In exactly.....

.....4 hours (Hawaii Time) it will officially be the month of Christmas.

Even though it doesn't get white around here, we locals still know how to celebrate this truly magical, wonderful, cuddly, yummy, expensive time of the year. 

25 days til Christmas

We weren't able to make it to the Laie Christmas Tree lighting. James had to work and Mahie's little tooth is making a fussy appearance. But, I am making it up with watching "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" on t.v. I feel like such a kid around this time. Who doesn't (You Scrooge). Oh, did I mention that I had to be a ninja and sneak around James at the mall to buy his gift in secret. Geez. 

Enjoy your night. I hope Santa James reads my Christmas list :)

a mother's faith

Today, I was reminded how grateful I am to be sealed for ETERNITY to my husband, baby, parents & siblings. I learned that a wonderful friend of mine (who I met growing up in TVA), was able to spend only a few hours with her son before he returned back to heaven. I read her blog and cried. Her writing truly reflects her beautiful personality and great faith in the plan of salvation.

She shared the following story:

"More than anything, I am thankful for the knowledge of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ; that families can be together forever through the Plan of Salvation. During this time, I have found peace and solace in an e-mail my dad sent me this morning, reading again a personal experience told by Elder Octaviano Tenorio of the Quorum of the Seventy:"

When my wife and I had only been married a year and a half, she was ready to deliver our first baby. We had decided that she would have the baby in the Chihuahua colonies, where she had been born and where her parents still reside. At that time I was working in Mexico City, and we decided that she would go to be with her parents a month ahead of the delivery date. I was planning to join her later.

The delivery date arrived. I was at work when I received a call from my father-in-law. The news was good: “Octaviano, your wife has given birth, and you now have a beautiful little daughter.” So, in my happiness, I began to announce this to my friends and partners at work, who in turn asked me for chocolates to celebrate the birth of my little one.

The next day I began to give out chocolates throughout the four floors of our office building. When I reached the second floor, I received another call from my father-in-law. This time the news was different: “Octaviano, your wife is fine, but your daughter has passed away. The funeral will be today, and you don’t have time to come. What are you going to do?” I asked to speak with my wife Rosa, and then asked her if she was OK. She replied that she was fine, depending on how I was feeling. Then we talked about the plan of salvation, remembering this scripture:

“And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.”

I asked her, “Do you believe that?” And she said, “Yes, I do.” Then I replied, “We should be happy then. I love you. And if you are OK with that, I’ll take my vacation in two weeks, spend some time with you, and we will return back together to Mexico City.”

We knew that one day we would be reunited with our daughter because we were sealed by the power of the priesthood in the temple. We ended the telephone call, and I resumed giving out the chocolates in my office building. Seeing me do this, one of my co-workers was surprised and asked me how I could do this after such terrible news. I answered, “If you have a couple of hours, I can explain to you why I am not feeling too sad and about my knowledge of what happens after death.” Later that day, we ended up talking for four hours. He accepted the gospel and, together with his mother and brother, was baptized into the Church after receiving the discussions.

 "Of all the kinds and types of trials and hardships we experience in life, we must trust in the Lord when He said, “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” With this eternal perspective, we understand and accept the trials of mortality as necessary for our spiritual growth. I know one day, we will look back at our mortal experiences and be grateful for them because they have helped us reach more of our potential and become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are." -Lilika Funaki

As a mother, I am truly touched by her experience and the way she worded it all. That little spirit will always be her baby, and she will always be his Momma.

We love you Funaki 'Ohana.

Yes, we should ALL count our many blessings & see what God hath done. Thank you Lilika.

Sometimes love lasts a moment.

Sometimes love lasts a lifetime.

Sometimes a moment is a lifetime

Never again

Never. EVER. doing the all-nighter black friday thing. NEVER. EVER. AGAIN.

It was for sure an experience with my Mom, Kiana, and the tiny mini we zoomed around Honolulu in. Seriously, that little car was stuffed with shopping bags.

(Below is my little brother finding some thrill in riding around Laie w/a mask??)

After the family Thanksgiving dinner at my Parent's house, all travel, work and babysitting arrangements were worked out......and off to Honolulu we left with our wallets and redbull. I was already tired by Ka'a'awa so my Mom kept forcing me to drink her redbull. 

