FAMILY – Grandma Bloggers

AGING, BEAUTY, CULTURES, ELDERLY, FINANCE, HAWAII, HEALTH, PARENTING, RELIGION, SENIOR, TRAVEL, Uncategorized

July and into August 2022

August 13, 2022December 8, 2023 custom

Our family has had some major milestones lately. Our sister missionary, Anna Kongaika returned from her mission in Las Vegas West, Nevada. She reported her mission and shared a strong and inspirational testimony of the Gospel and of the work she had been doing for the past 18 months. What a blessing Anna is to our family. She will be attending BYU Provo this fall.

Our sweet Rachel Ileina Kinikini got prepared by seeing her bishop and stake president for the purpose of submitting her application to serve a mission. Just this week she received her calling to serve in the Auckland, New Zealand Mission. We were all soooo excited for her. There are many reasons for that – one being that she has Maori blood in her veins and also that some of her ancestors and relatives lived there and served there.

We also continue to have guests on our Podcast, Pacific Tales. This gentleman came all the way from Ghana and it was great to be in touch with him after 20 years. Have a listen:

Spotify – Pacific Tales

We also got together with our siblings and spouses for a dinner. We plan to do this every month if we can. It is good to keep in touch since Dad passed away. Kirk was able to sell Dad’s home and it was sad, but also a big weight off his shoulders.

We were able to spend some more time with some of the grandchildren since they were out of school. We had a fun day with them when they came to our Daybreak swimming pool and then we had a BBQ afterward in our backyard.

Other than all of the above, I, unfortunately, got scammed a couple of times online. Beware of people offering to help because most likely they are just trying to help themselves to your money. It was an expensive month for that reason. Watch out for people, especially in Affiliate Marketing groups. I have been trying to learn about it and people seem to genuinely want to help, and then they turn around and charge you for their help saying that you need to “put some skin into the game”. I also got bullied by some which was a result of the same game and so my mental, and emotional state took a hit, but I’m doing better now. So, before you pay anyone online for this or that course, ask yourself:

Grandpa and I also got to go to “Singing in the Rain” with Joel and Lily. It was incredible how they had it raining on the stage at the Hale Theater – so fun!!

CULTURES, family, FINANCE, food, Grandchildren, HEALTH, home, PARENTING, photography, RELIGION, TRAVEL

Pandemic 101

May 15, 2020December 15, 2023 custom

The past two months have been life altering. In fact, it has changed everything! Besides aging me ten years, I have never cried so much or for so long of a time. Our prophet warned us and still I was unprepared for the changes Corona would make in my life. Suddenly, I could no longer lovingly hug my grandchildren. I could not freely go to church, shop, watch movies, or just walk around the neighborhood without keeping a distance. What???

The 1918 H1N1 flu virus caused the deadliest pandemic of the 20th century. Today (2020) we have a “global” pandemic that has shut down society as we know it. How could we have not known this was coming?

*Brighter days in Hawaii at Diamond Head Peak*

Why were we not prepared for this? Over a century of medical enlightenment should have taught us something, right??? It seems that as a world we have gone backwards in time. How did we get here? What went wrong? Who can we blame? Everyone seems to have an opinion on that, but no one is fessing up to this mess.

Luckily, our family has been able to continue working and studying throughout this catastrophe. Many people are without jobs and what our President, Donald Trump bragged about building up all came tumbling down. I won’t talk politics here because my husband and I don’t see eye to eye. The stock market is in territory it has not seen in years. The U.S. government tried to bail everyone out including many businesses (who is going to pay for that)?

*Dad and the boys performing circa 1992?*

There is no end to the madness in sight unless some genius comes up with an effective vaccine so we can all become immune to COVID-19. Who is the winner here? I know – stupidity!! Where are all the world-renowned scientists right now? Where are the Avengers when you need them? Oh, right – they are in the movies and they are probably in quarantine, too!

Our world went into lockdown. Whole

countries closed down. Drones took haunting images of famous cities devoid of mortals. No one roamed the streets except wild animals wondering where the humans went. It was like one big fictional novel coming to life. Will it ever return to what it was? That is probably not a good idea. We were dumb! The world had lost its’ luster. People were too busy having fun and making money to notice a tiny little virus that had the power to annihilate any power or wealth we thought we had.

we have been blessed beyond what we deserve. Pandemics suck. That is the truth!

So, the next time I write a post for my blog, I hope this experience will be a distant memory. I pray we have learned our lessons. Only God can get us through this.

