 And Mabuhayi, welcome to Pinoy Power Hawaii. I am your host, Emi Ortega Anderson. We want to thank again the wonderful staff of Think Tech Hawaii for giving us the opportunity to share with you topics concerning powerful Filipinos in Hawaii. Today I have two very wonderful young mothers that will share with us their secrets into finding balance in this lopsided world. So without further ado, it is a pleasure to introduce my two guests who will help us with our empowerment. We aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain. And the big picture is to empower. On my left, immediate left, is my lovely daughter, Jamie Nicole Summer Anderson Teow. We also have her BFF, Jenny Gibson. And they are BFF and we want to thank them for taking the time out to be with us to share their secrets and how to make their relationship work, whether it's at home and serving the community, their church calling, but most of all being a wonderful wife and a joyful mother. So I'm going to turn over the time first to Jenny to tell us a little bit about Jenny. Thank you. Well, thanks for having me. I'm so excited. I'd love to do anything with Jamie. And we actually met because of church calling. We were teaching children, Jamie was teaching children how to sing, and I was helping to teach about 40 children in our church, ages about three to 12. And it's where I met Nolan. Really why I wanted to be Jamie's friend because he's so incredible, really smart. I've always had a love for children and that's kind of why I went into teaching. I knew that I wanted, I believe in lifelong learning and I knew that I wanted to work with kids and helping them to feel empowered. So the best way to make children feel empowered I think. So I'm a mother of four. I don't know if I said that yet. And I have a 16-year-old, a 15-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 11-year-old. Wow, and you're only 18, right, Jenny? Yeah, 20. I'm 20. Okay. It is so wonderful to hear these very inspiring stories about young mothers that have made it work. So we're going to turn the spotlight over to my lovely daughter. And Jamie, please tell our audience a little bit more about you. Hi, Mom. Thanks for having me and my bestie on TV. Not going to lie, it's exciting. A little terrifying. My name is Jamie, Anderson Tiao. I am a mother of one, a very good one. Jenny mentioned his name, Nolan. My grandson. Yes, my mother's pride and joy. A poke. A poke? Yes. And, yes, like Jenny said, we met through church, and as soon as we moved into Kailua and I saw Jenny, I was like, we're going to be best friends. I know it. Yes. Wow. So powerful to have you on and share your stories. And as I watch you folks mingle and interact, and of course, you just have a wonderful way of relating to each other, like you've known each other for a long, long time, almost like sisters. Yeah. So that's what we want to share to our audiences. How do you find balance or how are you able to juggle everything from your business to your community calling, your church calling, your marriage, and still being a joyful mother? So let's go back to you. You seem to be the pro with four children, and you've been awarded the Young Mother of the Year. That's an achievement, Jenny. Do you find time to sleep? I don't sleep very much. But it is all in that balance that you're talking about. You try to get as much sleep so you have beauty sleep. But I think every day you wake up. And I like to think of, I think mothering and being a part of a family, raising up a strong family, I kind of like to think of it like it's called the Groundhog Illusion. So you know, you're waking up every single morning and you're trying to eat well and you're trying to take care of yourself and you're trying to run your business and you're, we are doing all these things. We're serving in our church. We're serving at our school on the PTSD. We're serving in our communities and gardens and trying to empower young girls. But at the same time, remembering that we want our children to also feel safe. So always kind of having the knowledge that everyone's watching you, but especially your children. Your children are watching you and we want them to learn by our example that it's important to serve, to have charity and going back to the Groundhog Effect. I think as a parent, you feel like you are in this pattern of the Groundhog Day. You're waking up and you're tired and you're making their lunches and you're sending them off to school and then you're cleaning up and then running your own business like I watch you too on how successful you are. But look at what you did for your family, you know, and you don't realize that feeling of that everyday parent, parenting and raising your family. In the moment you feel like maybe you're not making a difference and you see like the mistakes that you are making and you're thinking, are your children going to get what you're trying to teach them? But as I watch my children grow up and now that they're a little older, I realize everything we did with them when they were little, it really wasn't Groundhog Day. You know, you really are making a difference in their life every day and it takes just a little bit, just like exercise. Yes. Me and Jamie do yoga together during the week, during nap time. And it's where we can kind of see and talk about how our children are