Grandmas house, Beach time, and Antique shops :)

Before heading back to school I got to visit my

AMAZING & WONDERFUL

grandparents!

I so treasure the times I spend in their home

and the feelings I have with them are beyond words.

I feel so blessed to have them in my life

and I owe them the world for blessing me

with such a wonderful mother.

Here are a few highlights from the trip.....

Grandma picked me up from the airport and we went straight to the Beach :)

wouldn't have it any other way.

We also got to visit family members grave sites

at Rosecrans National Cemetery

The cemetery is GORGEOUS! I could have stayed for hours.

We made a visit to Wynola and Julian :)

also two of my favorite places.

Grandpa and I :)

And of course we went back to the beach....

there is just something about the ocean

it's almost as if time stops

and everything around you doesn't seem to matter

As you can tell we got pretty good at taking pictures or ourselves :)

As usual my time in San Diego was way too short

If I could, I would drop everything and just move to California for good

But I guess if I did I probably wouldnt appreciate my visits there as much as I do

Maybe someday.....

As for now I will forever treasure my moments with these wonderful people

I sure love them!

xoxo

NewNESS!!!

Holy Moly!

My Blogging has definitely

been neglected the last month and a half or so

BUT

this wouldn't be MY blog if there were not late updates.

Seems like time just flies by

ESPECIALLY when it's Summer :(

Summers are just NEVER long enough!

So......

here's the list of some of the main matters of Newness;

*I am officially an old maid. I can now gamble, purchase adult beverages,

and get my own hotel room ;)

Oh the joys of being 21

*I successfully finished my first year of College

AND......

(drumroll PLEASE!)

I made the Presidents Honor Roll

YES, you heard right! I, Selu Marie Fotu made the HONOR ROLL

don't worry I kinda shocked myself too :) but it sure felt good.

*Papa Fotu flew in to Oklahoma and drove me (and my car FULL of belongings)

back HOME Being home never felt SOOOOOO GOOD!

It literally makes me never want to leave....

*The first EVER Fotu Family Reunion was AMAZING!!!

It was so wonderful to see ALL my Fotu cousins :) can't wait til next year

*Garrett (my bestest friend in the World) has been called to serve as

a missionary of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

in the Seattle, Washington mission!

I am soooo very excited for the big goober :)

just cant quite figure out how I will function without him for 2 whole years

*Jacqueline and Mischa got to come see us for a little over 2 weeks

and Benj for a few days. It was SOOO much fun!

Makes me miss them even more.

Utah has finally decided to have a season besides winter

and summer has finally graced us with her 90 degree days.

I got my first sunburn in YEARS!

but don't worry, it's already turned to tan :)

I SOOO LOVE soaking up the sun

whether it be on the golf course or playing in the water with the siblings

there's just something about feeling the sunshine on your skin

Hope your summer is full of as much happiness as mine!

until next times friends

xoxo

He Lives.

When I was a little girl after saying my prayers

I would lay awake at night

trying so hard to remember exactly what Christ's face looked like.

All the pictures I ever saw never looked quite right to me

I used to get so frustrated when I saw pictures that looked nothing like him.

I still lay awake some nights

trying to imagine that ever so familiar face

Some nights I get it just right,

and other nights his face seems blurred and distant

but even on those nights when I cant quite picture his face....

The loving warmth of his arms always remind me that he is never far.

Those arms have held me many times

and helped me find my way

They lifted me up in times of sorrow

and they've blessed me at times when I least deserved those blessings

when I left home for the first time

when Great Grandma passed

when sweet Baby Mischa was born

when I failed my 1st ever college exam

when I ACED my 6th :)

when I hear my Mom's voice on the phone

when I play golf almost everyday

when I get goosebumps

when my Grandma sends me emails full of love and tears

when simple texts brighten my entire day

when Tyler's little 2 yr. old voice gets on the phone to tell me he "wuvs me"

and when my pleading, crazy, and never ending prayers are answered.

Throughout my entire life he has never ceased to show his love

and I truly feel of that love each and everyday.

I know he atoned for our sins

that he did so out of his ever so perfect love for you

and for me.

I know he died so that someday

we can all be together again

that someday I will get to kiss my sweet great grandparents cheeks once again

and that I will be with my entire family FOREVER

I love him with all my heart

and I also know

that He Lives.

Happy Easter!

this ones for YOU! my Bestest friend :)

this little booger!

had a Birthday last week.

BIG one nine for the G-unit

I can't believe how grown up he is....

how much time has passed since our days of mud pies and treehouses

He has always made me laugh and smile

He has always made me mad when we argue

and he turns out to be right.

He has always been my shoulder to cry on when times got tough.