The places we hit were

1. Walmart (Keeaumoku)

2. Target (Salt Lake)

3. Alamoana

Yes there were crazy crowds everywhere and it seemed like the a.c. was broken in every store. We went, as my Mom puts it, "to be in the holiday hustle and bustle". So we weren't die hards crawling over people to claim a flatscreen, whatever interested us we threw in our cart. We were basically half zombies and half redbull-excited. LOL. I can't believe how many filled carts people were dragging along. Honestly, there weren't even that many deals. (Although there were some very good ones too) And can I just point out the #1 sucky thing about living in Laie.......you always run into people you RATHER NOT see. Anyways, there were pretty good prices on toys, so all the nieces & nephews are covered for Samoa! Check. (And if their parents are reading this, make sure you bring batteries bc I'm too cheap to buy them)

*Asians DO have a backbone......and it sure is stiff.

1) Parking was crazy and almost bloody at Alamoana. There were zero open stalls. People would literally follow a person as soon as they left the nearest store. A japanese woman finally found a stall, but a guy out of nowhere zoomed in as she was reversing and totally stole it. *This was the first time we each saw this, so we sat there and watched: The Japanese woman got out of her car, went up to the guy's window and fully started telling him off. Ya I would've been afraid too. The guy finally left and she claimed her stall. You go Obason!

2) We got elbow-shoved by aisan-tourist-looking shoppers, who didn't apologize (Oh hellll no). And then as we ate, Kiana left to the bathroom, and some random Japanese woman tried to sit at our tiny 3-seated table filled with shopping bags, that showed no sign of "Come sit here". Oh Black Friday, you make the lolo in people come out.

I must say the best deal I came across was at Victoria's Secret. Seriously, I got sooo many things free in return. It was a long day, there were funny moments.....but no black friday for me again, except online :)

Thanksgiving 2011

How I wish we could sleep til our hearts desire. But no. The mind kicks in, and all the ruckus from outside grows louder and tells you to GET UP! That's how Thanksgiving morning started, well, and thanks to my daughter for also contributing in forcing me awake. *We both fell asleep on the bed, kicking James to the couch......and what do I feel pressed against my lips in the morning? None other than Mahie's toe. LOL, she was trying to wiggle her toe into my mouth, hahaha, I was like What the heck?? and rolled her over into the pillows.

So I cooked about a bajillion cups of rice. We stopped by our Ward lunch, which had 3 full rice pots....soo I put the foil back on my container and hoped no one would touch it, so that I could take it to my parent's later, haha.

Here's Nanea and Mahie....the two rollie pollie's that take over Relief Society with their screaming, burping, farts and laughter. All their "Aunties" love stealing them away. haha, hows their faces.

I was so happy that it was James' day off. I love when he's home. I think I was more excited that he was there than it being Thanksgiving. Of course we had to watch the Macy Thanksgiving Day parade, a tradition started by my Mother. James always shakes his head at how crazy we Americans get with celebrating our holidays. 

After spending time with our ward  members, we attempted to rest while I put the ham in the oven.......but seeing that our house needed tidying....we worked together in going through a lot of old clothes, papers, etc. and got rid of a lot of stuff. 

Something cool I baked:

Easy baked cheese and vegetable twist.

I wish I had a photo of the family dinner table that my Mom lovingly decorated. We all sat around a long table with beautiful decorations....just like those holiday movies, it was fun and an enjoyable moment. Mahie was passed around and even got her hands into Hill's plate of food. It was wonderful listening to my Dad speak about how grateful he was for all of us and how sad it is now that the family house is always empty most days......but that no matter our circumstance or how long/short a visit, we will always be welcomed home :)

Thanksgiving 2011

"I'm stuffed"

Ok, so I totally failed at all that "Im thankful for..." holiday countdown. I really was into it, but time stole my attention away to other things. Other than still being bummed about the Iphone incident, one thing that's a definite thumbsUP, its the night before Thanksgiving, wooohooo! Not really looking forward to waking up early to start cooking, but I'm so glad that James is off tomorrow, we'll be with family & yummy food...and no school or work for a week. And i've already done hw before hand, yeeyah!
So to update our past hustle and bustles, take a look:

 Visiting my Grandpa (Mahie's Great-Grandpa) in Kapolei, who is now confined to a wheelchair :( It's so different seeing him this way, because he's always been up and moving: around Oahu and internationally. His mind is still quick and smart, so I know he's still the same Ol' Grandpa B nonetheless. Except, he kept saying, "Ho thats one cute boy you have Ashlyn".....Grandpa I had a girl remember....."What? But looks like one boy, he's cute that one"......Grandpa, HE's a SHE!........"what? howcome? looks like one boy still".  Apparently a green shirt with glitter words saying, 'My Daddy is my Prince' and girls jeans leggings, proved to my grandpa that he had a great-grand-SON staring back at him. Lol, what a story I can't wait to share with Mahie when she's older.

We celebrated Hill's 21st birthday. Kiana made these cute minion cupcakes. We all ate the twinkies more than the actual cupcake.

Little princess trying to crawl....but still trying.

Little Princess watching Breaking Dawn.

6a.m. Samoan 201 umu. A required activity every semester if you take Samoan. I didn't attend the first two semesters because our teacher's husband passed away and I was almost 9 months preggo the last time. So I was proud that I got my butt out to help & get credit. Isn't it sad that I know more Samoan than Hawaiian and Navajo.

Our little elf enjoys doing "big girl" things....like finally riding on shopping carts, and in her stroller w/out her car seat attached. I keep forgetting that she's still a little wobbly sitting up, so she'll topple over when I cut those aisle corners fast :) Don't you love how my Mom put stockings on her feet. James adores this photo.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, love the 3 Aspy's :)

Very Sad

Last night James' phone wouldn't turn on.

The screen was totally black, and all the tricks we Googled couldn't help us out either. At first we didn't sweat it, since we knew Apple would save us.

And they did, in a way, but not really.

James was able to get a new phone, FREE.

But we lost everything on his sim card.

I didn't really care, UNTIL, I realized all of Mahie's newborn video footage and 1st photo's in the hospital was on his phone.

I was and still am very devastated.

Lol, yes I'm still having my random fits of anger.

Angry at dumb iphones, at James because he owned that phone, at myself for not transferring all of those albums to our computer the day before when I was looking at them & reminiscing, and especially at the Apple employee who kept reassuring me that everything would be on there, BUT NO.

Ugh, it's totally upsetting.

At least I have a few from my phone :(

9. Education

Thankful for an Education. 

After James served his mission in the Philippines, he took a trip to Hawaii to visit his brother Richard.....and has been here ever since, working and studying at BYUH (off & on). He currently is on a break (to make his millions he says), and has about two years left to his undergraduate degree. If you've met James, you know that he should become a lawyer or an accountant. He is good at arguing a point and extremely good with numbers, statistics, anything math.
His educational background and academic strengths are a total contrast to mine, and further prove how dumb/behind Americans are in math and science. Seriously, I want my kids to go to school in New Zealand. Not only because they have to wear 'Harry Potter' looking uniforms (haha), but because I have lost total faith in America's public school system.

I on the other had made it known to everyone my senior year, that after graduation I was "Out of here". (I did NOT want to attend BYU-H) I remember applying early to BYU-Provo and then finally jumping for joy when I got my acceptance letter. People are surprised that I willingly decided to attend BYU-Provo, but I loved my two years there. However, I did have to struggle with homesickness at first. It's weird that when only a few us (friends connected to Laie, Kahuku, Hauula) decided to leave to Utah after high school, a lot of our friends/classmates thought we were crazy. Saying they could never live on their own or were too scared to leave Hawaii. But now a couple years later, they've all moved to Utah. I think most of them still wanted to live like high school seniors (but finally realized they needed to grow up). Anyways, I made friends with some Hawaii people, but I pushed myself to embrace "the haoles". haha. I will never forget my 1st roommates: Claire (CT), Bryn (IA), and Tammy (AZ) :)

Provo taught me how to GROW UP.
Budget finances, study, be social, gain my own testimony, cook, clean, attend church, travel. Don't worry, I mean I still stayed out late & took the random road trips to Cali :)
Keep in mind that this entire time, James and I were doing the long distance (millions of Tmobile mintues) relationship. After returning for summer break before my junior year, he proposed and a year later we were walking hand in hand into the Kona Temple.
And I was PISSED that I was transferring to BYUH, haha.
But now I got to take classes with my new husband, and then as a pregnant mother-to-be, and now finally as a working mama.
I enjoy learning and am very thankful for the opportunity to further my education. It's sad that even in our modern day AND ESPECIALLY within our own LDS Church, women still struggle with educational and career goals.
I can't wait to graduate this coming April 2012.