learning, how they are growing up the way that we want them to. Yes. Oh, thank you for clarifying that. I like that Groundhog illusion that everything looks well from the outside, but yet they don't really have an idea of what's happening behind the scenes. And I'm going to flip the time to my daughter and hopefully I did half of the work that I needed to do as a role model, as a mother, when she was growing up. Because like the saying goes, children live what they learn. So in other words, you mentioned about being a great role model. And that's what your children are going to turn out to be, because they watch you growing up and they will repeat that, you know, it's like a recorder. So Jamie Annak, please tell us about your growing up and how was I or Dad and I as parents? So, do you really want to know how much time do we have? I might not have enough time, but no, my mother, I'm not just saying this just because she's here either, but she really was wonderful. And she was home with us and I think that made the biggest difference in our lives. If you weren't there for us, we could have been getting into trouble. We could have been making not so good choices, but you were there for us and we knew you had our back for us, even though you were threatening to beat us and swear at us in Filipino. Your love was there. And you instilled in us the value of work and just made us... You made me out of my comfort zone. She would make me go into the store and pick up a loaf of butter on bread. And I hated doing that kind of thing. I hated going and interacting with people I didn't know, even if it was just to buy a loaf of bread. But it was just doing that over and over again or ordering my own food at McDonald's, even though she wasn't there and I was short on change. I was just learning that this was pretty much my nightmare, but guess what, you lived through it and you learned and you turned out okay. You are going to get rejected. You are going to have bad days and things don't turn out the way you want to. But you live and you learn and you move on and you grow from that. And so I feel like that's one of the biggest things I learned from growing up with my parents. And I'm so grateful. Wow, okay. We're laughing and yet behind all those laughter there's tears of joy. And I can't help but get emotional and teary-eyed because I'm so proud of the fact that my daughter, who was so shy and was into her own... I don't know how to describe it, but I couldn't get her to come out of her comfort zone because she was too shy. She wouldn't want to do anything. She would climb up. What? Introvert. She would be extreme. That is the word. But watching her now, you would never think that she was that shy little girl who would never want to do anything because she just wouldn't want to come out. And looking at her now, it was those encouragement paid off because she's grown up to be one super wonderful woman that she is today. And I want to really praise her for taking notes because I wasn't the best mother, but I'm very human. I made my mistakes along the way, but in the back, I always wanted my children to do well. So they were first on my list and my priority. So a lot of raw emotions here. So thank you, Jamie, for making motherhood for mom a lot easier and wonderful and pleasurable. So, yeah. Thank you for being so honest. Jenny, I know you can relate to our story as mother and daughter because the emotions here that we are displaying are real. So before we go on, we need to go on our quick break. You are tuning into Pinoy Power Hawaii where we share real stories, real emotions that touches the heart. And today it is a pleasure to share with you some of our secrets on how to keep things balanced to be that wonderful wife, that joyful mother that only have the best interests of our children, our spouse, our family. And of course, still be able to find love at home. So we will be right back on Pinoy Power Hawaii. Hello, everyone. I'm DeSoto Brown, the co-host of Human Humane Architecture, which is seen on Think Tech Hawaii every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. And with the show's host, Martin Desbang, we discuss architecture here in the Hawaiian Islands and how it not only affects the way we live, but other aspects of our life, not only here in Hawaii, but internationally as well. So join us for Human Humane Architecture every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Think Tech Hawaii. Hey, Stan Energyman here on Think Tech Hawaii. And they won't let me do political commentary, so I'm stuck doing energy stuff, but I really like energy stuff, so I'm going to keep on doing it. So join me every Friday on Stan Energyman at lunchtime, at noon, on my lunch hour. We're going to talk about everything energy, especially if it begins with the word hydrogen. We're going to definitely be talking about it. We'll talk about how we can make Hawaii cleaner, how we can make the world a better place. Just basically save the planet. Even Miss America can't even talk about stuff like that anymore. We got it nailed down here. So we'll see you on Friday at noon with Stan Energyman. Aloha. We want to welcome you back to the second portion of our program, Pinoy Power Hawaii. Today we are having a nice conversation with my daughter, Jamie Anderson Tiao, who is a mom and entrepreneur, and also