We Thank Thee Oh, God for a Prophet!

     On Wednesday, March 18th, 2009, Fotu was one of the four docents (narrators) for his 6th Grade play, "IN THE MIDST OF WAR."  Our entire family was able to attend and then right after the play we went to the Citizenship Ceremony for Sione.  We got home in time for a nice family dinner and then rushed Fotu back to school to participate in the play for the evening performance.  Sione took Litia and Kalina with him to the church for meetings.  Seneti and I went to the play to watch Fotu.

     Since Fotu needed to be there early and we didn't want to waste gas, Seneti and I were already stationed at our spot on the steps.  (The audience sits on the stage and stage steps while the performance is down on the gym floor level.)  There were probably no more than 15 people in the audience.  Within a few minutes Grandma Monson arrived and took her seat.  That is when I knew who was coming:).  I quickly realized that we were in a great spot.  We were out of the way, but could see everything!  I knew that the youth needed a chance to speak with President Monson, and that Grandfather Monson had come because he was a Grandfather!  I even heard my own mind whisper - "Just let him be a grandpa!"

     The people who knew what was going on stood up.  And while still standing, President Monson turned to the young men around him and said, "You will serve missions!"  He extended his hand in greeting and handshake to all that were present.  

     Then he teasingly said to a grandfather, "You will serve a mission as well!"  The grandfather reported back that he had already served his missions and they had a happy exchange about where those missions had been.  

     Then, President Monson mentioned that there was no red line on the edge of the top step where he was to be seated, and he was concerned that you couldn't differentiate the colors of the top stair and the stage.  He said, "Someone is liable to fall on their kanoodle!"  

     The custodian said, "We will put a red line on the edge of the stage."  Pres. Monson said, "Let it be spoken.  Let it be done!"  

     Then Pres. Monson's son asked him to take his seat, but Pres. Monson wasn't quite ready yet.  He had just spotted a darling little 2 year old girl dressed in bright blue and wearing pony tails dancing to the darling Jitterbug music that had just begun on the loudspeaker.  "And where do you get all your boundless energy honey?"  he asked Seneti.  

     Pres. Monson's son who knows our family said, "Her energy comes from being half Tongan!" 

     "Well, I bet you sleep like a rock when you finally go down at night!  What is your name sweet sister?" Pres. Monson asked her.  Seneti stopped dancing and looked up, up, up into Pres. Monson's eyes and face.  He is very tall already and was standing two steps above where we were.  Seneti whispered, "Seni."  Since Pres. Monson couldn't hear her, I answered, "Seneti."

Then Pres. Monson continued.  "What have you been doing today?"  Seneti just smiled.  I said, "Well, she went to watch her daddy become an American Citizen."  

     Pres. Monson said, "Oh really, from where?"  

     Pres. Monson's son said, "Dad, from Tonga." (Realizing that his father had missed the explanation of Seneti being half Tongan.)

     Pres. Monson said, "Malo e lelei!"  Then he spoke two other polynesian island language greetings and said, "I don't reckon you know those languages yet!"  

     I said, "Not quite yet!"

     President Monson said, "Where is that papa?"

     I said, "He's at bishopric's meeting."

     President Monson said, "We wouldn't want him to miss out on the young folks acting!"

     We quickly explained that Dad had seen the play this morning.

     President Monson said, "That's good.  Very good.  Thanks for talking with me young lady!"  

     Then, he sat down.

     A sweet family of a different faith was sitting in front of us and asked, "What is all this excitement about?"  

     I said, "That is President Monson of our church."

     The mother stated, "Oh, now I understand." 

     What a feeling of peace, joy, and the spirit had been present with us all day!  This experience was the icing on the cake!  As I think back to the exchange that was made, I realize that just like the Savior, Pres. Monson is drawn to the little children, as they are drawn to him.  Seneti was not at all afraid of him!  She loved to look up at him and 'talk' to him and stayed very focused for having so much energy.  I loved how Pres. Monson used his "story voice" with her as he is so skilled in doing.  It makes listening to him interesting and memorable.    

     Also I noticed that, Pres. Monson chose to draw us in, when we consciously were staying aside.  Teaching by the example of pure love and charity - making others feel important and special is also what I witnessed.  

     The audience continued to grow and remain reverent.  Many YW groups were attending the play and each YW was given the chance to shake the prophet's hand.  Looking at their eyes and faces made my night!  Like Seneti, they each just gazed into his face, and it was what I saw on their faces that was beautiful!  

