WHAT BABY "DISASTERS" TEACH MOMMY WANNABES LIKE MOI

When i started babysitting for a mom in our new ward, Carl and I were really excited. We both thought this would be an awesome on-the-job training for me especially...and the best thing about it is that we can see how different or similar our "parenting" styles are... (cool i get to use the word PARENTING). So i babysit 3 kids - Brent is 4, Chase is almost 2, and Kaylie is 11 months. Brent goes to kindergarten/early headstart during the day and gets home at 5:30-ish...so i spend most of the day with the two little ones. Babysitting these kids have not been uneventful so far, except for the occassional teasing and yelling and little boy fights...and of course crying all at the same time. Even that one time when I needed to stay with them for 3 days and 3 nights because their mom needed to be at a corporate training in Detroit, true i was really exhausted, but it was all good. I super love it when they take LONG naps and when they finish their food. And my favorite part of the day is when Carl comes to visit and he plays with the boys...sometimes he even takes them to the park.

I am not the perfect baby sitter in town, but I super love these kids. And today, I learned a very valuable lesson - too bad i had to learn in the hard way...

I started babysitting at 12:30 today. The day started with Kaylie napping and Chase was playing with his robots. When Kaylie woke up, Chase started to play with her. Chase took two plastic canisters with coins in them (which was sort of their coin banks) and he started shaking them. I figured both were amused with the sound the canisters made because they were both giggling. All of a sudden, Chase walks out and heads to his room and shuts the door (which wasn't odd coz he does that when he misses Brent). A couple of minutes later I peeked into the room and he was already napping. I was left with Kaylie and i tried to feed her, but she doesn't like her new formula just yet... so i played with her and i shook the canisters with her...and then while she was preoccupied, i stood up to wash my hands and grab something from the fridge...when all of a sudden I heard Kaylie coughing and she sounded like she was gasping for air... I ran to her and i saw one of the canisters open and couple of coins lying on the floor! Chase must have loosened the lid when he was playing with it which made it easy for Kaylie to open the canisters! My mind raced and the first thing i did was to open her mouth to check if she had put anything in it. She resisted and she continued coughing... i started to panic...she was red and was coughing nonstop like she wanted to cough something out and was already turning reddish. I grabbed for my phone and i was ready to call 911, because for some reason, i couldnt do my infant CPR stuff correctly! But then when i reached into my pocket my phone wasnt there...then suddenly i realized i left it with Carl coz he needed to make some calls. I took Kaylie with me, raced out the door and started knocking on neighbors' doors. 2 men came out of their apartments and helped me make calls to 911 and to Jennifer. Kaylie was still coughing but looked better when the paramedics came in. Jennifer, on the other hand, was by that time on her way to check with us. After a couple of questions, which i think i answered sanely, the paramedics cleared Kaylie and told me her air passage was clear, and the worst thing that can happen was she has already swallowed it and she's gonna poop it out. They advised us to have her checked still and possibly get an x-ray just to check if she really did ingest a foreign object. Kaylie calmed down, the paramedics left, and Jennifer came home soon after. I gave her Kaylie and I apologized as i burst into tears. I felt horrible...really really horrible.

Jennifer was very kind and she told me some comforting words. She said her only concern was if Kaylie choked...and she was glad Kaylie's air passage is clear - at that moment, that was all that mattered to her. But what really stood out to me was when she said, "IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A MOM, YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR CRISIS - BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A LOT." Jennifer went back to work after Kaylie fell asleep. She was probably so exhausted from the commotion. Jennifer told me everything is fine now and I should probably take a nap myself. (Chase by the way NAPPED through the whole fiasco).

As soon as Jennifer closed the door, i fell on my knees and prayed. I couldn't thank Heavenly Father enough for blessing Kaylie and for keeping me together through my first baby disaster. As I watched Kaylie sleep, I thought about how my mother reacted when i stuffed my nose with candied fruit seed 2o years ago. But most of all, I couldn't help but think how I could possibly let that happen to Kaylie. I felt so inadequate and questioned my capacity to be entrusted with a child.

