Blonde Self-Photo-Bomb

So I made up a joke - a blonde selfie - she bunny ears herself. This picture is a blonde self-photo-bomb.

 

 

Last Child to Finish High School

Senior dinner with parents and senior. A lovely dinner with beautiful words spoken by over 100 parents throughout the meal.

Each parent had to do a 1 minute speech -ONE MINUTE! I did it! 

"Julz, you always asked us where you came from and we told you Denney’s restaurant. Well it is time you know the truth.

After having 3 sons, we prayed to be able to adopt a daughter. There were several opportunities that failed because God knew He had chosen you for us. When you were 6 months old, we saw your picture in an adoption catalogue and instantly fell in love with you and applied. After 2 long months of waiting for a response, we got the phone call “congratulations – it’s a girl!

Our whole family went to Oregon to bring our new member home. When we arrived at your home, the foster mom opened the door, and pointed us to the living room floor, where you were propped up just waiting for us.
With big tears in his eyes, your then 15 year old brother Jason sat down on the floor next to you followed by your other 2 brothers.

The ride home was filled with “Oh! She yawned!” and “Look! She sucks her thumb!” The boys fought over who would get to feed you next.

You are strong willed, outgoing, and bring many smiles to others. 

We have been so blessed to be your parents and family and cherish every moment we have had together. The future is bright because God chose you, and will be faithful to finish what He began in you. "

My Mama

VIDEO: TRIBUTE VIDEO TO MY MOM

My mama went to be with Jesus January 27 at noon, of a massive heart attack. This was totally unexpected, however she was ready to go be with Jesus.

I am still in a state of numb disbelief. She was my best friend, We talked every morning on my way to work until her stroke. Since her speech became difficult, we chatted most every morning on the computer. I will miss her so much.

At her memorial service, each of her 20 grandchildren wrote a little memory of her, which I wish she could see:

Memories of Gramma

Judy’s Kids 

Luke: Grandma loved each one of her grandkids, and inevitably when together, she ended up crying tears of joy. I will always have a special place in my heart for Spanish rice, Nestle Crunch ice cream bars, Diet Pepsi, and crochet needles.

Katie: Gramma loved unconditionally. I always knew that when mom and Gramma went to church together they would end up crying and then get the giggles.

Ryan: Grandma made my Wenatchee visits so much fun and was always up on the coolest trends (Back to the Future, Sandlot and Facebook). When she hugged me, I really felt loved.

Del’s Kids

Jill: Gramma was quite a seamstress and helped me sew my first dress. She taught me the value of patience and ‘getting it right’ even if we had to rip it out 10 times.

Paige: Grams had the most beautiful laugh. The eyes watering, body shaking, cheeks burning, holding your sides, thinking you can never stop kind of laugh. 

Drew: I loved it when Gramma came over to swim. She could float on her back and drink Diet Pepsi at the same time.

Stacy: I got to spend a lot of time at the hospital with Grams when she had her first stroke. I always told her she’s the reason I decided to become a nurse. 

Earl’s Kids

Ben: Gramma Shirley had such a great sense of humor. Her smile and laughter together with her kindness and sweetness made the people around her comfortable and want to be with her.

Andy: I will never forget Grandma’s tears of joy when telling the story of how Jesus came to live in her heart. Her faith was so pure and honest.

Tim: While on vacation at Lake Chelan with ALL her grandkids, a pair of Grandma's underwear were ‘stolen’ and flown high for all to see. She was so embarrassed but couldn't stop laughing anyway.

Dolly: Gramma seemed incapable of getting mad. On the off-chance that she ever did get slightly annoyed, it would never last long. It was only a fleeting gray cloud passing over her perpetual bright and sunny spirit.

Charles: Grandma made me a patriotic blanket that could be folded into a pillow, which became my favorite because I could put my feet in the pillow pocket. When she found out, she made me another one with a special pocket for feet that I still use today.

JoAnn’s Kids

Jason: I’ll always remember your loving smile, laughing until you cried, playing card games and dominos in Canada, and the excitement I felt leading up to your arrival during the holidays. Love you Grandma.

