Prom # 2 For Our Gentleman

Emric invited his sweet friend Rebekah from another ward in our Stake, to her High School Prom.

He was the only Guy in the party of 10 girls that went together.

I did not bother him on bit! :)

These are Rebekah's mom words:

"Rebekah did have a wonderful time that night. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable evening.

Emric was such a gentleman and Bekah truly appreciated that. 

It meant so much.

She felt like a princess because she was asked to Prom and was treated like royalty. "

As a mom, those words are music to my ears! hihi

Emric is a Gentleman and Bekah looked and totally had a princess demeanor... 

What a lovely girl!

Week 12 "HEAR YE ! HEAR YE !"

Email from Justine today:

"Being on a mission I have realized the value of so many different things! 

Especially I have learned the value of waking up early, 

and studying the scriptures and about True to the faith!

I had no clue what that was until the MTC! 

And I keep thinking

"WHY DID MY PARENTS NEVER TELL ME THIS??" :P 

But you probably did and it never registered! 

But now I can see how much more awesome all this stuff is and how being on a mission has really taught me these things!"

I love you all! Skype you Sunday! :D I get 60 minutes of Skype time!!

Sister Nakata

*******

Oh Boy!
I'm so Glad she wrote:
But you probably did and it never registered!
This is a very important key phrase for my sanity!
Without it I would be pulling my hair out and/or asking myself what on earth have I done these past 20 years with my kids?

We've tried teaching those things - To a Nagging level!!!!
Especially the getting out of bed one!
And healthy eating, and drinking water, and exercising, and being productive,
and not waisting your time,
and reading your scriptures, and going to church every week, and
keeping the commandments, and so forth...

"All Good Habits to Have"

"It's good for you!"

I've told them & still do.

And Yes
 I know
 We didn't do it all perfectly - far from it.
 We've slacked, been lazy, indulged and missed and failed quite a bit to say the least!
But we have tried!

Isn't it lovely when our little birdies fly out of the nest 

and realize Mom and Dad did have a few good points!

You Never Know - LOVE this Video!

Parenting Mistake #1075674890...

Do not buy a used Kawasaki Ninja 500 for your 17 year old inexperienced teen boy!

Who granted wants it and thinks he can handle it and would like the freedom, 

and is a responsible good kid, but and lets face it is also a little clueless and has NO Business on a bike like this monster!

What was the irresponsible mom thinking you - and everyone else to that matter including dad- asks? 

Well she wasn't!

She was clueless and made a huge mistake!

End of Story!

And Now is stuck having to selling the darn-speed-monster-thing and having to live with her shame! 

In Search of the "Perfect" Family Picture...

Trying to take the perfect family picture is an adventure to say the least!

Ask any family, well, I should say, ask the mom of any family, 

because she seams to be the one - and the only one - who really cares.

Everyone else has to be bribed, dragged and begged to be there.

It can be quite stressful - for the mom.

Among the stresses:

Clothes that need matching. 

Zits, that later will need editing. 

Siblings who annoy each other. 

Hair that looks all wrong. 

Participants not looking in the camera. 

Individuals who can't stop talking. 

Intentional and un-intentional funny and/or weird faces.

The wind that picks suddenly up.

 Closed eyes, half closed eyes.

And I could go on and on... 

Besides all those challenges, in my opinion, one of the most important component of a great family picture is the location!

I obviously have not found the right place here in Houston!

And this place was all wrong!

I really do not like this background...

I  R E A L L Y do not like it.

Almost worth getting everyone dressed up again and dragged and bribed and begged again.

N A 

It will have to wait for another year or 2...

 This is the reality of Family picture taking.

And this is an 'in between' capture.

Love it!

New Year's Movie & Family Time

As tradition would have it, we went to see a family movie on New Years day.

At the Dinner and a movie theater.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

A Great Refreshing Beautiful Family Movie.

We LOVED it! 

I also lOVED spending this day all TOGETHER!

(we were a little squished in the 5 seater car the 6 of us! Emric was at a new year's party with freinds.)

We are so blessed to have such a beautiful Family!
I am blessed to have such a wonderful life companion...

 Sisters

Healthy Living Heritage

Good tasty food is a guilty pleasure of mine.

I love good food.

I've always been interested in healthy living, and have strived to make it my lifestyle.

It started early in my youth, having a fit active hard working father, and a mother who created wonderful tasty healthy meals from whole foods - a big portion of which were home grown and raised.
One way I knew she loved us kids was by her diligent dedication
in feeding us and making such wonderful food.
She would often ask me what I wanted to eat and a few days later,
there would be the requested dish for dinner!

We always had:

* Regular meals as a family

* A vegetable garden & fruit trees - I would often sometimes help plant, weed, 

water, pick, cut and help can our goodies.
My favorite caned good would be the cherries from our Cherry tree or the plums...

* Chickens
 I loved collecting the fresh eggs as a kid!

And lets not talk about how much I loved the oven roasted young chickens from heaven where a few of us 4 kids would fight for the golden delicious drumsticks!

* Ducks
The baby ducklings were too adorable!

* Rabbits
 So cute as babies, which I was careful not to get too attached to as they ended up in a
delicious stew on my dinner plate!

* And the occasional goat
Fresh goat cheese, which I never ate as a kid, I soooo regret it now!