I tried to take a nap myself and as i was laying on the couch, i realized, more than ever before, how big a responsibility being a parent really is. I also realized how important a partner is when raising a family. Taking care of these 3 babies, Carl and I saw some differences between our styles with the kids - we even have different opinions on what is "wrestling too much." But at the end of the day, the differences don't matter - whats more important is that he is there to help me out. But the biggest lesson i learned so far - no matter how hard we protect our children and no matter what we do to keep them safe, some of their choices will get them into some kind of trouble... and when those things happen, like Jennifer said, you have to be prepared.


PS. Because i felt so horrible about what happened, i told Jennifer she could fire me if she feels I am not able to take care of her kids. She said there's no way she'd fire me because her kids love me, and Carl. I think I realized one more thing - YOU JUST CAN'T GIVE UP ON PARENTING... SURE IT IS ONE TOUGH JOB, AND TOUGH MOMMIES NEVER GIVE UP!

So I guess I still need some more toughening up to do :)

Surviving, Moving On, and Gratefulness

The past couple of months, we've heard of our friends being involved in accidents on the road. I remember when i heard about Kuya Benjie's accident on his birthday, I couldn't believe he survived it. His car was a total wreck. I thought to myself, he was truly blessed. A couple of days later, Kuya Kamille got rear ended while driving on the freeway. I immediately got hold of Ate Yvonne to make sure everything was ok, and there i learned that their car got a real hard hit and Kuya Kamille was to be taken to the ER. After a couple of exams, Kuya Kamille was cleared and he only suffered muscle trauma due to crash impact. And then a few weeks later, Mhar's parked car was hit by another vehicle. Mhar was safe but his car needed serious fixing. It kept me thinking what if Mhar was in the car? And when it already seemed really odd that all these accidents were happening one after the other, I learned that Kuya Jayson and Ate Lally's family got into a slight car accident while driving in Park City. They were really lucky and they were blessed especially because both of their girls were with them.

For a few weeks, everything seemed calm and i wasn't hearing of anymore accidents. But because of the recent accidents our friends have gotten into, I made sure I reminded Carl to keep himself safe on the road. Carl works night shifts with MySpace and he leaves the house everynight at 10pm so he could be in El Segundo at around 10:45pm to be on time for his 11pm shift. He finishes work at 7:30am and reaches home at around 8:15. If you have known Carl for a while now, you would know that Carl is not the best when it comes to staying up late. In fact, I am the "vampire," not him. So even being the awesome driver that he is, I can not help but worry about him every night especially with all our friends' car accidents.

And then the most tragic news came. The Gunters were involved in a fatal car accident and Amanda was kiled. Levin and I had the same major in BYU-H and he was my classmate in a couple of my Psych classes. Amanda and I were never introduced but I have seen her around campus and in TVA. In fact, when they left Hawaii, they sold us all their kitchen supplies for $40 and literally transferred the contents of their cupboards and pantry to us. Carl told me that when he was reluctant to take all of it, Amanda insisted we take it because she'd prefer knowing somebody will really use their stuff than just leave everything on the free bin. Somehow, Levin and Amanda weren't just acquaintances to Carl and I... and we were devastated when we heard the news. And as if this wasn't quite enough, I read in Lois' blog that another couple from BYU-H was also involved in a fatal car accident. When i think about all of these accidents, it gets kind of creepy sometimes...but most of the time, very sad.

Our friends' cars have since been replaced or fixed and most of them have started the process of collecting damages. Somehow, their bodies were spared by the Lord's tender mercies and I know they have been reminded that their lives are more precious than any other earthly possessions they might have. Sadly for Levin, Amanda is now physically gone in her earthly state... but he still has Ansey to remind him of the wonderful wife he had on earth and he is assured of the promise of eternal families, and Amanda will be waiting for him and Ansey after this life. Though our friends have lost a portion of their possessions, and for Levin's case his wife, they have survived their tragedies and have started moving on. I know deep inside their hearts that they are grateful the Lord had spared them his mercy.

