Maile...

Day 27th of Thanksgiving and I'm grateful for my brother Maile.  I couldn't talk about things I'm thankful for in life and not mention him.  He's truly one of a kind.  I think any guy who can handle seven sisters should receive some sort of medal.  It wasn't easy being our little brother, and I always feel like I need to apologize to him for being born into a family with seven girls...not just any seven but our seven...probably not a lucky number for him, but he's never complained...at least not to me anyway...lol.  Pull back all layers and I can say without a doubt that he is a good person, it means a lot for any sister to know that her brother is a good man.  I'm grateful that he's always respected me.  I  am thankful that he loves our family.  I know that is something that is so important to him.  I'm grateful for his little family, for his wife and his son baby Le'o.  He's growing up and it's so weird, but I learn a lot from him and I know one day he'll be the one giving me words of wisdom.  I'm grateful he'll always be my one and only little "big" brother.   

Sisters...

Day 26 of Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for my sisters.  We really need an updated picture, but this one I will always treasure.  I have six of them and I'd love to break them down one by one but it ain't gon' happen.  I am so grateful for my sisters, I'll be honest, I didn't always feel that way.  There are still days here and there that I say to myself, "why 6 of them?"  but there are no words to describe what they mean to me.  They have been my best friends since I was a kid and it will always be that way with them.  They are definitely unique, not a single one is like the other...and as one might imagine it keeps our family life...amusing at the very least.  In school the teachers who had all of us were always wondering when the Tafuna's were going to run out of sisters.  I remember when I would meet a teacher who had my older sister's Tomu and Nina and then they'd get me and ask what our relationship was and I'd say "we're sisters"...then it was "well, how many are there of you?"  I wish I could capture the looks on their faces when I told them there were 2 more after me in the very same school.  But I loved it.  My sisters always gave me a sense of belonging.  They were the ones who knew all my secrets, things people would probably find out about me and be too embarrassed to still call me a friend, my sisters saw first hand and just accepted.  We argued a lot because we're all very opinionated.  I think if a fly on the wall of our home could talk, it would say simply that we're exhausting.  Now that we're adults and we almost all have our own little families we still express ourselves, but it's different.  For me when I remember the rough times, I can laugh about it,  not because in the moment they were funny, but because we made it through them.  Looking back now, I couldn't have survived a fraction of my childhood without my sisters.  I could face anything as long as they were with me...and I still feel that way.  I learn so much from each of them.  Survival, true beauty, motherhood, responsibility, being a wife, balancing a family with work, true friendship, acceptance, unconditional love, forgiveness, hope and the list is endless.  There isn't anything this world can throw my way that I couldn't take head on because I know my sister's would be right behind me.  Despite our disagreements, or differences of opinions, they will always be the only people that I can say have shared my past, remain in my present and will continue to be with me in my future life.  How do you thank someone for being that person?  How do you thank a Heavenly Father for giving you six of them?  I don't think I can ever do enough, but I know I'll always try to be the very best sister and friend to them that they have always been to me.      

Thanksgiving Day...

On Thanksgiving Day I'm grateful for this holiday.  A day dedicated to remembering the people and the things that we're thankful for.  For the past few years we've spent this day away from the people who mean most to us.  It's always bitter sweet when the holidays roll around and you can't actually be with the people you love and cherish most.  But I'm grateful always that my hubby and I are together and for the past 3 years we've been able to share this day with Famani si'i.  He definitely gives Thanksgiving a whole new meaning for us.  I'm grateful for all the wonderful food that is prepared and shared this day amongst our family and friends.  I received a text from a friend this year that read "A grateful attitude equals gratitude."  I hope to always feel this way about the blessings in my life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Catch up on Days of Thanksgiving!

I've fallen behind on my days of Thanksgiving, so while I'm up early waiting for the turkey to bake, I'm grateful to have a little time to play catch up...

Day 21 of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for my heritage. Visiting Tonga for the first time this year with my little family since I left at age 5 was an eye opener.  I loved being there and feeling a sense of home, belonging.  I guess it had a lot to do with being Tongan and being in Tonga.  I'm grateful for all the responsibility and blessings that come from a culture where love of God and family and heritage is first and foremost. 

On Day 22, I'm thankful for temples.  I'm grateful for the covenants and blessings that take place there.  The priceless opportunity to be with my family forever.  Words cannot express what this means to me.  I am so so thankful. 