Jordan: Grammy is and was one the most inspiring, loving, smiling, warming, strongest souls I’ve had the honor to experience. Blessed by her energy, bear hugs and incredible faith, she taught us all about the eternal bond of family. Love you Tutu.

Jaron: Gramma was so kind, loving and strong. Even after her stroke she lived with grace and set a wonderful example for us. I'll miss her dearly.

Julz: The character of a person isn't really measured by their behavior when life is easy--Grandma showed kindness, compassion, and courage during the hardest times of her life. The example she set will stay with me forever.

Janice’s Kids

Jeremiah: Grandma was there for me when I came out of surgery from my heart transplant. She visited me in my classroom and gave her full attention to every detail of my life. I will always remember how she cried when she sang hymns, was quick to laugh, and her radiant love for Jesus.

Jody: Gramma always told me I was beautiful and meant it. She always listened, always cared, and never judged.

Jessi: Love of the Lord, love for her family and laughter are the memories of Gramma that I will ever carry with me. No matter how many grandkids, or how far apart we lived, she always made each one of us feel loved and special.

Josh: Gramma loved having us around during our summer visits. I remember waking up, eating breakfast (usually grapefruit) while looking at the mountains in Wenatchee, excited about spending another day together. Tribute to Mom

Family Changing, Rearranging

I made these glass charms (twist around stem of glass) a while back for holidays, which we always celebrated with my parents (papa and gramma). Obviously "mom" is missing because I knew if my glass was the only one not marked, it was mine.

Now that my parents cannot travel or will not let us cook at their place, they won't be using these. SO, I get my own glass charm now! Jophus will get "papa" (which is kind awkward because I think grandbaby Audrey may call her daddy "papa") We will have to work on this so I don't have to change these charms.

I will of course, proudly get "gramma".

Daddy Jaron will get "dad". Oh wait - then what do we do with "Jaron"? (this is getting me confused - never was good at math/word problems) Mommy Andrea will have none - like I had none for years :)

This works. Keep and switch em up.

One day, these glass charms may be too large to fit on my counter.

Last picture of 2013

Last picture of 2013. After trying on a zillion dresses that were too small (yah I gained weight) this one zipped up! Jophus said "honey, that is a lot of cleavage" I replied "at this point, who cares?" Danced for 3.5 hours pretty much straight. Still got it...lol. BTW - so I post this picture, and show hubs, and he says. "this one my eyes were half closed" so we look at the other pictures and decided he is ASIAN!

Tears, Drama, and Laughter

TEARS:  of joy and sorrow mixed together. My mom is suffering more with her painful hip (which nothing can be done about). I hate to see her in pain and be so helpless to help her. 

The GOOD news - she got new hearing aids that can get her rejoicing music directly into her ears so Dad cannot turn it off because he doesn't want to hear it! This is awesome!

Her dear friend Gloria (my adopted mom since she has no daughter) gave us lighted angels, because she thinks we are angels (really, ME an angel?? My mom - YES!) Gloria told us to think of her when we look at the angels - then she said, "Oh that sounds bad - you should think of Jesus not me!" I said, "I will think of you and your friend Jesus". Settled. Anyway, we shed tears of joy at how God has sustained us and will continue to in our sorrows. God bless Gloria and my mom.

DRAMA: Tom, Elaine and I planned some Christmas songs at BonAventure during lunch. Well, a lady came up to us to ask us to please not sing and play - she had a terrible headache and the doctor doesn't know what is the matter. I asked if we could play softly, and she said NO - it will hurt her head too much. She went back to sit at her table.

I was going to cancel - not wanting even one person to be unhappy. (that is stupid) I looked at Elaine - who rolled her eyes at the "headache lady's" request. I asked Tom, who is the sweetest man ever, if we should sing and he said "yes, let's". I gulped, preparing to do it - and the "headache lady" came up and said she will go sit in another room with the door closed.  So I played piano, they sang and people loved it.