He has always been the BIG brother i wanted and needed.

Sometimes I wonder how I ever got so lucky!

Sometimes I feel like he is my twin

probably because he is mature and im immature....

Or because all my friends thought he was cool

and always wanted him to tag along

sometimes

it drove me CRAZY

but sometimes

I LOVED it :)

we've grown together over the years

he's become my very best friend!

His mission papers go in soon

and he will be off on a whole new adventure.....

I don't know what I'll do without him

I cried like a baby when we both went away to college.

But I am so very grateful for him

his example and love

his heart and smile :)

his strength and laughter

they never cease to make the bad days good and the good days even better!

Happy Birthday Garrett

I love you!

xoxo

just keep swimming. just keep swimming.

Ever have one of those moments where you feel like

EVERYTHING

that could go wrong has

and you feel as though things couldn't possibly

get ANY worse,

but then they do????

I had one of those moments today.

It was rough.

I was frustrated.

I was upset.

I felt hurt

and mad

and angry

and JUST SO DARN frustrated!

Sometimes I find myself comparing my personal efforts and outcomes

to those of others around me.

Sometimes I question whether or not my efforts are worthwhile.

Sometimes I plead, and beg, and bother, and pester

( and i'm sure annoy)

the big man upstairs.

Sometimes I wonder why he believes I can handle SO much.

but SOMETIMES

when I listen real intently

I hear his urging encouragements

and I gain the strength to go on.

It isn't easy

as life hardly ever is.

But by simply finding that tiny bit of strength

to keep going,

to get up,

and move forward,

we build upon our power to overcome.

step by step

piece by piece

moment by moment

And one day,

things WILL happen!

Miracles will occur

Trials will be concurred

and success will be meaningful.

So enjoy the ride!

Smile along the way :)

smell the roses

and when God sends you love disguised as trials

be patient

keep going

believe in your abilities

and most importantly

LISTEN.

Oh SO thankful!

Today

I realized the beauty of little things....

little things that lead to big things

Things that may not mean anything to others

but they mean the world to me!

This semester and fall semester

I've been very blessed with a GREAT english teacher

I've always enjoyed writing

and its probably one of my better

scholastic strengths

(of the very few I actually have)

But anyways,

this teacher doesn't teach a normal English class

or at least not what I expected

He tends to LOVE to have

debates

arguments

about topics that can get pretty heated.....

And

well to say the least I seem to ALWAYS find myself

at the center of these "arguments"

He always wants to know what THE Mormon thinks about things

what I believe,

and how my religious culture has affected my daily life.

It's actually been somewhat eye opening for me

to hear others views

and some of the questions he has pushed my way

have REALLY made me think!

A few of my classmates have expressed

their personal beliefs of Atheism

and in turn he has expressed that He too has a hard time believing

in a higher power and has decided it is just easier not to.

Hence his curiosity with Me, the MORMON :)

But the other day he asked me a pretty simple question

"Selu, do you believe you have a Soul?", he asked.

he had previously proceeded to ask the entire class

but saw that I did not raise my hand with all the others.

"A soul?", I asked.

"Yes, like you know some people believe its another being

thats trapped inside your body.

But what do you believe?"

"and where could we find your soul?"

Well...........

I thought, as I took a long pause

the word Soul kinda threw me off for a second

but then I knew exactly what he was talking about :)

it was a TOTAL AH HAH moment!

"Well, I believe I have a spirit." I said.

he looked puzzled

"But my spirit is not of actual substance,

you won't be able to find it if you go digging

through my body."

he then proceeded to ask where my "Spirit" goes when I die

and I told him that it leaves the body.

He seemed somewhat pleased with my brief and unwavering description

and decided to inquire of another students thoughts on the matter.

And I smiled to myself :)

so many people out there wonder and question,

some even give up hope that they will ever know

and although my faith is FAR from perfect

and I too have questions

But I can also have faith beyond my own

at times when I need just a little bit of help......

faith of parents and siblings,

faith of grandparents and great-grandparents,

aunts and uncles

prophets and apostles,

and above all a loving savior who lends his strength to me

in my deepest hours of need

and for that

I am THANKFUL :)

Answers.

This week I found a new window

one I haven't ever looked through before.

For me this week was all about

AnSwErS.

Answers to questions.

Answers to thoughts.

Answers to situations.

Until about.....

well NOW

I used to think that answers were a distinct yes go this way, or no go that way!

Maybe it's just because I personally have such a hard time

making BIG decisions.

OR

Maybe it's because I HATE HATE HATE being wrong,

and always want to feel certain about what I am doing

But this week a few answers came to me

they were not distinct

they were not loud or harsh or impressive

The answers were slow.

soft.

quiet.

calm.

and when they came

they weren't really what I was wanting to hear....

