Primay Program

My boys have had their parts for their primary program memorized for some time now. Especially since the program was supposed to take place in the first part of November. They kept moving the program back and back and they just finally had it on December 14th. I absolutely love the primary program, getting to see the testimonies of all the kids and hearing them sing all the songs they've been practicing for so long. This year our ward decided to do the program in Tongan and I was so proud of all the kids for memorizing all their parts...even the young ones stood up there and spoke at the microphone without being shy.

Makai's part was a little lengthy, but he does such a good job memorizing and he had his part memorized from the beginning....Ova and I were so proud of him for getting up there and saying his part in Tongan w/out being shy or messing up.

Filimone, on the other hand was a little more challenging. Not at getting him to say his part, but at getting him to sit down and stay up at the front during the parts of the program where he wasn't talking. He was walking around the stage, up and down the aisle....and was very convienently not looking at the glares his parents were giving him.... hahaha. Uncle Sau grabbed him and brought him over to me and I whispered in his ear that he better go sit up on his chair and not move until it was time for him to say his part.... if he did it he would get a candy! (I totally hate having to bribe my kids... but hey, when they're just out of their terrible two's, you do what you can!) :-) He went up and sat in his chair and when it was his time for his talk he stood right up there like a big boy and said his testimony w/out help from anyone. Ova and I were so proud of him smiling so big!

Since the program was in Tongan, they were all decked out in their tupenu and ta'ovala (thanks to Grandma Pisila) they looked so handsome!

Pouha Sisters Annual Cookie Party!

Ok, so I know this post is way overdue....but I couldn't leave it out of my blog! Thanks to the beautiful Po'uha sisters: Lelu, Christina & Loyann....we had a wonderful turn out at their annual cookie-swap party! This little get-together is getting quite popular and this year because of all the people that were going to attend, we each had to make 20 dozen cookies..... yep, you read it right..... 20 dozen! We all had to sign up for the kind of cookie we were going to make so that we would have a variety of different kinds to share..... the last time I attended this party I made pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies....but wanted to try something different, something new that I'd never tried before. I saw this cookie in a magazine that looked so delicious....so I grabbed the recipe and that was going to be my cookie! It's called the polka-dot cookie....a chocolate mint-chip cookie. The first time I ever made it was for the party...so I was hoping they turned out ok! hahaha

Here r my cookies in progress..... the dough

On the tray b4 hitting the oven...

And ta-da....the final product! They turned out awesome!!

The party was so much fun! Much needed woman-time with other ladies/mothers/friends... the Pouha sisters went all out with decorations, games...and they even had home-made soup for their bread bowl soups! Lelu made this cheese-chicken-broccli soup and it was SO delicious! We sat and visited and talked and at the end of the night we all left with 20 dozen different kinds of cookies.....it was so much fun! Thank you Pouha sisters! Until next year! :)

There were so many cookies we had to set up 3 long tables for them all to fit

Some of the cookie-party guests...

We Are Blessed!

