9/29/2009

By now I am sure everyone has heard about the earthqake and tsunami that happened back home. I have not really been able to relax about what has happened since finding out. Although my immediate and extended family members are safe, I still can't stop the ache I feel for those who have lost their love ones.


I wanted to blog today about how this experience has strengthen my testimony of the gospel. This pass year in ALOT of my conversations with my sister Va (who is the only sibling still living on the island with her family) has been about how her ward leaders have been pushing the members about having their welfare, 72 hour kits and even an evacuation plan ready - where they have actually had mock excercise drills for their evacuation plan. We laughed when she said she got her call and her group leader said he called other members in their group and they weren't picking up or saying their ok and they'll just be at home (ok that defeats the purpose of the "excercise" - lol). I was born and raised in American Samoa and yeah, we were constantly told to make sure you have your welfare and make sure to keep it stocked but we have NEVER done what my sister said they have doing this past year. I was totally blown away when I heard about the tsunami actually hitting and after thinking I hope my family is safe I started thinking about how blessed our members back home are that they listen to their leaders who are recieving revelation from our heavenly father and were prepared for this disaster. I know my sister was prepared and has been very adamant about stocking up her welfare for her family. I'm sure she was grateful that she has been very obedient in "heeding" the counsel, because her house was one of the assigned evacuation spots and she played host to LOTS of people. I am thankful to my sister Va and her example she has been to us and for all she does for our family. I am especially thankful that they are safe.

I will continue to pray that our heavenly father comforts those who have lost love ones and pray that we have his spirit and be obedient to the counsels we recieve. I do with ALL my heart know that our Prophet, his counselors and other leaders are chosen by our heavenly father and they do recieve inspiration to lead us in these latter days and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ - Amen !

Kids are still home ....

OK, remember I posted earlier how much I was looking forward to bonding with the kids this summer ..... school was originally suppose to start last week Monday on the 31st of August but the teachers of our school district have gone on strike and so school has been postponed until further notice. It has been almost 2 weeks since the kids should have gone back to school and I am so ready for school to start like NOW ! I am in support of the teachers and their cause so till school finally starts for real I guess I will be trying to figure out how to keep these kids occupied before they drive me even more crazy - if you have any suggestions shoot them my way, and FYI there are 10 kids ages 15 - 2 that I am trying to entertain - but when they finally go back to school I'm thinking I will be needing a vacation !!

Meet the Davis's

This past saturday we finally had our get together with Dustin and Andra Davis. Our family met Dustin back in 2005 when we moved into this house and the ward we are now currently attending. Dustin was a fulltime missionary for our church (LDS) and serving in the ward. He had served in the samoan ward in burien and really liked samoan - so when he found out there was a samoan family in the ward he came over with his companion and that's when it all started.

Fast foward to 2008 ..... Dustin's wife Andra is from washington and believe it or not from our ward - so, when they decided to relocate to washington they ended up in the ward again because they are staying with Andra's parents. Since moving here we were always talking about getting together, we had them over for sunday toonai (lunch/dinner) before and then Dustin said he wanted to do something for us and so, this past saturday he arranged for a pig and the boys roasted it and we threw some other stuff on the grill and had another eating ..... it was good - now I don't know if it was because we haven't had a pig in such a loooonnnnggg time but that pig was ONO (delicious for all you non-hawaiian speaker - lol) - we ended up getting 2 pigs because Aso came over and our 1 wasn't enough ... hehehe !














Anyways, thanks Dustin and Andra ...... next time, let's do something else besides eating - Lulu really need to lose some weight ......LOL !!!!

My Sonny Fotu

I wanted to blog about my son Fotuopalaau Iafeta, he is 11 years old and is such a joy to me. Fotu LOVES playing basketball and recently we found out from one of his good friend's mother that one of the select teams in our area will be having tryouts. Tryouts will be held this saturday and sunday. Fotu and I were talking about him going to tryouts this weekend and he asked " Am I going on sunday too ?" I said yes and he said "but it's from 9-12 (same time as our ward) and I'm gonna miss church" I said that's right, your'e gonna miss church. He really shocked me when he said in the next second "I don't want to miss church - I'm not going on saunday" - I told him that was fine and he didn't have to go. I am so proud of my Fotu and his decision. He really made my night when he did it because lately I've been feeling as though I'm failing as a mother. I hope he continues on this path and continues to make wise choices in his life because it really will bring him nothing but joy !

"O God, Where Art Thou?"

