learning, loving, living » Family

almost 6 months old

sieni — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:40:17 +0000

Here’s a quick update on my precious little juju lips…

A taste of solids–first reaction is always priceless!

Almost about to take off crawling

First ponytail

Latest family pic… my dear husband is trying desperately to hold onto summer

Bye bye summertime…

introducing…

sieni — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:17:25 +0000

little one on the way :)

sieni — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:53:59 +0000

Tara’s going to become a big sister in June ’09!

time away

sieni — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:50:12 +0000

Recently Tara and I returned from 3 weeks visiting family in the States. We were in Portland, Maine, and it was the perfect time of the year to visit. The leaves were changing, and every possible colour could be seen for miles and miles on stretches of road. My parents came from Samoa, together with my sister, Ioana, who flew in separately from San Francisco and surprised the heck out of us! We stayed with my grandmother, my dad’s mom, and visited with cousins. It was sooooo wonderful.

It would have been the second time I travelled alone with Tara, and the first since I weaned her, so I packed a bunch of crafts and stickers and crayons and coloured paper and little toys in sandwich bags for the plane, thanks to an idea I saw on the Crafty Crow. They were a hit! and kept her in her seat THE ENTIRE TIME. While I was nervous about landing at JFK airport and going through immigration and customs and lines with a toddler, I was surprised, actually shocked, at how nice people were! Everyone helped us: from the immigration officer who was so polite, to the couple who paid for my trolley when I didn’t have the right change, to the person who lugged my bags off the carousel, to the customs officer who didn’t even look at the food I packed, to the check-in counter who took take care of everything when I was suppose to self-check at those new machines. And the whole time I had Tara strapped to my chest in the Ergo, and mind you, she’s not a little baby anymore. I said so many thank you prayers that day.

Here are pics from the holiday

Playing in the yard

Food my parents brought from Samoa:

Everyday Tara would take walks with her papa

Dad, Tara, mom, Gram, and Ioana before buffet dinner

Visiting Maine’s wildlife park

Picnic at the fort

Freeport was shopping heaven–outlet area for big name brands–attracting tourists from all over

Mom enjoying her Maine lobster

Tara with her cousins Ryan and Adam at the corn fields, getting ready to go for a hay ride

Joining the hunt for a pumpkin for Halloween

Playing in the corn box

guess who just turned 2?

sieni — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:01:57 +0000

Yesterday we celebrated Tara’s birthday by taking her to her favourite place in the world… the beach! Here she is showing us how old she is.

Instead of birthday cake, she had a treat of ice cream for the first time–pink with strawberries (her pick)

Earlier in the week, we surprised Saba for his birthday at a Thai restaurant. Here’s Tara’s version of eating with chop sticks

With friends

There are tons of these dinosaur statues around town and on the walk back, Tara got to sit on one

All in all, a very fulfilling week with many things to be grateful for!

Australia’s Newest Citizen (pending pledge)

saba — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:04:11 +0000

Dear Mrs Moghbelpour
I am pleased to advise you that your application for the conferral of Australian citizenship has been approved. On behalf of the Government and people of Australia, I would like to congratulate you on your decision to become an Australian citizen.

Australian citizenship is the common bond that unites all Australians. Today Australians come from more than two hundred different cultural backgrounds. Becoming an Australian citizen means that you have adopted as your home a country which respects the diverse cultural inheritance of all its citizens.

It is a symbol of commitment to Australia and its people and a decision to share in the responsibilities of being an Australian. In return, Australia offers a share of the rewards. Citizenship gives you the opportunity to fully participate in Australian social and political life – an opportunity to have a real say in our future.

The final step in becoming an Australian citizen is making a Pledge of commitment at a citizenship ceremony. You should note that you will not acquire the legal status of an Australian citizen until you make this pledge.

Arrangements will be made for you to attend a ceremony performed by a delegated officer of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv.

If you have any queries in regard to your ceremony arrangements or if your address has recently changed, please contact our Immigration Section at the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Details of the time and date of the ceremony at which you will receive evidence of Australian citizenship will be forwarded to you by the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv in due time.

Yours sincerely,
Joe Dias
Overseas Citizenship
Citizenship and Visa Services
DIAC – Dandenong Regional Office

dad’s visit

sieni — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:29:07 +0000

Following the Baha’i International Convention, my dad, who was a delegate from Samoa, stayed back and visited us for a few more precious days. The pics below depict our visits to Tiberius and Haifa zoo.

