A True Gem

Christmas 2009 in Utah.  Auntie Jewel is at the far left.

If anyone follows me on Facebook, you all probably know that Malu's (well, our) Auntie Jewel (pictured here to the far left) passed away early Wednesday morning and it's been a sad time for our entire family.

When Malu was a teenager, his father sent him to Utah to help his grandparents out, which is pretty common for Samoan families.  At one time, both his Auntie Jewel and Uncle Mike (his dad's siblings) lived at his grandparents' house.  Since both grandparents were working at the time, Malu said that he was often in Auntie Jewel's care, so he credits her a lot for raising him.  When Malu and I were dating, he'd always spoken so reverently of her and when I met her for the first time (back in 2006) I understood why.  I will always remember how beautiful, intelligent and poised she was.  She was soft-spoken, but exuded so much confidence.  She was a credit to society--a dedicated and hard worker at the sheriff's department.  She was a great mother and role model to her two beautiful children (also pictured here; named Sala and Daniel) and before we had Sina, Malu always told me that he wanted to be as a great a parent as she was. 

Malu's R&R in Utah (May 2009): from L to R: Auntie Jewel, Malu, Me, Lulu (my SIL) and Daniel

For the past five years, Auntie Jewel battled carcinoid cancer.  She fought it with everything she had.  Half the time, we could never tell that it was affecting her; for when we would call, she sounded as healthy as a horse.  She would never let on that she was in pain, although the cancer tore her apart.  I wish I had even an ounce of the strength she did. 

We were told that as she took her final breath, you could see the pain leaving her body.  I know that it was God telling her that she didn't have to fight anymore and that He was bringing her to a place where she would be at peace with Him...and looking over all of us.  So although this is a devastating loss to all of us, we find solace in knowing that she is in good hands.  And I have to add that I am so glad that Sina was able to meet Jewel.  She won't remember it years from now, but we (especially Malu) will be so excited to tell her about her lovely Auntie Jewel--really everything her name encompasses--a true gem.

Malu's Visit to Utah (May 2008): Jewel & Malu with Daniel & Sala

I pray for Malu's entire family--his grandparents and brother, Uncle Mike, who fought alongside her every step of the way, as did her husband, Uncle Bill.  I pray for all the family that will be flying in from all over the world to pay their respects to include Malu's dad, who will be flying in from American Samoa this week.  I pray even more for the children she left behind.  I can't even fathom the depth of their grief at losing their mom at such young ages (I believe, 10 and 7 years).  Even Jewel was young--I believe in her mid-40s.  I pray, and pray, and pray that God's peace be with them.

Tragedies like this always remind you just how fragile life can be.  Therefore, we must embrace life and live it to the fullest.  I charge all of you to do the same.

Malu and Sina will be leaving for the States tomorrow morning as the funeral will be held next week.  I really want to go, but duty calls, as always.  We also thought it would be best for Sina to be with her daddy (and meet her Grandpa Vila for the first time) instead of leaving her at daycare with strangers for an entire week and a half while I worked all day.  Although it will be a difficult time, I believe they will have some fun too.  I pray for their safety in the skies and that time passes quickly so that they can be in my arms again.

Thanks to our family and friends for their words of encouragment, love and support during this difficult time.

And thanks for listening!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Utah! (Part Two)

Finally getting around to making this second and final post about our visit to Utah.  So remember how I said I was going to tell you about going to two of the sweetest places I've ever been to in my life?  Well, I actually meant three.  Before I tell you about them, let me tell you about our trip to Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

In previous visits to Utah, I'd never actually been sightseeing.  So this time around, and after much cajoling, Malu actually took me to Salt Lake City to play tourist for a little bit (this was our last full day in Utah).  I'd always wanted to see the Mormon Temple at Temple Square.  As soon as you walk through the gates, not only do you see the temple in all its splendor, you hear the angelic singing of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

We toured the visitor center.

And visited a Joseph Smith memorial.

And took more pictures of the beautiful temple.

There were 30 weddings scheduled the day that we went (according to a tour guide).  We actually saw about five different wedding parties gathering in the front of the temple (pictured right) in complete chaos.  But there were beautiful gowns that I wish I'd taken pictures of.  I'm so glad that we went, although it would also have been nice to go at night when the entire temple is lit.

Knowing my love of all things confectionary, Malu (with some help from his Uncle Mike) found two bakeries to take me to.  OMG...what a treat it was.  The first place he took me to was called La Bonne Vie, which is located inside the Grand America Hotel.  You would have thought that I was a 5 year-old seeing Disneyland for the first time.  I was so excited.  The place was so beautifully clad in pastels, little trinkets and the most delectable of treats.

hmmm....what to buy?

yummy gelato!

decisions, decisions!

