Christmas Eve we went to my parent’s home. It is always tradition, ever since I was little, for the family to act out the Christmas Story. Now the grandkids do it and the adults watch. It’s always VERY entertaining!!

Then we opened gifts… These are gifts between my parents and grandkids, my siblings and I, etc… Every year my dad gives my mom a super “useful” gift, such as a washboard, a muffin tin with corn shaped muffins, etc… This year his gifts were…

My mom was thrilled, lemme tell ya…

I gave my parents BYU stadium seats. They attend most of my kid’s basketball or football games and those bl

eachers get uncomfortable. Funny story about stadium seat… My grandma (Dad’s mom) was at my dad’s basketball game and as she was leaving down the bleachers she thought a woman pushed her. So she turned around and whacked her with her stadium seat!!! I love it!!!

That night Santa came!!! Livie left this letter for Santa…

She promptly made this for me:

Ya know… I remember when Santa brought Alec and Tristan matching Blue’s Clues “Thinking Chairs…” Cute.

We went to church Christmas morning. Sei had been asked to play the prelude music for about 15 minutes. He played so beautifully. I love him.

My fave gift I received… Probably my Kindle Fire from Seiuli … I love the purse my sister surprised me with as well! But my fave thing was surprising Seiuli with Bowflex adjustable dumb bells. Amazon.com delivered them to the house and so the box weighed over 100 lbs. Sei had to carry the box in with a blanket over it so he couldn’t see what the picture on the side was. He was so confused as to what I could have bought him that weighed that much!! I was so excited to give them to him because I knew he wanted them, but would never buy them for himself. I scored them at a waaaay cheaper price than they are listed for now. Yay! I love surprising my husband!

It was a wonderful Christmas. I love being with my family. And I know Christmas isn’t about gifts, but I LOVE giving them!! It’s fun to me and makes me happy. I am thankful for any excuse to spoil my family!!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!

This year, like the last 4 years, we stayed in Texas to celebrate. My sister and her family came down and my brother and his wife live here. Seiuli was actually off work for Christmas Eve and day for the 1st time in 4 years. He was scheduled to work, but was able to get both days off. He worked Thanksgiving (and like I said, Christmases for the past 4 years…) so I think it was time he had this special weekend off.

Earlier in the Christmas break we took the whole family (courtesy of my in-laws and bro-in-law) to Six Flags: Holiday in the Park. It was Liv’s first time to go and OMGosh!!! This will definitely be a new Christmas break tradition in our household. She LOVED IT! The entire family (+ my lil sister, Ali) had a wonderful time. It wasn’t too cold. The lines weren’t too long and the decor was so festive. It was just a super amazing time.

In my family our tradition is to open up gifts at my parent’s home on Christmas Eve. Yes- ALL gifts… not just pajamas. So we decided to open the gifts in our home a few days early since one of the gifts was a Wii and my sister was giving the kids more Wii games… Also, our 3 oldest had to go to the ex’s on the 26th, so we wanted them to have a chance to enjoy their gifts a few days. Every year before opening gifts the kids and Sei and I watch “The Nativity” with Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven” playing. It really brings the Spirit of Christmas into our home. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icilgwdHiZg

Then… we opened our gifts!!!!

Alec and I were there too, but there seems to be no photographic evidence of attendance…

To be continued…

At church a few weeks ago, a woman spoke in sacrament meeting and mentioned this neat about counting your blessings. You take “kleenex on a roll” aka toilet paper and list blessing on it until the roll is gone. Then you decorate the cardboard insert, pick a word that your family decides describes that year best and then hang in on your Christmas tree. I LOVED the idea so we did it a couple weeks before Christmas. It was eye-opening, humbling and a great reminder of all the blessings in our lives. We’ve had a ton of bumps along the road that were out of our control for the most part, but we are still a family and still.so.blessed. I can’t imagine living my life and not realizing that there is a God, he loves me. He loves me enough to NOT control every aspect of my life. He loves me enough to let me hurt and then grow stronger- just like our earthly parents. Bad things in the world does not mean there is not a God. Discounting my PERSONAL testimony because there is no “proof” doesn’t make it any less true.

