a christmas story

Since it's Christmas Eve I thought I'd share a Christmas memory of mine..

I think I was like 7 or 8 when this happened.. but one Christmas Eve morning when I was still sleeping, my dad kicked open my door so hard it woke me up and he screamed, "Someone stole all our presents from under our Christmas tree!".. I remember being like, "WHAAAT?!!" and rushing to our living room as fast as I can to see if he was being for real......... and he was. There was NOTHING under our tree. And just the day before our tree was buried with presents!

My dad told us that someone robbed us while we were sleeping and that he was going to hire a private investigator to find out who it was.. (lol) I'm pretty sure my siblings and I sat there in the living room crying ugly for a good half hour. haha

We were SO sad the entire day. But before we went to bed that night my dad sat all of us down and explained to us that we can still have a good Christmas without any presents.... that Christmas is about being with family and enjoying the holidays with them. At first we thought he was crazy (lol), and even though we would've much rather had our presents to open up on Christmas morning, it was at that point where we figured we were never gonna get our presents back so we might as well enjoy the holidays with each other's company. We were so bummed! but there were plenty of other Christmas' that we could look forward to.

Christmas morning we all woke up to all of our presents back under our tree! I didn't notice at first but now I realize that taking our presents was just my dads way of teaching us to have some humility. That sneaky guy! ha.

..so this christmas, there'll be no presents under mine and Rob's tree, but to be able to be home with my family & friends is enough for us.

merry christmas, bloggers! from my family to yours.

- the atigas

one for the books

This post should've been uploaded months ago, but just like any other late posts of mine its been because I'm a HUGE slacker.

 

So here's a bit of a peek into the highlight of my summer:

 

THE MRS. CARTER SHOW
WORLD TOUR

 

Yes, that's right! I got to attend the Beyoncé Concert in St. Paul, Minnesota with my in-laws.

AMAZING doesn't even begin to explain the whole experience

it was definitely something to remember for sure.

 

 

L2R: shawn, tangi, sweet, leta, me, cass and matt



..wouldn't have been so awesome if it weren't for my clique.

 

 

 

 

...don't even know who the sidebust is on the far left.

 

 

my hot date: ms. cassidi nae

..because our men couldn't be there, we were each others dates for the week.

 

 

the asiata's: tangi & matt

...the hosts of our trip and the two who made it all happen.

 

 

the gals

.. who are truly my sisters through my mister.

 

 

 

 

Our lives literally changed after that night and I'm so grateful I got to spend this experience with the people who matter most.

 

I can officially cross this off my Bucket List now!

 





The Big Move

This past Saturday, my husband finally graduated from the Univ. of Arkansas and proud is just one of the many things I felt during his ceremony.

He's worked SO hard to get to this point and he deserves every little bit of celebration.

 

 

For the past two years we lived in Arkansas so that Rob can pursue his college education and further his football career... and now that he's finished with school and we're wanting to start a family, we decided it would be best to move back to our home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

We've met so many good people and made so many great memories in those two years that it made it really hard to say good-bye to all our friends.

 

I'm so sad that we left.... but I'm also so happy to be home FOR GOOD :)

 

Christmas will be here soon and before you know it it'll be a whole new year!

 

2014 is gonna be a great year, I can feel it! :)

 

Happy Holidays, bloggers!

xoxo

-Nik

 



Thinking of you..

I wrote a letter to my son today... 

But I don't think I'm ready to share it with the blogging world just yet.

This isn't a pity post and I'm not fishing for any sympathy... 

It's just that at the end of the day when I'm laying in bed, I can't help but wonder about how different my life would be if he were here.

He would've been 3 months old today.... 

And I'm sure I would've been that mom that keeps him all to herself and doesn't let anyone (unless it's Rob, my mothers or my sisters) hold him or take care of him. Lol..

And who would he have looked like?

Robs convinced that he would've had my "Lolohea nose", and I def think he would've had Robs "Mataele eyebrows" lol.. But no doubt, I know he would've been a momma's boy for sure.

As much as I would absolutely love to have him in my arms right now, showering him with kisses and squeezing him tightly...... I think about how extremely hard it would've been for Rob and I  to take care of a baby at this point in our lives. 

Mentally??.... We were ready.. and still are ready.

But financially????... We would've really struggled. 

....and with living in a different state without our family around to help us out...... It would've made things even more harder. 