23rd day and I'm thankful for work.  I know I complain profusely about it  sometimes, but it really is a blessing in my life.  I've been at the same place for going on 7 years.  Since my family and I moved to California from Utah, it was the first job I got and I'm loyal to a fault when people hire me and trust in me to do good work.  It's a small company, owned by a family and despite the little annoyances, caused more by people than the job itself, I really enjoy it, I enjoy what I do.  And it brings home some bacon for my family, so that in itself is something to be grateful for. 


On the 24th Day of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for vacation days.  I love them especially when I can take them before the Holidays and turn a 3 day weekend into a 5 day weekend.  It's one of the perks also of being at a job so long.  Paid vacation days just keep adding up and I love it.  Too bad I'm saving most of them for 2012 when we plan to go back to Tonga, nothing like being in paradise and getting paid for it!  Love vacation days! 


Now I'm all caught up...grateful for the time to do it!

Everyday blessings...

Day 20 of Thanksgiving and I'm grateful for the little things.  I'm thankful for a roof over my head.  I'm thankful for a vehicle to get my family and I to where we need to go.  I'm grateful for the people I live with and the examples they set.  I'm grateful for their generosity and for giving our little family people we can trust and rely on.  I'm thankful for food on the table and clothes on our back.  I'm thankful for a good movie to watch, and a song that lifts my mood.  Thankful to be breathing and sharing my life with people that I love.

Anna...

On Day 19 I'm thankful for my wonderful friend Anna.  

She and I have only known each other for 5 years but 

she's become a lifetime friend for me.  

She was with me through my pregnancy with Famani si'i.  

Apart from my hubby, I think I spent more time 

with Anna than with anyone else.  

My son has a lot of her traits, which I love and find hilarious.  

Anna is a gomedian (comedian)!  

If I need to laugh and just be silly, she's the friend I would call.  

She is soooo outgoing and will make a complete 

stranger feel like they're old friends.  

I've never met anyone who tries to be there for everyone 

all the time at the same time...I've had moments where I've had to pretty much slap her back to reality and remind her that it's impossible.  

I'm grateful that she doesn't judge me EVER 

and we can talk for days about life and dreams and goals.  

She's my number one supporter when it comes to my dream 

of being an author.  With her encouragement I was actually 

able to finish a novel and have the guts to try to get it proofed to submit.  Even if it goes nowhere, she will always be the friend who gave me enough courage to do what I love.  

I am so thankful for her sweet spirit.  

I have served with her in Church and know what a blessing 

her testimony is to me and so many others that know her.

Heavenly Father has been so gracious in allowing me to have these wonderful women, whom I am honored to call friends, in my life.   

T...

On day 18 of Thanksgiving I'm grateful for my friend T.  She's known to others as Tiare, but I call her T.  She is my soulcyster (soul sister).  We have known each other now for going on 11 years about and she's been an absolute blessing to my life.  Besides the fact that she's obviously beautiful, T is just really amazing.  She has gift in making people feel welcome always.  It's never awkward with T.  Months can go by and we haven't talked and we'll pick up the phone and it's as if we've talked every single day.  I love that about our friendship.  I'm grateful for the wonderful people she has brought into my life.  All of her and Veni's family and parents. I haven't a single person she's introduced me to that I don't love.  I love her energy, I love that she knows who she is and she doesn't change it to conform to a what a typical poly is supposed to be.  She's her own person, she has a sense of knowing who she is and I admire that.  She is crazy talented!  And don't even get me started on crafts and her mean sense of creativity.  Watch out Martha Stewart!  When I own my home, she'll be my interior decorator, I say this to her jokingly, but she doesn't know I'm serious. Our lives have had some parallels and differences, but I've always been able to trust and count on her.  I could really go on for pages and pages of why I'm  thankful Heavenly Father allowed our paths to cross.  I know she will be a friend forever.  No matter which roads our lives take, she and her little family, that I just adore, will always be a part of our family.   

Chickee...

 Day 17 of Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for my closest friends...

This is my dear friend Kathryn, known to some as Red, 

I call her Chickee thanks to my son.  

I love her to pieces.  

She's fiesty, and blunt and what you see is what you get.  

She gives me the "ugly" reality check, that everyone's 

either too afraid to say or too kindhearted to lay on me.  

Not Chickee, she will tell it like it is and cry with 

me even if she's the one who made me cry.  LOL!   

