Secret

(I can put these up because Steve wont look on here lol).

So like a good wife I totally forgot its Fathers Day this Sunday.I didnt remember until Monday night!So while asking Steve what he wants,I secretly asked my friend S if she would take some photos of the girls and I for him!He is so hard to shop for and I figured he cant complain about photos of his three favourite girls right?!

These are a few of the photos S took and I love them!

 S told the girls to hug me,they nearly knocked me over!

 I love Siennas facials!!!!!

Thank you S!And Happy Fathers Day Mr Wong!Your the best Dad ever and our girls adore you so much!

In February I climbed up Mount Pirongia (well the summit) not once but twice!!!!First with my friend from high school and then with S.

It was hard work but worth it!

I love that I am finally doing things I have been talking about for years.

I didn't get many photos from the first trip,and what I did take are blurry (go me!).But it was a steep climb (someone said it was over 400 stairs),and there was what felt like a very steeeeeeeep massive climb up rocks!
Good workout though.

-and now that this was months ago,Steve,A and I are doing a 10km marathon in Whangamata tomorrow!!Just walking it cos running hates me and vice versa lol.But still,I'm happy!

Surprise

This is a tricky post to write.But I realised the other day that I have never ever once been ashamed of being a christian or of the church I attended,and I'm not going to start now!
I know it came out of the blue for some people (and not so much for others!),and it is going to seem so contradictory to some (but eh I don't care!).I'm writing this because this is now a huge part of our lives,so why not share it?I share pretty much everything else!

Steve and are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormons.

Clear enough?

Its kinda hard to write about because it is such an in-depth story.Once we had 'decided' to not join,I couldn't get over it.I got angry,resentful,a whole bunch of emotions that I shouldn't have been feeling!I tried to get over the pull I felt towards the church,to the faith, by telling everyone I didn't believe it,that it wasn't true.

Yeah....that worked!Not!I was still looking into things,still asking questions.But I didn't know how to ask my friends cos I didn't want to be the dork who kept asking but never doing anything about it.
One day in April,Steve and I went for a walk out at Raglan and I blurted out that I wanted to get baptised whether he did or not!Poor guy.I told him I needed to do it for me,I didn't expect him too,but I needed to see if this pull I felt was for a reason,and at the end of the day if it made me feel closer to God than surely it couldn't be wrong.We talked A LOT!Days of talking!Honestly this was a time where I was so grateful for the man I married,so grateful that God put us together.Not once did he say no or judge me,he just told me if it was really what I wanted to do then that was ok.I love that man more today then I did when I married him 8 years ago!

My friend (hi S!) gave me a copy of the Gospel Principles That book now is half covered in questions and comments.I never expected Steve to want to join,it was something I would have loved but not something I expected.But while I was reading this book he would ask me questions,some I could find answers too,some I couldn't (or rather my friends could lol).He wanted to meet with the Bishop to ask some things (think Pastor of the church,but he works a full time job as well).He said what I expected,I was ready,Steve needed to pray and think.
So he did.
A week later we text the missionaries saying we wanted to be baptised and how could we got about it.
(I make it sound so simple.It wasnt.There were far too many late nights of talking and praying together)
We did the discussions (think lessons to explain the church).The missionaries must have either loved us or hated us,we aren't baby christians,far from it.I asked God into my heart when I was 3,and Steve was only slightly older then that,and we have had a close and personal relationship with Christ since.We have been in leadership in churches-for me nearly a decade of it!Our questions were in depth. (they must have liked us though because they kept coming back just to hang out lol).

So on the 11th of May 2013 Steve and I were baptised together!!!!
For me it doesn't replace my baptism from when I was younger,it was almost like renewing my promises to God,renewing my commitment to Him,a public declaration that I believe not only in God but in this church.Im fairly safe in saying the same goes for Steve.

Mr T on the left,Steve and I. (Mr T was the one who dunked us)

 Mrs T (or S as she is probably known on here!) and I.

 During the service the offspring of the T's and our friend A (plus Sienna) sung "I am a child of God",was so sweet (Isabella was throwing a tanty which is why she isn't in the photo).S and A gave beautiful talks which made my cry!

A,me and S after Steve and I were confirmed the Sunday after being baptised.These ladies are a huge part of the reason I joined.They showed me unconditional love and support even when I said I didnt want to join.I have very rarely had that,people being ok with my decisions regardless of what they believe or feel.So thanks beautiful ladies!!!!!

Steve and I are loving this church.The focus is so much on God and on family.I hadn't really realised just how much I had missed being a part of a church family.So I am really loving that.It isnt without its trials,I am finding it hard to trust other christians again (go find one of my old posts to find out why we stopped going to church in the first place,or just ask me!),am finding I need to readjust some bad habits and attitudes I have picked up while not being in church lol.But we love it,and we are happy.And thats the main thing right?!Personally I dont care where anyone goes to church,or whether they do at all!Its none of my business and I am hoping others can feel the same.

So...I am super duper proud of being a Mormon.It has changed my life for the better and I am HAPPY!And ya know what?I cannot wait until May next year when Steve and I can be sealed in the temple together!Bring on the party afterwards!!!