I always tell Carl he should be extra careful when driving at night because, first, he may never know when an accident can happen... and second, because the car he is driving is just a borrowed car. But the reality is, I am not ready to lose Carl to physical death just yet... I get frustrated when Carl doesn't get enough sleep during the day. Its a mix of being worried and being upset. Most of all, it is LOVE. I dont want Carl to get into an accident while driving at night justb because he didnt get his needed sleep. Most of all, I don't want to lose Carl. I am grateful that Carl has been blessed with alertness as he travels to and from work everyday. We are grateful for Carl's health and for our friend Emerson's car. Really, even in trials, tribulations, even tragedies... the Lord is mindful of us.

maybe when the time is right...maybe

i didnt have the motivation to write anything on our blog. i mean...what is there share - thus SHARING OUR LIVES?!?!?! the heck... i sound pathetic aren't i? yes i am... i felt crappy 75% of the time for the past couple of months...i felt hopeless, helpless and scared. i think the only good things that happened to me since we got here in California were Carl's birthday, our first wedding anniversary, and my birthday. i acknowledge the fact that we have been blessed in more ways than i noticed... but maybe because i felt so low inside, i still felt crappy for myself. Darn YOU self-pity...darn YOU.

as i have imagined... moving to California was very TRYING. on some days, i have asked myself - WHY DID WE EVEN MOVE HERE? but that phase i already dealt with. i am over it and i have accepted our fate that was brought about by the decision to move to a place that is by the way one of most hit states by this economic recession. between carl's job and my "dependent" state, i questioned my purpose here in America and that made matters worse - because for the first time in my life it didnt feel like i had a purpose...deep inside, i was calling myself a LOSER. thanks to Carl, family members who REALLY understood where i was coming from, and friends who REALLY knew how hard it was for me - i slowly got over my self-imposed depression also known as SELF PITY. i got a little better each day, and each day became a little better...


and then it came... and i almost thought i was crazy... back track to July.

Carl and I have been trying to conceive since the day we got married. we've read stuff, we've tried stuff, i had my stuff checked. we were advised to get both of us checked if we dont successfully conceive after a year of trying. On Carl's birthday, I was already a week late for my period. I tested - NEGATIVE. i talked to my mom, she advised me to wait it out, give it a couple more weeks then test again. 2 weeks later, i tested again - NEGATIVE. Carl was being positive and started talking to my belly, telling it to be strong. i told carl he was nuts...the tests were negative and this already happened to us before. i am not pregnant... but am i really not? i felt tired everyday and i started throwing up. my head felt light at times and i just wanted to sleep. i shrugged all of it off my shoulders... the tests were negative, can't beat that. another 2 weeks came by and i am still not having my period. carl told me to take the test. it was the morning of my birthday. i took my 3rd pregnancy test and it was negative... i was already 5 weeks delayed. i started to worry... im having most of the pregnancy symptoms in the book. maybe im not using the test kits correctly. carl took me to a local clinic and they ran a couple of tests on me. still negative. i couldnt get it. how can i not be not pregnant. the nurse advised me to come back in two weeks - which we did, for the 5th time it was negative. i was already 8 weeks delayed. she advised me to schedule an ultrasound appointment, just to make sure of whats really going on inside of me... a baby, a cyst, no baby, no cyst, whatever thats causing all my symptoms. i didn't show up for my ultrasound appointment. cold feet. what if there's no baby, but theres a cyst instead. i wont be surprised...it runs in the blood. carl was persistent. he wanted me to take that ultrasound on Sept. 16th. at this point...i was already 12 weeks delayed. I refused and insisted we wait for October... it ended up we didnt have to. I bled on the 15th. It wasnt miscarriage, it was my period.