That was the topic of our Sunday School lesson this past Sunday. I didn't know that was the title but I remembered the scripture references and conversations we had during it and I went to lds.org to look up the title. I remember one of the things discussed during the lesson was "adversity is part of God’s plan for our testing and growth during mortality. We came to earth knowing we would experience pain, trials, and other difficulties" - I remember sitting there thinking I truly am blessed - my "trials" are behind me ..... boy, I do love Heavenly Father's sense of humor - because a few short hours later I was thrown right back into reality - lol !! Now, my trials and tribulations are not nearly as serious as what our earlier leaders went through - but I'm sure the heartache feels the same ! It was mentioned in our lesson that we are given adversity for "experience and growth" - for real tho, I really think I could of gone on ok without that "experience" and don't feel anything "growing" except my temper ! Anyways, I'm sure later on down the road I'll look back and think - alrighty then, I get it - but in the mean time, I can't figure it out ! "O God, where art thou ?".....

Quick Update

The 4th Fotu & Paulette Soliai Family Reunion started Tuesday, July 21st here in Seattle, WA. It is GREAT having everyone in town ! Will post a more detailed update on what we've been doing as soon as things get back to normal ! Everyone have a AWESOME rest of the week !!!

Being THANKFUL !

Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks) when you think, things just can't keep getting worse ....... but it DOES ! Well, I had one of those days yesterday. As peviously mentioned in an earlier blog, we had some car problems .... well, as it turns out we were told yesterday that the problem has been estimated to cost between 800.00 - 1000.00 bucks, KILL me already ! Then at about noon yesterday I had to go to chinatown in downtown seattle to pick up some "items" that were needed for the house - I really thought I was parked in a "loading" zone and I was just sitting in the car waiting for the guy that we were picking the stuff up from to come out, when a parking enforcement officer rode up on his bike and busted me - UGH, anyways long story short I got 2 tickets (am I dead yet) ! I was so emotionally scarred because of my run in with the law that I barely made the drive home ! Anyways, as I sat in the driveway waiting for Lele to come out of the house (I had to take her to work), I couldn't help but think of the happenings of the day. I decided I needed to change how I was feeling because seriously, it happened, it was in the past and there is NOTHING I could do to change it ..... so, I decided to look at the situation and see how I can be "THANKFUL" for the experience .....

*I'm thankful our car can be fixed and we do not have to figure out how to get another one !
*I'm thankful our car broke down in our driveway and not on a busy highway where you never
know what can happen and a member of my family can get seriously hurt !
*I'm thankful for my family - because I know they LOVE me so much - they'll help me pay my
bill - lol ! BTW, donations accepted !!
*I'm thankful I wasn't locked up !
*I'm thankful I remained calm ( cause I was really freaking out - on the inside) !
*I am thankful my tickets are $38 each instead of $380 !
*And lastly I am thankful that I learned the lesson that if you break the law you will pay !!

Nooo .... tell me it isn't so !

Our car broke down yesterday - and I hope it's not the exspensive job I think it might be ! I can't believe this is happening now. We have our family reunion right around the corner and I am NOT budgeted for this ! Please pray for me (and the car) ..... again , I can't believe this is happening !

Happy 4th of July

As a person who is very grateful for the "freedoms" she enjoys, I wanted to take this time to wish everyone and Happy and Safe Independence Day ! Have a good one EVERYONE !!

Happy 38th Birthday Luluvita Elizabeth Soliai-Suamataia

My sister Lulu and I have always been close .... she's very lucky to have me in her life - lol !! I don't think very many other older sisters would tolerate her "bossy" ness ! Anyways, hope you have a great, relaxing birthday !!

~Missing my boys~

Benson ..... in Cincinatti ! You haven't called in a few days - Hope all is good on that side ! Call me this weekend ......

Williard & Carl ........ at Youth Conference ! You'll be home later this afternoon/evening - the house has been quiet !











Fotu ..... at overnight Scout Camp ! Even though you just left this morning - I miss my Fotu, he is a sweet little (not really that little) boy !

Some Special Fathers .....

Father's Day has come and gone and I didn't want you to think that I didn't think about some really "special" Dads in my life ......

The 1st one I want to blog about is my " Daddy" Fotuopalaau P. Soliai - it's been alittle over 2 years since our Dad passed away and I still miss him ! Don't get me wrong, I know he is in a better place, pain free and more importantly with our Mom - but I still think of him daily and miss him terribly. For almost 10 years (up to the day he died) my Dad had been someone I saw, talked to, laughed with, drove around or planned things around EVERY day ! It was a great blessing for me to have been able to form that bond with my Dad - and although alot of people thought Va (older Sis) was his favorite, he really didn't have one - he LOVED all his daughters the same - oi, I mean kids ! My father my WHOLE entire life never, ever showed favorites towards his kids or grandkids, we/they were always treated the same ...... and then, when I got pregnant with my 3rd child and he was a boy and I named him after Papa - boy did I make out - lol ! That kid was spoiled - if Papa had to go on a trip he took Fotu and his Mom got to travel also, when I pot pregnant with my 4th child (I already knew I was having a girl) my Dad asked me what was I gonna name my baby - I told him "Fotu" I'm not stupid - I'm naming ALL my kids after you - lol ! Happy belated Father's Day Daddy ... Rest in heavenly peace !!!

