

2011-02-24T20:57:00.001-08:00

Cam, Savana and my mom playing with Toa on Christmas morning.

Mama and daddy opening presents with Toa at my mom's home.

This picture just cracks me up! It looks like Toa is ticked because Cam is playing with his toy. This boy is gonna have to learn how to SHARE! :)

Mama helping Toa open his gifts and showing him what he got Toa with a FEW of the gifts he got this past Christmas. He got sooo spoiled!

Mama and her baby boy!

My dad, Tina and Toa on Christmas day

Alofa, Toa and I showing off the gifts we got at my dad's home! Thank you EVERYONE!!

Sleep in HEAVENLY peace! This is Toa sleeping on Christmas Eve, right before Santa came to see him! He had been such a good boy and got SPOILED!

Our little family on Christmas Eve. This picture is right after we had gotten home from driving around looking at all of the Christmas lights.
Alofa and I let Toa open ONE present early, his bumbo chair, and he LOVED it!
Cam, Joseph, Dad, Tina and I made sugar cookies the same night we took Toa and Cam to see Santa. We had such a great time and Cam is quite the cookie decorator AND EATER! :)

Joseph was a pretty good little cookie decorator and EATER too! :)

Cam helping me cut out the cookies

I LOVE our little family!

Toa's first picture with Santa and Cam. He didn't like it so much but it still is pretty cute!

Cam checking on Toa while they are sitting on Santa's lap. He just wanted to make sure that Toa wasn't too scared! What a great big cousin!

Mama and her sweet baby (even though he doesn't look so sweet in this picture ;))

Love my BOYS!!

Our Christmas Stockings

Mine, Toa's and Alofa's

Toa's first Christmas Ornament hanging on the tree

Toa's first Christmas Ornament
There is just something about celebrating Christmas with a brand new, sweet baby in the home that invites the spirit and magic of Christ into a home. This year was sooo perfect and memorable as we celebrated the birth of our Savior. I am so thankful for His birth, life and atonement that makes it possible for me to be with my family forever. I can not think of a more valuable or special gift! I will be forever grateful for all that my Father in Heaven and Savior have given me!

New Year's Eve

2011-02-24T20:31:00.001-08:00

This year for New Year's Eve we were able to go and celebrate it with my cousin, Braken and his wife at their wedding reception. We had sooo much fun!

Braken and Grandma Howerton

Grandma with her glass of water

Grandpa Howerton and Aunt Vicky

Toa is ALWAYS eating!!

Sami and Toa

The LOVE BIRDS!! Congrats guys!! We wish my MANY years of happiness and LOVE!

Grandma Howerton and I

Me with my Aunt Karen and sweet Cousin Sami

Papa Howerton, Toa and Chris. Chris gave Toa the balloon that he is holding on to and Toa would NOT let go of it! He loved his balloon!

I LOVE my sweet husband! He makes me smile everyday!

Shaley, Grandma Howerton and Aunt Vicky

They like to MOVE it MOVE it!

Hot ladies shaking their STUFF!!

Grandma Howerton getting DOWN on the dance floor!! This lady has got some HOT moves!! GOOOOOO Grandma!!

Our sweet family on New Year's Eve
This is how Toa rang in the New Year!! Sleeping in his swing!! What a sweetheart! This past year was an incredible year!! I finished grad school (which I NEVER could have done without the love and support of my sweet husband), celebrated Alofa and my first anniversary (one year of wonderful memories and LOTS of FUN!) and brought a brand new spirit into our home. Toa has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives and everyday we thank our Father in Heaven for him and his health! We can only hope that the next year will be just as wonderful and fulfilling at this past year has been!

I NEED to catch up!!!

2011-02-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in the past 2 months (all of it good) and I have NOT been able to keep up on my blog let alone work full time, keep a clean home AND be the mommy that Toa deserves & good wife that Alofa deserves. While it is true that it's WAY late to make New Year's Resolutions, I can still make some goals to help me feel like I am keeping up on everything that I need and WANT to do. Some of these goals are:

#1 keep a cleaner home for Alofa, Toa and myself to live life to the fullest in. I plan to go around the house and at least "pick up" every night after Toa goes to bed. That way the house won't get sooo overwhelming that I just look everything I have to do with a feeling of defeat. Alofa helps out soo much! He does the dishes EVERYDAY!! Bless his heart, I love him sooo much!! On the weekends, I will deep clean 2 rooms. I am going to set up a schedule so that I can make sure everything that needs to be done will get done. I will do at least 1 load of laundry daily. That way it won't pile up so bad. I feel comfortable with these goals. I feel as if I can accomplish them and still get to spend a good amount of time with my sweethearts!

#2 I plan on posting on my blog at LEAST once a month! I know that I have sooo much to share, just not enough time to post it all. I have thought about it, and if I were to post more frequently it wouldn't take me a million years to share the important (and maybe some not so interesting at times) happenings of our lives. If I really think about it, I LOVE looking back on the older posts of our blog and remembering the wonderful times of our lives! I WANT to post more and I can do it.

#3 I will not complain about having to work. I think this will help me to have a better attitude when I get home which will in turn make the time I do get to spend with my little family sweeter! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job and am so thankful that I have such a good, flexible, good paying and FUN job!! BUT there are times where I wish I could be a stay at home mommy! (Just look at this face!! Who WOULDN'T want to stay home with him?!?) :)

Needless to say, Alofa, Toa and I have been very busy, VERY HAPPY and very blessed!! Look forward to more posts on New Years, Christmas, 2010 baby contest and Valentine's day soon!! I am going to cuddle my boys now!

LIFE is GREAT!

Toa at two months old

2010-12-08T16:06:00.001-08:00

Time flies!! It's kind of funny because there was a point in my life where I wished time would go faster. Now I am at a point where I just want time to stand still so that I can make sure I DO NOT miss a thing with my sweet baby Toa! He is growing so fast!!

This picture melts my heart!! So sweet, tender and INNOCENT!! I hope he stays that way FOREVER!! :)

This is a picture of Toa at 3 days old. He looks so tiny!

7 lbs 8oz

21 inches long

Here he is at 1 month

11 lbs 2 oz

22 inches long

And here he is at 2 months old

12 lbs 8 oz

24 inches long

For his head circumference he is in the 60th percentile, for length he is in the 80th percentile and in the 55th percentile for weight. He is growing so fast and is starting to do things that AMAZE his mother! He rolled over for the first time at two months old, he started sleeping 7-8 hours a night at 6 weeks old, he LOVES to take baths, he LOVES tummy time and can hold his head up very good! He has found his hands and sucks on his fingers, he STARES into my eyes and melts my heart every time I feed him. He holds on to my fingers, smiles, coos and brings so much joy into my life! We play a game where I give him a big kiss on his chubby cheeks and say, "a kiss for the baby" and then he gives me an open mouthed kiss on the cheek and I say, "and a kiss for the mama" It's my favorite game right now and we play it ALL of the time just going back and forth giving each other kisses. Alofa thought I was crazy at first but I had Toa give him a kiss on the cheek and now he is hooked on the game too! Toa gives the best kisses!! He loves to lay on his back and kick at the air. When he is hungry he almost does a sit up to get to the bottle if I don't put it up to his mouth fast enough. He wakes up in the morning soo happy and ready to cuddle! He LOVES to cuddle his mommy! He is such a sweet, cuddly, happy, talkative baby! He has been such a blessing in our lives and makes EVERYDAY wonderful!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-05T14:37:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we were planning on going down to Salt Lake to spend it with Alofa's family. Due to the TON of snow we got, that really wasn't an option. So our plans changed a little and we went and spent Thanksgiving with my dad instead. We had a great time! and the food was AMAZING!!

This is MY turkey leg and NO I will NOT share!! :)

Alofa's first time carving the turkey! He did a great job!!

Grandpa Howerton MUST have slipped some turkey in that bottle! He sure was sleepy after he ate it! ;)

What a sweet boy! I am sooo thankful that he LOVES to cuddle just as much as I do! It makes every minute of every day sooo much better :)

Grandma and Grandpa Howerton, Joe and Toa on Thanksgiving day

Doesn't Alofa make that turkey look DELICIOUS?!?!

(It WAS delicious by the way:))

Grandpa Howerton feeding Toa. Looks like they are BOTH in Heaven! I think that Grandpa may have snuck some turkey in that bottle for Toa so he could enjoy his first Thanksgiving too :)

Joe won't admit it but I think he REALLY likes Toa :)

Grandpa Howerton and Toa. Does your fist taste like turkey Toa? :) Sure looks like you are enjoying it!

My sister, her boyfriend, her friend, my brother and his wife were all there as well but I didn't get any pictures of them. I wish I had. I will do better next year! We had a GREAT time going through all of the ads for Black Friday, spending time together and prank calling some of our other family and friends. I laughed sooo hard that I was crying! It was a wonderful and very fun Thanksgiving!

This is how you can tell it was a GREAT first Thanksgiving for Toa:

A happy and very sweet baby boy to be ever so thankful for!

I am so thankful for all of the blessings that I enjoy. My life is better than I ever dreamed that it would be! I have a very kind and loving husband who gave me the sweetest boy! He fits so perfectly into our little family and while it is true that he is only about two months old, I CANNOT remember what my life was like without him! He greets me every morning with a sweet smile and ready to cuddle! I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity that I have to be a wife and a mom, both roles that I cherish! I am thankful for my job and that Alofa has a job as well! I am also thankful for my friends and my family! I have so much to be thankful for! I hope that I take the time necessary to reflect on my blessings often and do what I can do to bless the lives of others as well!

Toa's Blessing

2010-12-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband blessed our little man on November 7th 2010. It was such a tender and beautiful experience for me to see my husband exercise his priesthood in blessing our son. I shouldn't have worn make-up to church on this day, the tears ran freely. I am so thankful for all of the family and friends that came to support and help us during this special time. Alofa's auntie and uncle came up the night before to help start preparing the food for the dinner at our house after the blessing. There was sooooo much food and sooooo many people who came to our home to celebrate and welcome Toa in to your eternal family. This will be a memory and experience that I will cherish forever and reflect on often!

A month of "firsts" for Toa

2010-11-11T19:14:00.001-08:00

October has been such a fun and exciting month!! This was the month that our lives were changed forever for the better! Who would have known that caring for an brand new sweet spirit would be so fulfilling and so rewarding! I have loved every single minute of it and often times find myself staring at my little man when he is eating or sleeping wondering what I did to be so lucky to be the mother to this sweet baby! I love watching him grow and learn new things! At the same time I wish he could stay at the stage he is in forever!

He loves to cuddle and I LOVE cuddling him! I have hit the cuddling JACKPOT!! I never knew how much I was capable of loving till I held my sweet Toa for the first time! Not only has my love for my sweet boy been amazing to me and unmeasurable, my love for my sweet husband has multiplied 100 fold as well. I am so grateful for him and for the sweet baby that he gave me. I am grateful for his love and support as well as his willingness to do all that he can to help raise this sweet baby to be a righteous and faithful son of God. I love watching Alofa rock Toa and sing to him in his native Samoan language! Alofa is an outstanding and AMAZING daddy and husband!!

Toa's first bath. He LOVES his baths!! He splashes and kicks his legs! Bath time is such a fun time for us and I look forward to it!!

Even from the first time I gave him a bath he spotted the toy on the side and grabs onto it every time! Such a cute and smart little man :)

Here he is trying to eat his towel after his bath! This little man is ALWAYS hungry!!

And here is our handsome little man after his first bath at home!