     The play went off without a hitch!  Each person played their part tremendously well!  The entire experience was reverent and peaceful!  Pres. Monson wiped away a tear during the part when his grandson (playing the part of an American soldier) crossed cultural and waring boundaries to bridge the gap of brotherhood on Christmas Eve.

     What a wonderful experience to see our mouthpiece for the Lord on earth, take time for family, grandchildren, little children, youth and the rest of us!  People and relationships is what it is all about.  We are, every one of us, after all, the work and the glory of God!  Our Prophet KNOWS exactly that and LIVES it!  He definitely LOVES each of us and wants to SHOW us.  How thankful we are that the Lord has anointed a Prophet in these very days!  

     May we HEARKEN (do) as we listen to his voice and then RECEIVE (willingly) what the Lord would have us learn.  

AMERICA - God Shed His Grace on Thee!

It's Official!   Sione is a Naturalized CITIZEN of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!  He laughingly said, "Now I'm Americonga!"  We have a new birthdate in our family!  A new birth of freedom and responsibility on this March 18th, 2009 for our Dad!  Freedom to Vote!  Freedom to apply for a United States Passport!  Responsibility to bare arms when asked!  Responsibility to Vote!  Responsibility to participate on jury duty and the like!  Oh, the BLESSINGS we have!

WHAT A GREAT DAY!  There is nothing like the wonderful feeling of patriotism that comes while being with those who RAISE THEIR RIGHT HAND and are taking and have just taken the Oath of Citizenship in this great country!  Sione was sitting only 4 rows in front of us.  He had on his dark blue suit with a white shirt and red tie.  He looked the part!  As he stood, he looked TALLER! (He says that is because all the people around him were so SHORT!)  From where I was sitting I could see his HUGE hand perfectly!  He raised it LOUD and PROUD!  He has been very respectful, but has WAITED PATIENTLY to say the Pledge of Allegiance for the FIRST TIME - TODAY!  (A personal choice.)  TEARS were glistening from all of us!  We listened to a lovely rendition of The Star Spangled Banner and heard two short essays by two 5th Grade boys.  

The Honorable Judge was himself a naturalized citizen of America.  At age 14 he was working along side his father as a migrant farm worker.  They landed on a farm in Franklin Idaho.  When the farmer found out his age, he told him that he was welcome to work on weekends and after school, but he was not welcome to work when school was in session.  That was the turning point for this Federal Judge.  His schooling took him to Utah State, then on to the University of Arizona and while at Law School realized that he could not take the Bar Exam unless he was a citizen.  So, he went to work to fix that.  Now he is a Federal Court Judge and loves to participate to help others as he was once helped.  He respectfully told his story in short detail, and then left the time for those who had just taken the Oath of Citizenship to tell a bit about what they were feeling.

Americans Old and Young (in more ways than one) turned on their tears for what we heard!  A young Chinese girl was thankful that she would now have an American passport and travel home to help her father get out of jail for something that he didn't do.  Without the American Passport, she would never have the chance to help him, or a chance to leave there after trying.  An elderly Bosnian woman who was thankful for America a place of PEACE!  (Wow!  I would love to hear more of her story!)  A middle aged Cuban man that was thankful for the opportunity to TOUCH a Bible at age 30 upon arriving in America - something he was NOT allowed to do before coming here.  An Elderly Pakistani Woman that was thankful for the Rule of Law of America!  The opportunity to live with people that treated each other with kindness and respect.  Even the great chance to speak in a public setting - even invited to - when she was just as regular as the next person.  A young Argentine woman who was thankful her daughter would have a chance to grow up and go to great schools and have a chance like the judge.  A Bolivian Grandmother that had finally fulfilled her father's dream to come to The Land of Promise and  become a citizen here.  She has been taught all her life that America will be Great as long as She is GOOD.  That America will cease to be GREAT when she ceases to be GOOD!  An Australian born Asian was a fun speaker that joked about his culture, but the delight of being an American Citizen since his son was born in America.  A New Zealand lady that had her Dream come true after a visit to Disneyland when she was 11.  From that moment, she realized that she wanted to have what America has to offer.  

Yes!  198 people from 60 countries were made citizens today in Salt Lake City.  

