Friday, December 30, 2011

A Look Back at 2011

Since the majority of 2011 was not recorded on this blog, I thought I'd consolidate all the fun nothings we got ourselves into this past year into one post.  I hope it's not too long and unexciting for you to read.

Here we go.

The beginning of the year:
Jobi went to BOLC (and I got to visit him for a few days)

so me and the girls went to Washington to stay with my sister and her family
and had way to much fun with them... for some reason these are the only pictures I have.

In July, Blondie turned 1
and we celebrated at the pool
I made her birthday cake with fondent... that was fun.
A month later I saw this... and wanted to punch Jobi in the gut. :-)
In November, Almonds turned 3
so we celebrated at the park
and with Jobi's family.
This Halloween I skipped dressing me and Jobi and just focused on the girls' costumes.  I took some pictures, but they didn't come out well because the girls just ran around flaunting them.  But we captured a couple of videos, so here is one:




Did I mention that Blondie won the "Cutest Costume" award at the ward party?

It has been a year of lots of fun nothings and I'm more than excited to see what next year will hold for us.  Happy New Year everyone!

Monday, December 26, 2011

The Christmas That Happened

The Christmas I had planned:

... make cinnamon rolls and cocoa for breakfast
... Christmas devotional with the Nativity story
... open stockings and presents
... take family picture somewhere (maybe Iao Valley)
... go to ward sacrament meeting
... go to in-laws for lunch/dinner

The Christmas that happened:

... I didn't have any pans to make the rolls in, and the dough turned (to) sour(dough)
... Almonds and Jobi slept in, so Blondie and I opened our stockings and ate fruit snacks for breakfast
... Almonds opened one present, fell madly in love with it, and didn't wanna open any more ... Blondie just opened her juice box from her stocking and ran around the house drinking it
... our car got a flat tire the night before so we didn't make it to Iao Valley
... or to church
  ... at least Lasi gave us a ride to lunch/dinner

But at the end of the day, we had a good Christmas, because:

... The girls got wonderful presents from angels in our ward
... we got to eat great food that we either made with our own hands or had the funds to purchase
... we made it to my in-laws', and everyone enjoyed themselves
... Jobi gave me presents ... yep, not just one present -- THREE
... we tried to make it a good Christmas. Together.

This was our second official Christmas living on our own (meaning under our own roof with no other families in the home), and it was much better than the first. (Don't even ask about how the first went.)  After almost five years of marriage, Jobi and I are finally starting to figure out how to be married to each other.  Isn't that a funny thing to say?  I used to look at other newlyweds who seemed to have their marriage well-established right off the bat, and I would get really jealous.  But now I can say that we are getting there.  This year was really trying for our little family, and at times I didn't think we would make it.  But somehow we got through them, and our trials made us stronger -- made us more like the couple we are meant to be.  It's nothing short of a miracle, and this Christmas season I have had nothing but gratitude in my heart for my Savior who has given my life meaning once again.

So now I'm looking forward to a better year for us.  A better year for me.  And many more Christmases to come.

P.S. As our Christmas "gift" to you, here is a clip of Almonds laughing.  You may not think much of it, but if you know Jobi, you'll appreciate it.  Laugh courtesy of "Winnie the Pooh" 2011.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Makeshift Christmas




i wish i had some christmas lights...

but oh well.

at least i put something up.

:-)

i'll post about our la'ie vacation as soon as i sort out all the pictures i took.
almonds and blondie had a wonderful time
--and obviously so did i--
but we are very happy to have jobi back and be a family again.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Monday, December 12, 2011

She Cries for Daddy

It's always such sweet sorrow to hear our Almonds utter the words "I want Daddy."

Almonds was born a daddy's girl, and Jobi took to her like a rare jewel from the sea. He fed her, bathed her, changed her diapers and put her to bed. He sang to her, played with her, taught her everything she knew in her infant days. And she cherished him.

His first Annual Training in her life was when she slowly became mine. The separation she had from her father was hard on her, so she clung to me for reassurance and stability. The next training (LDAC) was longer and harder, and her memory of being his began to fade. I as her mother had no problems letting her be a daddy's girl, and when she would see her father again but come to me, I was sad. A daddy-daughter relationship is a beautiful thing to behold, and Almonds and Jobi were losing it.

Each time he goes, she becomes more and more a mommy's girl, and now with Blondie in tow (who sticks to me like hot glue) I have my hands full. Jobi does his best to be around when he is around, but I can tell his lack of a relationship with his daughters discourages him at times. He has even become slightly content in a way, as this newfound freedom of sorts has suddenly opened up to him. (Lucky punk.) Needless to say he can't wait for this baby boy to come.

Well, we are down to the week of his return from ARC, and tonight was the first time Almonds had finally cried for him. Not like I had been hoping for it or anything, but that flutter in my heart over their daddy-daughter relationship had finally returned. She's old enough now where she knows he's gone and misses him, but now I can feel exactly how much she misses him. I can see that he is still very much a part of her little heart. And that is the sweetest sorrow I know.

I can't wait for Jobi to come home this Friday. I can't wait to be in his arms again. But I especially can't wait for Almonds to have her daddy finally home.