Let's face it, French cooking and food is the best on the planet!

We were not "rich" as to money but "rich" as to food goodness! 

Our physical needs were always met, I never had to go to bed hungry.

I feel so blessed to have had such examples in my early years.

And blessed to have grown up in France.

Merci Maman et Papa!

I strive to pass on a little bit of this way of living to my kids.

It hasn't been without challenges.
We had dinner every night as a family and I am saddened that this tradition has been mostly lost...

SometimesI think that I have failed in so many ways...

I feel sad to think that this healthy heritage from my parents will be lost.
But there is always hope... Especially as you kids get older.

Also I've had some picky eaters - you know who you are!
Amelie has been my try-everything-eat-salad-and-fruit kid from the time she was a baby!

There are other food influences in our home that have not been cultured in quite the
same way in their upbringing. 

[Food 'snobness' intended]

I find the American way of eating not the best to say the least.

And yes, a lot of it has influenced our eating as it is often fast, instant and convenient.

I hope my Kids - you reading this? - will see some value in what I have tried to teach them and feed them. Even if it's later on in life.

My philosophy has been.

Try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. 

But try it again later on, then again and again. 

One day you may like it.
Partake of Mother Earth's goodness!

 I was a little picky as a child too - for french standards - and now regret not eating all the wonderful things my maman would make.

R.A.D Self-Denfence class

I thought that taking a R.A.D self defence course would be an excellent thing for Justine and I to do.

So I signed us up at our Local County Sheriff's office.

They offer the course for free.

We went from 10am till 4pm, 2 Saturdays in a row.

The 1st Saturday was about educating us on self defence and the statistics of rape & domestic abuse, and what to do if you or someone you know is a victim.

And on being 'house' and 'street smart'.

One of the main factor of preventing abuse/aggression/abduction is your demeanor. 

You want to walk confidently, like you are saying with your body language 

"don't mess with me" "I will give you trouble".

The second Saturday was the actual learning and practicing self defence moves.

That was scary, empowering, and even a bit exhilarating!

Justine in full combat

Moi, in full combat mode, after the initial shock of being thrown backwards!
I do have to mention that it helped that I had just taken a boxing class 3 times a week for a month!
Thus the 'good stance'! :)

We rock and don't mess with us!

So when I got home I tried some of the stuff I had learned on Mike.
Unfortunately, since he is a very good wrestler, I did not get far!
The only thing I did get was frustrated!
I was totally pinned and could not move even a finger...

But hopefully, if and/or when put are in a situation where self defence is needed,
having it done a few times will help and we will be less likely to freeze.

In a couple of years, I will be taking Amelie through this course!
I have a feeling she will be a natural!

Flying Across Country & Lunch With Shirley

 On a new adventure with my Man!

We had planned to see Justine in Hawaii as she finished her 1st year in College.

Unfortunately, she decided to come home early and only do 2 semesters.

So after some excrutiating deliberation, we decided to go without the kids, 

versus having to go through the hassle of trying to rebook this prime location 

(which takes a year to get, and more money spent).

I felt a little guilty leaving the kids this time, 

but then I though about all the great adventures they will go on in their life, 

as they grow and become successful little people!

Not to mention the impossibility of paying for airfare for all of us!

And that Justine is there everyday when in college enjoying Paradise.

So she is home with Emric, Amelie and Chloe.

They also have some pretty awsome activities ths summer...

So here we are, Mike and I, so excited, flying towards Paradise!

Minneapolis airport where every one has free access to an Ipad, 

free Internet and whole food shops for lunch and snacks!

The most techno advanced and comfy airport I've ever been to!

LA where houses upon houses are seen as far as the eye can see...

Obviously this is NOT Rush hour traffic!

 It was a long trip.

We used a companion fare with Delta Mike had earned to get to Los Angelos, 

with a plane change in Minneapolis.
Then from LA to Honolulu we used half our Sky Miles!

While in LA we had the joy of having lunch with aunt Shirley at the airport during our 3 hour lay-over.

She brought us a huge bag of almonds and cranberries we have been snacking on constantly!

She is so sweet and adorable!

We love her to bits!

Mother's Day Spur of the Moment Photo Shoot & Ramblings

After all the photos we took with my phone, I decided to bring out the big camera.
Sure, we could have thought about matching outfits, but we didn't,
and it's OK because they turned out pretty cute in black and white!

I've been using my neglected Canon Rebel with my 50mm 1.4 a little more...

I do love the photos it produces.
I think I had it on the wrong ISO like at 800...
Oups!

*****

I love photos.

Photos are awesome for capturing life as we live it and personalities.

It is such a big part of who I am.
I may not be this powerful woman with a carrier or medals or tons of achievements and worldly success.
But I have my family and I will certainly leave behind lots of photos! :)
I love life.

I love capturing life and recording it.
I love Journals.

Since the age of 14 I have kept records, in Journals and now in blog format.
I love blogging.
I blog and record and snap because unfortunately our memories don't get better with age,
like french cheese.

I love french fromage. With french crusty baguettes.

*****

This is a sample of some of my favorites
I'm uploading all of them on google+

There that does it!

To make mother's day even better, I wish Alexi would have been with us!

My thoughts were with him.
Love ya Lexi!