“St. Peter’s” fish after I devoured it

I’d never seen so many colourful flavours before

Visit to the Baha’i cemetery

Beautiful Sea of Galilee behind us

Yummiest pizza in Haifa

Patting the friendly hamster

2 months

sieni — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:24:45 +0000

Since we’ve been slack in updating our blog with the wedding of the year, I have decided to dedicate this post to my beautiful sister, Ioana banana, and her wonderful husband, Joey, and to wish them both a joyous 2nd month anniversary. Aren’t they just gorgeous?!

Her shoes, his boutonniere

cute moment

the yummiest kebab on cinnamon sticks

altogether now

A year has gone by

sieni — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:46:33 +0000

Not really since our last post although it feels like it… but since Tara was born! To celebrate, we visited and offered prayers of thanksgiving in the Shrines of the Bab and Baha’u'llah. We are so grateful and blessed to have her in our lives, our little bunny. Tara hasn’t started walking on her own yet, but will wrap her hand tightly around your fingers while she walks beside you. Her vocab includes mama, mam, dada, pup pup (for doggie), duh (for duck), nah nah (for no), and once in a while Aba (for Allah’u'Abha). She picks up her hairbrush and starts to brush her hair (the brush being backwards), her hair clips will follow, she attempting to put them on the top of her head. Brushing teeth comes naturally as everything goes in the mouth. The phone goes near the ear followed by “dada” sometimes. She absolutely LOVES animals–cats and dogs especially–pointing and grabbing their skin, poking their eyes, squeezing their tails. Of course we take the opportunity to teach her to be gentle. Tara is also sooo ticklish, laughing and squealing infectiously, clapping hands when happy, and dancing to Samoan tunes. Recently she has started to show awe with “wooow” and “whoooaas” at pictures in books, cats on Hillel, the moving fan on the ceiling. A week ago we returned from visiting the grandparents in Samoa and the aunties and friends in Brisbane. Below are some pics from our time in Brisbane, and also from our first week back in Haifa. Pics from Samoa will be up shortly, but don’t hold your breath.

Tara and Saba’s shared birthday cake

Nasime and Bauback boxing on wii

and more wiiing

Our visits to the Shrines

After the Holy Day commemoration for the Martyrdom of the Bab

Aunties visiting :)

sieni — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:24:23 +0000

You can read about them on Shingo and Amelia’s blog

Rest of the pics up

sieni — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:13:52 +0000

Naeem’s wedding pics here

update

sieni — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:36:44 +0000

Yes, it’s been a while. So much has happened since we got back from Prague (such a long, long time ago). Saba’s grandmother, who we call Maman, has been visiting us since the Prague trip. It’s great to have the touch and nourishment of a grandmother’s presence (and great-grandmother) at home; Tara plays at her feet everyday, and Maman chants and sings to her non-stop. It has been total Persian immersion for me–Farsi and cooking, which are great bonuses in addition to having a second pair of eyes. Tara is now in her 7th month and is crawling, sitting, standing, eating solids, and teething (little tooth at the bottom has popped out). Sorry, no pics at the moment. Fa laia.

Baha’i schoolchildren in Iran increasingly harassed and abused by school authorities

saba — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 06:29:59 +0000

This article was just posted on the the Baha’i World News Service. It saddens my heart to see that in this day and age, children and youth are still being being treated in the this way, officially, by a Government! I wonder what kind of world Tara will grow up in?

Please remember the children, junior youth, youth and adults in Iran in your prayers.

—————————————————–

NEW YORK, 5 April 2007 (BWNS) —

Baha’i students in primary and secondary schools throughout Iran are increasingly being harassed, vilified, and held up to abuse, according to recent reports from inside the country.

During a 30-day period from mid-January to mid-February, some 150 incidents of insults, mistreatment, and even physical violence by school authorities against Baha’i students were reported as occurring in at least 10 Iranian cities.

Click here it see the full story

ah gawd Naeem’s finally married! :)

