Prince Charming

Now is as good a time as any to brag about my AMAZING husband! I just wanted to take a minute to really let everybody know how great he is, although everyone who has met him already knows!

When I first met Matthew I asked all his friends and family to give me the dirt on this guy and all I got was...."he's a BYU fan." I am here to report that after 4 years of marriage, I still can't get any dirt on this guy. He is the man of my dreams and he just keeps getting better.

These past few months as I have been in school he has really stepped up! He's taken on all my secretarial duties, he's cooked, cleaned, and worked his little buns off, (not that he had any in the first place). He has been such a great support! I really owe a lot to him for helping me finish this goal.

He has also accomplished so much since we have been here. He has kept working with clients, doing his scripture memorization (that's one a day for the last 3 years and still going strong!!!) and he has been reaching out and making so many treasured friends....most of them under the age of 10.

Whenever we go to the beach (he's become quite the expert body surfer!) he finds some kid that becomes attached to his new "uncle."

His gifts have also grown so much since we came here. Last week we met a young girl who has been on crutches for 6 months because of a growth problem. Within a week Matthew had her off crutches and playing basketball. He has helped so many people in so many ways. I am so proud of him for that!

On a side note, I also think that Matthew has gotten cuter! He's gotten this great tan that makes him hard to resist!

I am so grateful for the time I have had to be with this special man in this special place. We still don't know where we will go from here or what the Lord will have us do next but I will always treasure my time on the North Shore with Matthew. This place means so much to me and being here with Matthew has only made it better.

I can't believe we're approaching our 4th anniversary! The time has flown by so quickly. We have done so much already and I'm so excited for all we have yet to do together.

Thank you Matthew for all you do to make all my dreams come true.

P.S. Thanks so much to Stephanie for the fun photo shoot and the great pictures!!

Milledrive - Food, Inc (2008)

Here's to the slow food movement! If anybody says they can't afford to "eat healthy" this will prove they can't afford not to! If two newlyweds living on a college budget in hawaii can afford it, anybody can!! This is an hour and a half long movie (plus about 10minutes of buffer time) So grab a bag of organic edamames, put the kids to bed, and enjoy the show!

Milledrive - Food, Inc (2008)

We're Ready!!!

Aloha! We are so excited to share the news that we have completed our paperwork and we're now available to adopt! Though we have had several generous offers from friends for us to adopt them, we have been hoping for someone younger, and more Samoan :) Feel free to check out our link at it's about love and to forward others there as well. https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24027218/ourMessage.jsf We are so excited for the opportunity to adopt! Thank y'all so much for all your prayers in our behalf and helping us get the word out. We have a testimony, now more than ever, that it's through others that our Heavenly Father answers prayers. Thank you again! We are so grateful for all y'all! LoveMatthew and Jessica

The Danger of Comfy Pants

Last year for my Christmas pajama’s Matthew bought me a pair of extremely comfy pants and a soft cozy zip up sweatshirt. I immediately fell in love with them and wore them whenever I had the opportunity. When we moved to Hawaii I couldn’t bring myself to pull them out of the suitcase since I was already dripping in the heat and humidity. I left them there to wait for a cooler day at a latter time.
The other day I went rifling through my suitcase to find some books when to my utter glee I came across these comfy pants. I longingly remembered the peace and joy I had previously felt when I wore them on those brisk winter and spring days back on the mainland. I thought how nice it would be to once again feel the soft, calming fabric against my skin. To cuddle up with a handsome man and a good book. I knew nothing would be more rapturous then to again feel that magic around me. Without a second thought I was resolved. I ran through the house opening all the windows. I turned on all the fans and savored every moment as I slipped into my blissfully comfy pants. Though no where near what could be deemed as “chilly” I was able to wear my comfy pants without discomfort in regards to the temperature. I quickly found our latest dickens novel and set out to make my blissfulness complete. I next found Matthew and made him sit on the couch and let me sit on his lap while I soaked in the ecstasy that was my current state. After a sentence or two Matthew got hot with me sitting on him in my winter attire, the cool breeze had ended and thus my comfort as well and the moment of elation had ended.
The battle of the comfy pants had been lost but the war was not yet over. The next day was dark and wet and could definitely be categorized as “winter “weather. I once again slipped on my comfy pants and enjoyed the gentle material and all it entailed.
Those first few days were such a comfort, A sweet reminder of winter and a joyful cue to prepare for the Christmas season. But, now here I sit, dishes in the sink, surrounded by my homework on every turn, Christmas to be prepared for, a husband to feed, laundry to be done, and a lesson to plan. Oh the danger of comfy pants! They lure you into their blissful rest till WHAMO! You’re hooked to their cozy, cottony, comfort and have lost the drive. I keep saying “tomorrow, tomorrow I will go back to my shorts and put these away.” But then the rain comes and a cool breeze blows and the idea of those comfy pants and a cup of hot chocolate tempts me away to a perfect pants paradise.