After that, the buzz was WHO is this "headache lady" and why would she expect others to not enjoy music because she has a headache?

LAUGHTER: We waited 2 more days, and decided to do this again - this time acapella and 3 part harmony. We did 3 sets. The first set (3 songs) was awesome. Perfection. The second set - I could see the "headache lady" with her hands on her temples! (this made me want to really laugh but I held it in) In between the verses, Elaine asked me, "where is the 'headache lady' sitting?" I couldn't point her out, since we were standing in front of everyone! The second song in that set was a little sketchy on the bass, and Elaine was wondering where the "headache lady" is, and lost her words. I lost my composure (which I think I have a real disease of this) and could NOT stop laughing. Poor Tom was gimping along on bass all alone on Hark The Herald Angels Sing! That does not sound good with bass only - at all. We had to bail on that song. Third song - OK.

The third and final set, I asked if we may sing from the balcony - (out of sight of "headache lady", so I can keep my composure.) We went up the elevator 1 floor only. In elevator I said "let's just do a few measures to prepare" - we sang 3 verses,,, and I wondered how that happened IN the elevator. NO ONE PUSHED THE BUTTON. Oh my - I girded up all my strength to not think it was one bit funny. We got out and sang 3 songs perfectly. Whew!

I left Wenatchee to come home to make peanut brittle to send to Jason and Jordan in Maui - wearing the apron the boys made me when they were little - never dreaming 2 sons would live in Maui and not be coming home for Christmas.

I need Peppermint Schnapps.

Just Another Typical Tolentino Day

Today while I was at work, my darling daughter Julz Tolentino got out of school early and asked me to pick her up. I was at work and could not get away, so she asked her friend Kaley, who is home from college, to come pick her up. I said fine.

Jophus (the hubs) was supposed to meet ME for lunch with our nephew Charlie Vanderhoff and his fiance Marilee Taylor for lunch and was late. I called him and he told me that SOMEONE STOLE OUR VAN AND ALL OUR CAR KEYS that were hanging in our basement! They broke into the van, opened the garage with the door opener and came right in the garage taking ALL of our car keys! The police were on their way. He was positive he had locked the van, so I told him to go look for broken glass. The NERVE of these thieves and sheer violation of our privacy and property!

Then I remembered that Julz was going to have Kaley pick her up from school, who borrows our car every once in a while. Jophus told me to call Kaley - I did, over and over and over - no answer.

What I did NOT know was:

When Julz was asking Kaley to pick her up from school, she told Kaley to come in our house and ask Jophus, who is at home, if she can use his car. WELL Kaley got here, came in the house, heard no one, (Jophus was IN THE SHOWER and heard the garage door!) took Jophus's car keys to start his car. It would not start, so she came back in the house with garage door opener and got the van keys (we have way too many cars and keys). She closed garage door, took van to go get Julz. (She also forgot to replace the car keys of the car that didn't start)

When she picked Julz up from school, they went to Jamba Juice - and Julz told Kaley to bring her phone in, Kaley said "it will only be 5 minutes". We were calling and calling and calling. No answer. 

The girls came home after stopping at Jamba Juice only to find the police here, who shook his finger at them with a sly grin.

They all came inside the house, and Kaley who had not seen Jophus since September said awkwardly "I really missed you!"

Mama's Hand

 So after a serious stroke - if a part of your brain is damaged, it basically paralyzes either side of your body, depending on which side of the brain is hit. My mom's stroke happened on the left side of her brain, which controls the right side of her body. She cannot move her right arm or hand at all. When this happens, the hand wants to curl up. Nothing can make it stay open - except for Botox shots in the muscles.

My mom is such a trooper! She was making a few jokes about this dang hand and fingers last weekend on my visit. 


FIRST as we were driving, we noticed a Second Hand shop. We started making jokes about why it was called second hand, etc. My mom said, "I should go in there and tell them I need a second hand"! We laughed at what the store owner's possible reaction would be.

