Happy 6th Birthday Moses!

Today marks six years since I gave birth to one of the coolest kids I know. I had trepidation at first when I found out I would be having a boy, but this little man soon changed my mind. (And now, for some reason, I can't stop having boys. Haha.)

You can't look at this picture and tell me that he isn't the cutest baby you have ever laid eyes on.

Happy Birthday, Moses!! You are the sunshine in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better son.

No, I have not dropped off the face of the Earth...

I haven't written a proper blog post in ages. Not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that life got kind of crazy once Simon turned one. Now it's almost six months later. It seemed like any time I'd find a moment that I could sit down and type, one or both of the little boys would start crawling all over me and want to commandeer the computer so they could watch something on Netflix.

We had a busy summer. We did a lot of fun things with our friends. I would have blogged about it, so that I could remember what they were, but I didn't, so I don't. Such is life. There was a last minute trip to Utah near the end of it. It was so nice to see family and hold my newborn nephew.

Then school started up again. Moses started kindergarten and is thriving. His two best friends from his brief stint at the preschool here ended up in his class. They are a pair of twin girls. He keeps waffling about which one he might marry someday. While I don't really want him to think about marriage at such a tender age, it's still pretty cute.

Akiko started third grade. It's been harder for her because that's the grade when you really start doing work and have homework every night. A lot of her best friends are in older classes that have different recess and lunch times, so she doesn't get to hang out with them at school. Otherwise, she's adjusted well to her new class.

Asher has entered the thrashing three's with gusto. Having had a worse experience with Akiko at that age, I feel better prepared to be able to deal with the tantrums and emotional outbursts. On the other hand, when Asher is happy, he is the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest, silliest, helpful, most adorable thing on the planet.

Simon is still a mama's boy, though he's starting to get over his extreme distrust of others. Everyone in our ward tries to get him to at least sort of crack a smile and if they're successful they feel like they won the lottery. This kid gets into everything. Cupboards. Drawers. Unrolling the toilet paper. Emptying tissue boxes. Chasing the cat. The other day, I caught him laying on his stomach drinking out of the cat's water dish! He loves to help me unload the dishwasher and is less helpful in the same way when I'm trying to load it back up again. He's starting to talk and says "Hello" and "I yuh you!" He loves to "go bye bye!" and tells jokes and laughs at himself all the time. This guy is learning tons of stuff every day and I love watching him grow.

Joseph is still working hard trying to get his business going. We're truly grateful to everyone who has helped us out. This has been a test of faith like I've never experienced before. Prayers are still appreciated. I don't really know what else to say on this subject because we're still in the thick of it. And it's late and I'm typing when I should be sleeping. Is any of this coherent?

So, I guess the biggest news lately is about me. No, I'm not pregnant. That seems to be the first thing everyone asks, so let's just clear the air on that one. Anyway, last week I was sustained and set apart as the new Relief Society president in our ward. It's been an interesting ride so far. So many people say things to me like, "I don't know whether to tell you congratulations or send my condolences" or "I'm glad it's you and not me." I know nobody's serious when they say these things, so we all just laugh it off. When the bishop first called me, honestly, my first thought was, Oh thank heavens I'm not playing the piano. But then I was like, President?!?!?!?!?!

I've been a counselor in Primary and a secretary in Relief Society (very briefly) and I feel like I'm very good at supporting the person in charge and giving my opinion on a given subject, but I've never had to be the accountable one; the one in charge, so to speak. However, having had about a month to mull this over and especially now that I've been set apart, I'm really excited that I have this opportunity to serve in this capacity. Do I feel overwhelmed and under-qualified? Absolutely! But I am not alone in this calling. I have the Lord on my side. I am simply the means that He needs to get His work done in this area.

I also feel that this calling is going to help me be a better member of Relief Society. I've been in Primary for 7.5 of the last 10 years or so and for a while, I thought that's where I belonged and I was fine with that. But really, I had become stagnant. I was not growing spiritually and I was often ignoring my role as a member of Relief Society by solely focusing on all things Primary related.