After an hour and a half of listing blessings in our lives the kids chose this word to describe our 2011:

I have great kids, a beautiful husband who loves me… and I am blessed.

 

Today’s post is 1) Late- because I started school today and this is my 1st chance to get on the computer 2) about the person who has gotten me thru the most…

I wrote about my best friends just a couple posts ago, so of course they have been awesome supporters in my life and have helped get me thru different rough points in my life. But today I’m gonna talk about the most awesome kids in the world!!!

MINE!!!

My kids rock. They have been there for me when my sister died, through the divorce, thru grumpy moods, thru sad times, thru… whatever. They are so forgiving and loving and make me happy!! I truly have FUN with my kids. They make me laugh and put up with my intentional dorkiness, silly stories and amazingly funny (to me) jokes. I can’t imagine my life without them and wouldn’t want to.  They truly build me up and give me purpose. I am so blessed!!

I’ve posted a few videos of me from Youtube in the last few posts- like the one of my daughter and I signing “I Gotta Feelin’” at our family reunion and my ASL story video.   So, I’m going to post just a couple of videos I really like on Youtube. Some it will be obvious why, while others will just prove I am a spaz– if there was any doubt… ENJOY!

My Daughter Dancing to Tik Tok – A MUST SEE!!!

 

My husband playing Metallica on the piano…

Our family made up a dance…


And this is my new favorite, pointless clip… I laugh every time…

Today’s challenge is “Your Biggest Insecurity & Something About Yourself You Are Proud Of.”   Hmm… I actually had to ask my husband what he thought my biggest insecurity is because I could think of a lot.  I have major trust issues. This would be stemming from being married to an a$$ who cheated on me and left me with 3 small children.  You would think finding an awesome man like my husband today– loving him in a way I never knew existed and having his constant love and support would squash that insecurity. I guess in some ways it does, because I honestly believe he would never hurt me like that. But then I get nervous because I know if he did the same things my ex did, it would kill me. If I think about something that devastating happening, I can’t even breathe.  I guess my insecurity would actually be the lack of belief that someone can love me enough to stay. That’s a little deep for this meme, but… yeah. I struggle.

I also hate my body. Haaaaaate my thighs, butt, stomach, and right now I even hate my toes because I hit my big toe on a door and half the nail fell off. LOL  And I type all that as I sit here eating Milk Duds… I was so thin 10 years ago and now… blech. I feel like crap. Moving on…

I am most proud of how I am raising my kiddos. They tell me all the time I’m a “cool mom,” but I’m not one of those moms that try to be a friend and not a parent. I try to draw on my experiences of being a “juvenile delinquent” and not jump to conclusions, LISTEN and remember sometimes kids are just dumb and they aren’t doing things to hurt ME- it’s rarely about me at all.  I may not parent the way books tell you to, or how my parents did or anything else, but my kids are respectful, stay out of trouble, and extremely beautiful, if I do say so myself… So I think I’m doin’ ok.

 

My parents recently had their 40th anniversary. Being the thoughtful daughter I am, I mentioned to my sisters a few months before that I thought this year was Mom and Dad’s 40th. I was thinking we would maybe actually buy them a GOOD gift this year. Somehow it all snowballed into a surprise reception!! We did our best to invite old friends and we even were able to surprise them with their siblings coming over from Louisiana. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. I know there aren’t a lot of kids who can say their parents made it to 40 years. I am proud to say I can. And I am proud of how the party turned out!! Woo hoo!! We all worked hard doing the different things we are good at. My sister, Tara, figured out decor. My sis-in-law, Lissette, made a lot of the fancy food. I sneaked pics out of my parents home, scanned them, framed them, made a dvd full of memories. My lil sister, Ali, helped decorate, buy candy and helped with my kiddos. My husband did the media part– figuring out the projector/dvd player. My brother and bro-in-law helped in different areas– where ever they were ordered to go! And it all helped the evening go great.