~The above picture is of my Dad with his sister Nafanua Soliai-Savali and brother Vaega Sua~

The next one is my babies Daddy .... Williard LOVES his kids (he loves me too) ! He is a good Daddy and has always been - he has a weird sense of humor but I guess after 17 years a person gets used to it ! He spoils his kids - anyone who knows my husband knows he's a really good cook, a hard worker, pretty crafty and does laundry,dishes and cleans house ..... well his kids - not so much ! We are very LUCKY to have him in our lives and WE LOVE HIM MUCH !!

~This is a picture of Williard with our daughter Salele~

The last one I want to mention is my brother in law Meki - being that we are now orpahns (lol) Meki and Va have had to step up and into the "parentals" shoes ! We are lucky our sister was blessed and married well - she is spoiled, and leads a good life and she is lucky she has someone so "learned" to council with ! I think they only had 1 child because Heavenly Father knew they would be forced to adopt 8 more plus their families !

~This is Va, Meki and their daughter Katerina~

I hope everyone had a GREAT FATHER'S DAY !!!

Weekend in Quincy

Last weekend our family drove out to Quincy, WA to attend our nephew Skyler's high school graduation. His graduation was on the 5th and then his graduation party was going to be on the 13th - the following saturday. We thought it was more important to be at his graduation and not attend the party.

Well, when we got there we had such a nice time - we decided to drive back out the following week and overnight it, that way we could attend the party and spend more time with our brother David and his fiance Janet. We LOVE Janet ... she is so funny and since meeting her has always been so caring -and just so easy to get on with. Anyways, we left Kent at about 7:45am and made our way to Quincy - it was a really nice drive - the roads were open, the weather not too hot, not too cold and we got into to Quincy at about 9:50am - we did a quick stop at Mcds to pick up breakfast and then headed out to David's house to have breakfast with him and Janet and to chill ! After breakfast the kids were thrilled that David bought out his four wheelers for them to ride .... these kids were on cloud 9 - you'd think they had ridden these things their whole life the way they were on them.

Anyways, at about 12:45pm we started getting dress to take the kids to the Aquatic center (they opened at 1pm) - they loved that ! Being from the island it is only natural to LOVE being in water - but living in washington where it is more cold than hot - it is not something we do often. The kids had a BLAST at the pool - not only was it cheap (it was $ 2.50 for children and $3.50 for adults - and you could stay as long as you wanted) but it also had a concession stand and the stuff was also cheap so that worked out great and we just bought snacks for the kids there for lunch ! We left the pool at about 4 because we needed to get home and get ready for the graduation party.

The party was nice - they had it outside - we got to meet alot of David's friends and Family and I had a good time visiting with Joyce (David's Mom), her sister and a cousins wife (I'll get their names and put them in). After the party we went home and the kids were exausted (thank goodness) - oh, and so were the adults - so we put them to bed and followed not too long after. Sunday we got up to David and Janet making us breakfast - after breakfast we hung out while the older boys went with their Uncle David to clean up and put away the tables and chairs that were used for the party. We had gone to the store to pick up an "emergency" replacement part for something in David's house and when we got back the kids were out four wheeling (yes on a sunday - those sinners) - I thought they were making foolish choices and told Lulu she need to get them in - I think Lele was the leader of that pack !

Anyways, we finally left to drive back at about 3pm and got back to Kent at about 5:54 ( traffic was bad) - and althhough it was good to be home - we miss David & Janet ! Thanks again for everything !!!

I can't believe I'm doing this .....

One of the reasons I decided to start blogging is because I seem to be "seeing" signs all the time telling me that I need get going with my journal writting ! Since, I spend so much time on the computer ( researching of course - not surfing - lol ), I figured what the hey - this might be a fun way to get me motivated to start recording down our "memories", and as an added plus I can put up pictures to show proof ! Anyway, I hope I can keep this going and not bore you guys too much. Next week tuesday the kids get out of school and I'm pretty excited - they really are growing way too quick and I've decided to try to make this summer vacation a fun, bonding, learning, relaxing and spiritual filled one - so, wish me luck,energy and PATIENCE to make sure it is what I hope !

My next "memory" I will be blogging on, is our family's road trip last week to spend the weekend with our brother in Quincy,WA.