It was my first time trying macarons (or French Macaroons).  For these, I'd fly back to Utah in an instant.  The customer favorite are the beige ones to the far left.  They are a salted caramel flavor.  Sooooo delicious.  I also tried the passionfruit, raspberry, and chocolate ones.

Chocolate covered strawberries.

I walked out of there with a bag full of goodies.  Even the packaging was amazing.  I had to take a few pics.

I think Malu got a kick out of how crazy I went at this place.  And then we went to another place called Gourmandise...Salt Lake City's most award-winning bakery and cafe.

Malu in front of the Gourmandise.  Thanks for taking me baby!

There cases stockpiled with pastries, cookies, and cakes.  So many too choose from.

Too many, in fact, that I got so overwhelmed and just settled for a whole cake--a white chocolate strawberry chantilly cake that cost over $40, but was well worth it.  We even had it for breakfast the next day.

We spent the rest of our last day in Utah with our little cousins and with Uncle Mike while Grandma and Grandpa watched Sina.  After eating dinner at Mimi's Cafe, Uncle Mike took us to Nielsen's for some frozen custard. 

I had a caramel sundae and I'd never seen so much caramel in so small a serving--not that I complained!

Enjoying time with Uncle Mike and the kids.

After that, we took the kids to see the movie, Tangled, which I've seen another time with my sister since then because it was just so darn good. 

Unfortunately, we departed the very next day.  I couldn't help feeling like we should have stayed in Utah a little bit longer.  A huge thanks goes out to Grandpa Jim, Grandma Lema, Uncle Mike, Auntie Jewel, Uncle Bill and the kids for welcoming us and making another stay so memorable.  We miss you all so much!

  Since then, we've been enjoying our time here in Colorado Springs with more family.  Malu's brothers are here and his sister stopped by for a little visit as well.  It's been great, and I do promise to post about our Christmas very soon.

If you ever find yourself in Utah anytime soon or in the near future, you now know where to go!

Utah! (Part One)

 I feel bad because it's almost been a week since we left Utah and only now am I making this post (my apologies to Grandma and Grandpa Doyle in Utah!). 

First of all, I had completely stressed out before leaving El Paso, what, with it being Baby V's first time on an airplane and all; not to mention I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get her and all of her stuff through security.  To our delight, the process was so simple.  As soon as the TSA guys spotted us and our stroller, they flagged us down and pulled us forward--all the way past the long lines and helped us break everything down into those plastic bins and quickly inspected Baby V's bottles, her car seat and stroller.  We made it all the way through security and all the way to Salt Lake City intact and with one happy baby.  As a matter of fact, she slept all the way there.

We also got our first glimpse of snow from above.  These are actually the Rocky Mountains on our way to the Denver International Airport where we had our layover.  In the time that we waited in Denver, we could have made it all the way to the Springs to visit!  But coming from El Paso where it was still in the mid-60's, it was so nice to actually feel like Christmas was approaching!

Anyway, we had a marvelous time visiting with our family (from Malu's side) in Utah.  It was the first time that Baby V got to meet her great-grandparents, Grandma Lema and Grandpa Jim.  She was also able to meet Uncle Mike and Auntie Jewel (Malu's dad's siblings) as well as her cousins, Sala and Daniel (Auntie Jewel's kids).

 

Weeks before our trip, I'd been nervous about how Baby V would react to meeting new family members as she'd become increasingly picky about who she kept company with.  Well, she was in love with Grandma and Grandpa at first sight, giving them big smiles and all throughout our stay.  Not only that, Baby V was spoiled from the start.  Within minutes of our arrival, Grandma Lema brought out a box full of new clothes for her.  It was unbelievable.  Throughout our stay, she'd bring in more and more stuff and I'd secretly wonder how we were going to fit all of that stuff into our luggage.  I mean, we already had five big pieces of luggage and let's not even go into how many carry-ons we have.  Grandma Lema hardly let Baby V out of her sight.  She held and carried her everywhere, bathed and fed her, and even had her sleep in her room.  I enjoyed seeing them interact that way.  Malu and I hardly saw her while we were there and although we missed her, it gave us time to spend with other members of the family.

One day, Grandpa took Malu and I to Park City.  I'd always wanted to go there and they had an outlet mall that I wanted to visit just to get some Christmas shopping done.  Park City is your typical ski resort/town and reminiscent of those that I'd visited in Colorado.  We took a stroll down Main Street,

hit up some cool shops (where we saw and took pictures of some funny stuff),

  

and ate at the Main Street Pizza & Noodle. 

And when we went to the outlet mall not too long after that, I scored big time on a Columbia jacket (not this one, I was wearing Malu's jacket at the time), some clothes for Baby V (as if she needed some more) and some gifts for family.

