January Happenings

 New Year WOOHOO!!! 

Same pandemic😑 Boo hooo 

But the Lord is still taking care of us so Cheehuuuu!!!

Here's how our January went. 


Manusina Art 
Completed  this canvas piece for our friend Aaron. Him and his wife and family used to live in Vineyard but they relocated to Maui, Hawaii. He opened up a Kava Bar on Maui and asked Aljay for an artpiece that included his arm/arm tattoo (done by Lala). Piece turned out beautiful. I wasn't able to get a pic before Aljay packaged it for shipping. So we'll settle for this screen shot for now. 


Birthdays

Our favorite little rascal child turned 3!! You can read her birthday post>> HERE


Church - Ward Conference
We had ward conference this month. I don't know if it's only Polynesian stakes/wards that do this, but we had activities each day of the week leading up to Ward Conference Sunday. It was a busy busy but blessed week for me and our family. 

And again, I'm going to share my graphic design skills here because I'm very very proud of myself for creating these--

From Left to Right....ward conference theme poster, ward conference schedule poster, ward conference calendar printout for families to take. 



We participated in the daily activities and took pictures as much as we could. 

Day 1 - FHE

Day 2 - Ministering

Didn't get a picture, but I baked loaves of bread for our ministering families. Aljay is my assigned partner so I had him and the kids drop the bread off in the evening while I was doing ward visits with the Relief Society Presidency. 

Day 3 - Picture with the Temple

It was a short and sweet visit to the Provo City temple. I feel so blessed to have access (limited, but still access) to so many temples near me.



Day 4 - Write to a Missionary Serving from Our Ward

We missed this one, but we'll have to catch up on this!

Day 5 - Spirit Bowl

We did a can drive, with the goal of collecting 100 cans to be donated to the local food bank. Families would drop off the cans and then pick up a kalua pork and rice bowl! Sheena (who is the new primary president) made little buttons and key chains that went along with out theme. 




Day 6 - Service Project

Our service project was to clean the chapel grounds. The inside was easy since majority of the chapel hasn't been used for the past several months. I didn't get any pics, but I went to help clean. 

In the News
Omg....America is so dramas. The USA is forreals like a teenager still trying to figure out herself. We're living in interesting times foooorrr suure. In a nut shell....

  • President Trump was blocked (or banned?) from Twitter and Facebook? Censorship by major Social Media platforms is happening. But like....who's fact checking their fact checkers? What are they not wanting us to know? We already don't trust the news outlets and media..so where can we get legitimate truth?
  • They are still trying to impeach Pres Trump even though he had less than two weeks in office
  • There was a peaceful protest at the Capitol but then a few hooligans (Trump supporters as the news has depicted) decided to storm the Capitol...which is crazy, a disgrace, and just disappointing. I've been to the capital a handful of times. You can't get in unless you go through security and checkpoints. And these idiots were able to push their way through? Backup couldn't arrive sooner? mmmm interesting...anyways...I'm just glad that my parents are not in Maryland anymore. My Dad worked there on Capitol Hill and my Mom's building is in the DC area. 
  • Jan 20th - Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated. The Capital looked like something out of a movie with blockades, barriers, extra military presence, boarded up buildings. Craaazzzyyy. I have my own opinions about the whole election but I'll save it. Anyways....the inauguration went on without any mobs (as far as we know). 
  • They sent a stimulus check out and somehow it was taking a while and then there were mistakes with the accounts that the money was sent to....mmmhmmm again...iinnnnnterreeesting...i swear some offshore accounts are being fed from these stimulus packages. We got our stimulus check, which we are grateful for, but now the President is signing for two more stimulus packages....this is nice and all but you can't just go and print more money when you feel like it! There are consequences for just printing up more money. The value of the American dollar will go down, stocks as well. But this is great for Cryptocurrency/Bitcoin.

    <<Sidenote>>We invested in crypto currency last year (Bitcoin, Eth, LiteCoin, a few other smaller coins). So far, we've doubled our money. We're hoping to get to $100,000 before the end of the year. It's a risk, but a calculated one for sure. It's become Aljay's second job and another source of income for us. Cryptocurrency is sometimes deemed a "volitile" market, but seeing how the economy and technology is going....it's not far off until everyone is on the Crypto train. We've been exploring the possibilities with block chain technology, crypto currency, and art selling. We're pretty excited for the possibilities!!!  Anyways...back to world news.....


  • tsk tsk tsk...so much deceit and dishonesty, secret combinations, power lusting, and evil happenings in the world....
but these are the times that the prophets foretold. Times will get harder before they get better. All I know is that our focus needs to stay on the Lord and to carry out His will. All these other things are just distractions. Plus, there are always more great things happening in the world! Amazing things! Tons of blessings!

  • The vaccine for COVID is being distributed. My parents got their first dose already! What a blessing that they are in American Samoa. They are in the best place that they can be right now. 
  • We have a Prophet! He leads and guides us! I keep my eye on him for sure because through him and prophets before him, we have been prepared for these times. 
  • Our family is still together and no one has experienced health problems due to COVID (Thank you Lord!) 
  • We're still able to make a living. People are still buying art and that in itself is a huge blessing!!
  • Our kids are safe. Our family (near and far) are safe. 
  • We are still able to have church and practice our religion with safety precautions. 
  • America is still a great country to live in. 
  • And Memes! Memes are consistently great! hahah Here are some of my favorites from this month. Just for a good laugh. 


I know last year sucked and this year is probably going to have more unexpected things, but we know where to keep our focus. Bring on February!



Location: Leinster WA 6437, Australia

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