It's sad to say, but I don't know how we would've made it work.

The Lord works in mysterious ways... And though I was at that point where I was asking myself, "Why me?" .... I'm understanding why certain things happen the way they do.

It sucks.

But I get it.

And even 9 months later...

 I still feel like there's a small hole in my heart. 

But I know that it's a void only my future babies will be able to fill. :)

Rob and I have been trying too... 

But again, we're just letting nature take it's course..

Holy heck, I just realized that I've talked about babies these past few posts.. 

Talk about baby fever haha

I better tone it down a notch. 

Anyways, this was all just on my mind.. Nothing extreme... 

Good night bloggers!

Xoxo

rambling..

The end of October is drawing near and before I know it, my husband will graduating from the University of Arkansas with his Bachelors Degree in criminal justice.

..crazy how fast time flies..

We always talk about how we would've never pictured ourselves to be where we are now five years ago.... and we can't even tell ya where we'll be five years from now.. but wherever it takes us..

we're ready for it.

I always have to remind myself that change is a GOOD thing.

Because I always tend to think the worst in things.. which is why I always find myself becoming an emotional wreck all the time.

(I blame my mother)

I over-think things.

A LOT.

..and it drives my husband insane.

He's the type that takes things day-by-day... whereas I'm the type that'll stress (and I mean REALLY stress) over a bill that isn't due until 2015..

yep, that's me.

..and I'll cry and complain over it until someone (usually my husband) snaps me out of it and calms me down...

How does he do it?

I do not know.

But I guess that's why we're meant for each other.

He keeps me sane...

and without him I'd probably be hanging from a tree... lol.

*sigh*

Still no baby luck either.. [insert sad face] but I constantly remind myself that only God knows when I'm ready.

We're in no rush.

..and it will happen when it's supposed to happen.

So that when it does, it'll be that much more special.

[insert happy face]

On that baby note, last night Rob and I got to FaceTime my sister-in-law (who is about 5 months pregnant) and her husband to see them cut their "gender reveal" cake!!

Come March, we will have a new baby BOY added to the family and Rob and I are more than excited and happy for them.

Our families are growing.

..and I LOVE IT.

Next month Robs brother will also be returning from his mission and we're crossing our fingers that our bank accounts will let us fly to Utah for his homecoming. lol.

These next two months are gonna GET IT.

Until next time bloggers.

With love,

The Atigas

Its been awhile..

Hey bloggers! I've honestly sat down at least three or four times since my last post and started to blog but never ever got around to finishing them. I know, just shoot myself in the face right? 

I feel like not too much has really happened since my last post.... But then again I feel like a crap load of things has happened too. Rob and I have been doing extremely well since we lost our Little Al..... After everything happened I took a little break from work and friends to just find time to myself for a couple of days. Even though I had a clear understanding that everything was gonna be okay and I knew that with time I would heal from it..... I felt like I just needed to mourn. It just hurt. And I didn't want to act like things were okay when they weren't. It was then that I needed to remember that it's okay, to not be okay.....

No matter what the statistics are with miscarriages, I can honestly say and I'm sure that I can speak for all mothers who have been through it, that it never gets any easier. And yes, its something that can be dealt with but definitely not something that you can really get over.. Like ever. 

Its hard.

Whether you're 4 weeks along....

6 weeks along...

30 weeks along...

ITS HARD. 

I'm proud of myself at how much I've grown from it and how much Rob and I have grown as a couple. Both of our families have also been a huge help by showing amazing support... I am so grateful for each and every one of them. Rob and I have for sure thought about trying again but for now, we're just gonna wait a little bit.. Hopefully a lot sooner than later....... You'll just have to wait and see...... Lol.

I can't believe that my Robert Aona has only one more year of college left here in Arkansas.... And its crazy to think that this upcoming August we would have lived here for 2 years already..... And in July we'll be celebrating our 2 year anniversary! Time has definitely flown by. Not to mention in October Robs brother Muka will be coming home from his mission! .....2013 is in for some ultimate craziness. But the good craziness. Lol.

Its bittersweet to think about moving back to Utah once Rob graduates in December because Fayetteville (the town we live in) has definitely been our "home away from home"... But i'll save all that for another post. Lol. 

Until then, I hope everyone has a safe weekend!

With love,

The Atigas

Quote of the day

.....something to remember.