As we entered the theatre, a hispanic teenager became the unofficial door holder.  I quickly figured out that he hadn't intended to stand by the door holding it open for the throngs of people entering the building, and so I let him know that we would take our turn.  He said, "Oh no worries!  I can get back in line with my family easier than you can, so I'd be happy to do it." For just under an hour I wrangled Seneti while we were waiting to enter the Theatre.  We were lined up numerically next to a sweet hispanic family.  They were watching the different needs of people around them and helping out in any way they could.  It was genuine brotherhood at its best!  As I spoke a little more to them, they told me that it was their Mother that was receiving her citizenship.  They were just acting as she had taught them.  Seneti was very worked up by the time we settled into our seats.  This same family helped entertain her during the ceremony.  

What the World Needs Now is an Attitude of Gratitude and an eye for all the good that is going on in this old world around us!  We have some very grateful people going to bed tonight!

Thank you America for being so generous!  Thank you America for allowing these huddled masses yearning to be free to find a freedom that was not their birthright!  There is much that is right about America!

BIG Band - Bananza

Fotu played in the Spring Honor Band at TimpView tonight.  Wow!  What a melodious sound!  It was inspiring and beautiful music.  What miracles have come to pass this year!  This year Fotu's a trumpeter.  He promises that next year it will be percussion.  You'll have to stay tuned to find out what he decides. The elementary musicians played first followed by the middle school and high school symphonic bands.  At the end, they all played Beethoven's, "Ode to Joy" TOGETHER!  That took 3 conductors and a HUGE stage!  The sound was phenomenal!  BIG band all the way!

Seneti perched herself excitedly on my knee for the entire concert!  She was happily entertained for the entire hour!  She loves music and watching all the instruments.  She loved seeing the string bass players, and kept pointing and saying, "Yook, big Yitia!"  (Connection to Litia's violin.)   

Today - ALL DAY - I helped rewrite and edit a grant for our school.  I'm thankful that on a regular day I'm teaching in a classroom of children!  They beat computers, buggle eyes and headaches any day!  It's nice to know that what you do on a regular basis is right up your alley and LOTS MORE FUN than other things!  Today I feel sorry for professional grant writers, and those who write grants because they must!

Today we heard that Pres. Obama wants to reward good teachers.  Now, that ought to be a proposal to read!  Who do you think will write up this lovely legislation?  Will those writing it ever have the chance to teach according to their own regulations?  How will it ever be valid?  It will certainly be interesting!  Hoop jumping comes to mind.  Practice will be held at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon.  However, we need not hold our breath!  I can imagine that it will take S-o-m-e TIME to get it all written!  

Whatever they do, give BAND teachers the raise they've already earned!  Have you ever heard someone learning to blow a trumpet?  Sick cow comes to mind!  Case dismissed!  

Kalina's "8" - Let's Celebrate!

Kalina 'decked out' in her birthday brights today.  Just imagine getting a buttermilk hug from a TALL, happy girl in a purple & white polynesian-print adorable blouse, dark hair all a-curl; topped with a dar-lable flower (Caroline fashion).  Her eyes were all sparkles!  Her smile real & quick to burst out!  

Kalina, you are BEAUTIFUL!  

You have been waiting for this special day for a very long time!  An 8 year old birthday is especially wonderful because of your baptism.  Your lacy white dress is ready to go!  You know that it represents purity and peace!  You know that this special time is for you to fulfill a covenant with our Heavenly Father and become a member of His true church on the earth.  You are following the example of our Elder brother Jesus Christ.  To be baptized by immersion as He was is a very important and special choice you are making.  We are thankful that you understand so much about your baptism day and want to be like our Savior.  

Kalina, we love you!  We want you to always be happy!  We are very thankful that you are part of our family!  We love to watch you learn and grow and be such a great friend to everyone!  

We think you're great - especially when you're 8!

How Long's it Been? Litia's 10!

Can you believe that Litia is already 10?  March 5, 2009!  It's official!  That is called - NO FAIR!  Whoa!  Hold On!  S-L-O-W Down!  Wait~!  Time OUT!  W-H-A-T?

    It could only have been yesterday that I held the most beautiful, 'little' (by our family standards) bundle of joy in my arms as I gazed in awe out the DIXIE hospital window right through a pink popping blossom-bursting tree with the celestial white Temple as the background.  I was overcome by the miracle of such perfectness all buttoned up in miniature, when Sione and Fotu the sporting Dad and Son duet came sauntering in for Fotu to catch the first view of his sister and pass out red roses to their favorite girls! Now if that didn't bring tears?  I don't know what would!  All dressed up and handsome!  My Fotu became a little man that very moment I think!  I had never seen him look so BIG - or handsome!