I love her honesty.  If I need a real opinion, she'll give it to me. 

She also has a wicked sense of humor. 

You know when you think something in your head, 

but you don't say it out loud? 

Chickee says it out loud.  

I love that about her and wouldn't change her for a second.  

She's gives the most amazing hugs! 

If you ever thought that it was impossible to convey the feelings 

of love and appreciation and joy through a hug, 

then you have not received one from Chickee.  

Her hugs are amazing.  

My favorite thing about Chickee 

that no one would really know unless they gave the friendship time, 

is she is the most thoughtful person.  

She remembers her friends and family throughout her day.  

If she comes across something that reminds her of you, 

she'll get it or she'll call or text and say, thinking of you.  

I love her so much.  

She may be a tough cookie, 

but she reminds me that we all have bad days, 

but she loves me when I have mine 

and I love her when she has hers...however frequent those may be.  :)  

I love you Chickee! 

Thank you for being a genuine friend and a wonderful Aunty to Famani si'i.  We are so blessed to have you as a part of our family.

Common sense...

Day 16 of Thanksgiving and I'm grateful for a little thing called common sense.  My favorite thing about common sense is this, you don't need a degree to get it, you can't purchase it from a store, it isn't selective.  We are all born with it.  Not all of us use it, but it is an innate part of being human.  Some call it the golden rule, "Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you." 

Free to fly...

Day 15 of Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for flight benefits.  Living away from both of our families and some of our closest friends, I'm grateful that at the drop of a hat...if the flights are open of course... we can catch a plane and attend a birthday party, or a funeral, or just see the faces of the people we miss and love.  We've been able to make some wonderful memories with these flight benefits and see Siona's parents and siblings a lot more than we would otherwise.  I think of the three of us, Famani si'i is the one who uses the flight benefits the  most.  I don't even wanna know what his frequent flier miles would be.  He's been to Australia twice, to Tonga twice.  He flies to Salt Lake, Reno, Seattle, LA at least a half a dozen times a year, if not more and I love that it keeps him close to his aunties and uncles and cousins and his grandparents.  I'm so thankful to my hubby for working two jobs because he knows how important these benefits are to keeping our loved ones close and connected. 

The Gospel...

Day 14 and I am thakful for the Gospel.  I had a wonderful Sabbath day yesterday and I was reminded of the reasons I love the Gospel so much.  It is so beautiful in it's simplicity.  I was reminded that even though the people are not perfect, myself included, the Gospel is.  The foundation of my testimony is in Jesus Christ, not in my parents or my husband, or best friend, but in the Savior.  Having that knowledge gives me such a sense of peace.  I'm thankful that the Church is NOT for perfect people, it's a Gospel of learning and teaching and consistently trying to be better today than I was yesterday.  It's a Gospel of love and of hope of enduring and understanding.  It's compassion and  charity and forgiveness and all the things that are so needed in the world we live in today.  I love that it's a Gospel of free agency but also accountability.  I have been reminded and will continue to be reminded that because it is anchored in Jesus Christ, it is true.  I'm grateful that I've received a conversion of that knowledge for myself.  What a magnificent blessing our Father in Heaven has made available to all of His children!

Less is more...

These three little words, you may as well be speaking in tongues when it comes to some of my people.  Don't get me wrong, I love being Tongan...but really we gots to learn how to downsize.  We are in a recession...and we need to stop living like we got acres of money trees in our backyards.  I highly doubt that our ancestors broke their backs working to get us here to the promised land to see us in a worse off state than they were.  I attended a palangi ward activity tonight, the theme was bring your favorite dish and a scripture to share.  I can't remember the last time I felt so spiritually uplifted while having some brownie bites and all within an hours time.  There was food, good company, testimonies being shared, I gained some new favorite scriptures, and I still got out in enough time to make some dinner, clean my room, and prepare clothes for the Sabbath.  I am thankful the Gospel is so simple.  It doesn't need all the hoopla and distractions that I have grown accustomed to not just in our wards but in everything we do.   Let the Spirit do the teaching.  Do more doesn't necessarily mean, do it like there ain't no bills to pay tomorrow.  I know some people will probably think, who the heck does she think she is?  It's my opinion and it's my blog so I'll write what I wanna write...LOL...but fo reo tho...back to the basics people...keep it simple.          

Girl talk...

