Changes...

YAY for 2015! What started as an effort to post more regularly has sadly turned into the realization that I'm probably only going to post every once in a while.  We are ALWAYS movin! Sports, Work, School, Church, Fam Funtions, FUN functions! We are regularly on the GO! But I love it.  What I don't love is how seldom I post updates on all of the fun things we have going on.  We have a whole new PERSON in our family who has yet to make his blog debut.  Geez!!! But I'm going to try reallllyyyy hard to make a better effort at this.  Time is flying and I want to make sure there is a way for me to go back and savor each sweet memory. 

 

With that said - Meet our brand new bundle of joy Siaosi Vili Nisa!

Isn't he just a perfect little addition to our family full of big kids?

He brings such a sweet side out of his older siblings. He is going to be 4 months this week and we are excited about each one of his baby milestones. 

 

We have a lot going on at the moment.  It's baseball season and all three of the big kids are playing which is nice and stressful all at the same time.  We are now living in San Leandro which we LOVE! The big boys will move on into middle school (eeeeeekk!!!!) in the fall and Mackenzie is going into the 1st grade at a brand new school. We have been keepin' it movin' so there are plenty of changes.  Long story short - we are lovin' these little ones and losing our breath (maybe just me lol) trying to keep up with them!

 

 

 



It's official...we are a sports family.

I fought it for a few years.  I was trying to keep a steady balance of extra curricular activities for my kids.  We tried piano, had a quick run with dance (papa still plans on taking more classes), the boys have both taken flute and clarinet lessons.  Nothing sticks like sports.  More specifically, football and rugby until Mackenzie is at the age where she can play basketball.  She's antsy about it already!  I'm sooooo bummed! Mostly because sitting in stands is not what I would call a fun or relaxing.  I've never been interested in athletics.  It's just not my thing.  I'm learning to actually enjoy it though.  They've played in several different sports over the course of a few years and seeing them develop their talent and skill is really cool.  Joshy even got a highlight tape this year because he did so well in the football season.  So it's official, we are a sports family.  The kind of people who spend several days of the week shuffling to and from practice.  Weekends are tied up with traveling to games and the back of our car is always loaded with lawn chairs, gym bags and water bottles.  I'm sure it's only going to get even busier but there's no going back.  They love it too much!

Sweet Reminder...

GEEEEEZZZZ it's been a long time! My last update was in January.  I've taken a little bread from social networks, blogging included just to enjoy things as they come.  In a way it was refreshing to not feel the need to post every little detail of every single day.  It's also a little sad! I don't have much to remind me of all the sweet things that I've been lucky enough to experience this year.  I really need to get this blogging thing back on regular rotation. 

Nia sent me a txt message today asking if I had been sent the video recording from my birthday last year.  Her laptop was stolen and she was afraid that all the pictures and videos had been lost for good. I had forgotten all about my birthday video until she mentioned it.  After a quick panic I found that I had uploaded it to YouTube and posted a link on FB.  WHEW! Of course after going through all the trouble to find it, I couldn't not watch it.  I. WAS. NOT. READY.  I'm 7 months pregnant (there's another update for you!) and while I'd like to think that my pregnancy and raging hormones added to my overly emotional response to the video, I know that it was more then just that. 

Soooo much has changed since I first heard the sweet messages my family recorded for my birthday.  There are some family members who I no longer see on a regular basis.  There are a few who have moved far away.  There is one who I will never again get to see in this life.  How sweet it was to think about them all and to hear their voices.  I need to make a better effort to keep track of things like this and to record even more great memories! This video means so much more to me now then it did back then and as the years continue to pass I know it'll get even sweeter. 

For some reason I can't embed the video here....but if you want to watch here's the link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5JHZO8prOk&index=2&list=PLDhUHtNJx2-EKf8EZZBXHMzrid-9ahTDZ

Yikes! It's 2014

Oh my! I feel like such a slacker! I have so many stories, pictures, recipes...sooooo much that I kept saying I need to share and just didn't actually do it.  I need to be better at this.  But for now here are a few updates -

-I'm back at work! Well, part time.  But I LOVE having two days at home.
-Our family is still in Oakland and we LOVE our Oak 12th Ward and the youth especially.  :-)
-Kids are growin, learning, progressing and talking back! Ahhhh!!!! I'm not ready for that!
-Family is good.  Really good.  We love seeing everyone on a regular basis.  They make me smile.


Let's hope I can be more pro-active and become a regular blogger in 2014. 

Happy New Year!!!
Ahn

Super Cute!!!

Oh how I miss blogging!!! But blogging requires time...free time and that is hard to come by these days! Living in Oakland is nice but there's ALWAYS something to do.  Always.  No complaints here though.  I'm just soaking it all in!

BUT I'm not going to do any real updates just yet.  This is a quick blog for entertainment purposes because I happen to think this is SUPER cute. 

Cinderonce! LOL Super ghetto...maybe a little ratchet even but still fun.  I thought it was cute and so I figured I'd post it on my blog to switch things up a little bit.  We all know I just LOVE me some B.  ;-)

And this is why....

Man I love my family. We're ALL crazy...but that makes life more fun right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where has the time gone?!

Good grief! I haven't blogged in the longest! I wish I kept up with this as much as I meant to when I first started blogging.  I NEED to get better at it because before long, I'm going to be looking back at what I have recorded and I'm sure I'll be wishing I did more.  So with that said, here are a few updates. 

MOST importantly, Siua and my boys got baptized!!! I can't tell you how much of a blessing this was for my little family.  Because we have been married so long, I started to lose hope in Siua as far as the gospel was concerned.  He had been through countless discussions and met with so many sets of missionaries but he would never commit.  I should've known that this was in the cards all along and Heavenly Father knew better than I did when the time was right for him.  Those who know him also know that he's a SUPER devoted dad.  He'd do anything for our kids and I'm glad they got to experience it together. In the end, if it was good for them then it was good for him also.  Gotta love the guy and his willingness to dive in and make such a huge step.  In retrospect, I'm glad he didn't do it years ago.  It's helped me to grow as a wife, mother and daughter of God. While I continue to fall short, I now have my very own priesthood holder to help keep things in place. 

We moved back to OAKLAND! There's no place like home.  We all know the saying and we all know the feeling we get when we're back in our old stompin' grounds.  After countless weekend trips and extended stays, we made the move for good.  Gma is still around and I want my kids to know her.  Not just know that she's gma but to build their own relationship with her.  There's nothing like OLD SCHOOL love.  They need to know it, feel it and soak it all in! My aunty is ill too and while I have faith that she's going to be around for years to come, I want to be as close to the both of them as I can, while I can.  All of my family is in Oakland and it's been nice to be surrounded by them day to day.  Church on Sunday is like a reunion and there seems to always be something fun to do on the weekends for no reason.  I'm lovin' it and I know Siua is too.  Being close to our family has always been important to us.  While we miss our many loved ones in Mateo, we're glad that we're just right over the bridge. 

June, Mark and Osi are home! I can't believe how quickly that two years flew past! Eric will be here before we know it.  I'm so proud of my little brothers for all of their hard work, endurance and faith.  I know it wasn't easy.  I know that they were tested.  I also know that they grew into men while they were gone.  It's nice having them home again. 

We went through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and so many other holidays since I last did an update.  I'm going to try and be better about keeping things up to date.  Even if it's a few pictures or a quick video.  I know I'll be happy I did one day.