We went up to Idaho Falls to go to our friend, Stephanie's, bridal shower. It was Toa's first road trip AND his first play date! Our friend Melissa's daughter, Amy, and Toa met for the first time on this trip! I think they like each other and will grow up to be great friends.

And of Course it was Toa's first Halloween! It was pretty uneventful as we just stayed home because he was still pretty young. But we did get him his "first Halloween" outfit and he looked so dang cute in it!
Toa trying to make a scary face for his first Halloween :)

Mama and Toa on his first Halloween! I sure do love my little man!!

Cam and Toa on Halloween! Cam thinks Toa is pretty cool. Toa looks like he doesn't know what to think! I love it when Cam says Toa's name! It is sooo cute!!

This first month has been such an exciting month where I have learned and grown sooo much!! We look forward to many more AMAZING months as we watch our little man grow and learn as well!!

Toa at One Month old

2010-11-11T13:19:00.001-08:00

Here is our sweet little boy when he was a new born baby

7 lbs 8 oz

21 inches long

And here he is at one month

11 lbs 2 oz

22 inches long

He is in the 75th percentile for weight and head circumference

50th percentile for length

He's our healthy, growing Mr. Man

What a wonderful month it has been!! Alofa and I have LOVED having this sweet boy in our home and ENJOYED the spirit that he brings into our family! He is growing so fast, getting stronger, CUTER and funnier everyday! He is starting to find his voice and makes the cutest noises all of the time! He can hold his head up and look around. He is soo curious and is always wanting to see what is going on. He LOVES his food!! My word, this boy loves his food!! He gets MAD if he doesn't get it right when he wants it. He is such a happy boy and is starting to smile at his parents. Melts our hearts EVERY TIME! What a blessing it has been to watch him grow the past month, to care for him and love him more than words could ever express!

I love my sweet Toa tot!!

Super Scary!!

2010-10-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Toa, Alofa and I have had a rough few days! It got pretty scary for me, and not because it is almost Halloween either. Toa normally poops 2 to 3 times a day so on Tuesday I started to get a little worried since he hadn't pooped since early Tuesday morning. By Wednesday I started to look for ways to help him poop since I noticed that his belly was getting big and hard. I knew he was constipated. I tried rubbing his belly, that didn't work. By 8 p.m that night Toa was in alot of pain and was crying a ton! He actually didn't stop crying till Thursday around noon when my Aunt Karen brought over some Karo syrup to put in his bottle to help him poop. That didn't work either. I talked to the Dr. and they recommended that he try some watered down prune juice. Didn't work either. Then a pharmacist recommended that we put 1/2 of a suppository in and that would do the trick. I only put 1/4 of one in just to make sure that it was safe for him. He pooped about 2 mins later and he pooped ALOT!! I was soooo relieved! I have never been so happy for him to make a MESS as I was at that time!! A little while later, I was feeding him and noticed that his soft spot on the top of his head had sunken in. I FREAKED out!! I started bawling and almost passed out! I had never been so scared in my whole life! Alofa and I took him to the emergency room and I asked the nurse if we needed to check him in or if I was just over reacting. I knew that he was dehydrated and that was why his soft spot had sunk in but I wasn't sure if it was a SERIOUS problem and if he needed to be checked in the E.R. I wanted to be safe instead of sorry though. She recommended that we check him in and so we did. They rehydrated him and took x-rays of his tummy to make sure we got all of the hard stool out. The Dr. said that we did a good job. He is fine now and is the sweet, happy baby he always had been before he got his tummy ache. There is nothing worse than not knowing how to help a sweet helpless baby feel better! I am so grateful for his health and that he is doing fine now. I must admit though, I was scared!

Toa Thomas Laulu 10-1-10

2010-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

The 3 weeks before our little man came were SOOO stressful on me! Alofa had gone back to Samoa three weeks before the due date of 10-8-10 so I was home all alone for the last couple of weeks of this pregnancy. That was hard. I thought that I would be fine since I was 28 years old and had spent 27 of those years single. I was wrong! Very wrong! I guess in the past year of being married I actually started to become dependent on my husband :) I felt like I could not live without him while he was gone and wondered how I ever did it before he came. Right before he left he gave me a blessing and I just sobbed! He has so much faith and knew that everything would be just fine. My faith wavered at times. I wasn't so sure and I was super scared. Faith and fear can not abide in the same heart at the same time. Alofa's heart was full of faith, my heart was full of fear. Good thing I married such a faithful man! I needed his faith more than ever then! After the blessing I had to go to work and it took everything i had not to cry the whole day! To make things worse, I had an ultrasound the day before Alofa left because the Dr. was afraid that the baby was going to be really big. She called me while at work, after Alofa had left and said that according to the ultrasound, the baby was measuring REALLY big and she wasn't going to let me go clear to my due date. When she said that I started bawling because Alofa was clear across the world and wouldn't be back until

9-28-10. I knew there was NO WAY that I could have this baby alone! I needed him!! I talked to Alofa every night while he was in Samoa and tried not to cry too much because I didn't want him to feel bad. It worked some nights and other nights I cried like a baby to him. I told him about what he Dr. had said and he remained faithful, saying that everything would work out just fine! I went to the Dr. on 9-27-10, the day before Alofa was to come home, and I was dilated to a 2 so she stripped my membranes! I panicked! I was worried Alofa would miss the birth of his son. But he didn't! He got home late Tuesday night and everything was just fine! Thank Heavens for my husband's faith and for tender mercies from above. I think Heavenly Father knew that I couldn't have this baby alone!The night before we were scheduled to go to the hospital we decided to go on one last date as non-parents :) We had a great time and LOVED being in each other's company as we PATIENTLY waited for the next day when we would welcome our son into the world!

Friday, 10-1-10

Alofa driving us to the hospital and super excited about what was going to happen this day!

5:30 a.m. on 10-1-10 on our way to the hospital to have our little man!
When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 4 and having mild contractions every minute. I didn't even know that I was having contractions because they were so mild. Our little man was well on his way. They started the IVs and hooked me up to all of the monitors.
Alofa giving me a kiss right before it was time to deliver! We were both so excited to meet our son!

Alofa waiting. He was soo funny! I think this was the hardest part for him. He kept saying that if our son was not here soon then he was going to take matters into his own hands... I don't know what he meant by that :)

I got a epidural when I was dilated to a 7. Thank goodness for epidurals!! Heaven sent!

Then it came time to push! I pushed for an hour and 40 mins with NO PROGRESS! I was soo discouraged and wasn't sure I was going to be able to deliver this baby. The Dr. thought it was because he was sooo big, like the ultrasound said he was, and couldn't fit. They were getting me ready to go in for a C-Section when a specialist came in, did an ultrasound and saw that his face wasn't facing the right way. They turned him and not even 10 mins later our little man was here! He had the cord wrapped around his neck two times pretty tightly but everything else was perfect and he was healthy, safe and just fine! What a relief! I did NOT want a C-Section.

When he came out and we saw that he was just a little man we were all shocked!! According the ultrasound he was supposed to be a 10lb baby. But he wasn't :) he was a healthy 7 lbs. 8 oz. 21 inches long baby boy born at 7:40 p.m. on 10-1-10

Alofa got to cut the cord and he started crying, the most glorious sound I have ever heard!! They laid him on my tummy, he looked at me and I looked at him. He yawned and then stopped crying and I started!!! I can not even put into words the feelings and thoughts of this experience!

AMAZING!

So proud of my little Toa

Toa with Dr. Christensen, our Dr. She is wonderful!

Here he is!

Getting all inked up for his footprints

I can not even tell you how happy I was to hold our little man! He is PERFECT and so handsome!! This was the most spiritual experience I have ever had in my life thus far! I could not stop crying after I saw him and held him for the first time!

The very first picture of our little family

Alofa is such a GREAT daddy!! He wanted to hold his son all night! Sooo sweet!

Me and my little man!! I can not even express how much I love him!

The proud daddy and his son

Happy Year Anniversay!!!

2010-08-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, August 22nd 2009, I made the very best decision I have ever made in my life and married my best friend for time and all eternity. I could not have picked a better companion, I don't think one exists, to help me through some of the difficult times and enjoy the best of times with. He truly is the perfect man for me and makes me laugh out loud every single day! I am the luckiest lady alive to be married to Alofaaga Laulu!!

Some of the things that we have been able to accomplish together this past year and why I love Alofa soooo much:
I started my second & last year of grad school just 2 days after we were married. What a challenge. With that last year of grad school came working full time, internship, preparation for comps, oral exams and graduation. I was a WRECK!! If Alofa could handle and put up with me through that, then he can handle ANYTHING!!! He never once complained about my frequent absence. He never once complained about not having a hot meal on the table for dinner or our house not being 100% tidy and clean. He supported me through it all and picked up my slack. I can't remember how many times I came home from school/work/internship and found a hot meal on the table with the clothes washed, folded and put away. I honestly don't think I could have made it through the last year of grad school without my husband to encourage me and support me. When I would come home in tears, saying I wanted to quit or give up on getting my degree because I was not sure I would be able to do it, he would just hold me, tell me that he knew I could do it and that I was good at what I do and very smart. That is all I needed. I know I couldn't have done it without my Alofa!

Alofa has a very laid back personality and almost nothing stresses him out. I, on the other hand, am very up tight and stress out about everything. For this reason we make the PERFECT couple. When I start to go into my "stress out" mode, he stops me and asks what good stressing out is gonna do. He is soo right! He has been the one to keep the sanity in our home and has helped me not to get too worked up over things that I have no control over.

He is VERY funny and keeps the mood in our house very positive and light. I am soo thankful for that! I have very RARELY seen him get mad, almost NEVER happens! He is always singing, sometimes in English and sometimes in Samoan. I laugh EVERY TIME he sings in English because he makes up his own words to the songs, and most of the time it makes NO SENSE! It's sooo funny!! I love coming home to Alofa every night. I honestly do not know how I lived without him!

Alofa is one of the hardest workers I know. He busts his bottom all day at work then he comes home and does what he needs to do around the house. This is one of my most favorite qualities about him. I know that he will always take care of our family.

He has done the dishes EVERYDAY since we got married. I thought this might be something that would fade after a couple of days or weeks of marriage but he is still going strong. I have not touched a dish since a year ago today! I am so thankful for his willingness to help around the house!

I don't know what it is about Alofa but EVERY single little kid I have ever met adores Alofa. He just has this spirit about him that kids are drawn to. Just the other night, while we were at Luau practice, all of the little boys were playing soccer. Alofa got up and started playing soccer with them. He loves to be around little kids and is sooo good with them. This is just one of the reasons why I KNOW that Alofa is going to be such a GREAT daddy!! There was this little girl, about 4 years old, selling lemonade out on the corner in front of our house yesterday. Alofa went over and asked how much it was. She said, "free, it you want some." Alofa bought a cup from her and gave her a dollar bill for the lemonade. He has such a good, big heart!! He is such a great example of being good and kind to everyone!

This is Alofa reading a story to Stanzie, our friend's little girl. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Perfect example of why Alofa is gonna be a GREAT daddy!

Alofa LOVES food!! He is not hard to please either. All I have to do to keep him happy is keep his tummy full. And if he gets fish, taro, lamb or stake and rice it's even better. He could eat those same things every night and be just as happy as can be.