sieni — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:18:27 +0000

Hard to believe We just returned from a weekend away in Prague and Hluboka for the marriage of our dearest cousin Naeem and his beautiful bride Maryam. Oh my gosh, where do I begin to describe this radiant couple?! Absolutely beautiful and smiley and loving and, as Nasime said at their ceremony (she was the MC), absolutely perfect for each other The wedding itself was beautiful as all weddings are, but this wedding was sooo enjoyable to be present at. So relaxed and fun and humorous, the setting delicately decorated and romantic. It was truly an international affair with guests traveling from all over Europe, the States, Samoa and of course Haifa to attend. There were also many familiar ex-staff from the World Centre which was so lovely to see. The wedding lasted about 10 hours from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. (I knooow!) at a lovely hotel in Hluboka called the Park Hotel. The couple entered the ceremony under a canopy of what looked like to be coconut leaves/ferns held by their friends and family; the seats were covered in fine Samoan mats; and the rings placed in a Samoan kava bowl with rose petals. It was so heartwarming to see Samoan elements mixed with European. The temps inside the ceremony area also reached about 30 degrees celcius despite the freezing cold rain outside. The ceremony was simple and dignified as most Baha’i marriage ceremonies are, bringing together a blend of prayers and Baha’i Writings in several languages and musical instruments. The reception was a formal sit-down buffet dinner (such good food!), and Shamim (groom’s bro) and Neysan (bride’s bro) entertained guests as the MC’s with funny stories of the couple. Naeem and Maryam had no plans, no idea of what programme the reception would entail, this was left up entirely to their siblings, cousins, and friends There were songs sung by friends; powerpoint presentations of the couple; videos of their friends sending their best wishes from Haifa and Australia; an Island dance performed by Sham and Sahar (groom’s siblings); Samoan siva performed elegantly by Nasime; Neguin (from Spain, yes our orientation Neguin! singing her infamous blue-eyes like the sky, brown eyes like the ground song; Samoan taualuga; couple’s cuuute first dance; cake cutting; and of course dancing the night away. Naeem melted a lot of hearts when he surprised Maryam with a song “Earth Angel” on the guitar. He introduced the song as one dedicated to “the most beautiful girl in the world looking at me right now” aww! haha, auu stob your faa-cheesy. Sorry ladies! The lady I felt sorry for that night though was my poor Tara. Kalofae si au kama. Too much excitement and noise and not enough sleep time. Ok, here are a few pics for now cos I know you’re all DYING to see them and for me to zip up. These are just a few of the thousands upon thousands taken, but they will all soon be up in our gallery so you can check back laterz.

So Nasime made Breakfast…

saba — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 07:37:06 +0000

Luckily I was keeping an eye on things in the kitchen or we would have had a very crunchy omelet!

Hogs Breath Cafe in HAIFA!!!!

saba — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:33:11 +0000

Imagine coming home from a hard dayâ€™s work. There is a major grumble in your tummy from fasting all day & while you wait for sunset out of nowhere a stunning waitress… comes out with foodâ€¦

What food you may ask?

oh ya!!!

HOGâ€™s BREATH BABY

only 100 times better!!!

So we wolfed down the scrumptious, lip-smacking, tasty dinner

So this post is a tribute to one heck of a great chef!

Thanks Sieni – you rock!

Almost 6 months now…

sieni — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 08:51:40 +0000

Tara will be turning 6 months in 2 days time, and when people have said about babies, “they grow up so fast”, she really has grown so fast. Tara is at the stage of trying to sit herself up and at the same time crawl. She’s had many bumps attempting to master the crawl, especially when she lets go of her arms and her face goes smack on the ground, but 30 seconds of singing later she tries it again. Here she is with one of her adoring auntie joons, Nasime, and with, of course, her beloved bottle.

The fam bam in Sa

saba — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:22:07 +0000

Ioana & Pattie at Lalomanu beach

From left: my dad, Saba’s dad, Ioana, Saba’s mom, and my mom at Treasure Garden restaurant farewelling Ioana banana before she takes off to Aust.

The waiters singing the birthday song after Saba’s dad told them it’s Ioey’s b’day (it wasn’t… ma!)

Ioana and Nava joons enjoying my favourite Samoan food–oka

Cuzzies at Saanapu mangrove–Jay, kailo le igoa, Fiona, Ioana, Sarah, Hussein, and Sia

Beautiful Baha’i Temple of the Pacific

Pat & Kim at Kim’s sister’s wedding

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha everyone!

sieni — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:35:34 +0000

We wish you all a joyous and festive Ayyam-i-Ha week and blessed Fasting period

From our family to yours! Alofa tele

News and pics from Samoa

sieni — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 07:47:58 +0000

For the last six years my mom, Tali Gordon, has been conducting Bahai children’s classes and recently junior youth classes in five villages on the islands of Upolu and Savaii. The total number of children attending have been over 60 with only about 10 of them being Bahai. In one village a faifeau (priest) was very happy with the programme my mom was facilitating that he told my mom that he will leave a couple days of the week free for her to conduct the classes in his village. A majority of the kids’ first language is Samoan, and as a result of learning Bahai quotes in English, many of the parents expressed an increase in the improvement of the children’s English-reading and speaking skills as well as character building. As a result also, many have improved their grades in school. It was amazing to see the love and respect these kids and their parents had for my mom when I was in Samoa; these programmes encouraged by the Universal House of Justice have evidently changed their lives significantly.

