she's my monkey little dandy

(she was trying really hard to not smile) 

My sweet little girl! She is starting to repeat the things we say now. Yesterday, we went on an adventure and saw a group of deers! I was the one driving, and I guess I couldn't figure out why people were slowing down all of a sudden! Then someone pointed out and said Vanessa, look there are deers! And I, said oh, deer! Laneah would say deer, deer, deer! Im more aware of what I have to say with her around... She catches on pretty quick! She still loves to read her scriptures! She gets so excited to read them. And some times when I forget she would cry and cry and cry and I wouldnt know why! Then I would ask whats the matter... she would find her scriptures and bring them to me. She is already fulfilling my patriarchal blessing. The little reminders we need each day is right in front of our  faces, whether we want to see it or not.  She makes me want to be a better mom everyday. She fills my glass with an over flowing love of motherhood. She makes being a mom so fun! She enjoys going on a bike ride, and going to the park. She loves to read. She loves her favorite stuff animals. Right now, she has an elephant, seal, cow, and a prayer bunny from Grandmother. She snuggles with them every night. My favorite part of her bedtime routine is after we say her prayers, I would lay her down with all of her animals, and As i walk out her room we would blow kisses and blow kisses till its time to really say good night. She really is such a sweet little baby.  

She also loves to sit down in a pile of rocks and plays with them. She gets really upset when you take that away. Every time I turn my head away from her, she tends to find one and sneak one into her mouth. I guess she has to build her immune system somehow.  :) She is at her best when she gets to just play with the rocks, dirt, or (and) water. She really loves the outdoors and adventures. I tried to take pictures of her just playing in the rocks but this is the best I can do with her happy. 

   She loves her aunty Tina. If you ask her who her favorite is... she would happily say in a! Even when I want her to say mommy, she will always say INA!! They pretty much do everything together. whether its going to the store together, doing make up together, or going on walks. Its almost like she has a second mom. The best thing about being an aunt is being able to return the child when she's cranky or poopy. lol yup being an aunt is so fun but still being a mom is just as fun! especially when you're the only one who can soothe their tears. 

Nathan has been so busy with work. Lately he has been coming home around 8 or 9pm and he goes to work at 730 in the morning! So, pretty much he has been working 12 hours or more every day Including Sunday! And dang its not even the holidays yet!. Remember when I said he might become a regular! BOO! They just told him last week that they might take that route and disperse them to other routes. So the route that just open could be gone! I know! We are really upset that they would do that to him. We're hoping whatever the Post masters in Denver decide, it would be to keep that route open. They set his heart up for something that might not even happen. We have been praying and begging for this to happened. Its really sad. And now, we are just waiting & wondering when they will let us know what they have decided to do. And if they do decide to keep it open (cross fingers),  I would like to hope it would be before the holiday craziness begins. But, thats just me being optimistic! If anyone is reading this, we sincerely hope they could say a quick prayer for Nathan to become a regular soon. I would really want my hubby back and to spend more time with him. 

Sometimes life just takes the best of us and makes us feel our worst. And that we need to not let it be.. Sometimes we just need to pull the bull by its  horn and let it lead you to where you need to fall to get back up to become better. :) Hope you all are having a wonderful day! 

Oh, sweet Melody

 Lets see, September was a very uneventful month. Well, atleast the beginning of September.. Anyways. We began the week celebrating my birthday. As I get older the age becomes a number. And you just start to accept that you are getting older and hopefully wiser. For some reason this birthday wasn't exciting as I hoped or planned it to be. Maybe it's because mom had to suddenly go to Texas because grandmothers health was declining rapidly. And all I could hope for is...  please grandmother hold it a little longer.. if you have to pass away please not on my birthday. I know that sounds a little selfish but it would make me feel really sad knowing that we shared a birth and death celebration. And that wasn't something i wanted to share, I know... but can you blame me for feeling this way.. I started to feel really sad and letting that feeling damper my day.and So I had to put that feeling aside and try really hard to celebrate my birthday. And overall, I did pretty good. I had some delicious cake and got a bike for my bday. It was really a well spent bday. And the best part of that day is hearing the voice of my favorite people calling to wish me a happy birthday. It truly made my day. Especially knowing that grandmother wasn't feeling the best she was there and that was all I needed to smile. I truly am so lucky to have such amazing grandparents. 

