Sisters

So I ran across this poster about sisters and could not resist posting it. I posted it on Kyli's facebook and it is so true. Ana looks up to her so much. I know that they both miss each other so much. Ana is constantly asking me when she is going to see Kyli again and is looking forward to Ky being home for a few weeks over the Christmas Break.

I am so thankful that both of my girls have a sister. I know there is a bit of an age difference between them them but I would have given anything to have a sister. I am so blessed to have such talented, amazing girls that are both so beautiful and sweet.

So another thing I am thankful for in November is my girls and what a good example Kyli is to Ana. Thank you Ky for being so good to her and teaching her, she wants to be just like you.

Filipe Onevela

So I saw this poster when I was browsing tonight. It made me realize that I have everything in my sweet husband Filipe. I have been truly blessed with this man. I am so thankful for the way he treats me and my daughters. He is the perfect example of someone that I hope and pray my daughters end up with. He always treats me kind, he tells me everyday he loves me, he writes me beautiful love notes and poems, he calls me just to tell me how much he loves me and he respects me.
There are so many women out there that end up in really bad relationships. Almost everyday I work I see it and each day I realize how truly blessed I have been.
So as the month of November wraps up, I just want to tell my sweet husband, how much I love him and how truly blessed I am to have him in my life. He is so spiritual and is such a good example to me and our kids.
Ofa Atu Filipe Onevela...my eternal companion.

Thief....

So tonight Lipe and I got to experience our first lesson with Ana about taking things that are not yours - AKA Stealing. She went with her Aunt Tamie earlier in the night and apparantly when Tamie was out of the truck, Ana decided to take eight quarters. When she got back to grandma Leslie's house she told Cooper "look at what I stole from Aunt Tamie's truck". So Cooper being the big brother that he is made me aware. We then told Ana that she was going to have to go tell Aunt Tamie that she was sorry. She ran into the bathroom and told us she was not going. She cried all the way to Tamie's while we tried to discuss with her (lecture) about why you don't take things that are not yours.

We got to Tamie's and I gave her the quarters and told her that she needed to tell Tamie what she did and apologize to her. She kept crying. When she got into the house though she had some confidence when she blurted out "I took these and I am sorry". Tamie then talked to her and they got it worked out.

Hopefully my baby girl has learned her lesson about stealing. She did feel really bad and I knew that she was embarassed to tell Tamie. Whew, I am glad that lesson is over and hopefully she learned from it.

Later when I asked Lipe how he was feeling about the whole thing he said "its a journal entry". I felt the same way. lol.

Happy Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all my blessings.

Just Me

So I saw this picture earlier this evening and loved it. The caption under it was "My mom said I was special". He is so cute. So I am writing about me tonight. I am special. I recently had Gastric By-Pass surgery on October 19. I am four weeks post surgery and down 19 lbs. I already feel so much better. I am completely off my diabetic meds and should be off my high blood pressure meds in about three weeks when I go back for a follow up. I am still on light duty at work and working out everyday.

I really feel like it was a good decision on my part and know that this is a lifestyle change for me and my family. So far they have been so supportive especially Lipe. He is simply amazing. Thanksgiving is next week but I know I am going to be fine.

So heres to a new lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle. I know there are going to be days where it may be tough, but I have a great support system. I think right now my biggest fear is losing my hair. I have been reading and studying about most people losing their hair around the three month mark. My hair is ME. I have always said that was my best feature. I sure hope it doesn't fall out. SCARY.....

I already have so much more self confidence and have had fun dressing up the last few days.

I love my life right now and am truly blessed.

Kisses for Amy

Last year I found a blog about a woman named Amy and her family. They live in Utah. She was diagnosed with cancer in April and lost her life in July of 2010. Her husband started a blog and I would like to include one of his posts. Today I have been feeling a little down and pondering on my trials. I have been praying and was directed to reread this blog. I am humbled at knowing that although I have trials, I have so much to be thankful for, including my health and family. This is a beautiful piece written by her husband and I feel the spirit each time I read it.

As I write this, I am sitting on the front porch enjoying the cool night breeze and the beautiful full moon. (Aren't laptops great.) This just gives me time to relax and think. What a beautiful night. It's nice to have the opportunity to think and pray and sort things out in my mind. I sit and I wonder at all of Gods wonderful creations and how much he loves us, to give us this beautiful earth to live on. I marvel at his matchless love and his power to create and govern all things. I am so grateful for his guidance and the strength he has given me throughout these past few months. I know that he knows and loves me and each of you individually. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Savior and the plan of salvation and my testimony. There are so many things to be grateful for and I am...