Whenever I was visiting another ward, I had a hard time sitting in the adult Sunday school classes and Relief Society and my mind would often wander to Primary. As soon as my baby would fuss, I'd be out in the hall walking with him towards the Primary room so I could listen to the kids sing. In our last ward, after I got released right before we moved, I could not bear to leave my Primary kids. I'd gotten to know them for the last three years and I love them so dearly and I think of them and still pray for them so often. I was so happy when they almost immediately called me into Primary in our current ward.

But for now, the Primary chapter in my life is closed and I have other areas where I need to grow and learn to thrive. There is so much work to do here and I feel like I have so much to give. The Primary kids know that I love them, now it's time for the Relief Society sisters to receive that love, too.

So, now we're sort of caught up. There's still so much more that I'd like to catch up, but that's likely not going to happen. I'm going to be busy. I don't know how busy. I don't know what to expect or what's in store for me, I just know it's going to be busy. If I can, I'll try to write, but please don't be surprised if another few months go by without a peep on the old blog. I don't even know if anyone has checked to see if I've written anything in a long time. But don't give up on me. We're still here. Just pray for us.

I love you all, dear family and friends!

My 3rd child is 3!

I remember this day so well:

Now it's been three years.

We've been through so much with him.

He's sweet. He's exuberant. He's helpful. He's independent. He's loud. He's cuddly. He's silly. He's handsome. He's bouncy. He's happy.

Most importantly though...

He's mine.

Yes. He still does "stinkface" for the camera, too.

Happy Birthday Asher!!

Simon is One!!

I wish I had time to make a longer post about how awesome this little dude is, but I've kinda been busy all day, so it will have to wait for a different post.

Happy Birthday Spanky!!

I asked him how old he was...

Some Other Things I Made For Akiko

Ok, so I've been wanting to show these off for a while, but I'm finally getting these things posted before it gets too late to do so, and therefore, gets weird.

In addition to Akiko's baptism dress, I also sewed her a new scripture bag to go with her new scriptures:

I didn't have to buy any fabric. I already had it on hand from a project that didn't turn out so well.

Joseph designed the floral pattern and I transferred and hand-embroidered it.
It's riddled with symbols.

"You even wrote my name on them! In gold!"

In addition to the baptism dress, and while I still had my friend's serger in my possession, and since my mom had sent a pattern and material, Akiko also received an Easter dress. I don't think this one turned out as well as the baptism dress, but it's still cute:

I try to get her to uncross her legs, because it looks so odd in photos, but she insists on doing it.
 I guess it's a "princess" thing.

Finally, I've got to show off her birthday cake. But, story first:

"Mom! For my birthday cake, I want it to be chocolate, with layers, and vanilla frosting. And there are two things I love most in the world. One is reading and the other is cats, so I want my birthday party to be themed Reading Cats."

"Akiko, I'm not throwing a birthday party for you. It's just going to be a few family members who are coming for your baptism."

"Ok, but can you still make my cake into reading cats?"

"Uh. Sure..." Let me wave my magic cake-makin' wand and make that one happen.

Fast forward a couple brain-racking weeks as I stand, staring blankly, in the cake aisle at the local Michael's.

"Hi. Is there anything I can help you with?" inquires the store employee.

"Uh. Hmm. Well..." and I proceed to tell her about Akiko's cake wish.

She grunts. You know, that grunt that's trying to cover up a laugh. "Okay... Well good luck with that." I know, right? To some, I think her reaction might have come off as rude, but to me, I felt like she was empathizing and I totally would have reacted in the same manner. And it's not like she walked off either. She stayed and brainstormed with me for a few minutes.

Anyway, after looking things over for another twenty minutes or so and walking up and down every aisle in the rest of the store, I came up with a vague idea, purchased my items, and left.

Once my sister and my mother-in-law were at my house, I bounced my idea off of them. I'm so glad I did. We came up with something so completely adorable. I'm really pleased with the end product and I could not have pulled this off without their help. Thank you Kristen and Char!!!

I had the basic idea, but Char helped with the play on words and overall design.

With the finishing touches.
Kristen found all the cat figurines for me, which we dipped in corn syrup to make them adhere to the cake. And when the frosting we were going to use for the cover didn't turn out, she ran to the store and found something even better.
I have the best sister on the planet.

I painted the tail and the blurred words with diluted gel food coloring.
The giant glasses were found at Michael's.
The bold letters are an edible sugar paper, also found at Michael's.