I could go on and on as to why I am so lucky that Alofa is my eternal companion, but I won't :) The last thing I want to end with is that Alofa is ALWAYS so sensitive and attends to my needs and wants. I have never felt so important or so loved in all of my life. He makes sure that I am comfortable and happy all of the time. If I want or need something he jumps to it and makes sure it gets taken care of. He treats me like a queen. He takes into consideration my thoughts and my feelings before he does anything. He is the perfect man and husband for me. I used to dream about what my future husband and family would be like. I thought the husband and family in my dreams were the perfect husband and family, but, as always, my husband and family in reality is WAY better than I could have ever dreamt. I thank my Father in Heaven everyday for Alofaaga Laulu. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father is allowing us to grow our eternal family here on earth. This, having a baby, is the greatest accomplishment that Alofa and I have achieved thus far. I can't wait for our little man to get here and I hope and pray he is JUST LIKE HIS SWEET DADDY!!

I am so grateful that families can be together forever. I look forward to the rest of my life and eternity with my sweet husband AND our future children.

The NESTING has begun

2010-08-15T17:14:00.001-07:00

Nesting has officially begun!! All I care about, think about and want to do is get EVERYTHING ready for this sweet little spirit to come into our home. Alofa thinks I have really gone crazy. There will be times at night where I CAN NOT sleep for the LIFE of me because I have to get "something" done in order to make sure everything is ready for this sweet baby to come. I try to explain it to Alofa, that I really can't help it, but he still thinks I am crazy :) That's alright with me. He'll be so happy when everything is ready for our sweet baby when he gets here!
I was looking at car seat/stroller combos with one of my good friends, Jen, and we found this monkey one. I fell in LOVE and had to have! So here it is!! Isn't it CUTE?!?!? I am sure baby boy Laulu will LOVE it just as much as his momma does :)
I got a REALLY good deal on a baby bedroom set a few months back. It included this dresser, a changing table and the crib. I have been asking Alofa to put it together for me for the past month or so. He has thought that I was crazy, as I mentioned before, and kept telling me that we had plenty of time to get it done and it would only take him a couple of minutes. Friday he came home from work and got the changing table and dresser box out of the closet with out saying a word to me and started putting it together. I was sooooo dang happy!! Above is the finished dresser product with the "jungle" decorations for our little tiger. Didn't Alofa do such a GREAT job?!?!

Here is the proud and happy daddy with the finished changing table product! It looks wonderful!!

Remember how I mentioned earlier that Alofa said, "it will only take me a couple of minutes to put all of this together"? Well here is a picture of him STILL working on the dresser 3 HOURS later!! :) I was laughing my face off the whole time too!! He is sooo dang funny!! He kept saying, "YES!! I am sooo freaken smart!! Why am I not going back to school" after he would get a piece together. I love my sweet Alofa! He makes me smile and laugh every single day!!

When I would try to help him he would say, "you just sit there and relax, let daddy do his job" Later when I started folding blankets and stuff to put under the changing table when it was done he would say, "daddy's job is done, the rest is mommy's job" I LOVED hearing those words out of his mouth, "mommy" it was a really tender and special moment for me and of course I got misty. What a blessing and a privilege, to be a mommy!!

I love watching Alofa grow into the "daddy" role!! He had to make sure EVERYTHING was perfect as he put the baby furniture together. I am soo thankful for experiences like this. It is amazing to me how having a baby at the right time, with the right person can make everything in life seem so perfect and wonderful. Alofa is going to be such a amazing daddy! I am so blessed and thankful that I get to be the mommy to his babies and that we get to grow our eternal family here on earth. The principle of eternal families and the plan of salvation is beginning to take on some many more meanings and dimensions to it. I am so thankful for the blessings that I enjoy from the hand of my Heavenly Father. I hope that I can be the mommy he wants me to be!

Polynezia Mix

2010-07-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

Alofa is a part of a Polynesian dance group called Polynezia Mix.

He spends ALOT of time practicing and learning dances from all over the Polynesian Islands then preforms them for different events in and around Pocatello.

It has been so fun to watch him SHINE as he has preformed for groups all over Pocatello.

Just thinking about him and his dance moves makes me smile!

I love my Alofa and am soo happy that he has found a GREAT group of friends who he has such a great time with!! I also LOVE watching them preform!!

I LOVE my husband's culture and am very BLESSED and LUCKY to call Alofaaga my eternal companion and best friend!!

4th of July

2010-07-09T16:44:00.001-07:00

This 4th of July was the first one Alofa and I shared as a married couple. It ended up being one of the best 4th of July weekends I have ever had. It started out Saturday afternoon when we went to my mom's house and had a WONDERFUL bbq!!

This picture is my VERY FAVORITE PICTURE!! That is why it is the first picture that I posted even though it is out of order. Cam loves Uncle Al because Alofa takes time to talk to him and show him how the fireworks work. Cam listens to Uncle Al. It makes me sooo happy and excited to see Alofa with our babies. He is gonna be such a GREAT daddy!! I love him sooo much!!
Alofa and I in the car getting ready to go over to my mom's house for a YUMMY bbq!! (can you tell how HOT I already am by the redness in my face? Gotta LOVE pregnancy in the Summer time :) )

Poor Oggie! He looked sooo sad sitting at the fence while we were in the car getting ready to leave.

Alofa gave himself a haircut, like he ALWAYS does!! Isn't he soooo handsome? That is the outfit that he got from baby boy Laulu and I for Father's day!

Alofa throwing fireworks off of the porchAlofa, Me (baby boy Laulu) & Cam

Alofa and Savana throwing fireworks to show Cam While Aunt Jamie holds him

Savana and Alofa sharing fireworks

Cam being all Patriotic. He LOVED his balloons and his two flags! He would not let anyone touch them!! He is sooo funny and cute!

Alofa trying to look all bad on my step-dad's Harley

Cam with Uncle Ryan! Cam LOVES Uncle Ryan!!

Savana, Cam and Jamie throwing snap its

In Idaho Falls they decided to do the fireworks on July 3rd, that Saturday, this year because the 4th of July fell on a Sunday. The 3rd of July also happens to be Jared's birthday!! Happy birthday Jared!! We decided to go to Idaho Falls after my mom's bbq with Jared, Lisa, Alana and Ethan to watch the Idaho Falls firework show. We found the BEST spot ever, ate fruit roll ups and gushers and had a great view of the fireworks when they started. We had a GREAT time with Jared, Lisa and their kids!!

Jared, Alofa and I

Lisa, Jared and Alofa

Lisa, Jared, Alana, Ethan and Alofa looking for a good spot to camp out and get ready for the fireworks in Idaho Falls

Alana getting all ready and relaxed for the firework show in the sky :)

Ethan getting his jacket on, it was sooooooo cold!! BRRR! (I secretly was sooooo thankful it cooled down!!)

Jared, Alana and Alofa going for a walk by the river

Alofa listening to Alana and Ethan talking about their fireworks that they bought and get to light off later that night! They were soooo excited! So was Alofa!! Alofa even listened intently as Alana sang her "firework" song in order to get the fireworks to start going off. She later made a dance that went along with it as well. It was one of the CUTEST song and dances I have EVER seen!!

After the fireworks ended, we were planning on being in traffic for a while in Idaho Falls because there were soooo many people, but Jared found the perfect spot and we got out and on the freeway in less than 5 mins!! I was sooo thankful for that because I was tired and soooo ready for bed! I am getting OLD :)

Sunday Morning we got up early and headed back to Idaho Falls for one of my best friend's baby's blessing. It was WONDERFUL!! I didn't take my camera so here is a picture that Melissa sent me on the 4th of July.

Her blessing dress was BEAUTIFUL, the blessing was INSPIRED, and the food afterwards was WONDERFUL!! We are sooo thankful that Melissa & Mike allowed us to share in their JOY and celebration of Amy coming into their family! What a lucky little girl!!

We came home from the blessing and it was time to get ready to go to a bbq on my dad's side of the family. I had to make a salad and so I started but I didn't let the cream cheese soften like it was supposed to and I RUINED it!! I was devastated!! I started crying (pregnancy hormones, I am sure), threw the salad in the trash and went to lay down in bed. Alofa came in and tried to figure out what my problem was, he probably thought and still thinks I am nuts :) It just so happened that my aunt Karen made the EXACT same salad and we were saved. I look back on it now and I can't help but laugh at myself. I forgot my camera and didn't take any more pictures of our 4th of July weekend. I regret that now. We ate ALOT of yummy food, played lawn darts and had a great time with family!!! We came home and I wanted to take a nap so we laid down on the couches in our basement. Alofa said he wasn't tired but not even 5 mins later he was fast asleep and I just watched TV until it was time to go watch the fireworks.

We went to a park in Chubbuck to watch the fireworks from the fairgrounds in Pocatello. I just didn't feel like dealing with a million people this year so it was nice to watch them from a distance. We could see them GREAT!! My family had some fireworks that they were shooting off from the park and of course there were firecrackers and bottle rockets... I hate both of those kinds of fireworks. I thought they were gonna put me in early labor as they lit them off RIGHT BY ME!! Are you kidding me? Don't worry, I survived :) It was a GREAT night and a WONDERFUL 4th of July weekend! I would not have changed a thing!!

How grateful I am for the United States of America and all that it stands for! I am grateful for my freedoms that I enjoy on a daily basis. I am thankful for the men and women who have and continue to put their lives on the line to serve and protect us!

GOD BLESS AMERICA FOREVER ALWAYS!!

My sweet Alofa

2010-06-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

My sweet Alofa comes home from work Saturday night SUPER excited. The first thing that he says to me is that he is going to Samoa!! Somewhat surprised, I ask him just how he plans to do that, knowing how expensive the airfare to Samoa is. He pulls out of his pocket a lottery ticket that a co-worker had given him. (I know the picture quality isn't that great)

If you look really close it says that he won $10,000 Alofa was soooo happy because winning that much money meant that he would be able to go home after 6 LONG years. I took the lottery ticket from him, and at first I thought it was real and he had actually won! Then I turned the card over and read the back... I started laughing sooooo hard. It was a joke lottery card. At first Alofa didn't believe me and had to call the number on the back, 1-800-RU-STUPID, to find out for himself. His HUGE heart broke right then and there. He thought he was going to Samoa. I felt bad for him too, knowing how much he wants to go back home to visit. I bet his co-workers are still laughing about the trick they played on Alofa, and I must admit, it was a dang good one. They better watch out though, because I am sure Alofa will get them back, and he'll get 'em back good :)

Well, it's Father's Day, and I and as I am writing about my sweet Alofa, I would like to say how happy and lucky I am to have him as the father of my children and eternal companion. Elder Ballard states, "Fathers, you are the primary model of manhood for your sons. You are their most meaningful mentor, and believe it or not, you are their hero in countless ways. Your words and your example are a great influence on them." As I think of Alofa and the father he is becoming, I have no doubt that he is such a wonderful and great mentor and model of manhood. I have confidence in him as the father of my children and I know he will help me to teach our children about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to stand upright before our Father in Heaven. As we prepare for our little man to enter this world, I thank my Father in Heaven for the amazing priesthood holder that I am blessed to call my eternal companion. I love him, I am thankful for him and I want to be a better person, wife and future mother as I am around him and feel of his goodness!

I am not sure what I did to have Alofa as my eternal sweetheart, but I would do it all over again a millions times over again. He is kind, diligent, hardworking, understanding, FUNNY and has the most giving and Christ like heart of anyone that I know. He is gonna be the VERY best daddy and I am one lucky mama, but our son, oh man, he is one VERY LUCKY little boy to be able to call Alofa his daddy!! Baby boy Laulu and I are the ones who hit the JACKPOT!! :)

I love you with all of my heart Alofaaga!

