Since today is Fathers Day I, like most people, decided to dedicate a blog post to the men that have made a difference in my life. Pasitale Lupeamanu is my dad's name, but I secretly like to call him Sargent. Lupeamanu cause he was so strict with us girls growing up. Now that I think about it, I am so grateful and blessed to have just boys cause I can't imagine going through half the stuff my sisters and I put my dad through. I honestly think we are the reason he is bold. He probably started getting gray hair at a young age due to raising 5 girls on his own and being single that was unacceptable, hence him shaving his head bold. That is just my theory but I may be wrong.
My dad intimidated alot of people because he had such a bad temper then but in all honesty he was really a softy. His heart is bigger then you would expect coming from a strict dad like him. He came to America when he joined the army at the age of 15 so in his eyes we were probably little civilians in boot camp. He was all about his girls being independent and not needing anyone to survive. Most importantly he wanted to be sure we were raised with the gospel in our life. He showed us through his mistakes the importance of repentance and that it is not to late to fix mistakes that we make. Although he may have a tough guy act going on he can't hide his generosity, loyalty to his friends and family and his dedication to his family. He is currently dating now but I think that his love for his kids is the reason he has not remarried in years. He tried the whole getting re married thing but for some reason that didn't work cause some of his kids and his ex-wife had differences therefore putting his kids first he ended the marriage. I don't want my dad to be lonely forever so hopefully this girlfriend he has now is the one for him!! The best thing about my dad is how much he loves and supports his grandchildren.
He can be so angry at the world or just his kids and just the sight of his grand kids can change the whole mood in the room. My kids love when there grandpa Pasi is in town cause he takes them everywhere! I mean EVERYWHERE from getting gas as the nearest gas station to standing in line at the social security office!!!LOL! I would never take my kids to half the places my dad does but just the thought of having them with him comforts him and makes his day. I expect a call from my dad at least once or twice a week to check on my boys and then once he is done talking to them he lectures me about being nicer to my kids and not hitting them cause they snitched on me!!LOL! Nevertheless my little family and I could have never asked for a better father/grandpa then him and are truly grateful to have him in our lives:)
Something I love and hate about my dad is that if he See's someone in need, there need immediately becomes more important then his own. He has always taught us that material things do not matter in this life nor the next. Therefore if we do not need something then we can use that money we were going to use for material things and help someone in need.
~ Toa Motuliki is another man who plays an important role in my life and the lives of my boys! He reminds me so much of my dad it's kind of scary at times. There are times where I don't know how Toa and I stayed together so long but then there are those moments that make me eternally grateful to have him in my life. Majority of the moments are when he is with our boys. The love and compassion he has for them is so mind boggling to me. I mean there are alot of things that we have to agree to disagree about but when it comes to our kids, Toa has one of the biggest hearts. When people say they would give there own lives to save the life of another, that is exactly what I see when it comes to Toa and our boys. He raises them the best he can but if there was ever a time that he felt that something was wrong with any of them he would be devastated and go out of his way to make everything right with them.
When I was in labor with Brigham, his heart flat lined once and I was rushed into emergency c-section to save his life, however when I was lying there I kept thinking to myself, how devastated I would be if I lost Brigham as he was the first baby we had actually planned and prepared for. Well when I was being hooked up to the monitors in the O.R I was given the epidural to numb my pain before they started the surgery. A minute or two later I heard the Dr. in the room ask the nurses who were scrubbed up and ready for surgery to hold on cause the baby's heart beat picked up and was very strong. I was just lying there crying cause I didn't know what to feel at that moment but truly grateful. They ended up not needing to do surgery and wheeled me back to my delivery room. There I saw Toa standing there helpless and so scared. When the nurses told us that the baby was fine and they needed to monitor me more closely til he was born the joy that Toa felt was noticeable. He was ecstatic. He grabbed my hand and kissed my head and less then 5 minutes after being in the delivery room I was bombarded with all of our family from both Toa and my side. Toa was so scared for his son that he called in reinforcement to help him carry the burden.
If you have met Kj then you know that he hangs out with his dad way too much. Toa has a special bond/relationship with each of our boys. However I think that Kj and Toa's relationship is the funniest sometimes. Kj acts just like his dad to the Tee. Some of the things I hear Kj say are so random and off the wall but then that is exactly how Toa is. They both think quick. I honestly am so grateful that one of our kids has Toa's sense of humor cause Tj is just like me and it bothers me cause we bump heads so much. Thank goodness for Toa rubbing off on Kj. These two are my family clowns when they are together!! I love seeing how Toa's presence could make such a difference in my boys lives.
I have known Toa since the 5th grade. So growing up I knew he was really athletic and really good at sports. So when I found out our first child was a boy I knew that he was going to play sports cause Toa is not a video game dad. He refuses to let any of his boys stay in the house all day. They had to be in some kind of sport. If not then they had to be outside doing something. Well Tj is our oldest so both he and Toa have a special relationship as Toa favors him all the time. Its fun to watch Toa teach him how to play sports and just hang out with him. Toa and Tja have a bond that can not be broken. Tj absolutely adores his dad and looks up to him. That is why is was so important to me that Toa did not change anything about the way we raise our boys. Toa is a great father and I am so grateful that we decided to make our family an eternal one:)
Toa has made me a better mother by being a great father to our boys. He has made me a better person by making the changes needed in order to making our marriage stronger. He has made me stronger by not giving in to me all the time and holding his ground when he knew I was wrong. He makes me happy even when I don't notice. He stresses me out cause he knows I have patience to stick it out with him. He loves me and that is more then any wife could ask from her husband. 
3 comments:
I loved this post! Happy Father's Day Toa! HOw freaking adorable are all of your boys. YOu're very blessed. I wanna squeeze your baby, he's AMAZING! Hope you're doing well, adjusting to 3 kids, and recovering quickly! :]
Aww, loved this post! Love dad more! Lol He really is the Greatest Dad Ever! :)
I loved reading this post! Seriously sooo cute. Bubs is such a great dad and the bond he has with his boys is really priceless. Your dad is so cute with all your girls, it's amazing he did it alone. I hope too that he finds love :)
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