We had the opportunity to go to Florida with my family. My parents and little sister went as well as my older sister and her family. We stayed in a time share condo– each family had their own. It was SO nice. We went to Destin again like we did in 2009 and it was absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!  We were a little worried because the weather report for the week said rain and thunderstorms every day. On Saturday and Sunday it was cloudy and rainy. We went to WonderWorks in Panama City Beach which was super cool, to stay out of the rain one day. Then the weather cleared up and was absolutely beautiful the rest of the week. So, the other days we basically hung out on the beautiful white sand beach, body surfing, skim boarding, tanning, feeding sea gulls, eating PB&J sandwiches, building sandcastles, collecting sand dollars, FUN…!!!! Seiuli has been working so much so it was nice he was able to take that time off, hang out with the kids and just chill. I think family vacations, even if they aren’t all the way to Florida, are so important.

Here’s a few pics. If you’re my friend on Facebook you’ve already seen a lot more than these!

 

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I love the summer. I love the heat. I love the laziness. I love vacation bible school. I love eating pineapples on a daily basis– I crave those when it’s hot. It has definitely been hot here. This week alone it’s been 100+ degrees everyday. I LOVE IT!! We go to the pool usually 4 or more times a week. It’s nice because Livie swims like a fish (as well as all her siblings) so I can relax a little at the pool.

Tristan, Alec and Isabel have been back and forth to the ex’s– which is my least favorite part of summer. And apparently, according to Alec, the least favorite part of summer to them too. Alec and Tristan were able to go on a varsity scout trip to Independence, Missouri and Nauvoo, Illinois, to learn more about the LDS church history.  They were gone for a week. Isabel went to our church girl’s camp that same week. I’m glad they had those opportunities, but it sucks because that week was one of “my” weeks for the summer.

Anyway, during the week they were gone, Taj and Liv attended a vacation bible school at a Baptist church here. I actually used to attend the same vbs when I was little. They had a good time and I think Liv really loved learning the songs. I heard her singing some this morning. That was in the morning and we’d swim in the afternoon. The next week they attended another vbs at a Methodist church and really enjoyed it. This week, Mon. thru Wed. only they attended one that was in the evening– and served dinner. It was awesome! Sei and I had dinner out together 3 nights in a row.

I am taking one class this summer. It’s “Crisis in the American Family.” I actually only attend it 5 times, for 4 hours each time. 1/2 of it is online. My last week is next week. It’s worth 3 hours so that’s pretty cool. I’ve enjoyed it other than classmates who insist on telling a story about everything or over-analyzing every thing. I think that’s part of the problem with our society- over-analyzation. But that’s another post…

Sei has been busy working his police job on weekend nights and then his part time job during the week with a contracting company. He really likes the people he works with at his part time job, but I know he gets worn out working 6 days a week. The extra income is nice and has relieved so much stress. I just wish it didn’t take 2 jobs to do that.

Today Taj and Liv and I did some fun 4th of July crafts that we saw on Not So Average Mama. My grandma’s birthday is July 4, so we were working hard on making her a bouquet  of coffee filter flowers.

We also worked on bracelets and necklaces.

We are still working on the bouquet. We plan to decorate my grandma’s wheelchair with them. We are also going to do some other fun crafts.

June has had 2 other BIG events that happened. 1- My parent’s surprise 40th Anniversary party. 2- My short roadtrip to Houston to see NKOTBSB. I will post about those later.

What have you been doing this summer?

