Just A Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That

WELL, HELLO!

Laneah always loves it when she gets to spend sometime with her cousin William. It is so fun seeing them interact with each other and how playful they can be with each other. A month ago we were able  to go to the Denver Zoo! We saw lions, tigers, and bears oh, my! And of course much more. When we were in the tropical part of the Zoo. Will and Laneah held hands with each other as they went and look for little animals.. William would not want to let go of neah's hand. Everytime she does, he always asked for her hand. He would reach for her hand and says.. "hand, neah. Hand." And Laneah would not know what is going on & that I had to help her reach for Will's hand. :) 

We bought Laneah a winter hat & I think its time to get her a winter coat since most of her jackets are like for the beginning of fall. It will keep her warm but not warm enough when it does gets really cold. Doesn't she look so cute in this cute little beenie? Anyways- I don't know if I've ever mentioned this; but when Nathan and I both started to feel like it was time to start thinking about having a baby, I have never felt a more nerve-wrecking feeling in my life. I thought flying from the middle of nowhere to Colorado was nerve racking. Well, maybe at the time it was... But boy when you start thinking about parenthood and knowing that it is a forever calling, just gives you the chills from head to toe. I don't know about you, It took me forever to feel that I can do this whole parenting. I mean if my mom can do the single parenting for as long as I can remember, so can I! Anyways.. Yes, it literally took me my whole pregnancy to realize that parenthood was coming. And that I am going to be a mom in less than an hour from when they woke me up from my  peaceful nap and told me my cervix was a ten. YUP!! TRUE STORY! People would ask me are you excited to be a mom?! Sure I nodded with excitement but inside of me, I felt all kinds of emotions.  I felt scared through my whole pregnancy. I was scared that my baby would turned out ugly.. (lol i know, you don't have to tell me twice) I was scared that she would keep me up for the rest of my life. (i guess that feeling will never go away, does it?) I was scared that once they cut the cord that she wouldn't be crying.  I was scared that my body will never be the same. I was scared for selfish reasons, really. But I felt that all those fears that were eating inside of me, was because someone didn't want us to bring a precious child into a home. Especially in a home with loving parents who love each other. 

But now, as I look back. I am glad we both listened when we did. I glad we jumped in with faith knowing that everything will be alright. I look at her now, and all the emotions that I felt turned into love, understanding, patience, selflessness, etc. She makes my heart filled with more love than I can comprehend. Being a mom changes how you feel and I see things differently now. I felt the thing that I has been missing in my life has been her all along. She makes me want to do better. Like today, when  I was clipping her toenails, she ran her hands through my hair and has moved my head up to look at her so that she could give me a smile and a welcoming kiss. Its always the simple things you need to make your day a little brighter.  

Nathan has been working so hard to provide for our  little, not so little family. He will be a regular worker in the post- office hopefully by the end of this year. It is in the process now. Since someone has quit and they now have available spot for him. Lets hope that they won't wait till Christmas to give him that spot. He has been waiting almost 3 years to earn a spot as regular rural carrier. And now, he is finally feeling like he is catching a break from the countless hours that they had made him do. Don't get me wrong, he is grateful for the hours and the money. But they treat the subs terribly. They made him work Sundays for almost a month, even after requesting for sundays off. And when he does get it off he is in military leave. Still means he misses church. Yesterday was the first time in a long time since he was able to go to church. It was nice having my husband back. Anyways When Nathan does become a regular, It will be such a huge blessing in our family. For a long time, we have been trying to figure out how Nathan can be a full time student and be a full time provider. He didn't want to quit the post office nor did he not want to stop going to school. So, when he did apply to Metro denver university.. He kinda applied a little late in the season. We weren't sure how much financial aid we would get. And how much they would cover for school. And we didnt want to pay out of pocket money to pay for school because we didn't have enough. And even if we did that would have swiped our savings cleaned, and the thought of not having an emergency savings scares the crap out of me. IDK about you, but it sure does for me.. So anyways, it wasn't till after the deadline to pay for classes has passed, that he did qualify for a good amount to pay for his classes and that made us relieved. And by then, he has decided to withdrawal from all his classes and try again for next semester. Atleast now he knows, that he does qualify for financial aid. So when next semester comes around, he would have already become a regular. Then his schedule won't be as hectic as it already is. So I felt like that it was a blessing in disguise. Pray for him. :) 

