Thanksgiving-Christmas Catching up

I've been enjoying the Thanksgiving Holidays and the welcoming of the BEST season of the year...
CHRISTMAS!!! 

And now I'm finally able to reflect and record all the wonderful happenings!!! From Thanksgiving to the first weeks of Christmas!
First let me just say....
I LOOOOOVE CHRISTMAS!!!


And I'm always just so excited about the whole month of December! But like the title says.....this is a catching up post. So I'll do my best to contain my excitement and not get carried away..I'll make a separate post(s) for everything Christmas :)

 So let's get started!!
THANKSGIVING WEEK

 Sunday- We had to'ona'i with the Malupo's and had all our favorite foods! Mamoe, luau, kalo, turkey and stuffing (for the sake of tradition), custard pie, chocolate haupia pie. There was lots of food and more importantly, lots of love and laughter. Love family time. 

 *So grateful for eternal families. 
These two were too cute!


Leila, Aulia, Iutana

Aunty Milly and the posers


SJ's face :) 

SJ and the #1 Poser

 Monday- Aljay was off from work:) YAY family time!

 *Grateful for family time. 

 Tuesday- Aljay worked

 Wednesday- Aljay worked again.

 *Grateful for my eternal companion who presides over our home with the Priesthood, provides for our needs, and makes sacrifices for our family. 

 Thursday- 

  Thanksgiving morning Aljay went with Uati to the Redwood Rumble (football game between Lehi 42nd Ward and Eagle Mountain 14th Ward). Then in the afternoon we had Thanksgiving dinner with the Tafiti's in West Valley. 

 *Grateful Aljay and Uati returned injury-free. 
Got to take some family photos thanks to Rosa and Julius

 Confession- We gave into the temptations of commercialism and sought out to buy a TV and camera. In the evening Aljay went with his cousin Adam to Best Buy and got me a camera!!! YAY! Aljay missed out on his TV by two people. Sad! But it was a much better run than the past years lol

 Grateful for Black Friday sales :)

 Friday- Aljay worked half day :) Then we went to West Valley where the family was playing volleyball, basketball, and feeding the missionaries. 

 *Grateful for missionaries. 

Saturday- Aljay was off work! Slept in all morning and ate Cheetos for breakfast..breakfast of Champions. 

  Then went to West Jordan for more games, food, and FHE with Aljay's family. Loved it!

 *Grateful for Family Home Evening.  

Sunday- Rested. Church. 

*Grateful for Sundays. 

Overall...we couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving. We look forward to more Thanksgivings with family and friends. This has been our 5th Thanksgiving since we've been married, so hopefully we can start some family traditions of our own next Thanksgiving. 



Moving into Christmas.....



Yay for the best time of the year!! Here's how our December has gone so far.

 We were supposed to move in by the 1st of December to our new place but we had to postpone due to an unexpected trip my parents had to make to Samoa. So we had to put off the closing and move-in for another two weeks. 

 I was kind of bummed since I was really looking forward to starting our Christmas month in our new home. You know....decorating, Christmas crafts with the kids, Christmas tree, set up our Nativity, try out the fireplace.... BUT I can't complain. Despite the stresses of trying to close on the house and not getting into the house as planned, I have much to be grateful for. I have a roof over my head, a nice warm bed,  my family is healthy and doing well, and I am no longer throwing up. So two weeks isn't a big deal. 

 We've still been able to feel Christmassy with the Afeles. We came home one night to a beautifully decorated tree, nativity scenes, and seasonal decorations. To top it off, we had a fresh layer of snow fall that week to complete our families first White Christmas (meaning first with our kids).  Gave me the warm fuzzies :)

 One of my favorite things was being able to explain the nativity scene to the kids. It helped them to focus on the Christ and His birth, and remind me that Aljay and I need to make sure Christ is at the center of our focus as we go into the season where gift giving, parties, and commercialism can distract us. It's a goal I want to work towards as we go throughout this Christmas season. 

 It's been a great Holiday season so far and I look forward to the rest of the month...especially being able to blog about everything Christmas related. 










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