Another pretty picture

Just another picture of paddling. Paddling is a very popular sport here on Oahu. My daughter just joined this year and really loves it. It is very relaxing watching the paddlers. I don't think it is very relaxing being one of the paddlers. This is a very tiring sport. It requires a lot of physical effort, but the payoff is winning. Her boat does pretty well usually coming in 3rd out of 10, so she is happy with this. Hopefully my hubby will not have to work his first weekend home and he can enjoy Saturday's meet. This is something he would of missed had his tour not been cut short, but by the Grace of God he will get to see the last few meets. What a nice surprise.

Monday

The hubby should be arriving from Kuwait late Monday night if all goes well and they get the flight they are supposed to. The kids are excited and hubby is excited to get to eat real food instead of chow hall food. He is very lucky this tour was cut short. This same thing happened to him years ago when he went to Albania. He was supposed to be gone for 6 months and he was only gone 1 month. I guess he just gets lucky when it comes to these tours. I hope it stays that way, but what are the odds. You all know I hate the number 3 and the next tour would be the dreaded 3. Apparently whomever he ends up with will be deploying sometime in the next year. I just hope it isn't too soon. It will suck to have to start the year over again within the next few months. So that's the news for today. Thanks for all of your well wishes.

The good and the bad

The good news is hubby may be coming home soon. As early as next week. The bad news is he will be back in another unit that will possibly be deploying as soon as this summer. It seems the Army is up to some more restructuring and that messes up a lot of things. If and when he gets back these 2 months will not count toward another tour which will be another 12 months started all over again. With luck things will change for the best, but who can predict the future, especially the future of a soldier. The kids are excited though. I kind of downplayed the leaving part and told them their dad just might be home very soon. I didn't want to get them too excited, but they are anyway. I will keep you all posted.

Everything else in Hawaii is going great. We still have nice weather. A little rain here and there and of course I saw another rainbow this morning. A huge one. I feel sorry for all of you out there who are affected by the snow and ice storms and hope that the winter comes to an end very soon. We don't get many changes here so that is something you can kind of count on, except for the 40 days of rain last March and April, everything usually stays sunny and bright.

I should be able to do a little blog surfing tonight after American Idol so I don't miss anything going on out there.

God's promise to Noah

Here in Hawaii not a day goes by that we don't see at least one rainbow, even when it's sunny. Somehow the mist causes the reflection of the rainbow off the mountains. Whenever we see a rainbow I say to the kids "oh look a rainbow, God's promise to Noah." The kids love the fact that there is an actual meaning behind the rainbow. Matthew refers to the story of Noah and the flood. God made his promise to Noah, his sons, and all the birds and animals that came out of the ark. God promised that the earth and everything living on it would never again be destroyed by a flood. The sign that God gives to remind us of his solemn promise is the rainbow. I hope all of your days are filled with rainbows and that you all get to witness the promise God gave to all of us.

Happy Birthday Julian

Julian is 2 years old today. Here he is at Chuckie Cheese. Looks like his cake was yummy. Happy Birthday from Grandma, Grandpa and all your aunts and uncles here in Hawaii. We love you.

Please pray for Kelli

Kelli is one of the bloggers out there who is in serious need of prayer. She needs a kidney transplant but her insurance is running out, and in order to even get approval for the transplant she needs to prove she has insurance and that she will be able to have the $1200. a month to pay for the medication she will need.

Please go over to Barb's blog and read her post because she has explained it in all in the best way possible.

Oh fiddlesticks

Last night I went to turn on my tv, I have the DISH, and nothing. No signal, no menu, nada. I called the company and they couldn't get it going so I will have to call today for a technician. The kids here do not get to watch a lot of tv, but there are 5 of them and it is the weekend. I said "Oh well," to the kids, "I guess we are celebrating National turn off the tv week a little early this year." In the back of my mind I was thinking various four letter words that I probably couldn't even legally put on this blog. Not that I'm an addict, but I do have my shows I can't miss. You know, The Apprentice, Extreme Home Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and I'm sure I could think of more if put to the wall. I am going to resort to putting out my little back up tv with the antenna. Seems like I'm moving back in time. Let's hope the tech can get out here ASAP, before I go totally nuts.

Sit and spin

Remember this toy? Now it actually plays Simon Says. Simon Says spin, Simon says spin the other way, Simon says stop, stop. This is fun for about 5 minutes, then its kind of annoying. Not so annoying for a 3 year old though.

Today i am finally going to the grocery store. Not that I want to, but one must eat. I am going to get the ingredients for All Day Meatballs from Sandras food blog. They look so good I've got to try them. All of the recipes I have tried from her are yumm-o. If you get the chance go on over and have a look.

