Bleh

Nothing too exciting to write about lately. Im still working working and Evan is just completing the never ending "honey-do" list, but instead of just not posting, I decided to post something extremely boring. The below picture is a common occurance lately. If I am feeling tired or its almost time for bed and I just want to relax I just bring the doggies up in bed with me and they take over Evs side of the bed {as soon as he comes to bed or gets home they go to their beds-he doesn't like them sleeping with us because he said they wake up in the night and move around /they make him too hot}

Took Sage and Jade in for their summer cut. My first time taking them to the groomers. I didn't want all of their long locks cut off so they mostly got their ears and back all cut to be "cool" for the summer {notice the boy bows on Sage kinda funny}

{so adorable}

On our way to my parents house last week for a BBQ, we brought the dogs, but I had a clean car and didn't want them getting hair all over. So they sat at my feet. I was singing church songs in the car {apparently I have a voice like an angel} and I put these guys to sleep.

That was my boring post. We are still alive. Not much is new. We are blessed and grateful for all we have been given.

Pride

Pride really is a sin, isn't is? I tend to think so, but I am going to be prideful at this moment and brag about my amazing husband, dont judge me. I just want to say how proud I am of him. I really am so lucky to have such an amazing Chinese man in my life. He seriously is the brains and fun of our marriage while I am the anxiety and stress that accompanies life {sometimes}. As I stated in my, One Year Recap post, Evan has finished a year of his schooling. With this completion comes end of the semester grades. Now I have to be honest and say that when Evan told me he thought he was going to get a B+ I was still proud of him, but a bit sad/bummed because at the beginning of the semester he set a goal to get a 4.0 and I just didn't want him settling for passing, but all I have to say is that my husband finished the semester with 2 A's and 2 A-'s {really A-'s in grad school exist its crazy}. I am so proud of my husband! He may have not gotten his 4.0 but he got much closer {I still told him he needs to study more haha I am such a dictator of a wife}I am thankful for his example of procrastination that works so very well for him in his studies {lucky duck} but in addition so proud of him for really learning so much and enduring the "work for FREE" clinicals he does everyday. I just want to document this for our future so that he will always know how proud I am of him, how hard he worked {especially under my overbearring watchful eye} and how much I have seen him grow in such a short time.  I love you my hubby you are my favorite!

Mother's Day

For Mother's day I told Evan I had a request. That request was a free car wash done by the one and only, Him. So last Sunday {the week before MDay} he washed it for me while we were at my parents house. Well today, I made the same request because in one week my car had gotten dirty and needed some cleaning, the inside needed some vacuuming as well. So because my husband is so sweet he once again washed my car, vacuumed it and detailed it {with a little help from me or as he says "lets do it together"}. I just love myself a clean car.

We went to my parents for Mother's day later in the afternoon and my sister Jenny made baked ziti and Evs and I made steamed asparagus and garlic bread. It was a nice team effort {except Jenny did all the dishes--she is such a good daughter; I just watched and kept Mom company}. We brought her some of her favorite Sees Candy and enjoyed the day. Growing up my Mom hated Mother's day because I guess we tried to be good for her only that day and she wished that we were good everyday. I guess she makes a point. But now we are all older and don't live under the same roof so we all get along much better! I have learned a lot of things about how to be a mother as I watched my own Mother's example and the example of my other Mother.

{mom and me on mother's day}

Dear Momma Maggie,
Thank you for teaching me that laundry can be done quickly if you just rotate as you go throughout the day. Thanks for teaching me to service others and have unconditional love for them. Thank you for showing me how to love and loving me. Thank you for teaching me cooking skills and letting me call when I forget the recipe. Thank you for letting me always call when I don't know what a good deal for food is in the store. Thank you for showing me how to be a supportive parent and how to encourage talents when you see them. Thank you for showing me to stand up for what I believe in and never take crud from others who are ignorant. Thank you for teaching me to be honest and kind. Thank you for your example. Believe it or not, I lived off of your testimony and strength until I could stand on my own. Thank you for being my Mom. I love you!
Love your one and only, Tata