Meet Sweet Baby BOY Laulu.... in utero

2010-05-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

We got to see our little muffin today and find out that HE is a BOY!! It was sooo fun to see him on the big screen at the hospital!! He kept covering his face with his hands so it was REALLY hard to get a profile picture of him, but after much hard work, diligence and patience we got TWO good shots!! He is SOOOO cute!!! He had his legs and feet crossed the whole time, I was worried we wouldn't be able to tell if he was a BOY or not but we got a few really good views and he is a BOY for sure! He is HEALTHY and we love him soooo much!!! Can't wait to meet him in about 20 weeks so we can kiss that sweet face of his!! Alofa was sooo HAPPY AND EXCITED when he saw that it was a BOY that I thought he was gonna cry. We both teared up!! Alofa has been so cute and sweet to me, making sure that I am not hungry and taking care of my EVERY need, I could get used to this :) I think today it became more real than ever before that we are really gonna have a baby BOY!! Now it's time to get decorating HIS room!! With much pride and joy we introduce to you sweet baby BOY Laulu... still in utero :) I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we do!!

What in the WORLD?!?!?!

2010-04-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

This is what I came home from work to... Saia and Alofa TEARING up our front yard. Alofa and I had talked about tearing out the old drive way that was in our front yard but I had no idea Alofa would take action so quick. I should have known. When he puts his mind to something, he gets it done. As you can tell, that part of our yard and lawn has struggled a little. I have tried to take care of it and get it to look good before I got married, but as a single female in grad school, it just wasn't gonna happen. Thank heavens for sweet a husband with determination and motivation as well as GREAT friends like Saia who stick around to help and get things done. Thank you Saia and Alofa! By the end of this summer, I have NO doubt, our yard will be BEAUTIFUL!! Bless Alofa's heart! I love him!

Nice, Relaxing Sunday BBQ

2010-04-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Our friends from the Ward, Meghan and Saia, came over Sunday afternoon and we had a nice, relaxing Sunday BBQ where the guys did all the work and Meghan and I just sat back and watched. We had steak, rice and fish. Meghan and I didn't eat any of the fish, Alofa and Saia LOVED it!!

Alofa's New BBQ grill

2010-04-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Alofa got a new grill just recently to prepare for this summer and the MANY BBQs we plan on having with all of our free time as I will be DONE FOREVER with school in exactly 3 WEEKS!!! I almost can't believe it and I am so excited! Ok, enough about me and back to Alofa and his grill :) He has the first opportunity to use it this past Sunday as we had my sweet nephew, Cam's birthday party at our house. I had NO IDEA how good my husband was at BBQing chicken till that day!! It was AMAZING!!! Everyone LOVED the chicken!! I laughed pretty hard though because my husband had no idea how to BBQ hamburgers or hot dogs... He learned quick with the help of my brother, thanks Ry! I am feeling more and more GRATEFUL everyday for the BBQ grill because now my husband cooks his lamb outside on the BBQ and I don't have to smell it. Good thing because I don't particularly enjoy the smell of cooking lamb, in fact it kind of makes me sick at this point.
Our dinner tonight!!! DELISH steak!! I have been craving meat like CRAZY lately!! My husband is happy to fulfil that request for me as he LOVES meat too!

At the end of March we went down to SLC to a BBQ with some of Alofa's friends and family. They had a roasted pig there... I couldn't even touch it, let alone look at it but Alofa was in HEAVEN as he ate it! Bless his heart!

This is a picture of some of Alofa's nieces and nephews. Too cute!!

Alofa and his niece are the BEST of friends!! She LOVES him and he LOVES her! Here are some super cute pictures of Alofa with his niece! He is going to be such a GREAT daddy!!

Little Baby Laulu

2010-03-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

We got to see our little muffin today!! 12 weeks and 3 days!! It was such a great experience to see our little jumping jelly bean!! The due date is now set at 10-5-10.

The heart rate was 158

I love this little tiger so much already! I can't wait to meet our little muffin, hold "it" in my arms and kiss "it's" face ALL day every day!!

Little baby Laulu is well on the way!!

2010-03-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

It's true!! Alofaaga and I are expecting our first little angel in October!! We are gonna have a baby! It has been sooo fun to watch how excited Alofa is over having a baby! He is gonna be such a GREAT daddy!! The due date is 10-8-10 and we are trying to be very patient, but it isn't easy!! We can't wait to welcome our first little tiger into our home!!!

Christmas Day!!!

2009-12-25T14:02:00.001-08:00

To top off our Christmas Eve last night, we went and got some ice cream then drove around town looking at Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music. It was MAGICAL!! We stopped at my grandparents home and wished them a very MERRY CHRISTMAS as well as letting them know how much we love them! Alofaaga said they had the best Christmas lights on their home in town. They were so happy to hear that!!! We then came home and watched a Christmas Story ( one of my personal FAVORITES) Alofaaga had never seen it and was skeptical at first but he then fell in love with it just as I have and enjoyed it with me!!

After we woke up this morning and opened presents we went to my mom's house to be with my siblings and open presents with them. I got some AMAZING body wash and lotion, the movie P.S. I Love You, and some lip gloss!! Love it!! (Thank you Jamie!!) and Alofaaga got a very nice tool box to keep all of the new tools that Santa brought him! He loved it!! (Thank you Savana!!!) I didn't take any pictures because I forgot my camera :( but my mom and sister-in-law took a lot of pictures so I will have to get them from them and post them later. Cam (my sweet little nephew) was so dang cute and excited!! He was running around everywhere trying to help everyone open their presents. He is such a big helper!! It made a GREAT Christmas just that much to see him so excited and happy!!!
After my mom's house we came home and I took a nap :) I was super tired. I woke up to Alofaaga cooking one of his favorite meals, Lamb and Potatoes in coconut milk. Look how proud he is of himself with all of his food! He makes me soo happy!

Christmas Morning!! So exciting!!

It was sooo much fun watching Alofaaga opening Christmas presents this year!! He got soo excited!! This year he was super good and Santa brought him ALOT of tools!! He loved them soo much!

Look how happy he looks!!

The perfect end to the perfect Christmas... Going to my mom's home and eating Christmas dinner with my family. Alofaaga has already eaten his lamb with potatoes and coconut milk but he will be able to stuff some more good stuff in his tummy, I am sure. Our little puppy, Oggie has torn apart all of the toys that Santa left him as well. I am sure he enjoyed the 20 mins or so that he got to play with them!! He gets pretty excited on Christmas day, just like he should!! Love that little puppy!!! Alofaaga is now in the front room playing with his power tools (his drill to be exact). I am not sure what he is trying to drill so I better go make sure everything is okay!!! :)

Alofaaga says that this was "the BEST Christmas EVER!!" I have to agree with him. We look forward to the New Year as well as preparations for another "BEST Christmas EVER!" next year!!!

Christmas Eve at the Laulu's

2009-12-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Dreams do come true, and have in our home!! We are soo happy for the blessings that we enjoy as well as for one another!! Alofaaga is a the best gift that Heavenly Father has given me this year besides the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, which makes if possible for me to be with Alofaaga FOREVER!!!

The nativity, The whole Reason for the Season!!

Christmas Eve dinner, Potatoes and Roast... Yummy!!!

Alofaaga by our first Christmas tree

Our sweet little family, Oggie, myself and Alofaaga

We hope that you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~MANUIA LE KIRISIMASI MALE TAUSAGA FOU!!~

ALOFA ATU,

ALOFAAGA & SHANTAL LAULU

First Christmas Ornament!!

2009-12-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

"When you put this ornament on your tree,

We hope that you will see

That beautiful bride and groom

That once stood in the celestial room.

Like the chandelier with all it's lights

That shone on you dressed in white,

May this crystal remind you of

Eternal light sent from above."

We received this poem and ornament in the mail from the Batchelor's. I was sooo happy and excited!!! It will be a cherished keepsake forever!! Thank you Marcia!! We love you!!

First things first...

2009-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Right when we get home from church every Sunday, I run and put my sweats on :) I had to wear a dress or a skirt for one year and a half nonstop so now I get out of those things as soon as I can! Sweats are MUCH more comfortable anyways! Alofaaga stays in his shirt and tie most Sundays because he has AN AMAZING home teaching partner who will go with Alofaaga to visit their families almost EVERY SUNDAY!! My husband is such a good, righteous and kind man!! And he is HOT!! I am sooo LUCKY!!!Alofaaga still LOVES to have his picture taken in the snow... makes me smile!!!

While I am changing into my sweats, my sweet husband dishes up himself a big cup of WARM Samoan Koko... I am still not such a fan so I leave ALL of it for him and he is so GRATEFUL because he LOVES it!!!

And then there is our puppy, Oggie. He is soo dang funny and CUTE!! He goes outside and plays in the snow all day. He even waits at the gate for us to get home from church when it is FREEZING COLD and then comes in side and cuddles up next to the heat vent... So funny!!

Life is good, we are soooo blessed and sooo HAPPY!!! I am so amazed at all of the blessings that we enjoy and the WONDERFUL friends and family that have helped to make life soooo good!!

It's starting to look ALOT like Christmas at the Laulu's!!!

2009-12-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

This is what is going on around our side of town lately! Life is good and now that school is almost out for the semester we have a lot more time to get ready to get ready for our 1st Christmas together. We are both pretty excited!! Alofaaga really likes to go out into the snow without his shirt on to take pictures... The neighbors must think we are crazy!! Oh well, I think it's fun and cute... AND super cold!!! I enjoy cuddling with him to warm him up when he comes back inside :)

As I mentioned before, Alofaaga has had a lot of fun putting up Christmas lights outside. This is all that he got done before it snowed
He is so proud of his HARD work!!!

That tree has ALOT of lights on it!! I think it looks great!!!

This is our Christmas tree for this year. We had a great time putting it up together for the first time. We set up the nativity scene in front of the Christmas tree on the table so that we could remember the Reason for the Season, our Savior and His birth.

Work Christmas Party

2009-12-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our work Christmas party and it was soooo freaken fun!! I loved every minute of it and walked away with the cutest Christmas magnates for my fridge!! Great time with good friends!! I cooked the turkeys all by myself!! My first time EVER cooking a turkey and they even turned out great!!! I was and still am soo proud of myself! Who knew I could cook turkeys? I didn't but now I do!! I wasn't able to take any pictures but I did have a great time with my coworkers and my sweet husband. I should mention that he did do ALL of the dishes when we got home that I used in my crazy day of cooking... What an ANGEL!! In fact I haven't had to do the dishes since I got married. Everyone says that would only last the first month or so... Well it has been almost 4 months and still he ALWAYS does the dishes!! I love him sooo much! He walked away from the Christmas party with some OLD not so cute pictures that have been passed around the agency as a white elephant gift for a few years now. He is soo funny! I am now baking him some cupcakes (with no frosting, he thinks frosting is too sweet) to show my love and appreciation for him!

A WHOLE week off from school & work...

2009-11-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

And I did absolutely NOTHING loving every single minute of it!!! :) My husband and I spent the whole week at home, doing nothing but spending quality time together and every single minute of it was WONDERFUL!!! I shouldn't say we did nothing, that is not quite true. We did put up the Christmas tree and decorated the inside of our home. Pictures to come soon. Alofaaga also put up some Christmas lights up outside, he says that we are far from being done... I'm not sure what to expect and he kinda scares me sometimes when he gets on the slippery roof with flip flops :) We went to my grandparent's home and had a wonderful first Thanksgiving together, one never to be forgotten!! I was in charge of making the dessert and the mashed potatoes, I did a pretty good job and they tasted WONDERFUL but I made WAY tooo much and we have enough potatoes to last the WHOLE month according to Alofaaga! Good thing he likes em because he is gonna be eating them for a while!! :)
I realize that I have slacked WAY off from posting pictures, mainly because I THOUGHT my camera was broken, come to find out it wasn't and I am gonna start taking and posting some more pictures of our memory making moments here VERY soon!!! Life is good!! I am so thankful for all that I have and the many blessings that Alofaaga and I enjoy! We really couldn't ask for better family or friends!!! I couldn't ask for a better husband!!! He is soo kind, tender and thoughtful! He is also VERY VERY VERY funny!! I laugh out loud every day because of the things that he says and does. I am so very in love with a wonderful man!!
Now it is time to get back to reality. Work and School. The best part is that I feel very well rested and ready to go back. Only two more weeks left of this semester and then I will finally be in my LAST and FINAL semester of grad school!!! I have sooo much to look forward to and to be thankful for!! While it is true that I have much to look forward to (GRADUATION) I plan on enjoying the journey that I must take that leads to that final destination.

~Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's learning to dance in the rain~

Two WHOLE months!!!

2009-10-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

I guess it is kinda sad that I only attend to my blog every month or so. I will do better when I am done with school. I don't even have any new pictures to post, my poor blog... I guess we could say that it has seen better days. On the other hand, I guess we could also say that better days for having more time to post on the blog are right around the corner!!! Yay!! One and a half semesters left till I am done with school forever!!! Life is good and only gonna get GREATER!!! My husband is so supportive and wonderful, even on the days I come home tired and kinda grouchy, that is hard to admit, but yes, I get grouchy and it happens quite a bit lately with the lack of time and the excessive amount of tasks that need to get done.
One thing that I am working on is trying to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of it in order to eliminate, as much as possible, the grouchiness. I recognize that I still have a long way to go but I am doing the best that I can and my husband is ever so patient! What a great man!!! I am not sure what I did to deserve such a perfect man for me but I would do it all over again in a heart beat!!!
Just to name a FEW of the things that I love and appreciate about Alofaaga are:
1. He is toooo sweet to me! He knows what my favorite treats are and when he goes to the store he always brings it back for me just to show me that he was thinking about me! I LOVE it sooo much!!! And so does my tummy!! :)
2. He always is sensitive to my thoughts and feelings. If I come home grouchy, he wants to talk and find out why, then he wants to fix it so I am not so upset. I am so thankful for that! He listens to me and comforts me when I need it.
3. He is SOOOOO funny!!! I laugh out loud EVERY single day because of him. He has a great sense of humor and a wonderful perspective on life. It helps me to mellow out a little and 'go with the flow.' Sometimes (okay, A LOT of the time) I need help with that. He balances me perfectly.
4. He is strong when I am weak. It is a new experience for me since I have been independent for so long, but it is soooo refreshing to have a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold through tough stuff, knowing that we are in this together and we will make it out together! I LOVE that thought soooo much!!!
5. He helps me to identify the MANY blessings that we have enjoyed together and is a great example of being thankful and humble. I often times stand in awe of his humility and have learned VOLUMES on how to be a more giving and thoughtful person. I am sooo LUCKY to have him.
6. On the days that I question whether or not I want to keep working towards finishing school he provides the support and encouragement that I need. He ALWAYS tells me that he thinks that I am sooo talented, smart and that he feels so lucky to have me. I think it is the other way around... I am SOOO LUCKY TO HAVE HIM!!!
7. He loves Oggie, my puppy. At first Alofaaga wasn't a fan of Oggie. As time has gone on I have seen a DRASTIC change take place and now Alofaaga LOVES Oggie. He plays with him and he feeds him every day now when before he wanted to lock Oggie out of the house. He is making up for the time I am away from my puppy and is such a great puppy daddy! TOO CUTE!!!
Okay, okay, okay... I could go on and on about how wonderful I think Al is and how much I love him as well as why but that could get boring for all that read this so I will stop.
I am so grateful that I have been so blessed in so many ways! I know that Heavenly Father shows his love for us through other people, and I have felt His love so much through his humble servant, Alofaaga Laulu, through the past two WONDERFUL months!!! The BEST is yet to come and every day gets better and better!!!

It's been one MONTH!!!

2009-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Time FLIES when you are having fun and in love. I know it has only been one month but it has been the best month of my life thus far. I am one lucky girl, that is all I have to say. Alofaaga is such a kind and patient man to have to put up with me (a very stressed out grad student of a wife). I have learned so much about him over the past month. He is the most kind and giving person I have ever met. I really admire this about him because he is sooo willing to do anything for anyone, at the same time GIVE anything to anyone. He truly does have a heart of gold, and for that I am thankful!!! He is sooo good to me. He knows that I have LONG and STRESSFUL days so when I come home from work or school he has dinner cooked (chicken and rice) as well the whole house clean. WOW!!! I love coming home to a clean home, where the spirit is felt, and a cooked meal. I must confess though, I often times feel guilty because I want to be the one cleaning the house and cooking the meals for HIM!!! I know that as soon as I get done with school I will have ALOT more time to do those types of things to show him my love and gratitude for him.
Our yard looks WONDERFUL!!! Al has the magic touch that can make grass grow ANYWHERE. I am sooo serious! There is grass in places I thought would NEVER be grass!!! With the help of Lemalie (Al's brother) and Michelle (Lemalie's wife) our yard has never looked better (Thanks guys!!) and our neighbors aren't disappointed at how awful our yard looks anymore!!! Whew! What a relief!!!
Al has opened my eyes to things that I never even thought about before, such as rugby, eating lamb for every meal, luaus and of course Koko Samoan. I love the luaus, still don't understand anything about rugby and trying to learn to like lamb and Koko Samoan. I think it'll come with time (if not it just leaves more for Al, which I am SURE he won't mind:))
Life is good! I couldn't ask for a kinder, more understanding, patient husband for myself. I am not sure if such a man exists. I look forward to the rest of forever with the man of my dreams... Alofaaga Laulu!!!

P.S.
I posted a ton more of wedding pictures under the last post... If you haven't had a chance to see them check them out! The are AMAZING!!! (Thank you Jared and Lisa!!!)

For time and ALL ETERNITY!!!

2009-09-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

So this may be a little bit of a picture overload, but I have so many to pick from that it was hard to leave very many out... It took me a while to get these pictures posted... We've been super busy! Enjoy the pictures from the most wonderful and perfect day of my life so far, 8-22-2009, the day I married the most perfect and wonderful man for me... The man that I love with all of my heart and look forward to spending ETERNITY with!! :)

My mom with Al and I at the reception

Al's family that was able to make it up to the temple
Al's mom, Loa and his brother, Lemalie at the temple

Al giving his sister, Ise, a hug after the sealing

Al and I with his mom, Loa

First picture as a married couple :)

All of the girls

All of the desserts, they did such a GREAT job! It looked amazing and

tasted even better!!!

Tender :)

My husband is sooooo HOT!!!

Grandma, Grandpa, Alofaaga and Me

Lisa and Me, She did my hair and my makeup,

She Always does such a GREAT job and I LOVE HER!!

My Cusion Jared, He took all of the Pictures!

AMAZING!

Alofaaga and I with one of Alofaaga's best friends, Deon

Alofaaga with Grandma

The cake... I LOVED the cake!!!

Not the best picture of us cutting the cake... but still fun :)

My dad, Tina and Joseph with us

Laulu Love!!!!!

2009-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

So it has been two weeks since I married the most wonderful and perfect man for me!!! I have never been happier in my whole life!!! With school, work and getting adjusted to married life I have had very little time to blog... I will make time soon to update everyone on what is going on in our lives, but for now here are a couple pictures from the wedding...

Very Humbled and Eternally Grateful

2009-08-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

While it is true that I have been super busy with all that is going on and the sealing getting closer, I have had some time to reflect on my life and the journey that has brought me to where I am today. My heart is full, my eyes are wet and I am so humbled at the plan my Father in Heaven has had and continues to have for me as well as His patience and His mercy. In less than six days I will be sealed to my eternal companion, a man that I adore, admire and respect so much. A man that makes me want to be a better person in all that I do and a man that I love with all of my heart. A man that I will be with FOREVER because of the merciful plan of our Father in Heaven. I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have of the gospel and all of those who have taught me about the better way through word and deed. I have never in my life experienced so much joy and happiness as I am now experiencing at this time in my life. I lay awake at night just thinking about the adventure that is before us and my heart overflows with JOY! While it is true that at times I have felt weak and did not completely understand the plan that He had for me, He has been patient with me and very merciful. I am so THANKFUL for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and all that is made possible through it. I had a opportunity to go and do washing and anointings at the temple a few weeks ago. I was amazed at the blessings that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us as we love and serve him. I had heard the blessings before but this time, with a different frame of mind, the blessings really stood out to me and I felt so grateful to my Savior and Father in Heaven. Together FOREVER has never meant more to me than it does now...

The Announcement

2009-07-22T22:34:00.001-07:00

Let me know what ya think!!!

The Lord's Timing

2009-07-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

This fast Sunday has been a great one! I have had plenty of time to think and reflect on my life as well as all of the changes that are about to come to pass. I must confess that I am soooo very excited. I feel a little like Nephi when he was trying to get the gold plates from Laban. Nephi states "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (1st Nephi 4:6) I know that I have received confirmation that Al is the right man, August 22nd, 2009 is the right time and the Idaho Falls Temple is the right place. I know that I will finish school here at ISU and continue to work at MK Place but as for the rest I have not idea what the future holds. I am soo excited to find out what awaits me and my sweetheart, Al!!!! YAY!!!

I have thought alot about the Lord's timing. While I was on my mission my trainer gave me a talk by Elder Oaks that I have referred to MANY TIMES since I have been home from the mission:

"The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said:
“The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.” Elder Oaks, Timing.

I think back to a few months ago when I made my "to do list" for the summer, little did I know that the Lord had another "to do list" for me. Some of the not so important things on my list have been moved down due to more pressing and important tasks that lay ahead of me.

"The timing of marriage is perhaps the best example of an extremely important event in our lives that is almost impossible to plan. Like other important mortal events that depend on the agency of others or the will and timing of the Lord, marriage cannot be anticipated or planned with certainty." Elder Oaks, Timing.

I have been waiting for Al for 27 VERY LONG years!!!! I must confess that there were times in which I did not know whether or not my eternal companion made it out of the War in Heaven alive and my faith in the plan that Heavenly Father had for me wavered. I wish that I could say that it never did but that would not be completely true.

I found HIM and as I reflect on my life and all that I have been able to learn and do, I recognize that now is the perfect time in my life. I am so thankful for a loving and kind Father in Heaven who knows WAY more about what, when and who is the best for me! I am happier with the plan which He has laid out for me that I ever would have been if I had it my way all of the times that I thought I knew what was best for me. Great things take time!

It's OFFICIAL!!!

2009-06-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Due to all of the texts, phone calls and facebook messages that I have been receiving, I thought it was time to post and announce that it is OFFICIAL!!! That's right! My SERIOUS CRUSH on Al has evolved and grown into LOVE. As a natural result of falling in LOVE, Al and I are getting married on August 22nd, 2009. I have NEVER felt so good and right about anything else in my life besides going on a mission! Al and I have been dating for almost 3 months now. We have talked about marriage a few times, but me being the stubborn and SLOW mover that I am, never gave an answer as to how and what I felt. I wanted to be SURE before I said ANYTHING!!! After counseling with my trainer from the mission field, she has always been such an inspiration and support to me, as well as meeting and counseling with my Bishop and OF COURSE spending much time with my Father in Heaven in sincere prayer and meditation, I was able to receive some direction and inspiration. I decided to make a decision, that I WAS GOING TO MARRY AL, and asked Heavenly Father to please stop me if that was not the right thing for me in my life at this time. A peace and warmth washed over me last Sunday that has not left since. I knew and now know that I received my answer.
How GRATEFUL I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and all of the structure, stability and strength that it brings into my life. I am grateful for LOVE!!! Never in my life did I imagine that it would be as wonderful as it is. I have had many roommates move on to the next step in their lives and I always said, "I'm not gonna be like that!" Well... I am like 'that' and I love it!!! Today my roomy caught me counting how many days till August 22nd, I promised that I wouldn't do that again... or at least let her know about it ;) my home teachers are here now... I'll post more later!!!