The only thing I wasn't able to deliver on was making the cake into a layered one. I made this one from scratch, because, unlike boxed ones, they're less likely to dome up in the middle. I needed the cake to be as flat as possible so that I wouldn't have to carve too much cake off in order to make it an open book shape. So, having a flatter cake meant that if I tried to slice it in half horizontally, it would have made extremely thin layers and I didn't want to risk ruining it. Baking from scratch also made a denser cake, as well, which I wanted.

Akiko didn't even notice that the cake wasn't layered. I didn't think she would.

So, what do you think? Did I do well for being given such an obscure idea?

I think it turned out beautifully. Char, Kristen, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. And it tasted good, too.

Akiko was thrilled.
(Photo courtesy of Gpa Fred)

She loves the giant glasses. Who wouldn't?
(Photo courtesy of Gpa Fred)

My dad emailed me all the pictures he took of his trip out here, but I'll put them up in a different post. Thanks for sending those to me. I really appreciate it!

Anyway, that's what's been keeping me busy for the last month and a half. Now that I've taken a week long break, I've got to get to planning something for my little Simon, who is turning one in a couple weeks. Can you believe it?!

The Baptism

My sweet little Akiko got baptized yesterday. It was a proud and spiritual moment for me (and for her, too, of course).

In fact, now that I'm sitting here writing this post, I feel like a lot of what I want to say needs to go in my personal journal rather than on my public blog. But I can share a bit with you.

I didn't get to take many pictures. I was running around a whole bunch, making sure everything was ready and set and then, when it was done, I just wanted to hang out and chat with my friends. Besides, Akiko ran off with her friends or was commandeered by my dad, but I can share what I've got and maybe my dad or my sister or anyone else who took pictures can send what they've got.

This weekend was very special for her. Her Grandpa and Grandma Wecker were able to fly over from Maui, and Grandpa Fred and Kristen drove out from Salt Lake. We wish more of our family could have come, but we understand why they couldn't. Akiko's best friend and her family drove up from Sunnyvale for the weekend, and we also have some dear friends that live 45 minutes away that came and joined us. And of course, our ward family was there, too.

I put a lot of time into planning, organizing, baking, and sewing the last month or so. Now that it's all over I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my time. I'm sure I'll find something to fill it, but for now, there is a void. I'm sure you all know the feeling.

Anyway, on to the pictures, because I suddenly have nothing else to say publicly.

I french braided pigtails and coiled them together into a bun so her hair wouldn't fly up.

BFF from Sunnyvale came to visit us!

Akiko and her daddy. I love these two!

I had them pose like this because it reminds me of another picture I took a long time ago.

My, how she has grown. (May 2007)

My, how lovely she keeps getting.

And this is how she started. (Stolen from Jesse)

I love you Akiko!!

8th!!

Today, Akiko turned 8 years old. I can't believe how fast those years went by.

She's turning into a lovely young lady. We're extremely proud of her.

Happy Birthday Akiko!!

Character Matters

Akiko is so lucky. Since, she's in a 2nd/3rd split class, she and the rest of the 2nd graders in her class got to participate in the annual 3rd grade play this year.

The play was called Character Matters. It took a bunch of fairy tale characters, who were all attending some kind of fairy tale characters anonymous meeting, each story stated its problem, and a song was sung to resolve said problem. It was cute. The did a great job over all.

Stage makeup applied.

Poses with Moses.

Akiko played one of Red Riding Hood's forest friends. They gave all the main parts to the third graders, but a handful of second graders got some small lines. Akiko had two lines. She delivered them really well.

Squirrel!

Opening song

The wolf is bullying Red and he ate her grandma.

Akiko has developed a pretty good singing voice and I was able to pick hers out from among everyone else's.

I'm really proud of Akiko. Being on stage seemed to come very naturally to her. I hate saying things like, "My daughter was way better than all the other kids," but she really was one of the better kids on stage. The other kids that I thought were really good, were Humpty Dumpty, two of the princesses, Baby Bear, and one of the magic mirrors.

Akiko had a lot of fun and she's really looking forward to participating in it again next year. Lucky girl!