Dear Momma Lolly,
Thank you for teaching me about unconditional love of those around you. Thank you for your constant example of service to your family and those around you. Thank you for teaching me in such a short time that kind words are better than unkind words. Thank you for showing me that you can love your kids, encourage them, be apart of their life, but allow them to make their own decisions. You have taught me many good cooking tricks and helped me learn. Thank you for raising an amazing son that is so like you in so many ways. He is so good to me and I believe it was you {and his sisters} that taught him the tricks of making a wife happy. Thank you for raising him in the gospel and allowing him to feel the Spirit in your home. Thank you for giving him great gospel teaching moments. I am so thankful to have another Mother in my life to love me! 
Love your one and only blonde daughter, Darcy

Lizard

I really dont think catching lizards is in my job description as a fitness coach, but I guess I stepped out of the box today and caught a huge black lizard {huge compared to Hawaii geckos} running a muck around the wellness center {I saw him yesterday, but he disappeared}. Seriously though, can you imagine one of my older members {like 79-80} seeing that thing running around and just have a heart attack..oh geesh..I wasn't about to have that happen..so I just did what had to be done. I got the trash can! I put it in one corner and one of my other members {72 year old male} took the yard stick and scared it my way. then I just pulled up the trashbag and took it outside to the flowers area. Oye funny adeventure! Living on the wild side.

{kinda looked like this but all black}

Smile

I love it when my husband tells me he loves me. I love it when he tells me that I am beautiful or that I am hott. Those these make me smile and I am blessed to not be deprived of those comments/compliments {thank you Evy}. But today I received a nice compliment that I hadn't really heard before. I was blessed to get a temporary job as a fitness coach at a Senior wellness center in Riverside {such a blessing}. I really enjoy working with Seniors and how they all aren't as crockity, stubborn, and boring as we are led to believe. My job is sweet. As I was completing a 3 month evaluation today, one of the members turns to me and says, " You're a good coach." That made me smile. I love that even at their {older} age they can feel encouraged and motivated to work out and maintain their health.

Temporary Home

 Well the dogs dont seem to mind we dont have a permanent place to live. In fact, Sage thinks the pool is a giant water bed and thinks its the best to run across it all day long {I wonder what he will do when the pool cover is off}

Not only does he chill on it, he teases Jade by taking the toy and plopping right in the middle so she cant get it {she was unsure of it, weird vibe I guess}

Happy Sunday

One of the fun things about living so close to my siblings is that we can meet up for Sunday dinner @ Mom's. Its nice to be within driving distance to almost all of my siblings {Oregon is quite the trek, but nonetheless doable}. Even Evs siblings are fairly close enough to see regularly. Its such a plus about living in So Cal {there are many negatives to be pointed out at the same time, for a later time though}

{Photos by JenFallanphotography}

Its Official!

MOVING bites the BIG ONE!!

I am just glad we didn't have to move across a body of water again or via airplane, which means all through suitcases. Its been a long three days of packing, cleaning, and shuttling items out of the apartment. I swear the more that left the messier things got. I thought I was going to go crazy. I am so thankful for my brother Josh and my Mom's help,  we couldn't have done it without them. Oh and of course my Amazing Husband who worked so hard not only moving during finals week, but for carrying most of the weight/burden of this move, while I worked so I didn't stress and check myself into a crazy place after having an anxiety attack. He's so Awesome! 

Thanks to my cousin Chris and his wife Elizabeth, we are not totally homeless! We are crashing at their pad until we find our "new home".

Oye Monday!

Almost done moving...the deadline to be out is soon approaching...No couch, no bed, no table, no furniture, no dishes. Just an air mattress {thanks Mom} and a bunch of other stuff {not pictured} that still needs to be boxed and put in storage. Its Monday and I am already feeling like throwing away everything left to pack..We will survive another move because really its only our second move in 2 years...we got nothing on military families. Pizza Monday with a little Hulu {we watched Shark Tank} on my laptop that sat on top of a box. We are that cool!

