Happy Mother's Day!

I am so unbelievably blessed to have these three boys in my life. Life would be meaningless without them. Hm, how was life without kids...?? ....but seriously... It's not easy and I don't imagine it ever will be easy, but I feel a sense of belonging and worth that I have never felt doing anything else. Having them call me "mommy!" and how they can make any problem go away with their sweet smiles and endless amounts of hugs and kisses, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Also, I am so thankful for an amazing mother who showed me how precious this gift of motherhood and family can be. The best example that I turn to whenever I'm in need of guidance. The best mom in the world! I love you tons. I strive everyday to be just a little more patient and a little more caring like you.

To all you moms, grandmas, and moms-to-be, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

(click photo for my DMiID mother's day post)

story of my life.

I seriously have so many things on my plate right now its not even funny...really, not laughing here. There are so many things I want to post about, so many projects that keep getting pushed back, numerous endless photo shoots to prepare for AND edit...all on top of being a full time cook, maid, MOM - and all that joys that come with it.

But...

Despite it all, I feel pretty good, especially after hearing all the uplifting things during Conference. I feel like I can take on the world right about now....haha...well, its just a figure of speech, really...   I just have to remind myself :::: I don't have to be perfect, I just have to aspire and work towards it. I don't have to get 100% of my to-do list checked off. Not even 50%. there is always tomorrow....most of those things probably shouldn't have even made it on to the list anyway... Life is a journey and everyday is a learning experience. Try to learn something new everyday and work to improve something that I couldn't accomplish the day before. BREATHE. just stop. and take a deep breath, trust me, it works. And always, always put God and family first. Because at the end of the day, they matter most and will always be there for you, no matter what. I need a good reminder every now and then...I think everyone does. Today definitely was that...a good reminder.

 see.

 everything is OK.

 because. I Love you.

 and I will be there.

every step of the way.

laughing, smiling, and loving...

to the end of time.

.*＊SNOW DAY＊*.

It finally snowed! I cannot express to you how excited I was to be able to bring Noa out and have him enjoy the snow....doing winter things I enjoyed as a child.

By the end of the day, Noa was exhausted.

{A special thanks to my amazing sister, Yoko, for taking these photos}

Such a fun snow day for our family.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

This year the kids were a couple of game characters... ^0^ ...I know, so Asian, right?

Well, I am pretty proud of my heritage, and I embrace it 110%.....

which is apparently a bit less than my other half. 

{here he is, controlling our kids}

The costumes were composed of hand-made hats, thrifted clothes, and other bits and pieces lying around our house.

I will post how I made the hats later. But first, aren't they just the cutest?!

We went to our ward's "trunk-or-treat"/Halloween party on Friday.

{end of the night, with faded mustaches and all}

Noa enjoyed every sugary second of it.

*****************************PS*****************************

our not so "jack-o-lantern" >>>> not a pumpkin, and not a lantern <<<<

with the recall on pumpkins, we had to improvise.
This is what we came up with.

Have a spookilicious Halloween everyone!

xoxo

Some fun things.

It's time for some fun/funny videos.

first, for some Kai-love.

did he just......?  yep, he did

isn't he..........???   just 3 1/2 months old? yes.  exactly.

Now, you might want to plug your ears for this one. (or just turn your volume down)  ;)

he is going to be a rock STAR! haha

Not for the faint of heart.

Yesterday was probably one of the happiest AND saddest day of my little Noa's life.

Happy: he turned another year older and is now 2!!

Happy: we had an amazing birthday party with close family and friends.

Happy: he got lots and lots of gifts from everybody!

Happy: he got to eat all the sweets his little heart desired (a rare occasion)

Happy: he got to video chad (via google+) with his jiji and baba, his cousin, and some of his aunts and uncles scattered all over the world...

....so why the sadness....?

Sad: he went from baby to boy. he is growing up waay too fast.

Sad: he probably won't remember the party that I put so much time and effort into....lol (it was well worth it!)

SAD: we said goodbye to his beautiful, soft, shiny, luscious....

baby curls.

apologies to those of you who voted "no" to cutting his hair.....
just fyi, we have been debating this issue for over a year, so it was in no ways an easy decision....I fought it all the way down to the last second.

because I knew that it would never grow back like this....

Chad gave me an ultimatum. It's either we cut it now, or we wait til his 3rd birthday to cut it. I knew that this (the length it is here) was the absolute longest that I wanted him to have...and couldn't imagine letting it get any longer and harder to manage. I made one of the hardest decisions of my mommy-life to part with his lovely locks. 

It might not look like it in these photos, but I was crying...my heart was breaking every second.

and then

finally.

No turning back now...

So I cut. 

 and I cut.

 and I CUT.

until.....

...there was no baby anymore...

just a little boy, ready to take on the world....

Noa's long curly hair had become such a big part of him...and his character...I am still trying to get used to this look (don't get me wrong, I like it. it is still cute. just a different kind of cute.)

Loves...

No matter  how long or short your hair is, Mommy will still love you just the same. And you will always be my Noa.