her BFF, that's Jenny Gibson, who won the title of Young Mother of the Year. She runs her own preschool and also a wonderful, joyful mother of four. So we're going to continue with our conversation and how they're able to manage to find balance in a lopsided or imperfect world. So the emotions are out of the way. We're going to move on to our agenda. Let's talk about some of the things that you do to keep your family sane and to keep the love at home. Jenny. Okay, there are so many good things that we do. I think we like to say that adventure is out there. We like adventure and kind of spontaneous adventure. And me and Jamie have taken our kids on just wild adventures. And our family surprised Disneyland trips. Just to keep it fun, you know, because there's so much routine in our day to day. But I think one of the things I like to kind of base everything, whatever we do in our family. When I won Young Mother of the Year in 2012, I got to go to D.C. and meet with mothers across the nation. And one of the things that we talked about was how children want to belong. And no matter what you do, you want your children to feel like they belong to you. And that's kind of a motto that me and my husband have kind of kept. Whatever we do, you know, we created a family motto and a family crest. So that our children know that they do, they belong to us. You want them to just know that they are loved. And I think even for my husband, you know, you want your husband to feel loved as well. And when you are in your own little net family and eating dinner every single night and talking about their day, you even feel like you belong to as a mother. And I think as a mother and as a person, it's important to feel those things. So that belonging, you know. I'm glad you mentioned the sense of belonging to be able to come home or be able to be yourself and feel that love that resonates from the compass of a loving home. So Jamie, did you feel that way growing up in our home? Yes. I knew that home was a safe place. And yeah, we shared how our day went over the dinner table. And I think that in itself, I strive to do that with my family now. And that makes a whole difference just having that time together every day. Yes, quality time. And one of the things that I found at work is getting our kids involved in whatever it is that we're doing, whether it's house cleaning, doing the house chores or cooking. Jamie and Janelle always had their part. And of course, Jamie took cooking a little bit more seriously. And this is why she's such a great cook to this day because they were hands on, you know. We were making round monkey balls to make monkey ball dessert. And to this day, we still do it together because to us, it's quality time. And it reminds us of the importance of being together as family or in unity. Yes. You know, living in Hawaii is very, very expensive. And I know that you've found ways to do things that are affordable or do things close to nature, so you don't have to do the extravagant things to keep the kids happy. Share with us some of those things that you do, like being in a theater and the children find enjoyment out of that. You know, it's a totally new adventure, and yet it expands their horizons and their learning curve because they get to act out and actually get satisfaction from being able to display their talents. I totally forgot that we did choose theater together. Yes. Yeah, we do. I think we both are good at budgeting. So that's why, too, it's so fun because we are always thinking out of the box what we can do. We love to hike and go to the beach. And yeah, Children's Theater of Oahu, too, plays a big part of our life. That is. Half a year for the last, you know, many years. I had to mention that, yeah. Yeah, so we're a nonprofit and all the kids can come and learn how to love theater and helps them with stage presence and make, we actually have created a family. You know, all the kids are close. And what they do, they get to learn how to speak in front of the world. And they can kind of create their own platform for what they need to express and kind of helps to empower them to be better people as well. Exactly. I forgot about that. It's building confidence and to be able to get on the stage with all the spotlights kind of remind you of today. And be able to perform and do what your role is supposed to do. And we've seen the success of your hard work behind the scenes. And we've totally enjoyed it. Yes. So it doesn't mean that you have to put out a lot of money to keep the kids interested and to keep their mind occupied. And it's just so rewarding. Yeah. So that's a big part, right? You know, I didn't even think about it. We just forget about it for a little while before we jump head first back into the theater world. True. I think just serving, too. We're always kind of doing service projects and allowing our children, I mean, they're building their own home. Yes. So that's incredible. And we are neighbors. So we get to go and watch and learn how to build a home. That is so exciting. Those are life skills, too. Yes. Best friends and neighbors. We're so excited. We get to live by each other. It is. And to be able to spend that type of quality time while, for Jamie, building a home and teaching, not only Nolan, the values of hard work and also putting in an honors work without... She