 

Day 12 of Thanksgiving I'm grateful for girl talk.  There is something so comforting about talking with other women, especially when they are awesome and trusted friends.  It doesn't matter what stage we're at in our lives, I always come away from good girl talk feeling invincible, ready to attack any battles that may come my way.  We share our struggles and our triumphs but mostly we laugh about our families and little oddities of our hubby's or children.  We smile about the unexpected stages our lives are in but are always grateful that we have an opportunity to learn from it and improve our circumstances.  We remind one another just how amazing we are and other times we offer the much needed "real talk" wake up call.  Sometimes we cry and vent but when all is said and done it becomes a lot less about talking and a lot more about listening.

 

Get it off your chest...

Day 11 and I'm grateful for blogging, it gives me an outlet to get things off my chest (see post below)...LOL...and a way to record my family's history.  I still do this when I journal, but blogging makes it 10 times easier.  I'm thankful for an outlet and I'm thankful for the comments. 

Temper, temper, tsk, tsk...

Today I am grateful for my temper.  Yeah, it probably sounds bad...but I'm sooo out of the "being a doormat" phase.  I am a mother now.  I used to just let things roll off my back, no big deal, get over it...and most of time, I am still like this.  But when it comes to my family...especially my child, DO NOT mess with me.  I will take you down and any flippin' posse you bring with you.  My son is a child, he is 3 years old, he is annoying to me, so I can only imagine how he may be at times to other people.  But do not mock my child, do not tease him like he's an adult, he is 3.  Do not be cruel to him and do not ever, never, never, never put your hands on him.  You hit me and I will turn the other cheek, I see you hit my son and I will break your hand!  That's all...thank you!

Hot chocolate...

On day 9 of Thanksgiving, I was thankful for hot chocolate.  I drank me some because it was so cold outside and took a nap that lasted too long...oh well...thank you cocoa for being so delicious!

Silence...

Day 8 and I'm thankful for silence.  Sometimes the best thing to do is say nothing at all. 

Church callings...

Day 7 of Thanksgiving and I am thankful for any opportunity to serve.  It doesn't really matter what the calling is...as long as I am able to serve in Lord's church, He can use me where ever He sees fit.  I always feel insignificant, or that someone else could do a much better job, then I remember the words of our Prophet today President Monson, "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."  So who am I to doubt the Lord?  He knows me better than I know myself, and every time that I've accepted a calling, I've been reminded that this is true.  I'm thankful for the lessons these callings teach me.  Each one has at times left me exhausted, frustrated, or running around like a chicken with my head chopped off.  But also they have left me feeling edified, appreciative, renewed in my faith.  I am grateful to have a tiny hand in building up the Lord's kingdom.  I am thankful for all those I have learned from.  It is truly a Gospel of service.    

Primary songs...

On the sixth day of Thanksgiving I'm grateful for Primary songs.  One of my favorite things in this world to do is listen to children sing Primary songs.  Not only do they have wonderful melodies, but if you listen to the words, each song teaches a principle of the Gospel in it's most basic form.  Easy to teach, easy to learn, easy to love...add in the voices of the purest little spirits and for the length of a beautiful Primary song, you have Heaven on earth.  This is only one of the great blessings I receive serving in the Primary in the Lord's church.  That and watching the sweet testimonies of Heavenly Father's children being planted.

I am so thankful that my son loves the primary songs.  Since he was born we've been singing them to him.  Sometimes wondering if it'll make a difference or if we're just causing a lot of unnecessary noise.  A couple of weeks ago he asked if he could sing them on his own.  His favorite one by far is, "I love to see the temple."  I love what the words teach him, without his even knowing it, he fills my heart with joy and as a mother my wish is that the words of this song will take root in his heart and one day he'll actually see the inside of the temple and the wonderful blessings the covenants there will offer him and his loved ones.

Enjoy the video...I posted the actual words of the song below...

 

I love to see the temple,

I'm going there someday.

To feel the Holy Spirit,

to listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God.

A place of love and beauty.

I'll prepare myself, while I am young.

This is my sacred duty.

A laptop with keys...

On the fifth day of Thanksgiving I'm grateful for my hubby's friend Leni for offering to give me a laptop that has all the keys on the keyboard.  It was practically new and I am loving that I can blog from home and it doesn't take me hours to write one post.  It may seem small and insignificant, but it's a huge blessing for me and I am so thankful.  I see Heavenly Father's hand in all aspects of my life, even the little things.  Thank you again Leni!