Oregon April 2011

 My pictures of our trip down-loaded in the wrong order on this blog post- the first one's start somewhere around the middle :)

Nephews Josh and Shad

Easter at my Uncle and Aunts- The Easter Story was being read

My cousin Molly (who is due with twins in Aug,) and my Aunt Anne

My sister in law and nephew looking for Easter Eggs

Sis in law Liz-a-beth and cousin Becca

My dad and I

Nephew Jesse and Eli hunting at my brother's house

My mom, Eli, and nephew Jess

Grace-Anne and Boo Bear trying on Ryan's socks

My parents

Deb, Treva, and Kristi

My mom taught me very young that a picture is worth a thousand words- She has well over a hundred photo albums documenting our lives- Below are the pictures of our trip to Oregon (actually we are not quite back to Hawaii yet- but almost) that I thought described the trip the best:

TUES APRIL 19- DAY 1 OF OUR VACATION

My husband INSIST'S that we get to the airport HOURS early-
Bless his heart he hates to be late.........Here we sat at the Airport in Hawaii a good
2 hours before our flight was taking off..

1/2 way through our flight from Hawaii to California

See those cute little heads right in front of me........Yep, those are my boys :)

This trip we flew into an airport several hours away from our destination- It came down to paying either $350.00 per ticket  or $850 per ticket to fly into our destination- We opted for the 5 hour drive for the savings!

We arrived in Oregon
 (we decided to travel about half way the first night- get a good nights sleep and
then travel the rest of the way)

Went to visit our nieces and nephews
(2 of my sisters 4 children)

Went to visit my mom and sis

Went to visit Matt's parents

Jon and Val's little Jaymee

My niece trying on her Easter Dress

Dinner at Olive Garden with my family

My sister and her youngest son

cousins

My Cousin Megan 

My Uncle Neil holding baby Gavin

Good Friday- Good Family- Good Food- and the Stock Market Closing!

I was hoping to get this blog out on Fri. but it has sat in my Edit box all weekend- We are having a wonderful time on the Main Land!  The below blog was written last Fri. (Obviously :)
_____________________________________

I do not feel like it would be proper to start off this blog without mentioning that it is 'Good Friday'-

The Hawaiian Public School was closed today, The New York Stock Exchange (or more commonly known as the Stock Market) was CLOSED today (Yes, they were observing it too- click on the link if you don't believe), Christian Church doors were open tonight with special services all around the world in observance of this Most Holy Holiday-

Thank you so much Dear Lord Jesus for dying on the cross!

It has been a wonderful 3 days on the Main Land- We have had great visits with both family and friends and are looking forward to more to come.  I was able to see Jon and Val's Baby Jaymee-  actually, not only did I get to see her but Val willingly passed her over so that I could hold and cuddle her for a good 30 minutes.  I wish I could post a picture of her but I can not get my lap top to work so am using my mom's computer- I could not even begin to describe her preciousness but look forward to posting pictures when I get back to Hawaii so that y'all can see for yourselves what she looks like.  I won't go on and on about this BUT that little 9 pound body snuggled into my chest felt like a mighty nice fit- seeing her dressed in a cute little flower head band and the most adorable fleece pants...........melts your heart (or at least it melted mine)-  Yes, Yes, I know that this is dragging on- BUT it was just to good not to share.

It's been 5 months since I have seen most of my nieces and nephews- I am always amazed at how fast some of them are growing up- one has turned 16 and will be driving soon, one has gotten braces, one is completely discontent with the name her parents have chosen to name her brother/sister that her mommy will be having in just a few months-
As I was sitting talking to this little girls daddy this morning I asked him if they had chosen a name for their baby (they do not know what they are having but have chosen names for either sex)- As the twinkle started in his eye he say's to me......'listen to this'......
He calls his daughter's name (she is 4 years old) and I hear her say 'WHAT?'
He asks her, 'What are we going to name our baby if it is a boy?'
Right away I hear her voice take on a very stearn tone and raise about 10 octives:
'WE ARE NOT NAMING HIM -------- (insert the name they had chosen)!! I HATE THE NAME ------!WE ALREADY KNOW A ------- !!!!!!!'
Then, more quiet she say's 'I like the name JOHN!'-
Her dad shook his head with a small grin- I asked him if they were still going to name their baby ------ if he was a boy...............'Yes we are' was his reply.  We both had a good laugh-
Later that day her mom informed me that she had been teaching herself how to spell John.........
oh my goodness- How cute :)
I've gotten to enjoy Lunch at The Olive Garden with my sister, Dinner at a neat little local restaurant that I have never tried before, visit with my Nana (my dad's mom), Visit with my mom (I love you so much mom and thank you for your hospitality), visit with Matt's family, and Visit with both my brothers...