     Three days later I got the phone call from mom. As I saw her name on my caller ID and knowing that it was 7 in the morning. My heart just froze. I knew this was the phone call I've been waiting for. The call that I didn't want to hear.. so I bravely answered the phone call and let the words sink in to my already broken heart.  It was heart breaking. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to say goodbye just yet. My heart kept repeating the words ‘it is not a goodbye and that it's I'll see you later’. I needed my testimony to remind me that there is life after this earth. I needed to remember that there is a plan for all of us. And that it was Grandmothers turn to be reunited with her mom and dad and all her sisters. Can you imagine being away from your parents that long? How sweet is the reunion to be with your family again? And for her to no longer be in pain. Boy I am truly grateful that there is no end to love. 

 After hearing the news Nathan, Laneah and I flew to Texas to attend her Texas funeral. I had a nice conversation with Aunt Camielle on our way to Grandmother & Grandpa Call’s house. I remember from many conversations that we had together. My favorite part is when she said, “Although she may be not be physically there but her spirit is there. And you can feel her presence. And she also said you'll know what I am talking about when you go in.”  After I said hi to everyone I decided to walk around and see her beautiful home. It was my first time being there and it was a very beautiful home. Her home feels like a match made in heaven. And after I felt her presence I now understand what my aunt was telling me. She was there and all I could remember as i was walking around her home is that you can feel her love and a sweet hug. That you always get when you see grandmother. And my eyes were filled with so much love for my sweet sweet grandmother. As we were all together and about to say family prayer, you see Grandpa in his chair filled with tears. He shared with us that he could feel grandmother’s presences and that he could feel her love with all of us being together again.

As we attend the funeral there was a story that caught my attention the most. It’s the story of grandmothers love for the scriptures. She has mentioned many time "do you understand? " "do you get it?" As uncle Darren ponder on that question he found the scripture that grandmother was talking about. It is in Romans 8: 16-18. And to share my own understanding of that scripture it is; that our spirits desperately communicate with each that we are His children even when we sinned and are not perfect. He wants us to come home to Him. And that we need to turn to Him in repentance and know that he is there for us. He wants us to come home to Him. And that we need to turn to Him in repentance and know that he is there for us. It was a really neat funeral. The weather was perfect. And it made for it a great day. After the funeral we all went back to g&g Call's house. It was so fun. We gather together and played some fun games, and went to the park with the kiddos. Christopher, Geoffrey, Carolina, Jonathon, and John went to the park. The boys including the little ones all played at the playground where no one was allowed to touch the ground.. so everyone was on top of the slide or bars.. seeing stevie and scottie trying to climb the bars was alittle bit terrifying. All I could say to the boys, what example are you guys setting? Theyre like we are setting an example of fun! Lol Anyways. Later in the evening the girls went out for an ice cream! It was fun being able to hang out with our aunties. It was nice being able to share lots of laughs and memories. It was a great weekend. So, we all went home safely sound. It was nice being able to sit behind the sheafors. Laneah enjoyed seeing her cousins on this trip. I love this stage of her life. She is so fun!

Anyways the weekend after General Conference, I took another trip to Utah! This trip was surprisingly fun! Okay, let me tell you! Wednesday afternoon, we rented a 16’ truck. Thursday afternoon, we drove the big truck & haul all of Christina’s stuff to Utah. That truck was so huge that driving it passed 70 mph creeped me out!  And every time I would pass 75 mph the top part of truck would come in and bounce out. You know what I mean? Like if you sit on the car hood and then you get off it makes that popping sound, the sound of it going back to place. And that is what that was like. The weather was CRAZY in Wyoming! It started with sunshine, and ten mins later it was rain, and then hail, and then snow, and then rain. It finally cleared when we reach Rock Springs. Driving a truck was fun! I think my favorite part of that trip was knowing that I drove that big truck and I don’t know if I want to do it again.. But knowing that I did it felt like a HUGE accomplishment that week. Lol no pun intended. So we left at 1230pm and arrived to Salt Lake around 830pm. And by the time we were done with unloading and dropping the BIG truck off it was around 10pm. I think you can say it was pretty good timing. I seriously did not want to be responsible for the truck anymore, I droped the truck of that night instead of waiting the next morning. So, We drove home the next day! And that was hard for some reason; we didn’t have the popping sound to keep us up anymore. We were anxious to get home! The rental car did not have cruise control and so did the Budget truck! That was a hard drive especially knowing that you have to control your foot and keep an eye out for cops. There was a TON that day. So it made that trip even longer isn’t it crazy how much we rely on such alittle button for road trips. But I am so glad that trip is over. It was a very busy weekend. And the best part of the weekend is that Monday was a holiday. So, we spent the last two days (Sunday &Monday) Playing games! We pretty much started a scrabble game at midnight. I know! It was so late. But hey the baby slept in till 8am. She went to bed before 7 and didn’t wake up till 8! wohoO! That was that folks! Busy two weeks! We are truly excited for the Fort Collins temple to be dedicated this up coming week!

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.