I wasnt pregnant afterall. What I had was probably PSEUDOCYESIS. yup - BIG WORD. its commonly called hysterical pregnancy and it means false pregnancy - the body exhibits pregnancy symptoms even if theres no pregnancy because the mind and the body wants to have a baby badly. its mostly psychological. reports have shown that some women actually get huge prego bellies like for real but theres no real pregnancy going on and other people might even feel fetal movements. Crazy huh... i actually thought i was crazy.


self pity mode all over again. i saw the faces and bellies of every pregnant woman i know in my mind at that moment and i wanted to ask them WHY ARE YOU PREGNANT AND I AM NOT?! it felt unfair - really unfair. i was mad at my body... because i failed once again - at something that I know i should be able to do. it took me a couple of days... i still DONT want to see pregnant women right now, especially those who just got pregnant. if some of you will read this one, dont get me wrong. i am not mad at you or your pregnancy - just dont talk to me about it right now. to those who had been prego for a while now, like my dear friend Samantha, you're all good - i know what youve been through and you totally deserve your baby.

as for me and carl, and my uterus...we will keep on trying...and maybe when the time is right, my womb ill get that chance too... maybe.

BUSY DAYS Part 2

JUNE 9. It was Jasmine's big day. Our day started at 4am. I know... I know... I swore to myself after all these things are over - I am going to sleep in everyday for a week until I feel normal again. LOL. Anyway, so we all woke up early and I made Jasmine pretty... at least I tried my best. I am not a pro when it comes to dolling up other people - but duty calls!

She was a beautiful bride. It was an honor for me to be there with her every step of the way as she received her endowment in the house of the Lord. It was an extra special day because it was also Carl and mine's 10th month together. We haven't been to the temple since the Laie temple closed in December, so it was a really good time to be in the temple again. We've been on a very hectic schedule, and that time at the temple indeed gave me a boost of spirituality that I really needed. And after all that we've been doing and will be doing in the next couple of days - I needed a calm day.

After Jasmine and Scott's sealing, we spent the rest of the day preparing for our flight back to Oahu.

We had a quick lunch at Romano's Macaroni and Grill, headed back to the resort, packed our bags, let the newly weds take off to their hotel, took a nap... and when a little strength was regained, Pat and Paul took us to the airport and soon enough, Carl and I were heading back to Honolulu. Our kind friends Aaron and Susan Moore picked us up at the airport and drove us back to Laie. We are so grateful to them for doing us the favor on a very short notice and considering Susan's delicate condition. We are really blessed to have great friends.

JUNE 10. Ckaz and Jamie were so kind, they let us stay with them in their apartment for the rest of our days in Laie. They were also kind enough to have us use their kitchen so I can cook for the wedding reception. They also let us use their car so we can finish our last minute errands. We can not be grateful enough to Ckaz and Jamie. Ckaz helped me with some of the cooking. She had to go to work too... but that's ok, she had already done enough. Sheila helped me cook too... it was really nice of her, considering she was babysitting at the same time. Good thing little Tom took an extra long nap time! Carl, on the other hand, was busy helping with the reception area. I know he was really tired - physically exhausted - and he needed a break. I know Carl wants to go surfing so bad (he almost took a surfing class, but he dropped it when he learned he had to pay some extra fees)... so I asked Jamie if he could take Carl rip some waves before we leave.

Though he was tired too, Jamie took the time off from work to take Carl to the beach to surf. When they came home, I knew Carl was overjoyed - he almost wanted to surf for another hour, but we had to be at Jasmine and Scott's wedding reception.

Jasmine and Scott's reception was good - good food! LOL. It was a bitter sweet moment for our family. It was sort of a farewell for us as well. Jasmine was excited to go to lalala-Land with her groom. But Carl and I were sad to say our goodbyes to our friends in Hawaii. I told myself no crying... but heck, I could not help it. I was really sad. Jamie took pictures of sobbing like a little girl, but I deleted some - I looked really messed up. After the reception, we tried to personally say goodbye to our friends. Some families we missed were the Sparks and the Catahans. We didn't want to disturb Lois because it was already late (it was almost time for her to give birth) and Janette was still in the hospital recovering from her delivery. We were able to say goodbye to the Gellors though - Oh we surely miss their two princesses and of course Wacks' queen, Hannah! LOL. Ckaz and Jamie had to leave for Honolulu that night because they were flying to Kona the next morning, they were going to the temple with our ward. Before we went to bed, April gave Carl and I a good back massage - we were knocked out... and so was everyone.