-I apologise if this post is a bit disjointed or whatever.It took me 5 hours a few weeks ago to try and articulate for a talk at church how all this came about,and for some reason its even harder for on here.Just like I told my family,if you are reading this and have any questions,please just ask,I wont bite your head off and would prefer to be asked then gossiped about lol.

In January Steve was working heaps on a construction site so we tried to take every opportunity we could get to spend time as a family.One Sunday we headed to the Hamilton Museum to have a look.We especially liked the Hamilton history part.I love all things "old fashioned"(one of my favourite memories is going to a old school house and dressing up in 1800's clothes when I was little),so pushed  encouraged Isabella and Sienna to try on these outfits!So friggin cute!!!!

 Of course Winnie the Pooh came along :)

 Watching old movies with Dad

 "Check mate" 

 Afterwards we went to the pet store and Isabella spent 15 minutes running up and down in front of this enclosure,so excited that the puppy was following her!

Isabella starts school

How is my child old enough to have started school?!!!!

Right so a photo dump then an update on how she is liking school.

Isabella ready for an open day at school (Ham East do open days for kids and their parents to come in and check out the school.Not a formal visit to what would be her classroom).This was in October last year

 Doing P.E with the big kids!

 I had never really thought about the fact that our girls have never really gone on a computer,I have always preferred they read a book or play.Isabella LOVED this!

 This was Isabellas proper school visit,in her classroom.She went to assembly and this giant pukeko was there! (it scared her a little lol)

 In her class (I had to bribe her to get her to sit with the other kids)

 Isabellas FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!With her little sister of course.

 And walking home with her bff and little sister!

So I was pretty worried about Isabella starting school.Not because she wasn't ready,she was!But I wasn't lol.I worried so much about her going from kindy where its one teacher to 7 kids,to going to school where its one teacher to 20+ kids!But seriously we got to school,I thought I would hang around for a bit (Steve even left work to come see her),but we get there,she gets on the computer and says "bye mum" and that was it!

But I am grateful that she has settled in so well,there are other kids who even now don't want to go!She started off in a new entrant class with 3 teachers!Which I wasn't aware of when she started.Her main teacher is the reading recovery teacher,so she wasn't in class until after morning tea,so the deputy principal did that part of the day,then the other one came in after.But if either of them were busy or away another teacher came in!Did you get all that?

It was me that was ticked off about it,NOT Isabella!She adjusted so well and takes everything in her stride.

2 weeks ago (so we are talking August now) she was moved into a Year One class.She has a new teacher (who I adore!),and it is far more consistent with the teaching ,which I love.Isabella misses some of her friends from her old class,but seriously she has just gone with the flow and is exceeding our expectations and her teachers!!!She is in the top of her class for reading and writing :D Proud parents here!!

Yup,so she is loving school!

-I want to add,that for us ,Isabella going to Montessori is part of why we feel she has adjusted so well to school.She didn't have to learn how to sit still,how to put her things away,how to look after herself,how to read the alphabet or anything like that because for two years previously she had been taught all that at Montessori!!!So,go Montessori!

Sienna 'squishy's" 4th birthday

Right so I'm at a bit of a loss on how/where to start catching up on the last 6ish months of no blog posts!!Lol for all of the 4 people that read this hahaha (side note:funny how in the last 6 months I haven't caught up and now my kids are sick and occupied with Peppa Pig I can get it done!).

SIENNA: 
Miss Siennas birthday is on the 12th of February (landed on a Tuesday this year,so we had her 'party' on the 16th).We have tried to make it where they get big parties for the big birthdays (so for us 2nd,5th,10th,13th,16th,18th etc).Sienna had a afternoon tea with a few friends.No organised games or party bags,just old fashioned playing :) I swear though,at 4 and 5 that seems to be what the kids want to do anyway!

 We decided to do face painting to make it a bit more then a play date for the kids :p Sienna said she wanted to be Bottomly Potts 'covered in spots'

 Isabella and M wanted to be cheetahs (sorry know I said I didnt want to put photos of others children on,but had no photos of just Isabella)

 When asked,Sienna said she wanted a princess cake.So we bought this edible transfer,and iced the cake yellow in homage to her favourite princess,Belle!

 Opening presents,best part of any party!

 Sienna and her cake,she loved it!

 Daddys girl :D

 Annnnd eating the cake!!

Sienna really enjoyed her day,so for me that means it was a success!

-Blonde moment!I forgot I had already posted about Isabellas birthdays and added photos!hahahaha so I just went and deleted a whole post :p Go me!

A little update on the whole weight watchers thing.Two weeks in and its awesome!Some days I go over by a point or two and other days Im under by the same,so its working out!I am walking heaps (thankfully a friend is doing it with me and that is giving me some awesome,much needed motivation!),this week am doing 8.5kms a day.Still havent weighed myself,but clothes are starting to fit a little looser which is always an awesome feeling!

And more importantly.....

This little man was welcomed into the family this morning!!My SIL Sam and her hubby Dave welcomed Weston into the world.Sadly they live in the States so we wont get to meet him until the end of this year unless I can convince Steve I deserve a holiday to the States in July :p  Weston is so adorable,and I reckon looks just like a Wong (spitting image of Sienna when she was born!)

(hopefully Sam doesnt mind me putting this pic up,only one we have so far,and hell I didnt want to wait to share his gorgeousness with the world!)

Welcome to the family Weston!