Dressed in White

Akiko's baptism is just a couple weeks away. I'm starting to panic a little about all the details, but then I have to pull myself back and tell myself that the details don't matter. The ordinance itself matters. There are tons of people who get baptized without all those little details.

Anyway, a couple months ago, I took the kids back to Sunnyvale for a weekend to attend the baptism of Akiko's best friend. I meant to blog about it, but that obviously didn't happen. It was a really fun, but too short of a trip. The kids and I had a really great time seeing all our amazing friends that we had left behind. I was feeling really homesick at the time, and the trip was able to fulfill my need to be back in Sunnyvale for a bit.

Moses and his best friend.

Akiko and some of the girls from her old primary class.

These two goofy goobers are a hoot when they get together.

I was talking to my dear friend Jessica, who is Akiko's best friend's mother, about baptism dresses when we went to visit them. She said it wasn't an easy task trying to find a modest all white dress that didn't cost too much, but she was eventually able to find one on sale. I felt a little discouraged, because if Jessica was having trouble in the Bay area, it was going to be even harder finding one in Humboldt County.

Okay, I'll admit, I didn't really spend a lot of time going out to look. Clothes shopping is a bit overwhelming for me when I have to drag any number of my boys with me. They get bored and run off and it just gets too stressful for me by the end. I looked online, but all I was finding were either cheap-o ugly dresses or gorgeous but expensive communion dresses that looked more like bridal gowns.

I decided to call my mom to see if she'd be willing to look around Salt Lake for anything. She was already on the job and had come to the same conclusion I had. She had decided to make a dress and had already purchased a pattern and fabric. However, my step-father had recently undergone open heart surgery and she was too busy helping him recover to try to make one. So, we decided that she would send me everything and I would try to make it.

I felt apprehensive. I've tried making clothes from patterns before and they never quite turned out. But, since I had made that slipcover for the couch, I felt a bit more confident in my sewing abilities. I figured that if the dress doesn't turn out, I'll make a last minute purchase online.

My mom FedExed everything to me and texted me the tracking number. The morning of the delivery, I was out of the house. The delivery man called me. He couldn't find the house. My mom had accidentally written the wrong house number. I corrected him. He verified, twice. I told him I was not home and to leave the package on the porch. When I got home, there was no package on the porch... on any of our porches (we have four).

I went online and, thankful that my mom had sent me the tracking number, entered it, and was told that it had been delivered. I called FedEx and told them what happened. They said they'd look into it and gave me a case ID number. The lady had mentioned, "Maybe someone took it off your porch." I thought, This isn't the kind of town where people do that. Maybe if we still lived in West Valley. But not here. It's one of the reasons we moved here. 

A few hours later, the local office called to tell me they got the case number, that they'd talk to the driver when he was off his shift later that night, and to expect a call the next morning. All there was left to do was wait.

A few hours after that, I got a call from a lady in my ward. "Hi Yuki. Are you missing a FedEx package?" Yes. "Well, I'm over here at my sister's house and she got your package this morning. She didn't know who you were, so she didn't know what to do. I said, 'I know Yuki! I go to church with her.' Would you like me to bring it over?" Yes!! A million times, yes!!

I was so relieved. And annoyed. But mostly relieved. Living in a tiny town has its perks.

Anyway, I got started cutting out the fabric the next day. My mom actually sent me material to make an Easter dress as well as a baptism dress. I was going to start on the Easter dress first, but Joseph pointed out that even though Easter is closer, the baptism dress is higher priority.

I borrowed a serger from my friend Amy. The first time they invited us over to their house for dinner, I saw it. I was like, Lucky! (Did you read that in a Napoleon Dynamite voice? Because you were supposed to.) I'm soooooo glad she lent it to me. It was so fun to use and I didn't have to do all the trimming that I would have had to if I were only using a sewing machine. I hadn't used one since I was a teenager. Joseph said he'll buy me one someday.

Well, because the work was made so much more quickly with the serger, I was able to finish the dress in three short days.

Modest baptism dress: Check!

More importantly, IT FITS!!

Akiko is so excited. She feels so beautiful in her dress. She said she's going to save this dress for her daughter. Cue proud mommy tears.

She had her baptism interview with the bishop the other day. She passed. This girl is so ready. I'm really impressed with the knowledge she has gained, especially within the last year or so. She's a shining example to everyone around her. I'm so very blessed to be her mother.