“…These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden….” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Baha

In Samoa…

sieni — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 01:33:05 +0000

It’s been so wonderful being home and spending time with the parentals and Nasime joon. Tara is slowly adjusting to the time difference and weather. So far we’ve been to Seafood Gourmet (yummm, a craving I had while preggerz), the Temple service (every morning Ruth takes Tara joon to dawn prayers at the Temple while her mama catches up on sleep), the beach, and the funnest Magic Circus of Samoa yet (what laughs! my fav. was the Tarzan of the Jungle performance), and, yes, I’ve been eating oka, luau, talo, and fa’i (yummmm). [Note to the Ishikawas: Meels, can you email me Michal of Tipat Hilav's phone number immediately?]

Suuushi galore

sieni — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:07:32 +0000

On our last night in Aussie, we went to an all-you-can-eat SUSHI BUFFET! (Bahareh, I thought about you the whole time). Amaaazing. I ate so much I never thought I’d say I’ll never touch sushi again. Last night we transitted in Auckland for 6 hours where we went out and visited Uncle Patrick and more family and friends. It was so wonderful to spend that time with them. We are in Samoa now, YAY! and it’s so beautiful to see our family together with Tara. Because the internet is slow here, pics will beÂ veeeeery slow to upload. In the meantime, I can practise my writing skillz (as long as no one QC’s it).

We’re on the Gold Coast!

sieni — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:35:07 +0000

It’s been so wonderful for Tara joon to spend time with Aunties Nava, Sahar and Ioana. Here are some random shots of our time here. Today we’re off to Melbourne for a day to visit more fambam.

Yesterday…

sieni — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 08:03:41 +0000

We had a family-get togetherÂ lunch at Mark and Julie’s apartment. It was so good to see the family again and for them to meet Tara. Doesn’t the dessert Aunty Kaye made look delish?

This is Saba checking the bottom of the car after he went on the wrong side of the road and ran over the road island to get back on track…the car was fine, and we were too. Something to laugh about now.

Visiting the Rameshnis. Such a wonderful visit. Isn’t Chiko adorable in this pic? He was so intrigued by Tara joon, and he of course remembered Saba.

Nap time with Aunty Sahar and Ioana

Today Saba, Tara, Ioana, Sahar and I headed down to the Gold Coast to visit Aunty Nava. It’s so nice for us to spend time together as a family and for the three musketeer aunts to spend time with their neice. Pics to follow of course!

one evening

sieni — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 06:51:02 +0000

We overlooked the Terraces

And went for dinner and met up with some friends

Dad’s here!

sieni — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 08:08:40 +0000

We spent a day in the prison city and Bahji… vaai le umbrella (made in China)

Avis gave us a pink ka’avale!

Tara joon in Bahji

At home with Tara joon

Mom, dad & Saba attended the talk by Mrs. Ramirez on “Sacrifice” in the ITC auditorium

With Mosi, tama Samoa

Slumber party! Because of the heat wave, we all camped out in the living room with the A/C… Saba had a good sleep a ea sleeping beauty?

Tara chilling out in the wee hours of the morning… We’re practicing her poses for her passport frodo… apparently Australia requires head straight forward, eyes wide open, and mouth closed… she was so patient with us until the end when she let us know enough was enough.

…and more pics

sieni — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 07:12:46 +0000

Beautiful mom at Bahji

Tara Lani joon receiving a pressie from Aunty Nancy and Uncle John

Tara pushing her head up with her arms… tough teine Samoa… Saba cropped my head out cos at 4:30 in the morning, aint such a brilly sight!

Pooped after returning from the clinic after first check up

Pics from the weekend

sieni — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 13:06:30 +0000

Saba & mom attended the Holy Day programme for the Martyrdom of the Bab in the courtyard of the Haifa Pilgrim House at noon on Friday. Tara Lani & I stayed home and had our own devotions inbetween feeding, burping, and changing.

That night we had more aunties and uncles over for dinz and “Back to the Future III”.

On Saturday we headed to Bahji for Tara’s first visit… we went as close as the parking lot near the Haram-i-Aqdas when she wanted to be fed, burped, and changed. So we said our prayers in the ka’avale and headed back to Haifa. One small step at a time, a ea Tara joon?

Some exciting news… we’re just finalizing our trip home to Aussie & Sa in November so Tara joon can meet her grandparents Ruth & Khosrow joons and aunties & uncles & cousins & friends. We’re really looking forward to the trip back & hope things will be settled with Tara’s passport by then.

Dad arrives this week, YAY!

Random shots at home

sieni — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:50:23 +0000

It has been so wonderful being at home. Tara joon is much more relaxed. Here are a few random pics.

I love this last pic of mom & I having lunch… can you spot her behind the bundles of flower power love?

Big outing

sieni — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:45:00 +0000

Yesterday afternoon, we took Tara joon to the Shrine for the first time and offered prayers on her behalf. She slept soundly throughout until the trip back home when she began to sing out (but only for a few secs).