The Princess and the Pee

Notice: this post does contain some potty humor and is not for the faint of heart
Several months ago, for my sister-in-laws birthday we decided to give her and her husband (my brother) a few days of rest and relaxation at a hotel in a neighboring town. With 3 little girls under the age of 3 we thought she had earned a bit of time to herself to re-group and celebrate the time she had put in over the years. As an added bonus we volunteered to potty train her almost 3 years old. With soon to be 3 in diapers (she was pregnant with number 4 at the time) we thought that this would be the gift of all gifts to have her come home and have one less in diapers!
So we all set off on our adventures, they to the hotel for a weekend, and Matthew and I to the confines of our apartment, no more than 10 feet from the bathroom. We had done some study on it, asked a few friends, remembered back to our own experiences and felt we were up to the task. We figured, almost everybody in the world is potty trained, how hard can it be?
First, to Wal-Mart we took our victim, with all the magic of picking out princess panties, choosing several of her favorite juices, and selecting her soon to be treasures for potty treats she had no idea of what awaited her at our apartment. As usual she was filled with glee at the prospect of having a sleep over at “unle machews and auntie eshcas” house for it truly is a magical place filled with twigs and berries to munch on and a treasure chest packed with toys.
Within the hour she was in her new princess “Awowa” panties and chugging on her Sippy cup like there was no tomorrow. Our subtle plan was set in motion. We played dress up and princess, made lunch and had a picnic as we waited for the time to arrive.
And then it came, with all the excitement of toys and games there was an accident. Lesson number # 1 – 5 learned, here they are for future reference:
1. Don’t get the child so riled up that they have an accident out of pure glee
2. Don’t put the child in an outfit that is hard to get off in a hurry
3. Don’t tell them to go to the potty by themselves unless you want the bathroom redecorated with toilet paper
4. Just because it says color safe doesn’t mean you should use bleach on the carpet
5. Just because a child says “ I’m dwii” doesn’t mean they will be 30 seconds from now.
One strike, no big deal, I’ve been meaning to move my rug over there anyway. That bleached spot is hardly noticeable. So, on with the Cinderella pants, another glass of juice and were good as new. Buy this time even I was feeling the strains of being cooped up to long. So we decided to go to the park across the street. Still close enough that we could hurry back just in time…or so I thought.
This time She chose jasmine and we stayed in the apartment the rest of the day. Auntie, still trying to make it fun, thought we would make a treat in the kitchen while we waited. That was great fun till hands were sticky and nothing could be done. Next we thought Bell was our lucky pair, but to no avail….that’s where we learned lessons 6-8 and we were running out of princesses
6. It doesn’t matter how good the treat is, if they don’t get there in time theirs no turning back
7. Don’t let them see you wash the pants out in the toilet!!! A plunger will do you no good
8. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing….if the water is running for more than 1 minute go and see why!!!
Our next resort, with only 2 princesses left, was to nana’s house. Having survived this three times herself (not including herself) I thought she would shed some light on the problem…..but after 3 full Sippy cups we didn’t make it the drive across town, instead we made it to the carwash up the street.
After cleaning up 4 messes (only 4 because the nice man at the car wash also cleaned the car seat making number 5) in the coarse of several hours I decided enough was enough. I took her home, put her on the potty and told her she could get off and have a treat once she had gone on the potty. I put my seat across from hers and we sat there, waiting. Soon she was off in her own little world naming all the thing in the bathroom, what colors they were, and insisting that the step stool was “her step stool” and “her soap” and “her towel” after bringing her back to the point at hand several times she looked at me, with her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees, made a sort of grunting sound and sighed…” auntie, it’s stuck!”
How could I argue that??? I helped her down, we washed our hands and went back to playing dollies. One the way home from work I had Matthew pick up another pack of #2 princess panties (which I’m sure he wasn’t to happy about) and we kept at it for a few more days till her mother came home. We apologized for our failed efforts but were very proud that she still had 4 clean princesses left in her new pack! We sent her home with the rest of her potty treats and a pat on the head of a job well done. Once she was gone we reflected on our test run as parents which is where we learned lessons 9 and 10 –
9. Sometimes things just get “stuck “ and you just have to move on
10. Princesses don’t make messes or mistakes, they just make memories

