Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends and Family! 2017 came and went to sooo fast!  I originally wrote this in January and I am barely editing and posting it eek!! We have had so many awesome experiences this last year and have seen so many blessings in our lives.  The beginning of the year started a little slow for me. I decided to take a little break at the beginning of 2017 and focus my attention on the kids and our crazy house.  Jose's year started off fast and with a lot to look forward to. He was focused on his Graduation!! He Graduated in May and the kids and I were thrilled. While he studied for finals and dedicated time to different organizations he was part of I gathered Maroon and Gold supplies to throw him a party! We had Mariachis and a few talented family members serenade us while eating delicious food.  The kids were happy to have Daddy back as Riley so kindly screamed at his graduation but we only had him  for a couple weeks. He was off everyday studying diligently for the Bar exam. While he dived into the books. The kids and I  dived into pools, watched movies, went to urban jungle, ate pizza, worked on our service project and had a fun summer  together. We celebrated Sadie's 9th birthday with ice cream cake, swimming, pizza and cousins! I worked a lot while the kids slept and I cleaned.... in my dreams haha.. Family helped so much again this year babysitting and entertaining the kids the days I had to be showing homes. Some days I was able to bribe the kids to show homes with me or stay in the car but I would always hop into a car full of whiny, bored kids..So off to cousins homes we went to avoid the melt downs.  Jose took the test at the end of July. We are so grateful to my Dad for the priesthood blessing that was given to him the night before. He blessed him with clarity of mind, peace and to have that "spark" in his mind so he could remember everything he studied. I know this priesthood blessing,  prayers on his behalf and  all of Jose's hard work was going to be a great combination for success. I surprised Jose by renting a fancy hotel near the test site so he could rest right away instead of drive home and have us hanging on him like monkeys. Since the bar exam is 2 full days I knew he needed a little R&R in between.  The second day of his test we showed up and took advantage of the roof top pool! That sure was nice!. Once he was done we celebrated and enjoyed the evening with him. We were so grateful to be closer to the goal!! Luckily all the stress and studying was done just a few weeks before the kids started school. So we spent time with them and had a good time with what was left of the summer! School resumed for the kids. They weren't super excited but Mom and Dad were!! A week after school started we celebrated Riley's 6th Birthday with cupcakes, Pizza and family. Our kids are growing up so fast! As school continued Jose and I dropped off the kids daily and one thing we incorporated this year was listening to scriptures in the car as a family. We were challenged to read and wanted to do it together and it was so rewarding. Me and Jose occasionally went to breakfast together to different places. He assured me that he was going to miss me a ton and miss doing breakfast runs when he got a job. I must admit so was I and I was going to miss all his help around the house while I worked. We weren't going to know until October if he passed his test so we were on a mission to distract ourselves with fun times and spend quality time together while the kids were in school. October came and we celebrated Jose birthday! He doesn't remember much of it... not because he partied too hard but because his eyes were focused on another date.... Bar Exam results! We had the opportunity with October break to surprise the kids with a DISNEYLAND trip...  The kids were shocked and were sooo excited it was their first visit to Disneyland...The negative part was we were going the day the Bar results were in. Jose said  Disneyland will either live to it's name " the happiest place on earth" or it will be the worst place on earth that day haha.... The kids and I  kept reminding him " you got this DADDY" so off we went.  Sitting at a red light on our way to Disneyland Jose says to me "Open the link and read it to me"... I said "NOOO Sir! you read it!" No you, no you...we went back and forth until he pulled  into a shopping strip on Ball rd in front of a run down dry cleaners.. This was it this moment was going to change a lot of things for us!... Our car was silent as he read the document and scanned for his name.. "Jose A Oliveros" he whispered! I PASSED!!! (tears of joy flooded our car) we were all so grateful and happy!!!  Disneyland lived to its name and several times during our time at Disneyland he would look at me and say... babe I passed! haha we were all still in shock but were so Happy! After that the year moved extra fast... work for me, school for the kids, interviews for Jose, it was the year of the concerts for us we got to see some amazing artist. Sadie's love for slime grew and for the ukulele, dancing, singing, learning to cook and activity days. Riley kept busy in soccer, drawing, learning about the Beatles, butts, boogers,poop (thank you Captain underpants) asking Dad all these interesting "manly" questions regarding Star wars, Marvel comics and making some very funny comments through out the year... As the Holidays approached our life got a little more busy but it had purpose! Spending time with friends and family...We got an amazing Christmas present, Jose landed his first Job as an attorney and I couldn't be more proud of him!  2017 started off slow for me just to get me ready for the remainder of the year! It ended really well and we are so beyond grateful to our Heavenly Father for the blessings, opportunities, health, protection and peace we received this last  year. We know we couldn't do any of this without him, our family and the prayers from so many of you.  2017 didn't pass without trials because well... trials we had plenty.  I chose to write the good and remember the best moments. I will say this, 2017 taught me to be more patient and endure. It taught me to have faith and hope and to know that he has a plan for me and my family.  It has taught me that he has not, nor will not forget me in my deepest most troubling moments. It has taught me that it's ok to be sad, disappointed etc.. but to seek him in those dark moments to feel his light. 2017 also taught me that I can do hard things and that I am immensely blessed to have this wonderful man by my side and my goofy, sweet kids!  We have big goals for 2018 and intend on meeting them. We are focusing on our family more now and our home. The last few years with school in the way and me working a lot our poor home got neglected and we are finally able to dedicate more time to it. I cannot wait until next year to fill you in! xoxo

No comments:

Post a Comment