Valentine Dedications: Gaosoua & Elishua

I am sorry for taking a couple of days off. Weekends are just filled for me and I just couldn't get back on my keyboard. But, I will have to keep it short today as well-I have loads of laundry to do and a few errons to run, and my quilt order is pressing deadline. But, my children are important to me and I cannot forget them. So, I hope Gaosoua and Elishua are not feeling bad for being on the same day.

That's funny, because they happen to be rivals. They seem to be at each other's throat all the time. One of them always start something. If one or both of them are not home, my home is quiet and peaceful. But, when both of them are home, it's "Mom!..." in constant shingles. I've learned to be calm and teach them what they should know. We're getting somewhere.


Here's Gaosoua. At nine years old, she's pretty smart: needs a little help here and there, but all around smart. She's very determined to make sure her voice is heard. Her name means "beautiful voice." She definitely has a voice-loudest in the family. She loves to sing and keep her brother (Jamin) and sisters (Tabitha and Elizabeth) occupied.

She's my bookkeeper. She acts as though she doesn't pay attention, but when one of the family members is not present, she's the first to notice. Because of her, Tabitha is alive today-we've forgotten that Tabitha was in the car on one hot July Sunday afternoon-she kept on asking where the baby was and she didn't give up when I told her to go away so I could cook. She finally got our attention and we realized that Tabitha was still in the car. Without Gaosoua's love for her sister, we would have lost Tabitha, gone to jail and leave the four of them parentless.


I always teased her that she's a Mexican girl, got switched at birth, because she's very pretty and has a high nose bridge. But, she knows that she's mine-forever will be. She's very loving and kind. She likes to dance and do gymnastics; she's got the body.

When she was a year and a half, I sent her on a long trip to see my mother for her birthday. Ever since then, she's been very attached to me, constantly on the look-out for me, making sure I don't leave her. But, then again, she is the family bookkeeper. When everyone is around, she competes for the attention, but when she's alone with me, she's very quiet.



This is Elishua, means, "God is sovereign." He is a born leader. He loves to take charge of things and situations. Little kids love him. Even infants like him. Here, he managed to quiet Elizabeth down. They slept here on the couch while their big sister stole a picture. He was pretty proud about it.


He smiles all the time. In fact, when he was in first grade, or was it kindergarten, one of the parents called me and asked if I would allow him to go over and play with her son because he made her son happy with his smiles. They still send him Christmas presents after 5 years of being apart. And, he loves to make his big sister laugh, especially when she's mad. He is a silly kid.

See if you can spot him here. When he was small, he was so cute. I wished to keep him that way, but I was not thinking of the consequences I would make him pay. Now, he's so small, I can't even spot my own son in the crowd. That's why there's a saying, "be careful, what you wish for."

Although, he's small physically, mentally he's very smart. He corrects me with my English. He opens locks that I can't open. He's electronically advanced; He fixed my VCR/DVD player. He's very good with his hands. He likes to draw. He's already selling his artwork at school. I wish I have his permission to put his video clip up for you to see. That would definitely put a smile on your face, but since I don't have his permission and he's pretty particular about it, you'll just have to believe me.

For the unspeakable qualities as well as the ones mentioned above, they are definitely my Valentine. And, I love them. Happy Valentine's Day, Elishua & Gaosoua!