And still I sit her and I wonder what he has in store for me and my family. I wonder why it is that my beautiful wife's time on this earth is almost up. I wonder for what purpose he is taking her from our family at this time in our lives. I wonder how will I continue on without her and what effect this will have on my children's lives. Even with all the knowledge and peace and comfort I have received, there are still so many questions. All I can do is try my best to have faith that He knows the end from the beginning and that Amy's talents and abilities are needed more on the other side of the veil than they are here. I also sit and think of all the wonderful things my wife has done and the amazing legacy she will leave with us. She has attained as much perfection in so many areas of her life as anyone I can imagine and I suppose that she has proven herself a valiant servant and no longer needs to be tried and tested on this earth.

I sit and I think of all the little things that I will miss so much about my wife. I will miss the way we tease each other. I will miss the way she always plans memorable events on holidays and other occasions to help us create so many memories and traditions. I will miss her laugh, her smile and her sense of humor. I will miss the way she lays her head on my chest while we talk in bed. I will miss the way she always says "we need to talk" (even though sometimes I've learned to dread that phrase). and yes I will even miss the way she rolls in bed and wraps the covers around her leaving me to have to snuggle close to stay warm. And then there are all the simple little things that you never realized how much you appreciated, who will pick at the pimples on my back when it breaks out( I know, T.M.I.), or who will scratch my back when I cant reach it or who will remind me (sometimes I called this nagging) of all the things that I need to do. There are so many things that I will miss about my wife that it is impossible to list even a small portion of them. There are so many things about Amy that I have always taken for granted. I just always figured that she would be there. Now I will have to adjust my life to living without having all those things that I really never knew meant so much to me and that is what is going to be the hardest.
Over the past couple of months I have thought long and hard about how much my wife means to me and I have been so grateful for my marriage and the ways in which we have grown together over the years. We have truly been blessed with a great love for each other and we have done a lot to strengthen our relationship over the years though it hasn't always been easy. We have worked hard to overcome differences and difficulties. And as I sit here, I can't help but hope that all of you who read this can have as much happiness and love in your marriage as we have. (Now don't get me wrong it hasn't been total bliss all of the time.) But we have had a strong marriage with all that we have learned and experienced.

I know that there are not nearly as many men who will read this as there are women, but to those who do, I would like to share a little advice with you that might help you to strengthen your marriage... Always take your wife into your arms each and every morning and each and every night and tell her how much she means to you. Don't assume that she knows you love her... tell her... Show her by doing little things to surprise her. Bring home her favorite candy bar when you come home from work just so she knows you were thinking about her. Call her out of the blue during the day and tell her you love her. Tell her something about her that you appreciate each day. think of all the little things you love about her and share them with her. Share a new reason each day. Don't ever think of things that you wish she would improve on, or how you wish she were different in some ways. Always find ways to make her feel like she is your queen. Think of all the things you would miss about her if she were taken from you suddenly, and be grateful for them and show her your gratitude. Don't try to change her, treat her like she is your everything and either change will come because she will want to show you her appreciation in return or more likely you will learn to look past her faults and understand that she is only human and almost as imperfect as you... I know that I directed this to the husbands because I am one, and I suppose I speak from experience as a husband, but I guess that this advice could be just as good for all of you women as well.

Now I know that I am far from a perfect husband and I don't presume to be an expert on relationships but as I have reflected on my own marriage and what has worked and what has not, I have found that our greatest happiness in our marriage came not when my wife was doing all the things that I wanted her to, but when I was doing all the things that I felt she wanted me to. Some how it seems that those efforts were always met with an eventual equal effort on her part to do the same. When we are more concerned about the wants and needs of our spouse than we are with our own wants and needs, we become less self centered and really contribute to the success of our marriages. I am not even sure why I went into all this other than I hope that as a result of the things that I am going through someone else might be strengthened or helped in some way by it. Again, I know I am no marriage counselor, but I have had a lot of time to think about what I will miss about my wife and about all the things I love about my wife. I have tried to be a good husband and I hope that I have shown her the love that she deserves. I don't want to have any regrets. and I hope that each of you will not take for granted the person who should mean the most to you.

I hope each of you who read this get as much from it as I got from writing it. It is such a strength to me to sit down and write the feelings and thoughts that I have. It is a good way for me to sort out my thoughts and feelings. It is a great way for me to reflect on all of my blessings and to recognize all that my Heavenly Father has done for me. I am so grateful to all of our wonderful friends and family who have strengthened me with your words of encouragement and support. I do know that our Heavenly Father loves us and knows what is best for us. He knows our needs and he is aware of our trials and stands ready to give us the comfort we need. The power of prayer is amazing. When we truly come to Him with real intent, he will listen and he will give us what we need to bear our burdens. Thank you all for taking the time to read my ramblings. I know that sometimes I jump from subject to subject but I am just writing the things that are in my heart.