Since it's almost 1:00 a.m. and because it's taking forever to download some of these pictures AND because I'm exhausted, I'm going to tell you guys more about Utah in another post...hopefully tomorrow!  I'll tell you about our trip to Temple Square and about our stops at two of the sweetest places I've ever been to in my life!

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve!  Santa's coming soon!  Enjoy everybody!

Malu's R&R from Iraq

Hello! In case anyone forgot who I am since I haven't blogged in AGES, let me re-introduce myself. My name is Michelle and.....ha ha ha! Seriously, it has been forever since I've mustered the energy to blog. It's mostly been my job...okay, it's only been my job, and I just haven't had the time. Or maybe i just didn't make time. Whatever. Since I've missed blogging so much, I've decided that I'm going to post at least one blog a week until I deploy at the end of the year. In fact, I promise to do so. So my fellow bloggers, please help me keep this promise and send me a message anytime you see me starting to slack again!

Anyway, for the past two weeks, my sweet love, Malu, was here for his R&R from Iraq. Not knowing exactly when he would arrive in El Paso, we didn't make any big plans--only to visit family in Utah and Colorado, since we are big-time home bodies anyway. It was all so wonderful! I'm sad to say that he left this morning and I've been a wreck since he left the airport. I'm just wondering where all the time went, and even more so, when all these good-byes are going to get easier. Probably never.

Just taking a stroll down our R&R memory lane...when Malu showed up at the airport, I picked him up in our brand new Jeep Commander. The only thing is, Malu didn't even know that we (or I, rather) had purchased it the week before. So it was a complete surprise to him too. He wasn't all too upset, but quickly warmed up to his new ride. A few days later, we packed our bags, loaded the Jeep, and head out to Utah to see Malu's family.

This was my second trip to Utah to see Malu's family. My first visit had been in July 2006, so it was a long time coming and it was so great to see everyone--Malu's grandparents, his aunt and uncle, his cousins and even his sister, Lulu, flew out from California to be with us. Here is a picture of the gang at a local buffet in Ogden, Utah. The food was absolutely marvelous there--and even better at Grandma's house! We spent the majority of our time with the kids and sharing memories and laughs with Malu's grandparents. We were so sad we had to leave...but happy that we still had more family to see in Colorado.

Our first stop in Colorado? A Flores de Mayo celebration for the Fil-Am Community. We literally arrived on a Saturday afternoon, dropped off our bags at my parents' house, took showers, and head over to this party. Typical. But it was so nice to see the entire community, who have given Malu and I so much support over the years. Here, we're taking a picture with my brother and some of our close friends.

Besides seeing my family, Malu and I were able to spend time with our baby girl, Lucy. Back in March, I drove up to Colorado from Texas to drop Lucy off with my parents. I'd become accustomed to working 12-15 hour days (I know, ludicrous!) and I didn't feel it right for Lucy to be neglected like that. So, I thought it best that I leave her with mom and dad, where she has the company of my entire extended family as well as their dogs, Rusty and Misty. Here's our little fur-baby with her daddy! They're about to go for a long walk.

A few days before we left, mom and dad threw a huge party for us at the house. I don't have a picture here, but you would not believe how much food and how many people came. It was ridiculous! I swear, in total, I gained five pounds the entire weekend!

Another cool thing...Malu and I were able to meet our first (and only--so far) godson--Joshua James Tajuna--son to our closest friends (practically family), Charisse and Jacques. He was born, I believe, on May 8th and is a precious bundle of joy! Malu and I can't wait to see him grow and even more so, to give him a little playmate. But that's way down the road!

After visiting with family, we ended up spending Malu's last few days here in El Paso, just doing what we do best--lounging around, laughing, being silly, talking and getting reconnected. It's funny, despite how long we've been separated (and how often) we always seem to fall right back to where we left off. How comforting is that? It's also so makes our relationship that much more exciting. Absence really and truly does make the heart grow fonder.

Well, everytime Malu leaves, I always make it a point to take a picture of him getting ready to go. Here he is with that million-dollar smile early this morning. As always, he was a good sport, offering me encouraging words and doing his best to remain composed as I was falling apart at the seams, crying sporadically even up to a few days before his departure. I thank God for giving me a patient, understanding, and caring husband.

Not sure what the months ahead look like, other than the fact that I will deploy by the end of the year. Malu is trying to extend in Iraq so that he can be with me during my tour. If not, he will redeploy in September and attempt to re-mobilize for another deployment to Afghanistan. These are such busy times! Please keep us both in your prayers!

I just spoke to Malu a few minutes ago and he was about to board his flight to Kuwait. Baby, I love you and miss you so much. Thanks for a wonderful two weeks! Have a safe trip back and be safe on all your missions and travels.