I like this story from the Ensign (Gordon B. Hinckley, “These, Our Little Ones,” Ensign, Dec 2007, 4–9)
The story is told that in ancient Rome a group of women were, with vanity, showing their jewels one to another. Among them was Cornelia, the mother of two boys. One of the women said to her, “And where are your jewels?” To which Cornelia responded, pointing to her sons, “These are my jewels.” Under her tutelage and walking after the virtues of her life, they grew to become Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus—the Gracchi, as they were called—two of the most persuasive and effective reformers in Roman history. For as long as they are remembered and spoken of, the mother who reared them after the manner of her own life will be remembered and spoken of with praise also.
I feel the same way about my little treasures. I love my boys. Here are some more pictures. I wouldn't want you to miss out on how fast they're growing. Andre is starting to "coo" and smile and laugh a lot. Paulo and I have conversations daily--I can understand him and he can understand me.
"Andre boy. My little little boy. Andre boy. My little little boy." He's so sweet.
Look how shredded "Bapi's" (Paulo's froggy) foot is. Paulo only chews on this one corner, that's why.
On Thursdays, Paulo, Andre and I go to a free parenting education class offered through PCC. I've been excited about it because I'm always looking for new advice in parenting, and it's a good structured environment that Paulo and I can look forward to each week--good preparation for preschool. Paulo can always count on activities and fun toys, like this car, that we don't get to play with at home. I'm a horrible photographer, but you can tell he loves it. Paulo is making some friends, and I'm getting to know all the moms, too.
Our first Sunday in the Pasadena ward, we received a warm welcome, and Hunter was promptly recruited to be a leader on the week long scout camp to Catalina Island, Emerald Bay. It was somewhat of a sacrifice on my part, but I was happy to hear what a fun time they had kayaking, canoeing, cliff jumping, hiking, snorkling, etc. Here are a bunch of great pictures.
Just a short explanation. One of the nights, they boated out to this remote part of the island and camped out there. Also, the swimming area was kind of sectioned off from the rest of the ocean, however, there were still all kinds of fish, including small sharks, swimming around with the boys. (Aiyeeee!)
Sunday evening, Hunter came home from school at 10:30 p.m. with this totally excited, huge grin on his face. He scooped me up into a huge hug and said, "Wow, Babe! I really am in the Harvard of art schools!"
This past week has been orientation. Aside from registering, paying tuition and other mumbo jumbo, Hunter spent three intense days going on bus tours of Warner Brother's Studio, and downtown L.A. with a professional L.A. historian, an expert in architecture, and a media design professor. The tours were in preparation for his first group project, which was to design a city that served as a medium. The city was to be built and the presentation prepared all in a matter of a couple days. Presentations and critiques were Sunday evening. Bear in mind, classes hadn't even started yet.
Without getting into too much detail (Hunter's eventually going to post more on his blog: concepthunter.blogspot.com), they came up with a really unique design for a "city of competition". During the process of building the city and presentation, Hunter was overjoyed when he realized that he didn't have to check that his team mates were okay doing their individual tasks, because everyone he was working with was a pro when it came to Flash or Photoshop or whatever. Each person pulled his own weight. The presentation went very smoothly, and the critics, who are normally notorious for ripping people's projects to shreds, surprisingly had nothing negative to say. In fact they were so excited about the idea, that they were even talking amongst themselves about how the idea could be pushed further.
What a contrast to the environment Hunter has been in the past two years! This is how it should be! In a matter of a few days, Hunter has all his confidence back--in concepting and presenting--and his mind has just been overflowing with new, exciting knowledge from true experts! I can't tell you how happy I am about this! This makes all the debt so worth it.
I am finally posting our pictures from Malibu beach. Apparently this beach is famous because you can often see dolphins swimming around in the afternoon, but we didn't see any this time. Our day on the beach was different from the usual experience. It was slightly cooler outside, warmer in the water, less windy, and the waves were much much bigger. Unfortunately you can't really tell from the pictures, but Hunter and I got to boogie board 5-8 foot waves. Most of time I just got slammed around while Hunter was able to catch every other wave. I guess he's a regular "surfer dude." I did successfully catch one wave, and it was FUN!
Paulo spent most of the time sitting on the lawn chair because he didn't like the feel of the sand on his feet. Eventually, we got him to play in the sand with his new friend, Gracie Gunn (daughter of Josh and Sheri Gunn, whose parents are in Hunter's home ward in Provo).
Andre slept in the little tent that our friends brought, and on the lawn chair. Not a bad way to spend time on the beach. It was relaxing, and yet, the next day my muscles ached from the 10 minutes of boogie boarding. I was quite proud of myself.
The Aunties wanted to see more footage of the boys, so here are some cute, short ones. Paulo kept saying "Cheese!" to the camera, even though I was trying to explain that I'm videotaping. Cute. Enjoy!
"Andre boy. My little little boy. Andre boy. My little little boy." He's so sweet.
Look how shredded "Bapi's" (Paulo's froggy) foot is. Paulo only chews on this one corner, that's why.
