Blazing a Trail...

Happy Birthday Aaron Shong! I'm not sure how our family got so lucky, but Aaron truly fits in so well with us and is one of the nicest,most relaxed and flexible people I know! He's been around for a long time now, and I am so thankful for that! I was looking through pictures to post and found some really old ones I scanned and he was in them! Julie and Aaron were married almost 9 years ago and it's been so much fun to have a brother in law like Aaron. He really has all of us wrapped around his finger,we love him to death.

Aaron's been on a lot of our Billen Family vacations here's a few shots of us over the years enjoying being together!



Here we are in Yosemite, I think circa 1998. The first vacation Aaron joined us on!

Here we are in Central Park in New York - I think this was in like 2003

That's right, another birthday shout out, this one is for my wonderful big brother Ryan!
He was the ultimate Boy Scout!

Well this weekend certainly was a busy one!

Recap -
* Thursday night - We celebrated Adam's upcoming graduation from USC with a bonfire at the beach! My brother Ryan, his wife Maria and their two boys Gavin and Marshall had just flown in the day before for Rhett's wedding so they were able to join us along with Adam's parents and his brother Nat! My sister, Sarah and he boyfriend Angelo also joined the fun. It was a good way yo bring everyone together to celebrate Adam's huge accomplishment.




* Friday - Adam's graduation! After 3 years in the part time MBA program at USC Adam is done! We made it up to USC and took pictures with Tommy the Trojan, strolled the campus and then "enjoyed," the ceremony. I mean really, how much does anyone really like going to graduation. They're a monumental moment and shouldn't be missed, it's just so boring! 700 names called off! The ceremony lasted about 2.5hours, but I guess that isn't much to ask of me to sit through, after Adam spent 3 years in the classroom! I'm so proud of Adam, he worked so hard and made it successfuly thought a top 5 MBA program! The graduation celebration ended at about 8:45 pm and we jumped in the car and headed up to Fresno!





*Saturday - We made it to Fresno at about 1am. Woke up the next morning with excitement to see Monica Thomas and Rhett Billen sealed for time and all eternity in the Fresno, CA Temple! It was a great ceremony and the spirit was very strong and delightful there. It was the first sealing Adam and I have attended since our own, so it was a neat experience for us as well.

Despite it being over 100 degrees we had a great time. The reception was a a cute vintage Tea House in downtown Clovis. The food was excellent and we all had a great time!

I chopped my hair off! All for a good cause! 10 inches for Locks of Love!

Thanks for the great cut Jana!

Here's the long locks... my hair wasn't exactly brushed or straightened here, but oh well, it's gone now!

Here's me now!

I'm so thankful for Mother's Day. I'm thankful we can take a day out of our year to recognize the most important, difficult, thankless, yet rewarding job any woman will ever do, be a mom.

I am thankful for the loving mother I have been given. I am also tremendously grateful for my mother-in-law, for raising her son to be such a great man, and for inviting me into the family so lovingly.

I've been sitting here trying to think of what to write about my mother, and I've deleted about 5 different entries, because there truly just are no words to describe my gratitude, love and respect for my Mother. She is the best woman I know. No she's not perfect, yes we've yelled at each other, and I've broken her rules and disappointed her. But I can honestly say that my Mother has never, never, never disappointed me. She has been there for me through thick and thin, regardless of the bad decisions I have made or how mean I might have been to her, she always has been there to comfort me and pick up the pieces. I know that all 4 of my siblings feel the same way. We have all done our fair share of things to create chaos in her life, and many times those things overlapped, I cannot even fathom the mighty prayers she must have sobbed through as we challenged her. But she has remained faithful through it all, being the supreme example of how to forgive and always love. My mother taught me how to love, and how to receive love as well. She has always put others before herself, especially her children. I think she went years without buying new clothing or things for herself, but every year she would take all 5 of us to Mervyns to pick out several of our favorite back to school outfits, as well as replensih the colored pencils, calculators, and notebooks we had managed to lose the year before.

I really don't know how she does all that she does. She did daycare for years so she could stay at home with us, but once we all got a bit older and needed braces and car insurance she went to work full time. Working full time and being a mother of five, she still managed to make it every swim meet/ waterpolo game, piano recital possible. She's wonderwoman and I love her dearly.