This, besides adding another addition to our little family, and Ova's health improving...is the biggest blessing we have received this year. Dannon Yogurt is the company that Ova just got hired at, and we couldn't be more happy! Ova and I talk about it all the time, about how blessed we are and how the Lord really does work in mysterious ways. The timing of this job couldn't have come at a better time for us. We are very aware that the Lord is mindful of us in all things and we are so grateful for his kindness, blessings, and generosity.
For those of you who are new to our blog, Ova's health has been a huge struggle for us over the past few years. He was diagnosed with Lupus about 2 1/2 years ago and once the diagnosis came, it seemed like everything the doctors tried made him progressively worse. He was put on every kind of steroid you can think of, some of them would work for a little while, but then they would stop and he would have to switch. We had to get a wheelchair to get him around to his appointments and he was pretty much bed ridden... one span of time lasted almost 8 months where he was immobile. This is a very touchy subject for me, and when I think back to how bad it got, I can't stop crying. This year has been full of miracles for us though and Ova finding a medication that has worked for more than just a couple weeks or months is one of the blessings we've received. I don't like to talk about it alot, not only cause it makes me tear up, but I don't want things to go back to how they were. He's still in a lot of pain a lot of the time, but as long as he makes sure to take his medication every single day, he's able to function fully as a father and husband. Because of his illness, he hasn't been able to hold a job...which has made it difficult because he feels bad for me for working all the time (which I wish he wouldn't because I love him, and would do anything for him) Once the medication started working and he felt good enough to look for a job, I was nervous that him working was going to trigger something and make him sick again. We talked about it and decided that it was a good time for him to start looking because, not only did we need the financial help because of the economy, but I was about to go on maternity leave and if he wasn't working, we would have no income coming in at all. We prayed, I made a resume for him, and we applied at every single place you could think of. We put in an application at computer jobs, warehouse jobs, cleaning jobs.....just everywhere. He kept getting "thanks for your interest in our company, but we've chosen to go with someone else" we were getting nervous and knew the economy was going way down hill and most companies were laying people off, not hiring them. One of Ova's first cousins and best friend Papa has worked for Dannon for several years and turned in a resume for Ova. About a month after it was submitted, they too called Ova and said it was a no go but that they would keep his resume on file. Thinking that wasn't going to happen, we kept on looking. 2 months later Dannon called Ova out of nowhere to set up a phone interview. Papa gave him some pointers on what they would ask, and I gave him some of my advice also. He did excellent on the interview and was asked to come in for a face to face interview. When he went in for the interview, he actually met with 3 different people. I knew he would do a great job becasue he's really good with people. He came home very confident, but they didn't offer him the job right then, they said they would call him back. He got a call giving him directions to go to a temp agency and to start working on a probationary status while they did his background check.... a very thorough one might I say.... after a LONG 3 months, he was finally offered a full-time position at Dannon. What a HUGE blessing for our little family! The best part of it is that he was hired as a forklift driver so he doesn't have to stand all day long.... which hopefully will allow him to work and not trigger his sickness. Like I said before, this couldn't have happened at a better time because 2 weeks after Ova started @ Dannon, SkyWest made me take my leave of absence for my maternity leave. I'm so grateful for this huge blessing we've been handed! Dannon is an awesome company, good pay, and they treat not only their employees great, but their employee's families as well. Ova absolutely LOVES his job....but I think more of it is that he is able to provide for his family. It doesn't hurt either that he works there with a bunch of his friends. :)
Ova was officially hired on December 1st, 2009 and just to show you how great of a company they are to their employees/families... they threw a Christmas party.... it was so nice to meet the people that Ova work with, but what I loved the most was how they totally focused on their employee's kids. They had a Santa Claus there to take pictures and Mrs. Claus was there too....they looked so real! They had a wrapped gift for all the kids, they had a craft table with a bunch of stuff for the kids to make ornaments and crafty things, and they of course had a refreshment table. We got to hang out with the other Dannon employees.... Papa & Barbara and their kids, Soni & Georgiana and their kids, Kefu & Georgia and their kids.... it was so much fun and I'm so excited to have Ova be a part of this great company! What a blessing!

My boys with Santa Claus...

Makai & Filimone w/ Mrs. Claus

Mone loved the craft table.... and Makai was stuck on the foos ball table...


At home playing with the gifts they got from Santa Claus...

Our Dannon Family friends...

Papa & Barbara Lomu and their beautiful kids

Soni & Georgiana and their 3 handsome boys

Temple Lights

I fell a little behind on my posts and there has been so much to blog about. I decided to dedicate myself to updating my blog 2night...so if you're a Fangupo blog follower, you'll have some reading to do... lol!

First thing I wanted to blog about was the Christmas Lights at Temple Square.
This is a tradition that we started when we first got married, but haven't gone for the past few years because of Ova's health. We were so excited this year to be able to take our boys to see the lights, see the temple and feel the wonderful Christmas spirit at Temple Square. It was so cold, so we were all bundled up nice and warm and we got to enjoy the lights w/ Kina & Tina & their family.... Sau leka.... and Tauafu! We walked around the whole temple grounds and took tons of pictures. It was a nice memorable night, and one I couldn't leave out of my blog. Here are some of the pictures I took!



           

Afterwards was delicious too because Tauafu baked home-made chocolate chip cookies and we warmed up with warm cookies and vanilla ice-cream! Yummy!

Fangupo Family Thanksgiving Feast

No one knows how to cook like my in-laws, the Fangupo's....after being in this family for 7 years, I can't think of anyone else who's cooking is better (sorry Mom & Dad, but I know you probably agree w/ me.... hahaha) This Thanksgiving was no different.... we didn't have the whole family here like we usually do, but we still went all out, I mean crab, roasted pig, lu pulu, turkey, stuffing, kumala, gravey, and Tina's delicious desserts.... we all met @ mom & dad's house and grubbed until we couldn't breathe anymore.... why is it that we always eat like that?? Probably cause the food is SOOOOOOO delicious!






This year was a special year for us too because we got to celebrate it w/ our little brother Sau...he's been away for the past 3 years, so to have him home for the holidays was so nice!

Sau feeding Filimone...helping him crack the paka....

Uncle Po showing the puaka he just roasted w/ Ova for Ma...