TO BE CONTINUED...

BUSY DAYS

Now that I finished telling you the drama of our "let's move to California" thing, I guess I'm right about ready to tell you why June 2009 was a particularly busy and crazy month for me and Carl.

First, it was Carl's graduation. Second, it was Jasmine's wedding. Third, it was time to move. Oh heck yeah - I had one whole month to attend to the demands of this thing. No, no, no... all these events had to take place approximately a day and a half apart. And I needed to be on top of things. I am not complaining here, unlike what I have been wrongfully accused of lately (LOL) - I am just telling a story (like how JD tells his daydreams in Scrubs).

JUNE 6. So, Carl's graduation - most of it was his business. I just had to make sure he had his cap and gown and that his white shirt, red power tie, and slacks from Barbara Jones were ready... and that I have informed all our friends that Carl would really appreciate a lei, and of course that I had made a crimson and gold yarn lei as well, and that if a couple of friends forget a lei for Carl, i have enough to cover for those so that my dear husband doesn't feel sad on his glory day - all of which I have accomplished with flying colors. And yes, I did not forget to charge the batteries for my camera and I was right in time for the processional so I got to see Carl enter the CAC. I ran from TVA to CAC in my 2" heels so I could put Carl's balloons in Scott's car so Scott can go back to the CAC and not miss Jasmine's entrance. Come on, give the dutiful wife a break.

Anyway, after graduation, we drove to Waipahu for a good meal at Max's (of course!) and to pick up some more stuff for the next main event of the season - the Wedding. We picked up groceries, a couple of shipping boxes, Jasmine's flowers and the likes, and yes a couple more goodies the Canlas siblings wanted to send their families in Manila. All of this we had to fit in Scott's rental car, which by the way, still has all of his luggage in the trunk. Use your imagination now dear friends - the car was packed and the drive was about an hour and forty-five minutes. We were darn tired.While doing all these, I was mentally picturing how I was gonna make sure that our apartment was ready for check-out the next day. I think I forgot to eat dinner. Yes we forgot to eat dinner. It was a blessing when Sam and Nate dropped by the house to pick-up some furniture I was giving away... and they offered to take Carl to McDonalds Drive Thru so we can have something to eat. Bless their hearts. And of course, I was able to vent my stress to Sam... and this was while I continued to pack our bags and boxes. And April and Apple were there too, finishing up the wrap-the-Lumpia-for-Jasmine's reception-job.


JUNE 7. Happy Sabbath. Carl and I decided we were gonna miss church that day. I signed up for a 5pm check out for Pete's sake and I still haven't finished cleaning the kitchen. I was desperate and I was super tired. The packing felt like it was never gonna end. Sheila and Jeremia dropped by on their way to church - but they ended up missing church too so they could help us finish up. Thank you Lord for awesome friends. And because we were awesome friends as well, we couldn't say no when Wacks and Hannah invited us to Charlee's naming and blessing. Their sacrament meeting starts at 2pm. We decided to go. After our part on Charlee's big moment, we ran back to our still crazy apartment and continued cleaning and packing at the same time. We were checked out from our apartment at around 9pm. Vaega was so nice he didn't look around that much. I guess when he came in and smelled the scent of PineSol, he was quite convinced we did our job well. We really did though. I was super tired.


Then it was time to move to Ckaz and Jamie's apartment. They were so kind to share their space with us until Jasmine's wedding was over. They even gladly took us to the airport for our 5:30 am inter-island flight to Kona the following morning. But before we retired that night, I finished Jasmine's wedding bouquet. I did quite an awesome job for a first time - LOL! Let's just say I did it for the love.