I have a SERIOUS CRUSH on someone!!!!

2009-06-19T15:05:00.001-07:00

His name is Alofaaga, I just call him Al, and he is WONDERFUL!!! We have been dating for two months now and I just adore him! He is Samoan and is such great and worthy priesthood holder. He is such a gentleman and is sooooo sweet!!! He makes me smile EVERYDAY and is sooo dang funny! He served his mission in the Philippines and now lives in Salt Lake, which is kinda sad because then I can't see him everyday but we both make sacrifices whenever we can to see each other. He is an incredible man who is soooo thoughtful and willing to serve all of those around him. I look forward to spending more time with him and getting to know him better! I have a SERIOUS CRUSH on HIM!!!! He came up this past Sunday to hear me speak in church. I just blushed the whole time when I saw him in the congregation smiling back at me! Oh gosh.... I NOW have a BOYFRIEND who I respect, admire and adore more than anything!!!! ;)

So funny....

2009-05-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Life is soooo funny at times. Sometimes I just have to sit back and smile through all of the stress and everything that comes along with a hectic and busy lifestyle. I got a new calling recently. When my Bishop called me in and extended the calling to me I started to CRY my eyes out. I'm not sure how I am going to accomplish all that is set before me with school and work (Pacific Rim has asked me to come back and help them out with some assessments and I am SUPER busy at MK Place) as well as do well at magnifying my calling and serving the Lord, but I know that I will go and I will do. I also know that Heavenly Father will prepare a way to accomplish all that is asked of me. Life really is soooo good!
I have had a stuffy and runny nose now for a LONG time!!! Ever since April. I think it might be allergies, even though I have NEVER had allergies in my life! I guess some things change.
I made it back to Lagoon just ONE week after the first time. I went with one of my roomies and some of her friends from school. It was soooo much fun. I was planning on coming back to Poky that same day but was sooo sleepy that I changed my plans. We went to a comedy club in SLC and stayed in the most GHETTO hotel room I have ever seen. We walked away the next morning ALIVE, and NOT SICK from some kind of illness that I thought we might contract. LUCKY!!! It really was soooo much fun and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
My softball team has been kicking rear!!! We have won all but one game, which was an INTENSE game that we SHOULD have won. Oh well, It was still tooooo much fun! I have been working in my yard, along with one of my roomie's boyfriend, Clay. For some reason he LIKES working in the yard and comes over to mow, weed and do all kinds of cool stuff to my yard. Bless his heart!!! It is starting to look soooooo good! Now I just need to figure out how to stop my puppy from taking ALL of my shoes out of his dogie door and stringing them throughout the yard. He doesn't chew them, he just runs around the yard with MY shoes in his mouth. I thought having a dogie door would make my life easier because I wouldn't have to let him in and out all of the time, but in all reality it has caused MORE work for me. I have to go around every morning looking for my shoes in the yard, one time he had FOUR pairs of my shoes out there! Silly puppy. He also likes to take the magazines off of the coffee table and SHRED them in the front yard too. Some days it looks like it snowed because of all the shredded paper out there. No worries though, I have a friend who is a pro at dog training coming to my rescue. Thank heavens!
Life is good, I am getting everything done that I have to, summer school is going well and I am HAPPY! Doesn't get much better than this!!!

Update on my goals for this summer...

2009-05-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

I made it to Lagoon, yesterday, and I had so much fun!!! As soon as I get some pictures I will post them so you all can see how much fun I have been having... even though I still have summer school (boooooo!), I have made SURE to make time to have FUN!!! I left for Salt Lake City on Friday and met my past roommate and great friend Brooke. We went to Miss Saigon, a play which was a little racy but sooooo good, and stayed the night in the Red Lion hotel. My good friend who served in the same mission as me, Carlos, met us at the hotel. We were gonna go clubbing but it got too late too fast. Probably a good thing cuz I might have been too sleepy to get up the next morning to go to breakfast with Brooke and Carlos... SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! Then we (Brooke and I) went to LAGOON!!! We met my brother, Ryan, sister-n-law, Jamie, and some of their friends there. We had such a great time!!!! I loved all of the rides, got soaked on the log flume, raced in the go carts and smashed my brother in the bumper cars. I was laughing so hard and could not even breathe at times. I haven't had so much fun in such a long time. We went back to the hotel and the next morning we got up and went to the Living Traditions Cultural celebration. I loved every minute of it! I saw so many people from so many different cultures, their dances and their crafts and talents. It was amazing!!! The guy who was collecting money for the parking lot saw the plates on my car and let me in for free... he said he couldn't charge me because I was from Pocatello... Blessings come in all shapes, sizes and forms... Life is sooo great! As for my other goals I have been playing softball for a couple of weeks now. We have won both of our games and have had a great time!!! I have been cooking more often at home and reading more from the Book of Mormon! I will continue to work on meeting all of my goals... and report on my progress, or lack thereof... we shall see :)

Wow!!!!

2009-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

The first year of my program has FINALLY come to an end... YAY!!! I honestly questioned whether or not I would be able to make it... and I did but just barely :) I am sooooo thankful for the break that is about to start and I plan on doing some FUN things this summer. Just to make sure that I accomplish at least half of the things that I want to do I am going to make a list... Kind of funny, I was not a list person at the start of the program, now I am :) just one of the many things that have changed in my life!!!
1. go to LAGOON at least once!!!
2. go to Yellowstone and see a play at the Playmill!!!
3. play softball (I'm already on a team :))
4. work in my yard so it looks GREAT (with Trugreen's help of course)
5. go to Las Vegas for the FIRST time in my life!!!
6. go fishing (it's been a while)
7. read the Book of Mormon AT LEAST two times
8. cook AT LEAST three homemade meals every week (now that I will have more time)
9. spend MUCH more time with my SWEET nephew
10. go camping, in a tent with a fire, marshmallows and starbursts
11. have MANY picnics and bbqs with my co-workers, friends and family
12. get better at the drums on rockband
I really plan on doing ALL of the things on my list!!! I wanted to put "buy a motorcycle" on there but when I bought my new car I promised my grandma that I wouldn't do that this summer... but that will be on the next summer's list FOR SURE!!!
With all that has happened this semester I have come to learn some very important and valuable lessons. One of those lessons is that life is WAY too short not to have fun. As a result of learning this lesson I plan on LIVING it up from now on until the rest of FOREVER! Life really is so good, challenging at times but still good nonetheless! I have learned not to stress the small stuff. It is what it is :) I am so grateful for the experiences and growth that I have had this year. I look forward to this summer and next year along with all of the opportunities for growth and learning that will follow!!!!

2009-04-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

So i bought a new car... and I LOVE it! here is a picture of the EXACT CAR i bought but it is not really a picture of mine. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Funny Story!

2009-04-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

So today i have a paper due... and because i do what i do best every time, i waited till the VERY last minute to do it. Due to the difficulty of this particular paper i didn't really sleep. So early this morning my little puppy goes running out his dogie door, i am sitting at the computer trying to concentrate. I hear oggie bark so i go and look out the window and there is this lady inside of my gate, kind of freaked out i watched her for a minute and noticed a big dog running around in my yard with a leash on.... what in the world??? I watch for a few more mins and then figured out that she brings her dog over every morning for a play date with oggie... they just run around and frolic in my yard... so cute!!! I now know why my puppy goes running out his dogie door barking in the wee hours of the morning.... silly puppy!

Spring Break... it's almost here!!! YAY!

2009-03-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I just got done writing a paper, the last paper I need to worry about this week :) and I am so happy! I have two more classes tomorrow and then I will be well on my way to spring break!!!! YAY!!!! I thought about getting out and going to somewhere super fun but then I thought about how that would probably use up more energy than I have right now so I decided to stay here, work and get all caught up at MK Place as well as work in my yard. I am so excited for spring to come and to have grass!!!! I love working in the yard and hope to have time to really make it look good this year... chances are that it might have to wait till I finish school in 2010 but I can at least do some things to make it look nice. In fact I have even bought some flowers that I plan on planting here really soon. Over all things are going really well. I have been able to get everything done that I have set forth to do. I have really started to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for principle of 'after all that I can do' and leaving the rest up to my Heavenly Father. He has been so merciful to me and patient with me. I am very thankful for all the blessings that I have enjoyed.
This past week was women's week here at Idaho State University. Don't laugh but they actually guilted me into singing in a chior of returned missionary sisters. For those of you who don't know, I can not sing!!! But I did and I don't think that I ruined it, it actually sounded really good. It was so amazing and I felt very inspired and uplifted. Life is GREAT!!! There is so much joy in the journey!

Campaign Manager!?!?

2009-03-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

So my friend, Dave, decided that he wanted to run for ISU student body president. I told him I would help him in anyway I could, but also informed him that I know very little about politics and all those kinds of things. In his mind that translated to appointing me as his new "campaign manager"!!!! What in the world?!? So this is my call to arms... I desperately need ALL of your help!!! Please tell everyone you know and LOVE who go to Idaho State University that Dave would be a GREAT student body president. Also, if you have any ideas as to how and what a campaign manager should do, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know! I am clueless :) We created a Facebook group. If you would like to check it out let me know... here is the link http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=134498950561&ref=mf

A little slower than usual...

2009-01-31T19:15:00.001-08:00

So as I look back on my blog post history I have noticed that I used to post a ton of posts in every month... Since grad school it has been lucky for me to get one a post a month in, A LITTLE SLOWER THAN USUAL... Some is better than none right? Things have been pretty good and easy going lately, but really BUSY! I am starting to really enjoy school and finding a nice balance between school, work and home. Well, maybe not really a balance because work and school take up most of my time but I have worked out all of the kinks and I feel content with how my life is going currently. I have noticed that I have been getting sick a lot more lately. I think it is because of all of the stress. There was a time in my life when I could say that I NEVER got sick... that is not the case now. I think I got food poisoning last weekend- NO FUN!!! Even though I was really sick I still attempted to teach Sunday School, not such a great idea... I was calling the people the wrong name in class the whole time, OUCH! I felt so bad after class I started crying, silly girl!!! I got a blessing later than night and slept like a baby, feeling GREAT, refreshed and ready to face the obstacles of the week. Thank HEAVEN for the priesthood and the faithful men who hold it!!! I had a great week and got SO MUCH accomplished! Such a great feeling! I had a roommate, Melissa, move out this week. She moved up to Idaho Falls where she will be living after she gets married. It's very different not having her around and we miss her so much! She and I have been sharing a room since November, I know, I know, I own the house yet I shared a room? Yep!!! But now I have my own room, all by myself and I feel so much like a big girl!!! :) It's just me and my puppy Oggie in my bedroom at nights now. I decided to decorate it and have had such a fun job doing it... I decided to post some pictures... but please don't look at the OVERWHELMING pile of laundry... I will get around to doing it someday ;)

So my puppy hasn't had his hair cut since we got him! WOW! It has gotten so long and even got to the point that he couldn't see, poor puppy! He kept running into my bed frame and getting snow and all kinds of stuff matted into his fur! Here is a picture
So I got some scissors and some clippers in an attempt to try to save some money and cut his hair myself. Didn't work. In fact it made things worse. I decided to call a groomer and have him cut professionally. When I took him in she said that she wasn't sure what had happened to his fur but she would try to fix it... I didn't say a word and just played dumb, I didn't want her to KNOW that I am an idiot at times! ;) He looks so cute, once again, and loves running around the house with his VERY ANNOYING squeaky toys... Why did I buy them for him??? And why don't I take them away for good??? I don't know, I don't know!
Last item of business, but the most important... my sweet family! It isn't too often that all of us siblings get together but this Christmas we had a great time. Here are some pictures
I love my nephew more than words can express!!! He is so sweet and cuddly with me! He falls asleep in my arms ALL of the time, which is counted as a miracle in itself considering that he is a super hyper-active little man! He is the cutest little busy body! My sister gets mad at me when I put him to sleep before 9:00 p.m. because then he will wake up in the middle of the night and SHE'S the one that has to wake up and take care of him! Isn't that what aunts are supposed to do? Spoil them ROTTEN and send him home??? I am so good at that! ;)

Well, it's Saturday and once again I have a COLD!!! Seriously??? Oh dear! I can't wait for grad school to be done and my stress levels to go WAY down! It's kind of funny because I continue to say that yet things seem to keep on keeping on... just as busy as ever! I guess that is the challenge, taking time to be happy in the here and now! I am so grateful for all of the AMAZING blessings and angels my Father in Heaven has placed in my path to assist me on my way! There is no way I could do it without ALL OF THEM!