My boys are enjoying some serious visiting time of their own with their cousins and other family....What a blessing :)




Christmas Card Picture 2008



Rocky and Megan's Precious Gavin James was born 15 Weeks Early.....

Had just a few minutes before heading out to the airport and wanted to share the following with you:

Early last year (2010) I got a call from my mom- she had an anxious tone when she asked me to start praying for my cousin Megan.  Megan is my mom's sister and my aunt Lorena's daughter.  My Aunt Lorena and Uncle Neil have my cousin Eli (where Matt and I got the idea to name our son Eli) and my cousin Megan.
The prayer request was in regards to Megan's pregnancy- She and her husband Rocky were expecting a precious little boy in August 2010.  She was having some severe complication with her pregnancy and it was looking like she may deliver early-
Gavin James was born 15 weeks early- April 28, 2010 and spent the next 106 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit................
I bring this all up because just before I went to bed last night I was cruising through Facebook and saw that my cousin Megan had posted on her blog- The blog post was titled 'ONE YEAR AGO.....'
As I clicked on the link, I was anticipating a general overview of what her day looked like a year ago- What I got was Part One of an incredible story of a baby and mommy's survival against almost impossible odds-
The story is too good not to pass on..........When you get a chance please check out the following:
www.micromom.blogspot.com or just click HERE.

To God Be The Glory for precious little Gavin's life!

Gavin James

Should I leave on Vacation with a dirty house?

It is SO hot here today- when I say 'here' I mean Hawaii- It is one of those humid hot day's when your hair goes to a certain frizz that can only be obtained 2 ways:
1.  Going to the beauty school and getting a permanent wave with the smallest curlers they offer (we're talking like 1.16th of an inch rods) and then sitting with the perm solution on for WAY to long- When they unroll your hair you've got such tight frizzy curls water will not even absorb into your hair and your hair just kind of stands on end- (This is a true story- My mom still has the pictures of my sister and I after getting the described perm above- 3rd grade pictures were so super ugly!)
OR
2. You work outside or inside on a hot humid Hawaiian day and you have just enough natural curl to frizz out!

We do not have air conditioning- and when the days are really hot it is like shutting your bathroom door, turning you shower on hot and letting it run for 15 minutes on pure hot- The air feels thick and energy levels feel completely depleted.

My dilemma is this:
I am leaving for vacation and my house is dirty- dishes, laundry, and beds totally unmade...........Because I am completely over-heated and drained- I am tempted to close up shop "as is"................o.k.,so my husband, that has a knack for cleanliness might freak just a bit and maybe my son Eli, who also has the same knack my husband has might give me a grown up lecture on the benefits of cleanliness..............
As I am blogging about my dilemma I am starting to realize that maybe I do not want to come home to a dirty house- It really might be kind of nice to have the beds made and laundry folded and not just in the basket sitting on the couch-
hummm........... I just heard the washing machine beep that it is done- I think that is my beckoning call to wrap it up on this blog post and go clean house-
I had my camera by me and snapped what I am looking at right this very second so y'all could be privy to my dirty house and my icky Hawaiian Head of hair today :(-

I am sitting on my couch with the fan buzzing- I peeled
my sunglasses and flowered head band off of my sweaty head

Not really sure why a paper towel with mustard is sitting
on my couch? 

No Time to Blog So Instead Posted Pictures-

I have absolutely no time to blog today but thought it would be nice to post some pictures-
FYI we are having a perfect weather day here in Hawaii- Looking at my digital thermometer and it reads:
83 degrees with 56% humidity- The trade winds are blowing and the sun is shining.  The water at the beach is an aqua blue and the waves are calm...............ALOHA BABY!

The Plumeria Tree in my front yard- Please notice
the hammock behind..........LOVE laying in it reading a book....

Bath Tub beach here at the ranch

My precious Boys

The Hyatt has such beautiful landscape

Fishing anyone?

Our local Harbor

My beautiful niece Rachel came to visit :)
Love you Rach!