One more detail checked off the list. I think we'll be ready for the baptism.

Because You've Been Patient: An Update

I'm sure you are all willing to forgive my lack of posting. Being a mother of a 10 month old who has been going through separation anxiety for the last four months, a 2 year old burst of energy who has suddenly decided to potty train, a 5 year old who's obsession with video games has become a struggle for me to limit his tube time, and a 7 year old school age girl who has a knack for turning a fifteen minute homework assignment into an hour long assignment... well, you know how it goes. Or maybe you don't, but bear with me.

I feel like I don't have a whole lot to blog about, but in reality I do. I just haven't been able to carve out time for it. So, while the baby sleeps and the big boys are distracted, I'm taking my opportunity to finally sit down and write.

We haven't been going on a bunch of outings like we did when we lived in Sunnyvale. The winter here is colder and rainier, but on the occasion that we do have a gorgeous day when the sun is out, we do head over to the park around the corner, go hiking at a nearby preserve, or drive to the beach.

Oh, the beach. My kids love the beach. But the beaches around here are not like the beaches we are used to. They are cold and the water is treacherous. And there are lots more sharks. Not little reef sharks like you find on Maui. Big sharks. The kind that will eat you. So, now when we go to the beach, we wear our galoshes and sweaters. The kids are not allowed to play in the water, though they can play with the sea foam, but it's become a game now to run away from the waves when you see one coming.

We go rock hunting at the beach now. We've found lots of gorgeous rocks whose shades cover all the colors of the rainbow. We're working on a rock collection and we'd like to get a rock polishing kit so we can really show them off. At the beach we also build silly little structures with driftwood and kelp. The sand is too coarse for building castles.

I haven't been taking many pictures of our outings lately. The baby needs to be carried which means that Asher also wants to be carried, so bringing the camera along has become awkward. But we've been having fun. Free fun. It doesn't get any better than free.

Akiko continues to flourish at school. Her teacher went on maternity leave a couple weeks ago (she had her baby yesterday!), so now she has a sub for the rest of the year. Akiko has made lots of friends, so I hope she's finding lots of missionary opportunities. She's become a voracious reader. She read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in less than 24 hours. She's got three or four books that she's actively reading in addition to any books that she has to read for school. Her favorite book is Matilda. She's read that about a half dozen times.

Moses is mister smarty pants. He's reading on about the same level that Akiko was when she was in first grade. His math skills are incredible. I wish I'd known about transitional kindergarten. Oh well, it's too late. He was in the preschool here for a few months. He made a few good friends, but wasn't actually learning anything new. We had to pull him out, which will be explained in a bit. He was sad, but he'll see all his friends in a few months when they start kindergarten, so it's not that big a deal. He loves videos games and is really good at them. He likes to tell us all about ideas for new videos games that he'd like to create. I kind of hope he keeps that up because it would be a fun career to be part of.

Asher is... crazy, but really fun and silly and sweet. He's taken the initiative to potty train. I think I mentioned that in a previous post. He'll tell me he needs to go potty, so we'll take off his pants and diaper and he'll go. He insists on wearing a diaper still, rather than big boy briefs, so if his diaper is still clean when we take it off, we just put it back on when he's done. Saves a little money, right? Asher is the goofiest, silliest, jokiest, and loudest kid we've got. He's also super sweet and dotes on Simon and Sparky. Actually, he kind of tortures Sparky, but in a playful way. If it becomes too much for the cat, he just runs away and hides.

Simon is the happiest baby in the world. He loves to smile and laugh and giggles at the funniest things. He only gets grumpy when he's really tired or hungry. Asher can get him to giggle like no other. He crawls everywhere and his favorite mess to make is of the cat's food and water dishes. He's recently started standing on his own, which means walking is not far away. He's still bald as ever and still just as cute. We're crazy about this kid.

