I went to a grocery store a few days ago and I was behind a mother with a daughter close to Adalie’s age at the check out. I didn’t pay attention to them until the cash register said, “I’m sorry, but you cannot buy hot foods with food stamps.” I looked over at the cash register holding a rotiserrie chicken and I glanced to their cart which only had 2 big containers of water. I then glanced to the screen that showed the total of their purchase and the water was free with the food stamps and the chicken came out to be $5.31. My first thought was, “Oh I’ll pay for it!” but then I thought, ‘Oh what if she gets offended, I don’t want her to get embarrassed and offended…’ since there was a line accumulating behind me and a lot of people would see it. So I didn’t say anything and the lady took out her credit card and it got denied or something, I’m not exactly sure since I was calling out for Adalie while she was grabbing all the candy. I turned back to the register and I still wanted to offer to pay for it really bad but I kept silent. I noticed the water was leaking from the container so I let her know and that’s all I said. Then the lady tells the cash register that she’ll just go ahead and get the water only and she left. As I saw her and her daughter walk away with just water and nothing else, my heart sank. I looked at the little girl’s humble clothing and back to my daughter Adalie who was wearing a brand name coat I had just purchased for her and my heart tore up even more.

I got in the car and cried like a baby. No I’m not pregnant. What if it was the spirit telling me to buy it for her and I didn’t listen? Anything of good comes from the Spirit so it must’ve been the spirit telling me. I called Jay and he told me I should’ve just bought it for her since it was only $5.00 and how she wouldn’t have been offended. I kept telling him “Don’t tell me that!” and cried a little more.

Oh how I wish I could turn back the time. The whole day I couldn’t get them off my mind and wondered what they ate for dinner, if they had other foods to eat. I went to another grocery store after that and I wanted to buy a snack but saw that it was $5 so I just couldn’t buy it. I think about how much I have, temporally speaking and I just feel so spoiled. I think of all those times I purchase a $5 shirt because well, they’re only $5. But with that $5 I could feed a family. Why do I have so much more than her temporally? I know it’s not because I deserve it more than her. I’m positive that she’s a far better person than I am and deserves it far more than I do.

If my heart hurts for her, how our Heavenly Father must feel for her and everybody else who can’t afford to prepare a decent meal for their family. All those people who are starving and dying in this world. The homeless.

I believe Heavenly Father gives things to us temporally, some more than others so that we can share it with others that are less fortunate. To give us an opportunity to share and receive, to make the giver and the receiver a better people by experiencing the Christ-like love. If everyone had everything they needed, where would be that opportunity to give and receive?

I made some personal goals to be more thrifty and more giving. I hope that with the Holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas coming near, you’ll recognize all the blessings you have that you take for granted and learn from my mistake and give the next time that opportunity arises. Hopefully by me sharing my regret and mistake, someone else will be able to reach out and offer that small act of kindness I had missed to that “lady”.

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Adalie turned two yesterday. Wow. Time does fly when you have kids.

This post will be long and detailed but I’m targeting this writing for her to read in the future and no one else so I apologize. We spent her b-day pretty laid back since we had a party for her the past weekend. We got her a baby set that had a stroller, a crib, and a high chair and of course a baby doll which we gave her at her party. I thought that was enough and maybe get her something else small to give her on her actual birthday but Jay wanted to spoil his little daughter and get her a kitchen set or a playground set. We ended up getting the kitchen set which she absolutely loves. Jay went to work super early and came home by the time we woke up so he could be there to see her open the presents. She wanted to get to the biggest present there was first which was the kitchen set but we had her open all her other small presents first that we got from the dollar store. She wouldn’t have cared if it was a poopy diaper as long as it was wrapped, she loves wripping the wrapping paper open! Jay got her all the perfect little gifts from the dollar store such as bubbles, tea set, mini mouse and donald duck, a horse stick, cars to name some and I couldn’t help but smile as I imagined him inside the store for a good 30 mins. at least, contemplating and picking out what to get for his little princess. He is such a cute dad.

So Jay came for 1 1/2 hours when we woke up to open presents with Adalie and just chill but little did we know that the kitchen set doesn’t come already assembled like it’s pictured on the box. It took us a good 1 1/2 hours to assemble the whole thing together! It was work I tell ya. Now we know so in the future we can assemble it previously and then put it back in the box to get the full effect of excitement on our kids’ faces. Adalie was all excited when she saw the picture on the box and expected what she saw as soon as the box was opened but then her face turned into mystery and confusion as she saw all the disassembled bodies. But she was so patient and eager to help us assemble it and didn’t complain or whine once. She is such a sweetheart. The only thing that would’ve made her like the kitchen set even more is if the water came out of the sink. She kept putting the cup under the faucet and asking for water.