"Knowing, then, that marriage and family come first, what should we think about education and careers? Remember—the issue is not marriage or education; the issue is marriage and education. . . It has been said that before becoming somebody’s wife, before becoming somebody’s mother, become somebody."--Sister Marie Hafen

Let your first business be to perform your duties at home. But, inasmuch as you are wise stewards, you will find time for social duties, because these are incumbent upon us as daughters and mothers in Zion. By seeking to perform every duty you will find that your capacity will increase, and you will be astonished at what you can accomplish.
--Eliza R. Snow, Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 59


In the June 11, 2007 employee meeting with Elder Richard G. Scott, an employee who works in advising asked how to advise women who believe they cannot justify the cost of completing their education when they plan to stay home with their children. Elder Scott seemed a little surprised by the question but responded instantly: “Please, open their eyes,” he said. “A mother has got to be brilliantly educated in today’s world. One of the greatest gifts that can be given to today’s children is a mother in the home who is well-educated.”

Resolve now, while you are young, that you will get all of the education you can. We live in a highly competitive age, and it will only grow worse. Education is the key that will unlock the door of opportunity. You may plan on marriage, and hope for it, but you are not certain that it will come. And even though you marry, education will be of great benefit to you. Don’t just drift along, letting the days come and go without improvement in your lives. The Lord will bless you as you make the effort. Your lives will be enriched and your outlook broadened as your minds are opened to new vistas and knowledge.
--President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly,” General Young Women Meeting March 24, 2007.

There must be respect for the interests of one another. There must be opportunities and encouragement for the development and expression of individual talent. Any man who denies his wife the time and the encouragement to develop her talents, denies himself and his children a blessing which could grace their homes and bless their posterity.

--President Gordon B. Hinckley

For women, the important ingredients for happiness are to forge an identity, serve the Lord, get an education, develop your talents, serve your family, and if possible to have a family of your own. However, you cannot do all these things well at the same time. You cannot be a 100-percent wife, a 100-percent mother, a 100-percent Church worker, a 100-percent career person, and a 100-percent public-service person at the same time. How can all of these roles be coordinated? I suggest that you can have it sequentially. Sequentially is a big word meaning to do things one at a time at different times. I hope you acquire all of the knowledge you can. Become as skillful as you can, but not exclusively in new careers at the expense of the primary ones, or you may find that you have missed one of the great opportunities of your lives.

--President James E. Faust

*We hope we are becoming good examples for our children to follow in attaining their eduction, no matter what struggles come :)

10. Home

Where do you call HOME?

(my left & james' right hand...flying into New Zealand)

James is from Auckland, New Zealand and I'm from Laie, Hawaii. However, we've been living in the BYUH Temple View Apartments for almost a year (wow), and we couldn't be more thankful. What a blessing it was to find a place to call "ours" right after we married. We were saved from squeezing into my Parent's home or any small and over priced studios nearby. We definitely got lucky, since originally we were in the 100's on the TVA waiting list, but somehow we got bumped to the top.

I love living in TVA. I always hear people talking bad about it, or residents being embarrassed to say they live there.......I don't know why. It's the best deal on rent throughout the state (unless you're one of those who munch off your parents), its located right next to school & on-campus/PCC employment, laundry services are cheap, the temple is next door, and you live among other couples going through the same challenges as you. Honestly, it may not get the highest ratings as the most gorgeous place to live, but if you're living the married-college student life, it's a definite financial load off your shoulders. So unless you're a millionaire (and so far everyone who talks this place down IS NOT), than keep it to yourself :)

This is our home. Here we learned (and still learning) how to be a wife and a husband. Where we've cooked, cleaned and prayed side-by-side. Where our stubborn temper's have flared and our most humbling moments have brought us closer. And where we've brought our little baby to raise and love.

WE are thankful for the Homes that we've come from....and being taught that we all as family members must contribute to making our house a home.

Home is where your Family is :)