I've been doing better. I had some pretty severe homesickness for a while after we moved here. I missed my family in Utah and my friends in Sunnyvale. I was having a hard time getting things done around the house. I still don't have a whole lot of friends here yet, but the ones I've made so far are amazing. I got called back into the Primary presidency about a month after we moved. Joseph and I laughed. I've been in Primary in 5 of the 7 wards we've been in since we got married. Twice as the chorister and now twice in the presidency. My role is smaller, Asst. Secretary, so the break from all the work is rather nice. I'm in charge of Faith in God tracking, getting the monthly newsletter put together, and whatever random thing needs to be done. Personal exciting news is that I'm back down to my pre-Asher weight. I guess all that stair climbing, Asher chasing, and baby lifting is paying off. The skinny jeans that I bought a few months ago are saggy on me and now just look like normal jeans. I know you're all sarcastically thinking, Oh, poor Yuki is too skinny for her skinny jeans! I never thought I'd get back to pre-Asher. I was just happy being pre-Simon. Now I just need to tone up some more.

Joseph, I suppose, has the biggest news of all. He's no longer working for Justin.tv. The initial news was scary, but after we prayed about it and thought about the circumstances that led to his departure from the company we realized that it needed to happen in order for Joseph to move forward and how much the Lord's hand had to do with it all. It's kind of scary to know that there's not a regular flow of income right now, but we've felt peace about our situation and we know we'll be taken care of, financially and temporally. I've felt a strange calm about the whole thing, so I haven't really panicked, except for a little bit after Joseph told me. It's been three weeks or so now. Joseph's been getting lots of recruiter emails from various companies, but right now the Lord does not want him to take any of those jobs. So, we're going on faith and Joseph is following promptings about what to do next. I'm so grateful for personal revelation. This has been a testimony building experience.

So, even though I ended up writing a lot more than I thought I'd write in one session, that's the short version. An even shorter version would be: We're all happy and healthy, but I think that people want a bit more detail than that. If I could ask you all to pray for us as we go through this transition of unknown, we would all greatly appreciate it. I hope that I can blog more than once a month, but I'm not making any promises, especially since Akiko's baptism is coming up next month. I'll be scrambling to get everything done for that. Maybe I'll show you my progress as I go, but we'll see. No promises.

I do promise to blog about her baptism, though, within the week that it happens.

But for now, you can enjoy pictures from our latest rock hunting beach outing when Grandma Char was here to visit us.

We bring the carrier for the baby, but Asher insists on getting a turn.

Asher wanted to carry a stick and insisted on the largest one he could carry.
I talked him into a smaller one later on.

The beginnings of a driftwood cabin for the bugs.

Oh, whoops, looks like you get a cute picture of Simon in his church clothes.

Someone else built this cool driftwood hut. It must have taken a long time.

Valentine's Day - Edition 2013

Ugh. Already halfway through February and this is the first post I've done all year. How sad.

Anyway, this year's Valentines was a Pinerest idea. I was surprised at the lack of adorable ideas that the kids could help me with. There were tons of cute things, but most of them were too advanced for my young ones. So, we did these, and they turned out nice:

I really, really wish I had a Cricut or a Silhouette. Cutting out all those little hearts by hand was rather tedious, but Akiko was really into it. Moses had no interest in helping, but he did write his name on most of his Valentines.

So, I worked on these mostly on Monday and Tuesday. But then Wednesday morning I realized that Moses was having his party that day at school, since he doesn't attend on Thursdays. So, I had to rush to finish his after I made the kids' lunches. He was late for school, but only by about ten minutes.

Akiko was funny. Instead of just going straight down her list (thank heavens their teachers provided us with lists!), she did people in order of her most favorite friends to the people she wasn't such good friends with.

The kids had a lot of fun traipsing to school with their little basket full of goodies. And they came back with a motherload of candy. I was glad to see that I, for once, was not the only one who made homemade Valentines this year.

I don't have a whole lot to add for now. Today has been a crazy day. So, I'll just leave you with some cute pictures of my babies taking a bath. That will cheer anyone up, right?

Simon loves bath time.

Asher also loves baths again after a period of hating them.
His favorite thing to do is turn Simon into a bubble monster.

Oh, one last thing. Asher saw Akiko and me cutting hearts and he wanted to help, so I got the "child safety" scissors and some junk mail and let him go to town. He did really well until he cut Simon's finger. Safety scissors my eye. He also almost cut a big chunk out of my hair. Needless to say, he won't be cutting anything with scissors for quite a while.