May you all reflect on your own relationships with your husbands or wives and determine to spend your life showing them how and why you appreciate them. May you all find love and joy in your marriages and if you are not married, then may you always remember the things that I have learned and put them to good use when you do get married. May the Lord bless each of you and keep you. It is getting late and I must say goodnight to the beautiful, full moon. Till next time.

We all need AWESOME women, I have the best....

So I wanted to write about the incredible women I have in my life. I know that without them I would struggle so much more than I already do (lol)..So here are a few of them:

There are many more besides my mom and Mary but I could not find pics of them.

Daddy's and Daughter's

So I have to write about the special bond between dads and their girls. I was blessed (notice I say blessed) with three older brothers and I was not only the only girl, but the youngest. So yes I had a great advantage over the three boys. I loved my dad so much and I can remember when I was young how he would always spoil me on valentines day with a small box of chocolates and how special I felt because my mom and I got chocolates but my brothers did not..I was blessed to have the awesome parents that I had and got to see and do alot of things.
Two of my brothers have daughters. This past weekend Kevin's daughter Tessa got married and I captured the most awesome picture that tells the whole story.

I am so thankful that Kyli will have an amazing man to give her away and dance with her and I know Lipe will probably shed some tears himself. Thankfully I still have a while with Ana but she will probably have Lipe and her two brothers out there crying...lol...
I love my brothers, and I love their children. I am so proud of Tessa for the decision she made to have a Temple marriage. She is an amazing young lady and we absolutely love Zach. Congrats pretty girl.

Too Fast

So did you notice the new picture of my kids. Wow they are so grown up. I look at that pic and I just cant believe how time flies. So this pic was taken at the Mesa Temple last week when we were there for Tessa's wedding. Ky was part of the bridesmaides and they all wore peach dresses. We started off at the Temple for the ceremony and then ended up at Zach's Uncles house for the reception. We all had a really great time. Ana put on her dress her grandpa's wife made her for her birthday and she was so beautiful, but she was tired and it "itched" so she didn't keep it on for too long, I was able to get a few pics of her in it though.

So I got another amazing pic of Ana with her big sissy Ky. These two girls are pretty much inseperable when they are together. Just look at how beautiful they are.

And then there is Cooper and his sissy, he loves her so much and misses her.

Kelly also loves his big sister alot.

And last but not least I could not leave this post without posting a pic of my very best friend and eternal companion. I am so much in love with this guy and am so very thankful for all he does for me and out little family.

I just want to say that I am so blessed with four amazing kiddos and am so thankful for the love and happiness they bring into my life. I am watching them grow up right in front of me into amazing young adults and I know they are each going to go far and do awesome things. I know that without my heavenly father I would not have the things that I have today.

Crazy Week

Well the last week has been a crazy one. Full of laughter, stress, and blessings. So how can stress and blessings go together in one sentence. Well let me tell you. I have been so blessed this week and so stressed. I had shoulder surgery last Friday the 19th of August. The surgery went well but I had a really hard time coming out of the anesthesia. It was horrible. I was so dang sick throwing up and just out of it. I finally got home around 2100 hours and my surgery was at 1400 hours. Ky an Bernice came to Flag and that was a treat to see them.

The next few days I was sore but okay. Then on Monday the sling came off and I was pretty much back to normal. On Tuesday morning I got a call from Kyli and she told me that she had been with her roommate and that they had been in a car accident on the Interstate. She seemed okay and kept reassuring me that she was. She was calm and I really thought it was just a fender bender. But the longer the day went on and the more information that I began to receive, my baby girl was not going so good. So mom and I made some arrangements for the other kids and jumped in the car and drove to the valley. Ky was at her roommates moms house and she was not feeling too good. We got her loaded up and took her to the ER by her house at St. Joseph's Hospital. She has a concussion and whiplash.

So those events and being broke off my butt was a little stressful. But Lipe and I paid our tithing on Sunday and I know that my baby girl was okay because she was protected by our heavenly father. He has answered so many prayers for Lipe and I the last few weeks and I am so thankful to have him in my life and for his protecting my kiddos.

Blessings and Stress...Its all good......

Lame

So I am totally lame. I can't believe my last post was in December of last year and we are halfway through August. I swear I am going to better. Filipe and I are traveling home from Snowflake right now. It is raining and there is an amazing lightening storm. We went through the temple and it was awesome being there with my handsome husband. I am so blessed to have him in my life. We had a great meal and now enjoying each others company. Ana got to spend the day with Auntie Mary and she was so excited. I love my heavenly father and recognize that all I have comes from him.