Silly, Silly, Silly!!!

2009-01-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

So we FINALLY got the internet back at our house... we had a girl move out and she took it with her... now it's here to stay!!! Now I get to try to back date and inform as much as possible... Hang on... this could be FUN! It's a new year! Often times at the start of a new year we like to reflect on the year that just FLEW by, literally. In order to save space and time I will just highlight a few of the MANY events that took place in 2008. Started the last semester of my undergrad in Jan (the good old days when school was enjoyable and EASY!!!) I turned 26 in Feb (this kind of a sad and depressing one) I applied for the Master of Counseling Program in March and was invited back for an interview (NERVE RACKING) I had my actual interview for the program in April and received and ACCEPTANCE LETTER one week later (Whew, I made it in!!!) I loved April because this was the month that my sweet nephew was born ( I LOVE and ADORE HIM!!!) May I graduated from ISU (YAY!!!) and decided to start looking for a house to buy (Found one that I LOVE) Took my CADC test in June and passed (Whew, once again!) June closed on my home (STILL LOVE IT!) July moved into my new home (HAPPY DAY!) August started the hardest and most trying semester of my life (It's a miracle... I MADE it!!!)I also got my puppy, Oggie in August to help me deal and cope with life (he may have made it harder in the beginning;)) The rest of the months are kind of a blur... I remember that I finished my HARDEST semester and had a great Christmas with my family!!! 2008, it was GREAT!!! Now its the new year with new challenges and adventures awaiting me... oh dear, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right??? I was able to get my practicum set up at Pacific Rim Counseling... They are even going to pay me because I have my CADC... What a blessing! School starts on Monday... I feel very afraid but also know that fear and faith can not abide in the same heart at the same time (Heather taught me that one while I was on the mission, thanks Heather!!!) I also know that the reason I am so fearful is because often times I try to do everything by myself. If I wanna survived the next year and a half I am going to have to have more faith, kicking out the fear, trusting and relying on my Father in Heaven and the angels he sends me more often. My hope is that I can do that. That I can be more faithful and less fearful this year. Accomplishing all that my Father in Heaven has in store for me with help from Him and His angels... With God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

2008-11-27T20:06:00.001-08:00

Today was a GREAT day!!! I slept in as long as I could and then I saw what my puppy, Oggie, had done in the front yard. He took the newspaper with all of the REALLY good ads and SHREDDED IT, scattering it across the front yard!!! What am I gonna do with that puppy??? So I cleaned up after him, like I ALWAYS am doing, and then I got ready to go to my Grandparent's home for Thanksgiving. My Grandma is the best cook I know!!! I honestly can't get enough of her mashed potatoes and gravy! YUM-YUM!!! I ate, ate and ate some more! It really was good to see my family and spend time with some of the people that I love! Here are some pictures of what a Howerton Thanksgiving looks like... ENJOY!

Me and my nephew Camerin

Me feeding my nephew, Camerin, a dill pickle! He loves them just like I do!!!! Must run in the family!

My nephew, Camerin and me

My sweet Grandma Howerton and me

My cousin Sami and her boyfriend Dustin

My sister's boyfriend, Ryan and me

My SWEET, SWEET, SWEET Grandpa Howerton

Grandpa Howerton and Camerin

Grandma Howerton and Camerin

Me and my puppy Oggie! I LOVE my puppy!!!

Look at all that food... and my CUTE Grandpa!!!

My sister, Savana, and her son, Camerin

My SWEET nephew, Camerin. I love him!!!

My Aunt Karen, Cousin Sami, Dustin and Cousin Zack

Zack LOVES me!!! Can't you see it on his face?????

My cousin Zach and I being HaPpY!!!

Grandpa Howerton and Oggie

My cousin Zack and I being SiLlY!!!!

Me and my sister Savana

GrAtItUdE

2008-11-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

"Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and spiritually strong."

“Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

"The District of Columbia police auctioned off about 100 unclaimed bicycles Friday. “One dollar,” said an 11-year-old boy as the bidding opened on the first bike. The bidding, however, went much higher. “One dollar,” the boy repeated hopefully each time another bike came up.

The auctioneer, who had been auctioning stolen or lost bikes for 43 years, noticed that the boy’s hopes seemed to soar higher whenever a racer-type bicycle was put up.

Then there was just one racer left. The bidding went to eight dollars. “Sold to that boy over there for nine dollars!” said the auctioneer. He took eight dollars from his own pocket and asked the boy for his dollar. The youngster turned it over in pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters—took his bike, and started to leave. But he went only a few feet. Carefully parking his new possession, he went back, gratefully threw his arms around the auctioneer’s neck, and cried.

When was the last time we felt gratitude as deeply as did this boy? The deeds others perform in our behalf might not be as poignant, but certainly there are kind acts that warrant our expressions of gratitude."

This week I have had a little bit more time than normal to reflect on the blessings that I enjoy as a result of not having to go to school because of Thanksgiving break. This break in itself is a HUGE blessing for which I am VERY, VERY, VERY thankful!!! I just wanted to take a few minutes to express my gratitude for the MANY blessings that I enjoy.
1. I am very thankful for milk. I LOVE milk! My roommates think I'm a milk-a-holic and I think they are right. I drink milk at least three times a day and in the summer time when it is hot I like to put ice in my milk to keep it cold. I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR MILK!!!!
2. I am thankful for music. I LOVE music! I always have the radio on in my house, in my car and in my office when I am not with a client. It really doesn't matter what kind of music it is as long as it isn't that yelling and screaming stuff. I really don't enjoy that but everything else I LOVE!!!
3. I am thankful for my job. I LOVE my job! These kids keep me on my toes, that is for sure! I love interacting with them and seeing them grow, learn and progress. I love to see the growth and the learning that I experience as I work with them. They crack me up and just recently labeled me as the "funny, crazy, happy" counselor. I guess they really don't know me that well! :) Along with my job comes AMAZING co-workers. They are so supportive and understanding! They are willing to step up and take on more than their share to make sure that everything is covered while I attend school and try to further my education! Thank you Matt and Jen! I love you guys!!!
4. I am thankful for my education. Who would have thought that I would have my B.A. and be working on my master's. It has been very challenging at times and I am so thankful for all of the support and strength that I have received as I have strived to reach my goals.
5. I am thankful for my puppy, Oggie. I LOVE Oggie! He is such a happy, silly and CUTE little tiger! He always gets so excited to see me when I come home from work or school and when I leave he runs along the fence chasing my car. He has one ear that sticks up a little bit more than the other and he just makes me smile SO MUCH!!!
6. I am thankful for my family. I LOVE my family! My Grandma and Grandpa Howerton are the BEST!!! I have learned so much from them and they always make me laugh. I have learned to stop and smell the roses and to just enjoy life to the fullest from them! I adore my GRANDPARENTS!!! I love my little sister and my little brother!!! While it is true that they are younger than me, they are more grown up in certain areas of their lives. My brother, Ryan, and sister-in-law Jamie have their heads on straight and not only set goals to work towards but actually reach them. I admire them and all of the accomplishments that they achieved!!! My sister, Savana, and her boyfriend, Ryan, are the sweetest parents to my little nephew, Camerin. They are so kind to me and let me spend as much time with my sweet little nephew as I want. I am so thankful for Camerin and the sweet, happy little angel that he is. He is another little tiger that can make me smile no matter what is going on!!!
7. I am thankful for texting. I am also a text-a-holic! I am texting all of the time. I even taught me boss how to text and text my grandparents when I need to talk to them. I need to be better and not text so much but it is so dang easy and fast... Just what I need when I am so busy with everything that is going on in my life.
8. I am thankful for my roommates, both the official and the not-so-official ones. Melissa, Stephanie, Davina, Shante', Lisa, Dave, and Brent. Lisa, Dave and Brent are the not-so-official roommates because they really don't live with us but they are ALWAYS at our home. I love it!!!! I am thankful for Melissa because she is such a great example to me! She is always reading her scriptures, reading the Ensign or listening to talks on tape. She is very in tune with the spirit. Not only does she hear the spirit speak to her but she follows the promptings that she receives. Mike, her soon-to-be husband is one lucky man!!!! I am thankful for Stephie because she is so dang funny!!! She so sweet and innocent. She is always quoting movies like Muppet Treasure Island, "I've got cabin fever!" "I've got it too!" and is always making people laugh... ALL OF THE TIME!!!! Stephie CRACKS me UP!!!! I am thankful for Davina because she is so motivated and such a hard worker. She goes out with the missionaries at least once a week and is ALWAYS doing service for others. She is BEAUTIFUL and is trying to teach me how to dress more like a girl... it's not working too well! ;) Shante' just moved in this week so I haven't really had time to get to know her too well. One thing that I know about Shante' is that she is ALWAYS smiling!!! She just has a way of making people feel happy and comfortable around her! I am so excited that she is our new roommate!!! I am thankful for Lisa because she is so caring and giving. Lisa is always willing to serve others and drop EVERYTHING that she is doing to make sure that everyone else's needs are met. She is such a good work out partner. Even when she has already worked out she'll come with me to work out again. What a WoMaN!!! I am thankful for Dave because he has been one of my best friends since the start of this year. He is kinda like my friend 'counselor' and is always calling me on my crap. Sometimes we fight, most of the time because he is right and I am STUBBORN, but we always make up. Dave and I have gone on LONG drives where we could talk and share with one another anything and everything that was bothering us. I know that I could turn to Dave with anything and he would be right there for me. Now we come to Brent. I ADORE Brent. We met at the beginning of this semester and have become REALLY close. I spend most of my free time with Brent. He is absolutely amazing. Brent really cares about other people and is not afraid to show it. He is so willing to serve others and to make other people's lives better. Brent is very honest and open with everyone around him. Brent has a very strong testimony and is always willing to share what he believes with everyone around him. He has a great understanding of the gospel and is so incredibly intelligent. Brent is such a great friend and I know that I could trust him with ANYTHING!!!
9. I am thankful for all of the friends and family that I have. I have always been blessed with the most amazing friends and family who have taught me so much! I am the person I am today because of their support and examples. I love you guys!!!!
10. I am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and for all of the blessings and opportunities to grow that have come from being a member. I am thankful for the chance I had to serve a mission, to meet the people that I met in the mission field that have changed my life FOREVER and for the experiences that I've had. Let me not forget! I am thankful for the gospel, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and for the role that it plays in my life. I know that I am FAR from perfect and I have much to work on. I am thankful for the chance that I have to learn to grow and to become more like my Savior.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving and for the chance that I have had to reflect on the many blessings that I enjoy. There is much more that I am thankful for, there is no way I could post ALL that I am thankful for!!! This is my feeble attempt to try to express gratitude for some of the blessings that I enjoy~

It'S aLl GoOd!!!!