I am almost 1/2 way thru my first semester back at school since taking a 10 year hiatus. And all I can say is: I LOVE IT!!!!! I am taking 13 hours and so far I am loving every minute of it. My fave class is my ASL 1 class. I love learning to use all the signs I’ve taught myself. (Thank you Signing Time!!!) And what’s more fun is I take Tristan with me to the ASL lab I am required to attend. It’s at a coffee house where other ASL and some deaf people come hang out to chat. It’s not “Deaf Coffee” at Starbucks. This is about 95% students trying to learn to converse in ASL. The other day Tristan and I chatted with Hector for about an hour. I suck at reading finger spelled words and he was so patient. Right before we left he asked us our names and if we had “sign names.”  We didn’t have a sign name yet since usually (not always) a deaf person “gives” you a sign name. Some see it as almost an initiation or a welcome into the community. However you see it I was feeling extra cool when Hector said he would like to give us sign names! He asked Tristan his hobbies. First he was trying to make a sign with “T” and something with football. When that didn’t work I mentioned Tristan likes to draw.  So, Hector gave Tristan the sign of “DRAW” with the handshape of a “T.” Then he asked my hobbies. I said “playing basketball and watching my kids play sports.” He thought a little while. Then he asked Tristan if I always laugh a lot– like I do when I am trying to sign. haha Tristan said that I do, definitely, laugh a lot. So, my sign name is now “LAUGH” with a “T” hand– with one hand, not both. Hector even asked the head professor there, who is also deaf, if our sign names were ok and he agreed and signed our sign names to us. Now when we introduce ourselves, we will fingerspell our names and then sign our sign names.  I am STOKED! So is Tristan. I am so glad I get to do this with him.  Next year Alec is also taking ASL. Yay!! Oh- and just to brag… I made a 98 on our last test– the highest in the class.

I also have 2 other classes on campus and 1 online. All 3 of them are almost the same thing: Family Economics, Family Financial Planning and Family Resource Management. To be honest I haven’t read more than a few paragraphs out of my books. Most of the stuff discussed I already know just from living life. Even when taking a test I know the answer before looking it up because I’ve been managing my family’s economics and resources for years and years. I have a ton of projects to do in 2 classes and I actually really like doing them. I had a group project the other day about food comparisons. We had the class taste test Kool Aid and Kroger brand drink mix, Dr. Pepper and Dr. K, Kraft Deluxe, Velveeta Shells and Kroger Deluxe Mac and Cheese. They didn’t know which was which and voted on faves. I was surprised to see that the Kroger brand drink mix and Mac and Cheese won by A LOT of votes!! Dr. Pepper won over Dr. K though. So… Kroger brand can rock! (Smiths is Kroger in Utah…) Interesting!!

So, over all  I am loving school. I have straight As so far, which is something I haven’t done since like 6th grade. I like being on campus. I like planning my future. I am positive I am in the right field of study the more I learn about it. I cannot wait to work in some kind of victim’s advocacy. Oh– and just to add to the excitement: My campus was on lockdown the other day. Some people were freakin’ out. I just made a plan in my head what I was gonna do if someone came in my classroom.  I wasn’t going down without a fight!

On a sidenote… Isabel’s basketball team is undefeated. They have their final tournament this weekend. Isabel leads in points, steals, and assists. She is doing amazing and I am so proud!! My dad is coaching her for the 2nd year in a row and I just LOVE watching him coach. He loves it.  I feel bad that I’ve run out of kids for him to coach for a couple of years– Taj isn’t sure he wants to play.  He is taking gymnastics and I think he’s in love with it. He is excelling. We are lucky because he is the only kid in his class, so it’s like private lessons each week. Livie is in tap and ballet. She loves dancing. She loves the tutus. She loves it. Period. Tristan has decided to concentrate on football. He’s great at it. Alec has decided to concentrate on basketball. I think he is going to get taller because I just bought him freakin’ size 11 shoes– he’s a size and a 1/2 bigger than Sei and Tristan, yet shorter than both. I hope he grows into those boats! I love my family. <3