JUNE 8. We almost missed our inter-island flight to Kona. I guess we were so tired the day before it was so hard to get up at 3am. But yeah, we did catch our flight, I tried to sleep on the plane, but the 40 minute flight was too short to catch up on sleep. Scott and his dad, Paul, picked us up from the airport and we headed to the resort they were staying in. We kind of hoped they'll let us rest for a while, but Scott's mom Pat had me and Jasmine up and running to do last minute errands for the wedding. The errands never ended... it lasted til around 8 at night - most of it was spent searching for the perfect bolero for Jasmine's tube wedding gown which came with a not so modest topper. I guess Carl and I were able to nap in between though and we took a quick dip at the pool to relax, and to calm my nerves.

TO BE CONTINUED....

On Moving... and Moving On

I suck at moving on... i always make sure that give myself time to emotionally say good bye to things i have learned to love... sometimes, i get stuck - like i get scared of living a life without those i have become emotionally attached to. I hate goodbyes... i just hate them...

But as my good friend Angela Buenafe told me before i left Baguio City, "there are such things as necessary absences..." Sometimes, or maybe, a lot of times, we just have to let go, leave, and carry on...

I thought leaving Hawaii would be easier - because I have told myself countless times that I have already accomplished what I was sent to Hawaii for. I have convinced myself that I need a new environment and that the Hawaii adventure is over. I have rehearsed those thoughts in my mind over and over until I felt comfortable with leaving the islands.

But it wasn't easy.

Anyone who has made a major relocation in their life will agree that moving is INDEED EXHAUSTING.

Carl and I felt mentally drained as we thought about choosing the best date to check-out of the apartment, the best day to leave the island, the cheapest flight, the most convenient airline, who to temporarily stay with, the best way to ship things, which stuff are to be kept and which are to be tossed, and most of all how to financially survive the big move. We had to think about all these on top of Carl's equally important goal he had to focus on - graduation.

A wise friend of ours told us that the process of our move will test our relationship in many aspects. I guess it really did.

I am a control-freak - i don't want to use the word perfectionist because though i hate flawed plans, I prefer to think that it is a matter of checking all loop holes before pushing through. Carl is a planner too. However, it seemed to me like he wasn't doing what was supposed to be in the plan. I become agitated by his simplest deviation from "our" plan. It felt frustrating because I didn't want to go through things all over again and go back to square one. But then at the end of the day, I realize how hard it would have been for Carl to accommodate all my preferences while trying his best to make this move easier.

I admit though that I had broken down a lot of times. I cried and yelled at myself while packing and thinking about other things all at the same time. Everything was happening in front of me and I, the great control freak, was losing control. Carl's graduation, Jasmine's wedding, the big move - happening one after the other. I don't know if I missed something while we were planning for this... but I guess somewhere along the way, I forgot to pause and think. There I was - drained and exhausted.

On the brighter side, moving taught me valuable lessons of love and friendship. Love for the things that made me happy while I was on the island, love for the people who have accepted me for who I am, and love for the place that showed me what I really wanted. Kissing my blender and Carl's guitar goodbye were few of my emotional moments (yes, it sounds dramatic - but hey, these things meant a lot to me... especially Carl's guitar)... few of those that I was really caught off guard, moments that I thought I wouldn't have to go through because I have prepared myself for this.

kissing Niobe bye-bye

had to say bye-bye to Shawn and Lindsey, our super neighbors

gotta let go of Carl's guitar

this whole crying thing wasn't just me...

I tried not to cry on our last day on the island. Because yes, there are no real goodbyes so to speak - only "see you later"s. But because I am a drama queen, oh yes, I did cry.

these are just some of the people that makes leaving really hard

Indeed moving was a big challenge. Leaving things and people behind and moving on to find what's out there for Carl and I. I was scared - this was more scarier for me than it was to come to Hawaii. Carl tried his best to get the fear get the hell out of me...you bet he did. Some days, I thought I'd go nuts.