2008-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

I wish that I had something super exciting to share will y'all but really, my life is just too outta control to even pay attention to things that are happening that might be considered exciting. Work, school, church calling, school and more school. That is about it right now. I try to sleep every now and then but overall it's all good. This semester has been a rough one. The roughest semester I have ever had in my whole college career. Everyone says that it'll get better and I sure hope they are right. I have a few weeks left in the first semester of the program and if I can make it till then it'll be a miracle. I believe in miracles... that's how i got into the program in the first place.
I decided to put some pictures of what has been happening on here... I promise to keep my blog more up to date when things slow down!!! I'm so bad!!! I have a hard time even finding time to feed my fish! Oh dear!!! Don't worry though... I take GREAT care of my puppy, Oggie! He is so funny! This is him dressed up for Halloween...

I'm such a mean puppy mommy... look how sad he looks!!!

Oggie, Brent and Me. Brent is a great friend of mine! We spend A LOT of time together and he is so kind to me!
The other day we cleaned out me closet and I gave Oggie some old slippers I had to chew on. He had a hay day with them! It was so fun to watch him play with them. Oggie has a dogie door and he was trying to take his new toys, my old slippers, out through his little dogie door. He was struggling. Brent and I just sat and watched him as he kept trying to get his slippers out the door, we were laughing so hard. Finally, out of frustration, Oggie went outside, leaving his slipper right by the dogie door. The next thing I know Oggie pokes his head through the door and starts trying to pull the slipper out with the little dogie door flap smacking him in the face. Silly puppy! At least he never gave up! What a good lesson for me to learn with school being so challenging right now in my life. Never give up!!! Keep tryng and find new ways to get things done! It'll all work out! Life is good!!!

$tOrM

2008-10-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Within all of us there is a storm
Some believe it will never end
But he who has faith in the Heavens
Will weather ANY storm...

Just another day in PaRaDi$e...

2008-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

So this hasn't so much been my week. In fact I think that it would be safe to say that it hasn't really been my semester. Let me just give you a little idea of what I mean when I say that things haven't been going my way so much. I will share with you just one day's events to illustrate why I feel justified in saying it hasn't so much been my semester, it might be TOO overwhelming to think of all the not so great days that I have had this semester in one sitting. Every day this semester has been VERY similar tO what I am about to share with you.
This past Sunday I was in Sunday school and we were talking about secular knowledge verses spiritual knowledge. Just recently being called to serve as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher I felt it necessary to help out my fellow teacher by commenting and participating in class. As I was sharing some of my thoughts, I had a little slip of the tongue and when I was trying to say "secular knowledge" it came out "sexual knowledge". Oh dear! I was sooooo embarrassed. I was hoping that the instructor would save me from being the focus of attention and say something but he didn't. Later he told me that he wanted to give me the chance to try to redeem myself but there was no way I could! I was so fluster and blushing so badly that I couldn't say ANYTHING and just sat there trying not to DIE right there on the spot. Not so bad you may think... but that was not the end of my Sabbath day adventures. It was fast and testimony meeting that same day in our ward and I felt prompted to share with the congregation my testimony. As I stood up and went to step over my roommate, Stephanie, to go to the pulpit my skirt got caught on my shoe and I bet you can guess what happened next. Yep! I de-skirted myself in the middle of our fast and testimony meeting. I honestly thought I was going to DIE and I kinda wanted to, to be completely honest. I sat down as quickly as I could and tried to pull my skirt back up as fast as I could. I sat there and just laughed at myself, along with everyone else who was sitting behind me and my roommate. After a few minutes I decided that I would go ahead and share my testimony anyways... I had shared everything else with them, why not just throw everything out on the table? My bishop called later that night and said that he was worried about me and wanted to me meet with ASAP. I had a meeting with the bishop and right before I left to go see him I decided to clean the bathroom with bleach, not a good idea because I splashed it right in my eye and I thought that I was going to go blind. I didn't but my eye was REALLY blood-shot and my bishop thought that I had been crying all day. I wish I had been crying because maybe that would have washed out some of the bleach. I was even trying to think of something really sad so that I could cry, but I couldn't.
I thought that as soon as I got into my home, passed my CADC test and started this semester of school my life would slow down just a little bit, I was wrong... I was WAY wrong! Things aren't bad, and I am happy but I just feel like my world is spinning out of control and there is almost nothing that I can do to get a handle on it, not yet anyways. I'm the type of person who likes to be in control and on top of everything. I feel uncomfortable and get frustrated when things don't go EXACTLY the way I want them to. This is something that I am learning to overcome and deal with. I am learning to go with the flow, to relax a little bit and enjoy life. There really is only so much that I can do and I have finally came to accept that.
Doctrine and Covenants 123:16-17
"You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves."
"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us CHEERFULLY do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
I honestly have seen my Father in Heaven's arm be revealed in my life during the past semester. While it's true that I may feel that I don't have the control that I would like to have right now in my life I know that my Father in Heaven does have that control. I am learning to trust in Him even when I may not understand completely. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now than what I am doing. I am so thankful for this learning and growing opportunity and will continue to do all things that lie in my power... CHEERFULLY!!! Life is soooo GOOD!!!

New addition to our HoMe!!!!!

2008-09-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

Meet the new addition to our home!!! His name is Oggie and his is now five months old.... We LOVE him!

He ran away a few days ago... I cried the whole time he was gone! Then my roommate, Melissa, called the pound to see if he was there... he WAS!!! Melissa and Oggie don't really get along so I was so happy that Melissa was kind enough to help me find my puppy! She really does have a heart of GOLD! When I went to go pick him up they convinced me to get him nutered... poor puppy! I Bet he never runs away again!!! He just got home from the vet and is doing pretty good. I thought he would hate me forever but I was wrong... He still loves me!!!

I'm a slacker!!!

2008-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

So I took this past week off from work to get everything ready to start the counseling program on the 25th. I figured that I would get everything done and then sit back and relax just a little. Well... I had my nephew who is 4 months old for 4 days, I didn't get ANYTHING done but I loved every minute with that sweet baby! I really admire you mothers and don't know how you do all that is expected of you! WOW! Needless to say I didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done but I did do somethings... so instead of focusing on my short comings, lets look at some of my accomplishments! My best guy friend, Dave, and I went to Yellowstone. It was such a good time and we have decided that at least once a month we are gonna take a road trip somewhere! Here are some pictures...

I also went on another road trip to Boise with two of my roommates, Melissa and Stephanie as well as our friend Braden and Megan. We went to warped tour and then the next day went to Roaring Springs... SO MUCH fun!!! Here are some pictures from that...

Now I get to put some of the cutest pictures up of my nephew, since he was the one I spent most of my time with this past week! I love him so much!!! He is such a happy little tiger and can make me smile no matter what! Here are some pictures of Camerin...

Things are gonna get a little crazy around here for the next little while! Last night I printed off the graduate student handbook for the counseling program and I'm not gonna lie... I started to cry! I'm really not sure what I have gotten myself into but there is no backing out now... Just pressing forward. I will keep you posted as much as possible!!!

Memory Lane

2008-07-26T19:36:00.001-07:00

I have seen this on a number of my friends' blogs! I finally decided to do it. Love ya!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

It's ME!!!

2008-07-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

My CuTeSt little NEPHEW... hE's GROWING!!!

2008-07-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

I love my nephew SO MUCH!!! I had the chance to watch him this weekend and we had so much fun! He is growing so fast! Little tiger!!! Gotta love him! We took some pictures right before I left to go float the Lava river... Good times!

HaPpY 4tH of JuLy!!!!

2008-07-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we decided to watch the fireworks from across the valley... No traffic jams that way and it was SO nice! After the fireworks were done we came back to our house and lit off some fireworks that Stephanie and Braden got some killer deals on... How grateful I am to live in the United States of America!!! I really do feel so blessed and I am thankful for the opportunity that we had to celebrate last night!!!
Davina and I getting ready for our 4th of July celebrations!!! YaY!!!
Davina, Stephanie and Braden... Stephanie looks a little distracted by the lights in the sky...
Me, Davina, Dave and Braden

Dave and Braden playing with FIRE!!! Dave has the water ready JUST in case...

Braden with my Nephew, Cam

Braden

Davina and Me

The GIRLS!!!

WOW!!!!

2008-06-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

So we just got our internet up and running LAST night... Whew! It has been a LONG couple of months but things are looking really good now! I had a few little issues with leaking showers but that was taken care of after I needlessly tore out a part of my bedroom ceiling to see if I could figure it out... That'll be an easy fix, right??? Our fridge went out a couple of days ago and now I am just waiting for the new one that I had to buy to be delivered today. I have had to turn into quite the handy woman... with a few exceptions of course. I had one of my new favorite neighbors, Mark, come over to figure out what was wrong with my dishwasher, turns out I just didn't plug it in... oops!!! I knew June was going to be a crazy month but I didn't know that it would be this crazy... Good thing I have a lot of good friends and family to support me through my crazy, stressed to the max freak outs... I and they SURVIVED!!! YAY! I bought a chest freezer last night at the good old Wal*Mart and I THOUGHT it would fit in my car... I was wrong! The stock man who helped me carry it out asked me if I was kidding... I wasn't! So I had to wait for my friend, Dave, to come and rescue me with his BIG truck... Thank you DAVE!!! It's been a fun and very MEMORABLE month! I love having the stability of having my own home! I don't think I will buy another one for A LONG time... This experience was enough to last quite a while!!!! I'll get some pictures on here soon...

CADC!!!!

2008-06-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

So these past weeks have been out of control busy!!! I have been trying to get all moved in and unpacked in my new house... That takes a lot of time! I have also been trying to get all caught up at work and then today I had to take the CADC test to get my drug and alcohol counseling license! It's all easy going from here on out! I have got the biggest and most stressful things out of the way and to celebrate I went and got a big ole chocolate chip cookie dough BLIZZARD for DQ!!! Life is good!

GREAT things take time!!!

2008-06-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

I closed on my house on Friday, June 6th and have been busy trying to get everything moved in... I promise to update soon! I love, love, LOVE my new home! I'll be having a party here pretty soon so be looking forward to coming to visit!

TrYiNg to be PaTiEnT!!!!

2008-05-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a very crazy couple of past weeks. We moved out of our apartment and we have all been couch surfing ever since. I guess that really isn't the term I should use because I have been staying with my brother and sister-in-law and they have been more than good to me! I even have my own room and a bed! It hasn't been bad at all! I haven't had time to update my blog, with moving, making sure everything is good for graduation, and work... It has been pretty intense! Everything is going great with my new home... only a little while longer till I get some stability back in my life, I have a hard time with lack of stability. My house pasted the inspection so now we are just waiting till closing! I wish it would come faster! I have been having dreams about how cute my house will be... after a LOT of yard work!!! Good thing I like that kind of stuff! I just got back from a training in Boise! It was a great experience but I had no time for anything that might have been considered fun! I did get paid to stay in the nicest hotels and eat in the nicest restaurants... all paid for! So I really can not complain! Life is good and getting better with each passing day!