The other funny she made is when, at dinner with our 8 friends, we were talking about trigger finger, which I now have (rats). Trigger Finger makes your fingers stick shut, and they snap to open - if that makes sense. One man said to hurry to get the surgery or it just gets worse. We were comparing our trigger fingers, and mom said "I have trigger finger too!"

God bless my mama.

My Buddies

I go to visit my parents 4 days a month. It is a blessing to be able to do so, as my mom is now full time in a wheelchair, and my dad's Alzheimer's is progressing bit by bit.

At dinner, we all sit in same chairs - well, I mix their table up when I come. This visit we decided to play that old game called "telephone". One person starts it by whispering something to the person on their left, who repeats it in whisper to the person on their left, etc, etc. The last person to have it repeated to them says it out loud for all to hear how it changed through the gossip chain.

WELL, there were 8 of us. Tom went first, who repeated to Joan, who repeated to me, who repeated to mom, who repeated to dad, who repeated to Doris, who repeated to Elaine, who repeated to BILL, WHO BY THAT TIME FORGOT WE WERE PLAYING A GAME. The message that Elaine whispered into his ear was, "Meet me in the parking lot tomorrow morning at 5:30AM".  When she whispered that into his ear, he looked at her a little horrified, and said "WHAT FOR?" WE ALL DIED LAUGHING for the rest of dinner.

A few of them let me take their picture, and here it is. I just love them all so much.

Juicing

 Problem with juicing, I hate hate hate throwing any food item away. SO, after many many tries, I have found the perfect pulp stuff.

Last time I juiced, I tried pulp lasagna, pulp pizza, pulp quiche, pulp soup, and pulp muffins. My family gagged.

THIS time I have a better juicer with very dry pulp. The juice yield is great, but the pulp is heavy. I now think I have a great recipe.

Pulp: amended with coconut flour, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and flax meal. Add eggs and ground sausage. AWESOME!

The juice to pulp yield is amazing - look at all the juice, and all the pulp patties. (My hubs wants me to call them veggie burgers, it sounds better than pulp patties)

Facial Recognition

That moment you leave your new Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro with at home with hubs Joseph Tolentino to install Microsoft Office and Anti Virus, and he texts to ask the password you set, and you reply "OH! I set it to Facial Recognition! Isn't that the coolest thing ever?" and he says, "not in this case". 

 I told him just go find some blonde haole and see if it works.....I also told him to get a blonde wig in our dress up stuff and try it - he did, and it still didn't work. I told him it cannot recognize his fatty Filipino nose.

THIS is a COOL machine! PERFECT for travel and work.

Down The Toilet

 I dropped my newer Samsung Galaxy S4 phone in the toilet today.

 I looked down at it and thought "urine trouble".

 Everything seems to work fine except that facebook is removed.

Evening update: Not good  - my phone got all pissy and 

would not hold a charge at all - used warranty and got a new one.

Old Becomes New

Oh yes - things change - this is a constant.

SO SO SO thankful for our changes.

OLD Tolentino family - never to be seen this way again.

ANOTHER MRS. TOLENTINO!!!!   NEW Tolentino family - 

We love you, Andrea

SUCH Blessings MochaMaki

Just today - Maki posted this on my facebook:

"Just walked my two Japanese students to the bus stop and remembering the day you showed me how to get to WCC by bus from your home back in 1993. You bought me a Mocha because it was "Mocha Monday," started calling me MochaMaki, and I spilled it on my white sweater in the bus and we were laughing so hard. So thankful you poured your life into mine when you were super busy homeschooling with your little three boys, showed me your absolutely unshakable faith in Jesus, which didn't make sense to me at all back then, that eventually lead me to my most beloved Savior."

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God for bringing her to us when He did! 

My boys LOVED her and of course, we ALL did.

Now, her Abes is going to be ring bearer in Jaron's wedding!

Amazing grace.

Back home for a while - YES!

SUCH a sweetie, she is. Melt my heart.

HAD to add a few more :)

Practicing duck lips

Cannot resist baby legs

REALLY???????????