But... well here I am... still have my sanity intact... and yes, I kind of survived the move. I still get that scared feeling once in a while and it goes to my head sometimes i feel crazy - but Carl is here - and he keeps me moving on, and believing that there is something for us here in California.

THE JUNE THAT WAS...

Perfect title for a come back, huh?

Oh yeah!

Blame it on the got-to-sell-our-stuff hey days, which needless to say, had us saying bye bye to our dutiful desktop for a couple bucks that would help us start moving on... Oh yes - I needed Carl to promise me I had to tell the world we were going to do the big move to California before I get deprived of a computer. So, if you might have noticed, the last thing you've heard about us was - exactly that!


We made our move to California a couple of days after Carl shook hands with Pres. Wheelwright at the CAC - also known as GRADUATION.




And here we are now - one month after Carl's glamorous cap and gown day in Hawaii. Aloha California!!!




With our dear sister Kathleya and her husband Ricky's help - BLESS THEIR HEARTS - Carl and I were able to make the transition. We now live in Lakewood, a city in Los Angeles county. The place is pretty cool - and our apartment is really awesome, especially because we now have a bedroom (yahoo!) - though i still miss our cute little studio back in the TVA.

So what actually happened from the time we announced our big move up til the time you are now able to read this blog article?... its a long story - and I won't try to fit it in one long boreeeeeeng essay... so hang in there -

because I SURVIVED THE MOVE TO TELL!

AND THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS...

The decision is Final...

and i guess...

IT IS REALLY TIME TO MOVE ON...

So the countdown begins...


Couple more weeks till we say Aloha 'Oe to this beautiful island...



And we will be saying ALOHA to Long Beach, California.

CARL-SIFE LOVE AFFAIR

I have a busy husband.

ERASE ERASE

I should have said -
I HAVE A VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY BUSY HUSBAND -
Thanks to Students in Free Enterprise more commonly known as SIFE.

Here we go...

A couple of months ago, Carl and his SIFE Team won the regional competition in Honolulu, and because of that they got to represent the school in the SIFE Nationals in Philadelphia. They prepared for two months, memorizing rehearsing and memorizing again and again for this competition. It drove me nuts... Carl was busy with hisn senior classes, with job hunting, with two part time jobs, with me, and with SIFE... come on...Carl only has 1 body and he only got 24 hours a day...


I know I know - i got really jealous with SIFE - because he spent most of his SPARE time on it. But yes - I am also the dutiful wife and i convinced myself everyday that one day, when Carl eventually becomes the CEO of his own company, it could be worse. So there i was, gave Carl the chance to invest his sweat blood and tears to SIFE. To top it all off - I GAVE CARL TO SIFE FOR A WHOLE WEEK and celebrated our 9th monthsary and mother's day alone.


But like i said on my first blog about the Carl-SIFE love affair, in the end it was all worth it.


After Carl's months of preparation and a week of being apart - CARL and his SIFE team made history.

TOP 12 in the whole US - BYUH has never done that before. Awesome!

Maybe I could bear SIFE for a Mistress after all!!!

BECAUSE HE LOVES ME SO MUCH...

So Carl is spending a week in the east coast for his SIFE Competition (which, as of press time, has brought them awesome success - separate blog to watch out for! woot woot!!!) and so we didn't get to celebrate our 9th month mark and mothers' day together. However, on Sunday morning while I was getting ready for church, a friend passing by our apartment building yelled by our window to let me know there's a package at our doorstep... With my face half made-up and unset hair, I opened the door and... Lo and Behold...

this was what I found!

...and came with it was this cute little blooms

... and a pink card that read...

Mommy JV,

"Even though things don't always turn out exactly how we planned them, I wouldn't want it anyother way.

I love our life together - because I love you so much.

Happy Mother's Day!"

Daddy Carl

I couldn't ask for anything else...