Now although they were ALL of the above ^

they were also VERY

clear!

And I thank an ever so loving Father above who patiently and lovingly

sends these answers my way.

I know it may seem

repetitive

ridiculous

and somewhat

overwhelming,

but BELIEVE me

If God can get answers into this crazy head of mine

he can most certainly get them to Y O U!

All you have to do is Ask.

Then wait,

patiently,

quietly,

and maybe even for a certain period of time

but they WILL come :)

pinky promise!

Hope you enjoyed this week of LOVE!

sending all mine your way

xoxo

Happy Birthday Daddy'o!

This post is a hard one for me.

Hard only because

No words can express how much

this man means to me.....

No words can explain how much he has taught me...

No words can amount to how much I Love my Dad

BUT I guess this post will have to do :)

Since I was a young girl I have always been

(and will always be)

a Daddy's girl!

My Dad and I have always been very close.

Even at a young age I LOVED

to go anywhere and everywhere with him!

As a young girl I can remember my Dad walking me to the bus stop

EVERY morning with a HUGE smile on his face.

He would wait for the bus to arrive

then

like clock work,

EVER MORNING

he would say,

"Selu, I love you! You're a WINNER!"

Somedays I would laugh,

others I would smile

but one day I asked him what that even meant....

And to this day his reply burns deep in my memory

"Selu, you're a winner means YOU can do anything you set your mind to.

You're a winner means you don't EVER give up.

and You're a FOTU, all Fotu's are WINNERS!".

I've thought about those very words

many times throughout my life....

They've gotten me through the long, rough days

They've picked me up after I've fallen down

They've stuck with me through out my entire life

and I know they always will

Although my Dad has reminded me of those words

OVER and OVER and OVER again

through out my life thus far

He has also taught me by experience.

One in particular stands out in my mind....

As a sophmore in high school

I (thinking I knew EVERYTHING there is to know about life)

decided school didn't really matter.

Golf was my future and I didn't really care whether I graduated or not.

Now I'm sure this did NOT come as a suprise

to my parents

Because I was always the child pretending to be sick

and staying home from school.

I absolutely dreaded school and would look

for ANY excuse to miss it.

BUT like any good parents they tried

EVERYTHING.

Grounding, taking away cars, shortening curfews

and really anything they could possibly think of.

But I'm a stubborn person

a characteristic I get from my father ;)

and I wasn't about to budge.

So I skipped class

ALL THE TIME

for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!

and as you can imagine my grades suffered

(to say the least)

Looking back now I can honestly say my sophomore and junior

years of high school were THE BEST years of school I ever had!

Probably due to that fact that

1. I was never at school

and

2. All I did was the FUN stuff!

Well my senior year came along

and not at the beginning or half way through

but the LAST term or my senior year

what do ya know?

(maybe I got a LITTLE smarter

or decided that my parents were right)

I now wanted to graduate!

So..... My dad

(bless his heart)

and I went in to meet with my counselor

to see JUST how much catch up I would have to do....

11 credits

I would have to make up ELEVEN credits

in 1 term in order to graduate with my class

Hmmm I thought well this won't be TOO bad.

HA! little did I know what I was in for!

So my high school counselor referred us to another high school

where I could pay for and pick up

ALL the packets I would have to do over the next

month and a half.

So the next day we drove to ogden to meet with the head counselor at this school

This day is one that burns so clearly in my mind.

She was very nice and polite upon first introduction,

then we sat down and showed her my transcript...

She took one look at them

one look at me

and said,

"Do you realize the situation you are in?"

"You could NEVER make this many credits up,

let alone in such a short amount of time!"

"You should know right now,

that you will NOT graduate with your class."

Looking back this was probably the first time in my life

that someone had told me I COULDN'T do something.

Words were far from stuck in my throat

I had nothing to say,

and now the tears began to trickle down my cheeks.

Now granted this was MY OWN fault.

I had decided to play first

and now I was having to pay.

So I reached across the desk to pick up my folder

but as I did my fathers voice stopped me.

"Mam", he said

"please get those packets for my daughter,

we will decide if she can or can't finish them in time."

Now I really didn't know what to do

I was ashamed of myself

and now my Dad was making me feel even more foolish,

clearly I could not finish them if she said so.

She again tried to explain to him

that he would be wasting his time and money

by doing this.

But for those of you who know my father

very few people can say No to him.

So, we paid for the packets and I walked to the car

with my head down thinking how I had just wasted my parents

time and money once again.

But the moments that followed changed my life in a way that words can't explain.

"Selu, look at me" he said.