This month we were able to attend the Fort Collins temple open house. It was such a magical experience to be able to go three times in a row. The first time we went, Nathan wasn't able to go with us because of work. He didn't quite get out in time. Laneah was so good through the whole session. She was very intuitive to the 10 min video, and wasn't all over the place like a normal one year old would be. So, when we walked over to the temple, we put on the cute little plastic boots. I wish I can find the picture of the three of us wearing plastic boots. Everyone in the temple thought it was the cutest thing on a little one year old. lol. Im a little biased. anyways Again, Laneah was really good to my surprise. She was very observant of her surroundings. She enjoyed being in the brides room- of course. I shared with her what every room was all about. And again, she was very good. Okay, when we went again the second and third time around.. she was very different. She became her self and wanted to tour the temple her way.  And that meant touching everything, and feeling it too. :) i guess she felt more at home than ever. So, the Second time we went, Nathan came. my favorite memory of the temple this time around was watching Laneah. Every room we entered, she would let go of my hand and reach to the floor and kiss it. And she would kiss it and kiss it. And of course, I'm like Laneah, what are you doing.??  I guess that was her way of expressing how much she loves the temple. I know that. Because every time laneah sees something she loves, she goes over to that toy and kisses it. And I felt that was her way of saying she loves the temple. The third time, we brought Will and Laneah again to the temple. It was always such a neat experience to be able to go to the temple. It was fun being able to bring children and to see how they react to something so sacred. It is so rewarding.

 We can't wait for the temple to be dedicated so that we could go in more frequently instead of our daily monthly visits. I am even more grateful to have a temple closer to us now. I sometimes forget what its like to have a temple so close to us. And how much I take it for granted. The luxury of being able to go to the temple whenever you want is so wonderful. 

When I was living on Saipan, I remembered that the closest temple was either the Tokyo temple or the Manila temple. And I remembered that we couldn't afford to just to hop on a plane to Japan or the Philippines. So it took me 18 years maybe less but I did get to go to the Tokyo temple and get sealed to my parents in 1994.  I hardly remembered what that was like until recently.. Well, how was that possible? Well, I guess.. I was doing sealings one day, and there was a sealing that had a sister and a brother that got sealed.. well.. i don't exactly remember what was going on. But at the time that I was doing sealing, I started wondering what it was like when I got sealed to my parents. And what that must have been like. Then I had a little flash back to the memory, and felt the spirit saying to me, "this is exactly what that day was like" As soon as I heard that prompting, I felt happy. And I felt like now, I know what these kids that are being sealed to their parents feel. They have their own forever family. :) 

Anyways. We are truly excited. I know that families are meant to be together forever. Temples wouldnt be built if it wasn't meant to be for that purpose. I love this gospel. I know it to be true, and I believe it to be true. I love you all so much! 

I see her pearly white teeth

When laneah was little, I would massage her toothless gum every night. And I would have coconut oil on my finger and massage her gum. And When she started teething, it helped to have me touched her gum and massage it. Coconut oil helps relieves the pain so that it helps soothe her gum when they hurt. When it was time to introduce a tooth brush she got so excited. At night, I would brush her teeth, and then I would give her a turn to brush her teeth. Brushing her teeth is one of her favorite bed time routine. So this is her proudly showing you that she loves to brush her teeth.

Laneah would always be around when I would brush my teeth. She would see me floss my teeth and that would made her want to floss her teeth too. It started a long time ago, and now flossing is also a routine. She loves flossing and thinks its the coolest thing. I know she maybe a little too young to know about flossing. But boy if she is going to let me brush her teeth, I mind as well teach her about flossing too. 