Tell that to all the people rioting against social distancing. They also refuse to have the vaccine even if it would help others. Meantime, we will be practicing

social distancing. Who knew that was even a thing until now?

BEAUTY, CULTURES, Grandchildren, HAWAII, HEALTH, holidays, home, PARENTING, photography, RELIGION, TRAVEL

Attitude of Gratitude

November 3, 2019December 18, 2023 custom

As I approach my 70th year of life on this earth, I feel the need to show my gratitude to all of those who have helped me along the way. First, I know my Heavenly Father has directed our travels throughout the world and protected us from accidents, major sickness, and has blessed us with a beautiful family. He blessed us with loving, caring children and grandchildren, for whom I am incredibly thankful. I’m so glad that all of our children love and support one another. How incredibly blessed we feel.

We have been led to Tonga, American Samoa, Arizona, and Hawaii during our marriage. I’m not sure why we moved so much, but here is a rundown of our moves: (I have previously written some articles about our experiences which I will link below)

Provo, Utah 1972-1974 ~ I worked at Utah Valley Hospital while ‘Isileli Tupou completed his Bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University – Provo. We had Liana Olivia Kongaika six months before graduation. https://letterpile.com/personal-essays/Man-You-Have-Come-A-Long-Way-Baby

Liahona High School, Tonga 1974-1977 ~ We were hired to work at the College in Liahona. ‘Isileli Tupou taught Industrial Education including Architectural and Mechanical Design, woodworking, and metal. ‘Isi became the Department Head of the Industrial Education Instruction. We had Robert James Kongaika in 1973 in Tonga. https://hubpages.com/relationships/Friday-Night-Date-at-the-Movies-in-Tonga https://hubpages.com/politics/Do-We-Want-Social-Medicine-Just-Like-in-Third-World-Countries https://hubpages.com/relationships/He-Wrote-Me-a-Love-Song

Provo, Utah 1977-1978 ~ We returned to BYU-Provo to work on Isi’s Master’s Degree. We had Joel ‘Aholelei Kongaika while ‘Isi was going to University. ‘Isi’s field project was a Pictorial Instruction on How to Operate a Metal Lathe for Tongan Students.

American Samoa 1979-1980 ~ ‘Isi was hired by the American Samoa Department of Education to work in Leoni High School as well as at American Samoa Community College to prepare teachers for certification. We had Jacob Epikopo Manuia while working in American Samoa. I attended American Samoa Community College while I was expecting.

Arizona 1981-1982 ~ ‘Isi was hired by the Pinal School District to work at Coolidge Middle School and taught MIE Industrial Education classes.

Tonga 1982-1992 ~ We returned to Tonga to work again at Liahona High School. The last three years we served in the Tonga Nuku’alofa Mission as Mission President with our family. https://hubpages.com/travel/My-Visit-to-the-King

Hawaii 1992 – 2013 ~ We were hired to work at Brigham Young University – Hawaii. First, as Foreign Student Advisor and then as Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students. Our children were growing and Liana left to pursue a degree in Nursing at BYU Provo. Robert stayed behind with Lu’isa in Tonga. Our two boys, Joel and Jacob completed high school at Kahuku High School. I worked in the Fine Arts Departments as well as in the School of Education. https://hubpages.com/family/intercultural-families https://hubpages.com/politics/Not-Every-One-Wants-To-Be-A-US-Citizen https://hubpages.com/travel/Visit-Hawaii-and-Catch-Local-Festivities

Utah 2013 – 2016 ~ After 20 years of working at BYU-Hawaii, ‘Isi and I retired to Utah. We lived with my father one year and then lived in South Jordan near Liana and Siope Kinikini. We were happy to be with our children and grandchildren closer. https://hubpages.com/money/Changing-Climates-in-Retirement https://hubpages.com/travel/Fun-at-Lagoon-in-Northern-Utah https://hubpages.com/family/Write-Your-Family-History

In between our moves, we have been able to travel to many other parts of the world. I believe our lives have been enriched by being exposed to so many different people and cultures and love our friends throughout the world. https://wanderwisdom.com/misc/How-to-Get-the-Most-out-of-Your-Adventures-Abroad https://hubpages.com/travel/Scenic-New-Zealand https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/City-of-Music-Vienna https://hubpages.com/travel/The-Magic-of-Italy https://hubpages.com/travel/Southern-Germany https://hubpages.com/travel/The-Magic-of-Austria https://hubpages.com/travel/Exploring-Egypt-in-a-Time-of-Transition

God has always been in the picture as we have moved from place to place. There have been trials, sickness, and disappointments, but as we look back on our life, It seems to all have been orchestrated for our own good.