     It has been said that we write to taste life twice.  I don't think I've even thought of this event of our guys with their roses for many years, until right now when I was reflecting on those first hours with our new Liti Lady-bug.

     She was and still is such a beauty.  I could gaze into her large dark eyes, framed in long dark lashes for hours on end.  Her dark curly hair was precious and easy to make perfect.  Oh, how fun it was to have a bow in her hair!  Litia hummed.  She always had a little song going on.  I couldn't get over her dainty details and petite profile.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I had been imagining that she would be a lot like Fotu.  How could that even be possible?  Each precious spirit comes from Heaven with their own personality.  I guess I just thought that my kids would be a lot alike.  (Now why I would think that is a bit crazy since my own siblings - all 10 of us - are no more exactly the same than the cow jumping over the moon.)  

     As a few months grew on Litia, I realized that she is a cookie cutter mold of her father.  One afternoon Sione and Litia were stretched out sleeping on a quilt on the carpet.  Their bodies were in the same pose.  One so large, and one so dainty.  Yet, feature for feature, they were SO SIMILAR, one masculine, one feminine!  Long backs, long legs, long fingers, full lips, large eyes, long lashes, and cute full noses.  It is in a moment like this that heaven touches earth and you KNOW that we are created in the image of a loving Heavenly Father and Mother.  We belong!  We have a place!  We KNOW who we are!  Creation is a miracle of blessings and joy!  

     Litia, as you have now completed your 10th year on this earth, I want you to know how much I love you!  You are beautiful inside and out.  You have been blessed with the gift of music that sings around inside you and has to find a way out.  You have been given very athletic abilities.  You have a keen mind and sharp whit.  You enjoy learning new things and trying out new experiences.  We are so glad that you are a member of our family!  WE LOVE YOU and are glad that you are part of our family here on earth!  

    Keep choosing great experiences and friends.  Keep doing well in school and with your violin. Do those things that are right and make you TRUELY HAPPY!  We are glad that you've been in our family during this decade.  Just think - in the next 10 years there will be many different experiences.  You will most likely be on your own and although still a part of our family, on your own.  Wow!  That is what makes me want to whisper - hold on!  However, we are on this ride of life together, so I will still say, "Hold On!" - but mean it this way:  Hold on to all that is good and right.  Hold on to good friends and wonderful traditions.  Hold on to the incredible memories we have made together.  Hold on to your testimony!  Hold on to your brother and sisters!  Hold on to your happiness, joy, peace and contentment!  Hold on to being the best you, you can ever be!  

Lots of love for many 10's to come!  Hold ON!

When She's Helping She's Happy!

     That is the theme of my sweet sister Ida!  She stopped by Thursday on Litia's birthday and gave her the cutest scripture tote in the world!  (Manufactured by Misha of course - and accessorized by Ida of course - 'Cute STAR button!')  Then, she invited the girls (birthday twins -Litia & Kalina - two years and four days apart) to BOLT the movie for the next evening.  

     So, Friday Ida showed up around 4:oo and even invited Fotu to come along.  While they were gone, Seneti and I worked on dishes and the laundry.  Seneti can play in the sink for hours - and that is NOT exaggerating!  She's now just tall enough to turn the faucet on by herself when on tiptoes atop the dining room chair.  She remains contentedly perched there as she scientifically rediscovers everything water can do!

     When Seneti is helping with the laundry, SHE is the sole operator of the hot air tumbler.  She wants to be the one to open the door, add all clothing garments, put in the fabric softener sheets, and close the door!  She wants to turn the knob and set the start button!  It is one of the most darling rituals this side of Slate Canyon!  Although it takes at least 5 times as long to accomplish as normal, I just remind myself that this is an act of love on her part and know that someday I will want her willing desire to serve and the time we've spent to be back!  I just savor every second!  My payback tonight was, "I Wuv You, Mom!" stated on her own (without any prompting) for the very first time in recorded Earth-life history!  It was topped with a koala hug so tight that pinches were part of the deal.  Oh, my sweet Seni Girl!  

     Before you knew it, Smiling Gorgeous Ida and the kids came barging back through the door!  They had enjoyed the movie and the time spent together.  What great sisters I have!  They make everyone feel so important!  Thank you for being a happy helper and giving my kids a much deserved retreat!  I LOVE YOU!