Heres another cute picture of her flossing. She is growing up so fast. She is starting to become her own little person. I love her more and more everyday. I love being a mom. I love being with her. I love seeing how nathan and her interact with each other. It is so fun to see how much love a little one can give. I am forever grateful to be a mom to this little one.  

Sunday Dinner

I got my Sunday dinner off of Pinterest. Well, not exactly. I have been doing this dinner for a long time and when I went on pinterest to think of ideas on what to feed the missionaries. I was craving my bbq meatballs. And I wondered if Pinterest has a better idea with what i can do with my meatballs. And I also wanted something cheap too. Something that will also help my savings plan. So, here it goes.

one bag of frozen meatballs (6$)

one bottle of bbq sauce anything you like (2$)

One bottle or can of grape jam (not my idea ) 3$

Salad 2$

So you mix the meat balls, sauce and jam (you can do without the jam too) together and put it in your crock pot for 5-6 hours. And if you have an early church like we do, I put it in as soon as I ge
t home.  So pretty much I got a cheap dinner made to feed 8 people. Not too shabby eh. Ill have to post a picture soon. 

Sundays are always my favorite day

Ahh! My favorite day of the week is finally here. I just love Sundays! Well, at least when it was just me and Nathan. Now, with curious bee Laneah around, it is always so hard to focus or be intuitive to the spirit. Today at church, this guy who was giving a talk asked us to pray for him and for ourselves. So that we be able to have the spirit teach us the things we need to hear today. So, I did. And as I was praying, Laneah continue to ask for my undying attention. All i could remember from his talk was why do people do the things they do now? And, I don't remember anything else. But that question made me really think about what is it that makes me do what I do now. does that make any sense?.. What am I doing that is helping benefit my spiritual growth? Am I limiting myself to grow because I am a mom, a spouse, a sister, a co-worker etc? And do I give myself the excuse to not grow everyday because I am too busy doing what I need to do for others? As I was contemplating with my deep thoughts, I got distracted with the song that we sang today as our closing hymns. More holiness gives me. In this song, I feel like the lyrics is exactly what I have been feeling. As I thought more about my deep desire to want to do better. I could only think of the first sentence on the second verse, More gratitude give me. Because the more my heart is filled with gratitude, the more I want to give myself, & my time to our Savior. I want to do better at being a mom, a wife, a sister, a coworker, and a stranger. And it order to do that, I have to work on myself. 

In Sunday School and Relief Society Lessons were mostly the same. It was based on Families. How can we have a home with love, reverence, and safety. As we continue to kneel down together in prayer, reading our scriptures, holding family home evening, and forgive one another, we will have the spirit of love in our home. Families are such an essential part of His plan. We need each other to continue to be happy. :) Yah, you think I would not have learned something from each of my class huh?   Im surprise too. :) Hope you all have a wonderful day.

She is all grown up

Week after Laneah turned one, we decided that it was time to clear out our closet. And create her own room. My heart was racing as I accepted that our baby is growing up. The first three nights weren't the best nights of our life, but gradually her sleep turned into a peaceful night. When she was in our room, she would go from 6-8 or 10 hours of sleep. Then Now, she goes to bed at 7 everyday and wake up between 6 or 7am. Yah! amazing huh! She is an amazing sleeper. When she goes down for a nap, she takes 3 hour naps. I have recently let her take one nap a day. some days, she gets two. But I try really hard not to give her an extra nap. Anyways. She is really is such a good baby! She eats well, and sleeps well. She is starting be more social. She sometimes gets stranger danger, but then she warms up to them and hangs out with you. Laneah is such a fun little baby. Sometimes I miss her little infant self. But she is so fun. So Now she loves to make elephant noises, tiger noises, and she knows her names. She says neeah. She growing up way too fast. Cherish those beautiful moments with your little one.