After her naptime(and I mean Ariana, Adalie and my naptime), we watched Kung Fu Panda which is her favorite right now. Then of course I do this silly dance at the concluding song and jump and spin her around everywhere and get out of breath and so dizzy which she makes me rewind the music at least 3 times to do it all over again. I take turns dancing and spinning with Adalie and Ariana and Adalie always waits patiently and dances along while I dance with Ariana and doesn’t demand attention or get mad. Man, I’m so in love with her!

Then when Jay came home we went out to eat and then went and got some fish. We got two, I don’t even know the name, and one died today. Already!!! I thought it would last at least a week. I hate fish thus snorkeling for me means riding on jay’s back the whole time but my heart hurts a little knowing that it died already. 🙁 I guess I got attached to it and now I feel guilty that we didn’t buy the conditioning water because I didn’t want to spend more money. I hope it died peacefully and the other fish wasn’t traumatized by watching his friend dead floating around. I didn’t see the fish dead, Jay just told me about it and I refused to look at it. Jay held a little funeral with a song and a prayer (and a salute haha dork) with Adalie and told her the fish went nai nai. But she is smart and knows it’s gone and she keeps asking, “where’s the other fishy?”

Adalie is my ray of sunshine, a source of my happiness. She looks like a little precious moment doll with her cute nose and her big round eyes. She has the cutest bubble butt(haha) and the biggest belly that is always full of juice for she is one juice-aholic. (it’s basically water for 1/10 of it is only juice but she doesn’t know that, shhh) She is hilarious and such a fun, energetic, outgoing, caring, sweet personality. She is a wonderful sister even though she is really posessive of all her toys and her juice cup and screams at Ana whenever she comes near it. But I know that’s just a 2 yr. old phase and she’ll share so well with Ana when she gets older. I know they love each other because when Ana cries, Adalie tells me with a sad face, “baby Ana cry? Ana sad? mama carry you?” and she wants to feed her all the time even if it means splattering it all over Ana’s face and her own hands and barely any food gets in. Everytime daddy leaves for work she always says, “Dada kiss Adalie. Dada kiss mama. Dada kiss Ana.” and says every night before sleep, “I love mama, I love dada, I love Ana, I love harmony, I love harabugi, I love grandma, I love papa, I love uncle Joe, I love Auntie Sora, I love Adalie.” And I know Ana loves Adalie because when we go see her right when she wakes up, as soon as she sees Adalie, she always gives the biggest smile that shows off her cutest dimple and her two bottom teeth.

Some things Adalie says on a daily basis are:
-“It’s okay, I’m fine now.”
-“Mama hand(as she reaches for my hand). Stand up. Come with me.”
-“Mama carry you!” (meaning mama carry me)
-“Ooh Adalie fut fut(fart fart)? Stinky stinky!”
-“I want candy/popsicles/suckers/popcorn. NOW.”
-“I wanna watch Panda.”
-“Adalie’s hungry/tired.”
-“Adalie fall/fell down.”
-“Ana push you!” (whenever Ana pushes her to get to her toys)
-“Dada where are you?” (as she looks out the window while he’s at work)
-“I wanna play wit dada.” (while he’s at work)
-“I wanna play lion.” (her favorite game where we pretend to be lions and chase her around and play hide and seek)
-“Baby nai nai? (when she sees baby sleeping and she goes right up to her and says) HI BABY!!! HI BABY!!! HI BABY!!! (so obviously Ana wakes up) baby up? baby up?” (which I always reply, “yes honey, cuz you just woke her up.”
-NO! It’s my turn!”
-“I wanna blow bubbles. Adalie blow bubbles.”
-“Adalie found it!”
-“Adalie naked butt butt!” (as she pats her naked butt before bath time)

She says the things above every single day, all day. But she says other things that surprises me and makes me wonder where she got that from like when she was opening presents and saying “oh it’s so cute.” or when she saw the pumpkin lights, “oh it’s so pretty!” or when she bit me real hard and made me cry, she said, “I’m sorry honey.” Or just the other day when she was holding her two baby dolls and said to me, “mama? I have two babies.”

Adalie, you make my life so much better and so much enjoyable. I delight in the small things because I see you delight in them. My happiest moments are hearing you and Ana crack up while playing with daddy. When I watch you guys play together and laugh out loud, it seems as if the world stops around me and I get in awe at how happy I am because I see you so happy. You are so beautiful inside and out and you’re so fun to be around. I love seeing you fold your arms and close your eyes and repeat us during prayer. I love hearing you saying thank you and please. I love seeing you kiss Ana or feed her cereal, give her hugs or playing with her and making Ana giggle. That is one of the cutest things I will ever see. I see a glimpse of what God’s love for his children must be and how much he must delight when he sees us make right choices when I see you do nice things. I give you at least 100 kisses a day but it’s not enough to express how much I really love you. I would give my soul and my body for you without a second thought. I will do anything to make you happy. I’m sorry that I get impatient with you at times. But I love you to pieces and no matter how much or what I say, it will never compensate the love I feel for you. So happy 2nd b-day my sweet Adalie. It’s been the best two years of my life.

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