Friday, November 6, 2009

Introduction to the Blog World

Actually...Anna did it for me. So thank you Mrs. Otukolo for formatting up my blog. I love the fall colors. Little sisters are the best!

It has taken me a long time to start up this blog, because last year I finally took up President Henry B. Eyring’s 2007 challenge of writing about how I have seen the hand of God reaching out to touch me or my children or my family in a little journal that I carry around in my purse. Even though it takes quite of bit of time to hand write, I still want my posterity to see what my handwriting was like and things I thought were important to me. My husband reads my journal to the kids as a bedtime story. They love it, because it talks about them and it gives my husband warm fuzzies when I write about how much I love and appreciate him. But now with this blog, I can write much more and it is definitely easier to document our life’s happenings with a keyboard.


So uh...where to start?lol


My name is Luisa (pronounce the 's' like a 'z')lol Riccardo 'Iongi, I'm 25 years old, originating from West Valley City, Utah. I have 2 amazing little sisters (No’o & RaeLee) that I adore and love w/ all my heart and an older brother and sister (Michael & Marcy via mi padre) that I wished I knew better. I have been blessed to come from a broken home that has taught me at very young age how to be a mother, rely on a higher power other than myself and to love others unconditionally regardless of choices/mistakes they make. My life’s motto comes from Mr. James’ 8th grade Science class (Eisenhower Jr. High) …”A WISE man learns from his own mistakes, but a WISER man learns from other’s mistakes.” I strive to be the wiser woman. I totally agree that you don’t have to be burned by fire to know it is hot...I believe you if you tell me so…I really don’t want to learn for myself.lol

My father, David Riccardo, is of Italian descent and my mother, Loisi Mahafutau Sevelo, is Tongan, therefore I am hafekasi/bi-racial. I can empathize with Mariah Carey and the challenges of being bi-racial, because growing up I felt that the Palangis viewed us as Tongans and Tongans viewed us as Palangis and looking Hispanic didn’t help any so my best friends in elementary were Cambodian.lol n/j

I do associate myself more with my Tongan side, because Tongan was my first language and I was raised by my grandmother, Fataimoemanu, and with my Mahafutau family that I consider my siblings. If it weren’t for them I’d probably still be running w/ the Cambodians, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s a blessing to know and understand your roots. I’ve come to appreciate both cultures and I can pick and choose the best from both worlds to implement into my family life.

I was a nerd growing up and consciously chose to be so. I have never drank, smoked and was pure when I got married. I was never a sucker for pure pressure and really didn’t care what others thought of me. I had 2 younger sisters to care for and set an example for and because of my 8th grade adopted life motto; I could just watch those around me and know that wickedness never was happiness and that you will suffer the consequences for making bad decisions.

I have been blessed with wonderful people in my life. I have the best family and greatest friends a gal could ask for. My husband, Sione ‘Iongi, was actually my friend before he became my lover.lol I met him courtesy of our mutual cousin Mapu Tahi. My husband moved to Utah from Rancho Cucamonga, Ca in 1997 and was best friends with Mapu when they all lived in Cali. I’m very close to Mapu and our group of friends/family did a lot of things together...football games, church activities, dances, working out @ the gym, roller skating, snow ball fights, movies, etc. Sione was so shy, polite and cute. I’d mess with him and invite him over to my house to make cookies and drink ‘otai since Mapu only lived 2 doors down from us, but he never would come over.lol I now know he was dying to come over, but he was too embarrassed and didn’t want to let anyone know he was secretly in love with me.

To make a long story short…I left to college (Ricks & SUU) and he served a mission in Lansing, Michigan. I wrote him the whole time he was out. When he got back we started dating (again, thanks to Mapu and Fo’ou) and it got serious fast, but I was already set on serving a mission and had received my mission call to El Salvador. He was so supportive of me serving and told me that he didn’t want me to miss out on any of the wonderful things he was able to experience on his mission. What a selfless, magnificent and beautiful man! My husband was able to stand in the circle and set me apart as a missionary. I love him even more for giving me that opportunity to refine myself through service to others and really comprehending and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course he waited faithfully and we were married 7 months after I got home in the Salt Lake Temple.

We now have been blessed with 3 delightful children. Sione Samuel is 6 years old, RaeLee Mafikovi is 4 and Loiana Fusi is 10 months. We love them so much and they truly are our world. I’m excited to document all their little funnies, milestones and other expressions of love we have for them. I must admit that I am living the life that I have always dreamed of, but I also know that if we don’t always have our guard up against Satan and strive to live righteously, it can be taken away so quickly and seem like nothing but a fleeting moment in time. That’s why it’s so important to turn back to traditional families with values that are time tested and proven to produce nothing but good fruit. My family is my greatest source of happiness on earth and I’ll do all I can to preserve my joy.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I finally did it!!!!

Welcome 2 my blog!!! More to come...