Lazy day

What do you do when you are almost out of everything but too lazy to actually get your butt up and go to the store? You make homemade pizza and the kids eat this day and night, and think they are in Heaven. Oh, and you add shredded carrots and onions to the sauce so you can make sure they meet their veggie quota.

progress

Everyone who has been reading this blog knows that since I broke my wrist I really hadn't done anything to my new military quarters. Now that I'm almost 100%, I have started to do a bit here and there. The first picture just shows the curtain I finally hung. I was getting sick of staring at this bare window while I blogged. I like when a window is pretty enough not to need a curtain, but this one certainly is not.

The second picture is of my window with the same curtain as the other window and of my sliding glass doors with my accidental curtains. By accidental I mean I bought 2 panels of burgundy curtains to hang there and when I got home I realized I was short by about 6 inches. That's what I get for not measuring. Anyway I went out and bought 2 white shears and put them up just to make sure I had the entire window covered. I ended up with an effect I really like.

The third is my bathroom, thanks to K Mart. I had originally planned on doing it in ducks, but when I saw this pink set, I knew I wanted it for my downstairs bathroom. I also got a toilet seat, toothbrush holder, soap holder, cup, cotton ball container, and rug in the same pattern.

Well this is the extent of my work so far. I am glad I am finally able to get something accomplished.

Success

There is a little boy in our neighborhood who is neglected. His mom is a single mom in the Army with 6 kids. When she is home she let's her kids run around outside all day without ever checking up on them. When she is at work her 12 year old daughter watches the others. Apparently the military doesn't find this too neglectful. The other day after playing outside all day the boy went into his house around 2 in the afternoon and came out with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. My son Brandon said "why didn't you make him a sandwich?" Of course I already fed him, but I realized once again SUCCESS. This is how I judge success. By the statement Brandon made I realized he cared for what happened to the kid that drives him and the rest of the neighborhood crazy. I have always prayed only 1 prayer for my children and that is that they become Christians. I could care less whether they are lawyers or work at Burger King, I could care less whether they have a lot of money or a little, I could care less whether they go to college or not. I only care that they are happy and that they are Christians. To me this is the only success that matters. All I have ever wanted to be is a wife and a mother. I really don't care about
having a career or a great job or any other thing like that. This has
made me happy. I think if being happy means you love the Lord with all
of your heart, than this is all I want. I used to think that I would
get a job as I got older, but now I am thinking more on the lines of
volunteer work. Me and my son Jr. belong to Kid's Care and we get to do
a lot of volunteer work with the orphaned kids here in Hawaii and other
charity groups. This has been the most fun I have ever had. I even like
certain famous people based on how much charity work they do and how
much money they give. Two of my favorites being Angelina Jolie and
Madonna. Not because I like Angelina's acting or Madonna's singing,
which I do, but because both stars seem to understand success
may actually lie in the giving part, not the living part. Maybe I'm
odd, but to me success has nothing to do with money and everything to
do with being a Christian who loves the Lord. That's my story and I
wouldn't change a thing.

Footnote: I was talking with my dad who was asking isn't this neglect? In the eyes of the law, not really because Nate is fed, clothed, and has a place to sleep, but I was also thinking something even more profound. Isn't it better that we the neighbors have taken Nate under our wing and make sure that him and his siblings are played with, cared for, and fed? Isn't this what helping each other is all about? Maybe Nate's mom can't afford a sitter. There are 6 kids and no father. Maybe she is just too tired when she get's home to pay much attention to him. She does look quite young, so maybe she just didn't get a chance to be a kid herself. Or maybe she just doesn't know how to be a mom. I really think Nate and the others have a better chance of us as a neighborhood pulling together for them then him just being dumped in the system. Maybe someday Nate will do the same for someone else, just because it was done for him. Reading "It takes a Village," by Hillary Clinton is one of the best books on this subject you can read. Even if her politics are not to your liking the message of this book show's how working together can change the face of a nation.

working with your tube

The clip below is my first uploaded clip to your tube. I finally got it onto my blog. Jr. is in between the two angels. Please excuse the shakiness due to the fact that my
hyperactive 7 year old was dancing in his seat and repeatedly hitting
my arm while filming. Accidentally of course.

Jr's Christmas clip

Rocky Balboa

I Have been a fan of all the Rocky movies, so when I saw that this one was out I knew I had to see it. I haven't went to the movie theater in over a year, but boy am I glad I went to see this one. When my 16 year old turned to me at the end and said, "that was really good," I knew exactly what she meant. This truly was one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I absolutely hate boxing. There is only about 25 minutes of boxing at the end of the movie. The first hour and a half I don't think there was a dry eye in the theater. The movie is about Rocky trying to deal with loosing the love of his life, finding meaning as he is getting older, and trying to become close with his adult son oncer again. I know why the critics are giving this movie great reviews. The ending is not at all what I expected, nor is it unrealistic. I will tell you this movie really has almost nothing to do with boxing and everything to do with living. The movie is extremely emotional, and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa) is an amazing man. It's obvious that Stallone has taken the emotions of growing old in his own life and used them to create a character with a lot of depth. Go see Rocky if you can, and don't forget the tissues.

check out more great reviews HERE