has a tool belt. She drops off a little box's lunch, mixed lunch for Josh. And then comes in my house, puts her hat on and her tool. Or sometimes we'll work out first. Then she puts on the hat and the tool belt and she goes to work. Goes to work and builds. They let my children come and help. They love it. And they're such great people. It's incredible. They love having a task. They love working. We just need to give them that opportunity and chance. Yes. They're all surprised. These are actually a pertinent or important part of learning, because while they do that, they're putting in those skills into their chest. That's true. And they'll be able to pull it out at a later time, perhaps in their adult life, and say, hey, I learned this growing up with my mom and dad. And those are pertinent, important lessons that we are passing on to our children for their future generations. Yeah, they're building it all along. From the ground up for the second time. For the second time. For the second time. I mean, I feel like it's blessing our family. We get to have family home meeting together, and family fun night, and so on. All these years. We're talking about blessings. And I know that our faith has a lot to do with the success of our family, our marriage, our extended family. How does your faith intertwine with your success? I'm looking at my list on the way to be, and that's from the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. He teaches us or reminds us that it's really, really important to be grateful, be thankful for all the things that are around us. And some of us take things for granted. We don't often express gratitude, but it's important, part of life circle. Every day. You just have to have that gratitude. So do you agree with me when I say that, well, you've heard it many times over, that life is a lifelong journey and adventure, that in order to be smart, we need to keep our options open and be willing to absorb new things to learn so we can be smarter. Can you add to that to be involved, to be clean, to be true, be positive, be humble, be still, be powerful. So you too can wrap it up on how you apply these ways to be in your life to make your life a little bit of heaven and earth. Jenny. You want to go first? Sure. Yeah, I think you got it. Do you know that's one of my favorite books? Mine too. Mine is. And when we were growing up, I'm sure, you know, we had those sayings, be true, be humble. And I, yeah, way to be, how are you going to be in your life? And I think those values have stuck with me, of course. A strong foundation for our family that we're trying to instill into our children. This attitude of gratitude every single day. Even though things get hard, right? We have this saying in our house. And I, one of the prophets said it, we can do hard things. And we do the hard things with being all those, standing on all those values while we struggle through whatever adversities that we have. And I think. Yes. As I've lived those things, as I've become a mom, I like to call them mother altering moments. Yes. I call them mom. I call them M-A-M. And it's, you know, they're the moments that you're trying to instill in your children this pure love, this charity with each other. Yes. And it's like watching your children get things. Uh-huh. And witnessing them as a mother, it changes you. These moments. Yes. That you like how you're teaching Jamie in the kitchen. And you'll remember them forever. And she will remember them forever. Yes. Jamie, you have a few moments to wrap it up, you know? Just tears. I know my daughter. All my emotion just comes out of my tear duct. So I'm happy or sad. But everything that's been said is just spot on. I mean, and there's so much that can be said about motherhood. And just, like Jenny said, like there are moments when you just realize that everything for your child is just, it's going to make them like become that best person that you hope they can be. Like even something small, like letting your child take home a sick, chick, baby chick. Yes. That was so rewarding. Yeah. We nurtured that, it's still alive, isn't it? Yes. Yeah? Oh. Yeah. Yes. Nolan begged to take home a little sickly chicken, chick, baby chick, from my mom's farm. And I just thought in my mind I was like, this is extra work. But I asked him if he was sure he wanted to do it. And I was like, OK, learning experience is for him. Yes. It's so rewarding that he wanted to save the chick's life. We call him Tyroid. But it's alive. And it's because that humanity, the compassion that comes out of my grandson, it's so rewarding. I want to thank both of you for bringing back true emotions into this show and how your struggles and your early learning has become an important part of your success today as a wonderful wife and a joyful mother. I want to congratulate both of you on the success and all the volunteer work and community work that you're doing. You are truly pure children of God and Auntie Amy, Mama Amy. You want to thank both of you for the empowerment. We want to thank you too for being with us to be able to feel these three emotions, the joys of motherhood and being a wonderful wife. We want to thank you again for turning into another empowering moment with Pinoy Power Hawaii. I am your host, Amy Ortega Anderson, saying, million mahalos, mabuhay, and maraming salamat po.