One Year Recap

One year ago we left the beautiful island of Oahu. We packed up a ton of suitcases and boxes and had a lot of help from family moving across a body of water via an airplane. We have spent the last year in Riverside, CA. I can't believe it has already been a year, but that also means Evs only has two semesters left and he will be done with his Masters {even more exciting}.Since being here we ENDURED a hot summer, a cold, sometimes warm, fickle winter that extended into spring. We have enjoyed many family visits from Evan's family and from friends. We also had many family dinners and get togethers. We have learned alot about each other this past year, about our struggles and about our strengths and weaknesses.We have grown closer through our trials; We are better and more refined individuals. We are thankful for all we have been given. Evan has grown tremendously in his experience, practical application, and knowledge in his future profession {Athletic Training}.He has spent a lot of time working {for free} in different sports and learning more about his professional goals. He is pretty independent with his studies {I tried to step it down a notch from being the nagging smother wife during his undergrad to being the more supportive and get "straight A's" driven wife during his Masters} He has done very well all year is his classes and I am very proud of him. I have had a good year her in California as well. Work was slow this last year, losing one of my jobs didn't help, but it allowed me to struggle and stretch. I was able to find a temporary job for 10 weeks as a fitness coach for Seniors {over 50 years old}. Its a pretty awesome job. I also continue to work as a Behavior Therapist for children with Autism. I am staying busy. Days are long, but I am not complaining as all, I am blessed. We will be in California for at least another year and then we shall see where we are taken with Evan's work. I am sure we have a lot more growing to do and alot more trials to face. We enjoyed our first year together in sunny So Cal.

Fake Easter

We went to my Mom's house for Easter. She had boiled aggs and colored them and she also filled plastic ones for the wee ones that came over to actually find joy in finding the eggs {Rubi & Bria}. They had a good time. Rubi had done it before last weekend or something she had a one up on Bria, but once Bria realized that searching for eggs wasn't completely worthless, it was game on. They ran all around the front yard searching for the eggs, they liked the ones with candy in them {of course}, but werent too sure about the hard boiled ones {boring kind}. It was a nice family gathering. We missed our Oregon family, but we were able to skype with them and they all looked great on Easter {note: my new nephew Jason was recently adopted and had his first experience dying eggs-he is 7}

{And the hunt begins..}

{Excited much? I think so!}

{Working hard for that egg}

{I think Rubi was saying," Good job Bria finding the egg, I will take that candy now}

 

{Happy Easter! Love, the Stubbs}

Real Easter

Easter-a day of celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I see people everyday that are ridden with physical ailments. I work with children with Autism, who are literally in their own world. As I see the world around me as it is, I thank God for giving us chances to serve others and love tohers for who they are.Christ suffered for each of us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Golgotha. But the celebration is that HE LIVES! I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES! On the third day, he was resurrected in Glory and Perfection. What a great vision to embrace, that we will all be resurrected, every single one of us. We will be healed and be given a healthy healed body.

Good Friday

There is just something about giving others something we have. There is something about seeing their joy. There is just something that happens to the giver that makes you all warm and fuzzy. Who knew that our "leftovers" would mean so much to others in need. Thankful for the opportunity to feel grateful and for the opportunities I have taken recently to "love my neighbor" just as Christ would. Today is a Good day. Thankful to serve.

Spiritual Stretchmarks

When I was at Time-Out for Women with my buddy Shawna, I bought a book called Hard Times, Holy Places by Kristin Warner Belcher. Its an absolutely amazing read! Each day I read it, I feel more faithful and uplifted. I came across the below quote and found it very encouraging and strengthening.

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.--Elder Richard G. Scott {Trust in the Lord, Ensign, November 1995}

Rubi's 2nd birthday

We all got together to celebrate Rubi's birthday and it was a lot of fun. She got lots of fun gifts and enjoyed all the people around. We gave her a pink & black tutu that I made her and she loved it and danced around in it. She had an Elmo themed party and Britt did a great job with her cake and cupcakes. All in all a great day with the fam bam.

{Above Photo by JenFallanPhotography}

 {He loves pictures can you tell?}