A little behind.

This morning Charly (age 6) on her own, drew her bath, bathed herself, dressed herself and came out of her room twirling around in her Sunday best. Sariah laying on my lap in one of Charly's baby outfits made me so aware of how quickly time had passed from my first experiences as a mother. It seemed like last week I was dressing Charly for church in this same outfit and now a growing, bright, and striking young woman was staring back at me and asking..."How do I look?" I responded, "Charly, you are absolutely beautiful!"I could see how my baby girl had seemingly blossomed overnight...an obvious look of pride on her face I added, "you know what beauty is even more important than how you look on the outside?" she stopped twirling and looked on inquisitively as I continued..."It's more important to be beautiful on the INSIDE..." She stepped toward me and seriously said..."Mom, I know thats why I wash my butt real good." I laughed and she giggled skipping back to her room.

RELIEF Society Rocks!

Those of you who don't know much about the women's organizations called Relief Society (RS) and the LDS Young Women's group are truly missing out. Ask me about it sometime really! It is one of the greatest blessings in my life and I am honored to associate with the women that are members of this great group! It is the largest womens organization in the world that is dedicated to serving others in need, educating ourselves on self-reliance and self-improvement, focusing on families, humanitarian projects, and so much more. It's about learning CHARITY and showing Christlike love to others.

Last night I had a LONG cleaning list of things to do at our old house in Ava. YES, we moved, but I still had the deep cleaning left to do. Washing walls, baseboards, frames, sweeping out garage, etc...

The President of Ava's RS made calls earlier this week to get me a team of helpers and boy did they come through! I didn't know quite what to expect, so at 6pm two women arrived with cleaning supplies and we all worked together for an hour. I was so touched b/c I barely know these women. We've attended the same church for almost a year, but we never really spent time together other than exchanging hello's and other pleasantries in passing. Still they sacrificed time and energy to help clean a gigantic empty home! By 7pm a crew of about 9 Young Women and 4 additional Sisters (We call one another Brother and Sister at church) showed up making light work of my daunting list! They gave up their youth activity night to come clean! We're talking teenage girls working cheerfully and for FREE! I gotta tell you, I was definitely feeling the toll of bending and cleaning around my pregnant belly by that point! Back in Colorado I had so much family close by we rarely needed the physical help of others. Here in Missouri I have come to know the strength of Church Family! They'll never know how grateful I am to be the recipient of their kindness!

"...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

Moving Again!

This weekend we helped our friends the Towns moved out of "our" shared home here in Ava. It's such a big house that the emptiness from their absence can already be felt. Not having Uncle Matt and Aunt Jeanne next door will definitely be sad for all of us especially Charly and Kavika. We have plans to schedule regular Matt and Jeanne time so the kids don't miss out too much on the family, spoiling, and fun they've had living with two sets of parents. This week Friday we will be moving closer to Marc's campus. For almost the past year we've lived in Ava and commuted an hour drive into Springfield and Ozark for work and school. We started out with 2 vehicles which worked out great until one of them died. The Towns were driving even further each week and shared with us maybe a month or more ago that they'd be looking to move back closer to Springfield. We contemplated the change and felt right making the decision 2 weeks ago to also begin looking for closer residence. Within days of our decision (literally 3 to be exact) things rapidly progressed and we found a "choice" spot less than a mile from where Marc is going to school. Perfect location for splitting one vehicle and giving me and the kids greater access to shopping, the library, parks and more! Woohoo! We were asked if we could move in immediately and delayed it until this Friday so we could get all of our affairs and ends wrapped up.

We have LOVED our home in Ava. Today it was sad saying goodbye and thanking the friends and church family we have made out here. Something about Ava has felt so warm and familiar. I'm sure it's the people. I'm grateful for the peace I have felt about the move also. I look back over the past 2 weeks and clearly see the Lord's hand aiding us as different things have fallen into place like pieces of a puzzle. I know things don't always work out so smoothly every time, but it sure has been nice. So many changes coming and we're all excited to see what's in store for us next. *I did meet a little resistance from Charly that the possibility of sharing a room when her new sister comes "might not be the BEST idea." I just ignored the comment. Choosing my battles! Anyhow, just wanted to give folks a heads up that we're going through another transition period. I will do my best to keep you posted on what we're doing in the coming weeks. Til then....

What A Drag?

Me and the kids are eating breakfast this morning. We're all looking out the dining room window at the melting snow. Charly while chewing a mouthful of toast looks over at me and asks, "Mom are there really Drag Queens."

Me: "Huh? Say that again?"

Charly (swallows and smiles): "Are there really Drag Queens?"

Me: "Where'd you learn that?"

Charly: "Barry Benson"

Me: "Who?" (racking brain for new kids at church)

Charly: "You know, Barry... in the "Bee Movie,"...He says to that bee, "THIS is your Queen? That's a man in womans clothes! That's a Drag Queen!" laughing she says...A boy in girls clothes....that's so funny.

Me: LOL. "Yeah.... need a napkin?"

Charly: "Sure, Mom." As she returns a smiling gaze out the window while chuckling to herself.

A Mind Like A Steel Trap that girl!

Name Game

Hello Everyone,

We spent Christmas and New Years home in Colorado Springs with family and returned the day before my Dr. appointment for an ultra sound. We got a due date and learned we are having another baby girl! (I knew it!) The baby is due the first week of May. Very excited.

My sister had already told my parents over the phone, and said I needed to call Mom and Dad, because Dad had something important to tell me. I guess when he heard we were having a girl, Dad just knew what name she should be given. Apparently no one in our immediate or extended family has been named after his Great Grandmother Tinei (pronounced Tee-nay).

Although we had already settled on a first name for this child, Marc and I agreed to use Tinei as her middle name, which immediately offended Dad. I heard him in the background telling mom, "If she's not going to use it as the first name then tell her don't use it at all." We told mom to tell him we were going to give the baby his mothers name, Ailua as a middle name. When Mom told him, he started going on and on about how sick he was of hearing that name, that there are too many Ailua's in the family (including myself) and no Tinei's. (He cracks me up).

We got on the subject of the importance of choosing names that give honor or have special meaning. Mom shared several family names on both sides. Nearly all of them were what my good friend Jeanne would have been referring to when she said, "Ya know, some names are just meant to die off." Hate to say it, but it's so true and every family has 'em, lol. I shared Jeanne's wisdom with mom and although she hated to say it, she had to agree. It was so good to hear her laugh about it.

Mom then told me that Grandpa Fusu told Ailua to give Dad a family name that basically translates into "fish poop," but Ailua told her Dad quit talking nonsense and that his name would be Oliva after Oliver Cowdery an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who witnessed miraculous things. Hmmm...Fish Poop or Oliver...No comparison.

Another poor relative was not so lucky and was named, Pepilo (sp?) meaning stinky or funky (as in bodily stink). Poor guy changed his name soon as he was old enough to Phillip. Up to that point the poor guy was miserable. After he changed his name he met a nice girl and eventually got married, had kids, and was much happier. Mom shared a lot of cool stories over the phone that I'll have to record for our family someday.

In the end, mom said Tinei has the meaning of "one who overcomes." I like that. In our family prayers each night we ask Heavenly Father to bless this baby to be healthy and strong in faith. We are certain there will be things in her lifetime where she will need faith and strength to overcome. We look forward to giving her a name that she can be proud of and live up to.

Leilani