dear grandma who scolded us, 

i’m sorry we were in a private property- which is a big empty grass field that happens to connect to my mom’s backyard-which you happened to reside in one of the condominiums.  but did you know that adults/kids from your condominiums step over the bridge to come to our backyard to play in the pond all the time? and we’ve never minded it and let them be. and not to be disrespectful mam, but it’s not like it was your own private property of your own home/backyard. it’s just a big empty field where the last 10+ yrs. i’ve lived there during my childhood, i’ve seen people sit or play in the field exactly 3 times. did you talk to those people on 3 different ocassions too? just wondering. 

because if you were outside, sitting and chilling in the grass, maybe reading a book or napping, and we made loud noises and disturbed you or awoke you, then i would’ve understood a little why you came to us and asked, “do you girls live in these condominiums? oh you live over there? then what are you girls doing over on THIS side? because this is a private property.”

but we weren’t making loud noises at all, actually we weren’t even making any noise because i was setting up the camera to take maternity pictures for my dear friend who is 8+ months pregnant and we were trying to create and capture this sacred, beautiful, everlasting moment.

but no, you were inside the house and you happened to see us through your livingroom window. 

i apologize if you happened to hear mumbled voice on the rare occasions that i did speak with a soft voice, which i highly doubt, unless you had mega speakers connected to your ear piece and the volume on full blast.

maybe you should invest in some double pane windows? i don’t know. 

but thank you for not being as mean as the grandma who made me bawl for over 2 hours who yelled at me during sacrament/church because my baby gave out a short cry. so i thank you for that. i would rather take your scoldings any day over that grandma. but i can’t help but wonder, aren’t grandmas suppose to be sweet, laid-back and caring? maybe some people think they own the world since they’ve lived in it for so long? that they could speak whatever, whenever they pleased? did we really harm you or inconvenience you in any way by using the field quietly for less than 10 mins.? was it really worth it to make us feel dumb and uncomfortable? it doesn’t matter what your age is, it’s always more worth it to speak with kindness and respect than to make someone feel sad. i read somewhere that people over the age of 50 are the happiest people because they’ve learned from their long life and experience to pick and choose their fights and not let little things bother them and they’ve learned to just let little, unimportant things go. maybe you’re not happy? because that would make me sad and i really do wish all the happiness to you. 

very lastly before i sign off, i would like to apologize for being a wimp and not saying anything to you then. i do that a lot. actually, i do that every single time. i wish i had more guts. but until then, maybe i could borrow some of yours?

you seem to have plenty. 

sincerely with tender, love, and utmost care, 

Sarah 

 p.s: here are some pictures we took that night. some were on your private property. sorry. 

Dear Grandma Who Scolded My Wife,

You are lucky I was running around playing in your “private property playground” in another part of your HOA, swinging with my two rugrats while my wife took pregnancy pictures for our dear friend. If I was there when you scolded my wife, I would of ripped you a new one and probably made you cry. Yes, I probably should be nice to you since your old and furthermore I should practice charity and paitence and on top of it all, I miss and love my Grandma to pieces, but if you mess with MY wife, you mess with MY life, and I would have to put you in your place. My wife does not enjoy confrontation, but I relish it. 

So just like the Grandma at church that made my wife cry, you are lucky that I was not there to rip you a new one! As winter is approaching, I hope I don’t catch you in your private property outside when I’m rolling some snowballs…

paYce out-dont mess wit my wifey,

jaY

after signing plethora of papers(actually it wasn’t as bad as i expected), and waiting 5+ months, we closed in on our new house today!!! i’m soooooo excited! my husband’s quiet happy too, actually ecstatic, so ecstatic that he’s been doing these ridiculous, way dramatic dances all night. oh i wish he would let me videotape it for all to see. but i guess i can put up with it for one day since he’s worked so hard and put a lot of time in it in order to get the house.

but to be completely honest, i’m not completely keen on our new house(it’s very old you see-which was exactly what my husband wanted), but it’s very big and jay wanted it really really bad. and since he’s excellent at renovating and that’s the reason why he wanted another house since he fixed up our other home already, i trust him and if he’s happy, then i’m happy. and i know he’ll do an incredible job at making everything new and looking nice.

so i can’t wait to start decorating our new place! here are some inspirations i found that i fell in love with. i want my livingroom to look JUST LIKE it. i think it’s perfect. what do you think?

what the-i just noticed the bearded guy in the corner. haha

and this is the kitchen dining room. isn’t it lovely?

our livingroom’s one wall is just all windows so it’ll be perfect!

jay’s cousin david stayed with us

before he entered the MTC to serve

a 2 year mission for our LDS church.

(oopsie his eyes are closed!)

we took him to cafe rio for lunch right before we dropped him off, since he’s never had it and when i was a teacher at the mtc, that was the food the missionaries craved the most and would always beg me to go buy it for them. oh how i miss teaching there!

we’re so proud of him and we know he’s a great missionary!