I signed up and paid for a half marathon - walking because I cannot run anymore because of my THR. Been lazy since I broke my knee cap...so to get going, I paid for this. It is in October - I am going for a slow running speed by walking fast.

Training would begin on my 11 day boat trip to gulf Islands. READY SET GO!

WELL, July 19 on day 1 of my 11 day boat trip, I stepped wrong onto the dock, hurting my foot. All night it was horrid pain - by morning it was tender - but a few days of rest and I could walk on it but not long walks. OK - training will be late. DANG.

Once we got home from trip, I had zero time to get to a doctor.

I go to visit my parents on my monthly visit - mom had lots of doctor appointments. Second day there, she got super dehydrated so I took her to hospital for re-hydrating. After a few hours, I realized that I could be checking my foot out while I wait! Duh!

I checked in, and waited in my moms room until they called me. HAHA it was the same doctor who saw me when I broke the head off my femur! Anyway, I have a chipped bone and need to wear a boot for 6 weeks.

NO training, NO half marathon. oh my goodness....just wow. It WAS the most convenient appointment I have ever had, I must admit!

7, 10, 7 Chiasm?

Seven years in home and foster care - ten years with us, then seven years on her own = reunited with her biological family!

This is complete! 

Adopted at age 7 from foster care, we wanted to give her a family to love. It never happened. She could not love us as her family - instead she hated what we were, who we are.

That is OK.

I prayed for her after she left us at age 16 - that she would seek her biological family. I held on to the hope that she would have a family that she could accept and love. (She actually had all the contact information with her all these seven years - she took the adoption file with her when she left us.) So I prayed.

One day my husband got a call from social agency asking for "Destiny's" contact information, as her biological great grandparents wanted to contact her. He was happy to give them the information - hoping for her future!

This was not to "get her out of our lives" but the joy was that she may, MAY, possibly, have a family that she can love for who they are.

We gave ten years - with all hopes. It was not enough for her - so now we pray that this will be enough and more.

 I personally pray that somehow, some way, in those ten years with us, there is SOMETHING that was good - for her.

My husband made me destroy all the hateful things thrown at us - sometimes I wish I had them still to remember how the hatred was so succinct.

I wish her all the best and am elated that she can now say she has a family who loves her. Our love for her could not be accepted.

PS I am at total peace and happiness - and I pray the same for Destiny and her biological family.

Bon Aventure

My parents now live in a retirement/assisted living home. It is beautiful there.

I go once a month for four days. I like to be there 24/7 with them and to observe things.

Mealtimes are awesome - our dinner company includes my parents, Bill and Marilyn, Elaine, Doris, and Della. The routine is pretty simple. Those using walkers (Doris and Della) park them neatly by the wall - out of the way. Marilyn and mom use wheelchairs, which are easily pulled up to the table.

Dinner conversations are hysterical at times. It would be a stand up comics dream venue - they would only need one full routine and just repeat it each night. I may try to come up with a 30 minute one.

One night the talk was about frozen blueberries and lasted 45 minutes. There is hard of hearing, difficulty speaking, and forgetfulness. These alone make it very interesting.

Sometimes rumors get started. Someone asked where the piano went - it disappeared. One report is that the old receptionist took it. Why did the chef get fired? He came in drunk too many times. I suggested that they need a gossip board for sharing of information like this.

One man told me he goes to 5 funerals per week - I think he meant per month. I saw him take a banana from the kitchen inside his shirt.

EVERY time after each meal, Elaine gives mom a hug and they say "I love you" to each other. If mom stops at the mailbox, Elaine gives her her hug there instead of at the elevator. Mom always gets two hugs if this occurs, as when they get to the elevator Elaine forgot she already hugged her. Every time they get on the elevator to say goodbye to Elaine, my dad says"Go straight home" and Elaine replies "I am going to zig zag all the way home".

I LOVE hearing the greetings - "how was your day today", "we missed you at lunch today", and "how wonderful you look today". These social interactions that we take for granted are paramount to life quality in the elderly.

God bless old folks - keep their lives interesting and vibrant.