Were Not in Kansas Any Mo Bwuda

After a frantic drive with dad terry and momma becca we arrived at the las Vegas airport, terminal 2 gave hugs, told the children to be good on their car ride home, and headed for check in. Having weighed our bags at home on a “some what accurate” scale, we held our breath as we checked in. Thanks to the long line behind us they hurriedly threw our bags on the conveyer belt and sent us on our way. We then passed through security where Matthew was put through the new alien transport detector 2000 and I was quarantined with my backpack to be searched. After intensive drilling I confessed to the 4 protein shakes that I had as contraband. After a few winks and a smile the security officer let me off for “good behavior” and escorting my drinks to the security break lounge.
We were finally on our way to our gate. We soon boarded our plane and were settling in, Matthew, with his triple combination to review his scripture and me with my crocheting. Less than half way through the flight our neighbor across the isle leaned over and asked if what Matthew was using was a triple combination….with such language we knew we were from the same planet…..we must have looked like quite the site, Matthew reading scriptures, our neighbor speaking some incomprehensible language about wards and stakes and quads and myself crocheting some strange black web that seemed to be controlling me instead of me controlling it. Probably the only Mormons on the plane and we find each other across the isle. What can I say, we Mormons like to congregate. As we stepped off the plane in Honolulu, our glasses fogged up, we gasped as we quickly chewed the air in an effort to expedite it to our lungs and we tried to dry ourselves on anything that we could find that looked remotely un -moist. Eventually we found our luggage, shuttle, and rental car and were full of hope, joy and faith as we set our sites on the Mormon paradise known as the north shore. We reminisced and laughed as we made our way over the Pali and through Kaneohe. We joked as we recalled the hard times we faced the last time we were on island and had a good laughed as we vowed that this time, things would be different!
We drove up to temple beach and saw the temple in the back ground, it gave us hope and confidence as we started on our mission: finding a place to live for the next six months…..that was 3’oclock. By six, and between my mother and our selves we had called everyone in the poly community short of the king of Tonga…… (By the way, neither his palace nor the Tongan consulate are for rent). Through an error in calculation (and surprisingly, not my error…..I’m language track) there are an estimated 100 single female students and 15 single male students and an en estimable amount of married students that are homeless this semester. Through this we’ve found comfort to know we are in good company. Gratefully we found housing through uncle Larry’s brother, Max Percell. We slept in the Hilton of studio apartments on the north shore. It was great! It was clean, bright, and had good juju J
On Sunday we attended church in the Laie 7th ward where we pleaded for mercy as we sought for a more permanent solution. We attended the gospel principles class, and a new side of Matthew was revealed. Our teacher, a local bwuda spoke in pigeon and made us feel very welcome on the north shore. Matthew joked with him like he was a bwuda from anuda muda. That was the first light of hope we had had since wading through our days of disappointment. What a testimony it is to know that we may be homeless, we may be half a world away from family and friends but we always feel home in the Gospel.
On Monday we had to be out of our personal Hilton. We increased our frantic search for a place to sleep that night. We then got a call from aunt Nancie's nephew, Steven Larsen who said he had a place we could stay till we could find something else. So we came down to Waikiki till we can find something on the north shore.
So today we continued our search for housing on the island. Starting out with a list of about 12 apartments available, we were hopeful but to no avail. So we sit here, on the 11th floor of a 38 store high rise in Waikiki, looking out over the lights on the hillside that looks like a wave on the shore reflecting the moonlight. We put our feet up and listen to the waves as we relax after a short walk on Waikiki beach to calm our nerves.
I think we would both confess that this has been one of the most trying situations of our lives. We’ve been lost, confused, homeless, and unwelcome. Being frustrated with our situation has, as times made us frustrated with each other which only makes us more alone and more isolated. Though were homeless, far from family and unsure what the next hour, let alone tomorrow will bring we know there is very little simpilthy for those lost in “paradise.” And this has helped us to realize how blessed we are. We have had a ruff over our heads every night. We have 3 and a half bags a piece of clothes to wear, and we have food to eat as long as grocery stores have sale items.
Tears have come readily today, weather as an expression of gratitude for the incredible abundance that I receive on a daily basis or for the hopelessness I have felt from my situation, I don’t know which. But it surprises me how emotions on opposite ends of the spectrum are manifest with the same outward expression.
So tomorrow well try again, prayers and tears will be shed, both in our behalf and in behalf of those like us who are desperately trying to accomplish what they feel directed to do. Hopefully, after it all, we will be blessed with one more blessing then we had today, and one more, or one less tear will be shed.

I Guess That Means You're Expecting

Aloha –

 

As most of you know by now, we have made the decision to adopt a little Polynesian boy. Several months ago we had an inspiring experience as an answer to much prayer and fasting. We are overjoyed that  this is how we get to start our family. I think the most poignant moment for me was as we shared the news with Mom Teeples, she said, “ I guess that means you're expecting!” Through these past 3 years there have been many joys and tears associated with starting our family, and I am sure there are to be many more. We are so grateful for your patience, love, and acceptance as we excitedly wait for the time when we can bring our son home and welcome others into our family as well. We also invite you to spread the word and ask you to help us in our search to find him.  Thanks again for all you do! We love each of you so much!

 

Thanks

Matthew and Jessica