Hi Babe-

This picture is compliments of my Aunt Petra- She caught Eli just
as he was wiping out

Dropping Butter on My Macy's Full Price Boots

Last Oct. (2010) I was headed to my home town in Oregon for a spontaneous visit-  I knew that Oct. in Oregon meant warmer days and cooler nights.
From what I have both heard and read, your blood thins down when you live in a constant warm climate- making what used to feel like a 'warm' day in Oregon (high 60's) feel pretty cool- the 'cooler' nights now feel frigid!
After realizing that I was going to be making a spontaneous trip to Oregon,  I went to our local Macy's to look for a warm pair of boots to wear on the trip- For the past 5 or so years before we moved, boots had been a staple in my wardrobe- Here in Hawaii wearing boots, to me, feels claustrophobic. I brought a pair over and wore them just a handful of times- My last experience with my boots was when I wore them to Church shortly after moving here- By the time service got started I had a sudden impulse to rip them off and finish the service bare footed because my feet felt like they were ON FIRE!  The sermon that day was lost to my overwhelming thoughts of freeing myself from the boots- When we got home my feet were so swollen I sat on our bed while Matt yanked as hard as he could to get them off- YUCK!
While at Macy's looking for a pair of boots I realized 2 things-
1.  I had no coupon (Julie- Where were you with those great $20.00 off Coupons :)
2.  I was gonna have to pay FULL PRICE for a pair of boots
I despise paying full price for things-
On our island, the shopping selection is limited- I knew my options were in my vision as I stood before the 'New Item' sticker in front of the boots at Macy's that day-
I brought the 'selected' boots up to the counter- asked the sales associate if they had any coupons behind the counter that they would mind scanning for me.  The curt 'NO' sealed the deal that I would pay full price for my boots..............
Back to the thin blood comment at the beginning of this post- I have noticed that my tolerance for heat has significantly risen over the last couple of years- what used to feel overwhelmingly hot now just seems normal- I think my blood has thinned down quite a bit (Hallelujah).
As I was getting ready for church this past Sun. I thought I would break out those Macy's full price boots and try wearing them- the weather was mild and over cast- not to hot- so the perfect day to 'try'.
All went well!  They were not to hot and did not feel claustrophobic AT ALL- I thought to myself multiple times how nice it was wearing jeans with boots here in Hawaii..........
Here's where the title comes into this blog post.  When we got home, I went straight to the kitchen- I was mashing potatoes and putting the 1/2 C. butter in when I dropped an almost melted piece on my right boot- It hit in 3 spots!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I grabbed my computer and Googled how to get butter stains out of leather- The advise was not super promising- the instructions were the following:
1. Blot area with a soft towel to get any excess (butter) off
2. Put Talcum Powder on the spots and leave for 8 hours- this may absorb the grease

I did the above.......  however, I substitute the 'talcum' powder for 'mineral veil' (bare mineral) because that was the closet thing I had to powder at my house.

The butter stains were still visible..............

I was completely desperate- I had convinced myself I could wear the boots with the stain but knew deep in the back of my mind I could not-

I went out to my laundry room- Grabbed the Shout and sprayed it all over both boots- I rubbed the grease spots with even more shout- let the boots sit- then ran them both under warm water and gently but firmly scrubbed.

IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!! The butter came out and the boots look perfect- I wish I would have taken a before picture- Below is the after picture.

Oregon Oct.

Fashion With A Side Order Of 3 Eggs

I only have a sec to blog tonight so I'll make this short and sweet..........
I was laying in bed last night going over outfits in my mind that I am taking to the main land for our vacation- After letting my brain go into fashion mode, I figured my outfit situation out and started thinking about adoption- Still in fashion mode and thinking about adoption I realized that I had the most adorable headbands (thank you Hope and Kelly for these) with the most adorable bows for our little addition (no placement yet.......but we are hoping and praying for one soon) that will work great when she came home from the hospital but nothing for in the hospital-  At this point in our adoption story we do not know if we will adopt an infant, and if so, whether we will be able to be at her birth- If we are able, and if her birth mom allows- This is what you will see on my precious girls head during her hospital stay:

P.S. I ran to our local Wal Mart today and picked up new born hats- right around the corner from the hats were bows on clearance for $1.00- A little hot glue and waaa laaa.........

P.S.S 3 Eggs Left!!