My eyes, still filled with tears turned upwards

to stare into the face of my father.

"You listen to ME Selu, that lady is wrong!

If I thought she was right I wouldn't have bought those packets.

I know you Selu, and I KNOW that you CAN do this.

She is not going to be the last person in this life

that will tell you that you CAN'T do something.

Don't listen to her!

You WILL finish those packets on time!"

My tears soon came to a stop,

and from that moment on I never had any doubt that I would finish!

Granted, many long sleepless nights were spent deep

in thought over the AWFUL packets.

I hated every minute of it.

But in the end when I walked back into that woman's office

and handed her my completed packets

the look on her face made it ALL worth it.

And as I walked across that stage to receive my diploma

a tear trickled down my cheek

as I thought of my Dad and his love.

That day I learned a most valuable lesson

from a father who cared!

I learned that people will try to keep you from your goals and dreams

they will tell you "you cant!"

they will try to beat you

and when they do

YOU KEEP GOING!

*Dad and I on Graduation Day :)

That day my fathers love was shown

a love that brings tears to my eyes each time I think about it.

I've always wondered how I ever got so lucky

to have such a wonderful Father.....

A father who has loved me un-conditionally

from the very start.

A father who has taught me to Dream BIG

and work hard to reach those dreams.

A father who never gave up on me

no matter how many times I threw a fit on the golf course

no matter how many times I told him, "I quit!"

no matter how many times I decided to make my "own" decisions

and ended up on my knees.

no matter how many times I tried and failed

He never, ever gave up.....

and each time he was by my side

picking me up

wiping my tears

and ready to help me start again.

Today I wasn't home to celebrate his Birthday with him

to kiss his cheeks and sing to him

to give him hugs and reminisce about all our happy times.

BUT I know

that He knows

I love him with all my heart

and every day when I'm working hard towards all my goals and dreams

I think about a loving Dad

that loves me un-conditionally!

I LOVE YOU DAD!

I hope you have the most wonderful birthday :)

and many, many more to come

xoxo

*The beginnings :)

*The Final Dozen

*Mom, Jacqueline, Dad

*Dad and the boys :)

*No words needed :)
*a VERY proud Daddy moment :)
*Mom, Me, Dad

Signing Day :)

*Dad with shoveling with his little helpers

*Grandpa with his first grandbaby Mischa :)
*Dream Building :)
*Mom, Garrett, Dad

Garretts Graduation day:)
*Another State Champion :)

* My Caddy Daddy :)
*once again, Caddy Daddy :)
* Dad and his better half :) Mom!

Un Problemo....

So.....

lately

I've had a really

and I mean

REALLY

bad sweet tooth!

actually

who am i kidding?

it hasn't just been lately...

I've always been a sucker for the sweet stuff :)

And not just for ONE certain thing

ANYTHING and EVERYTHING sweet

makes my mouth water

and I JUST CAN'T turn it down!

But I mean who can turn things down that look SO DELICIOUS???

Well apparently NOT me!

It's definitely a big weakness of mine

and the problem is

I am constantly

running, working out, golfing, walking, jumping, dancing

you get the picture...

SO when I eat sweets I tell myself it's ok

because "i'll just burn it off tomorrow @ workouts!"

hmmmm......

I'm gonna work on it :)

but as for the moment.......

I'm off to bake cupcakes with the teammates.

Maybe tomorrow?

Hope you're enjoying this month of Sugar and Sweets :)

xoxo

sNOw days!

Well, so much for moving to a state with warmer weather....

In all my years living in Utah

I NEVER had more than 1 snow day in the same school year

Let alone FOUR snow days, consecutively,

in the SAME WEEK!

I blame it mostly on the face that

Oklahomans DO NOT know how to drive

let alone FUNCTION when it snows!

I mean honestly it was NOTHING

compared to the blizzards and snowstorms of Utah

yet this storm cause utter chaos around these parts.

And as you can imagine being stuck in a house with

3 CRAZY GIRLS for four days

can be a little intense.

BUT it was kinda nice :)

No one has ever had to beg ME to sleep in

and watching movies

and reading all day was a nice little breather.

And after the weather cleared up a bit

I got to spend my weekend with

him and her

and this PRECIOUS little one

which ALWAYS makes my weekends just

THAT much better :)

Although I will admit being back on schedule

today was

AWESOME!

There is just something about getting things done

and feeling accomplished at the close of the day :)

BUT.....

It seems there is another storm headed our way

So we may be snowed in

AGAIN for the remainder of the week :(

But I'm really hoping it's just hype

because

this........

is CALLING MY NAME!

Hope your enjoying your start to the new week!

Make it a good one :)

xoxo