I love you Mom!

I honestly do not know what I would do with out my mom- The role she has played in my life has, in turn,  played a HUGE roll in the mother I am today and the grandmother I will be someday-

I tuck my kids into bed pretty much every single night while saying prayers with them.... cause that's what I was taught
Our house usually has my boy's friends running around or just hanging out and is an open door to company......cause that's what I was taught
I still hold my boy's hands and give them big hugs all the time..........cause that's what I was taught
My boys wear Vick's on their chest and feet when they are sick.........cause that is what I was taught

My mom watched my boys every Fri. night when we lived on the Main Land to give Matt and I a date night- This started when they were about a year old- If my boys allow, I will do the same.......case that's what I was taught
My mom loves unconditionally and with more compassion than most.....I wish I would have paid attention more to learning this trait when I was growing up cause it's what I was taught

Mom, I love you and thank you so much for the example you have been and are as a mother and 'nana'- Happy Mother's Day!!

I just have to end this blog with saying that for those of you who have lost your mother- I am so so sorry.....God has asked you to carry a burden that I myself can not completely understand- For my friend Treva who will spend her first mother's day without her mother (her mother passed away last summer)  for my cousin Nic who lost her mother several years ago, for my friend Stephanie (who also lost her mother several years ago), and anyone else spending Mother's Day without your mom- May God Bless and keep you and you are in my prayers.

2006

Thurs. night the Office is on :)

Years ago, my sister in law was telling me how funny a certain show she watched was- Then my cousin started talking about it..........Then, when they were together they would talk about it and I would have absolutely no clue what was going on- I HATE THAT!  I'm a girl that likes to be in the know-

The name was a bit blah-zay......The Office??  The first episode I watched it completely annoyed me that they would look at and talk to the camera- I stayed with it- watched a few more episodes and found myself laughing more and more at the odd sense of humor- Matt always say's he would love working in an environment like 'The Office'- I wouldn't go that far- But it sure makes for a funny 30 minutes every Thurs night. 

P.S. Tonight is 2 episodes back to back!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEExciting!!

 

Wednesday's with Lilly

We had the privilege of meeting our friends Antone and Dionne just after we moved to Hawaii-  Dionne was about 5 months pregnant with their 3rd child- Malia (who we call Lilly) when we all met.  Several months ago Dionne had an opportunity to help out in her oldest child's math class at school- she needed a sitter for an hour every other Wed......
I love my every other Wed. with Lilly- I truly do love her like I love my nieces and nephews (which means I love her like I love my own children) and I love that when I watch her I get to imagine what it will be like holding my little girl someday :)

Lilly

As I was doing this pedicure on Lilly I was talking away to her
explaining to her what I was doing.....all the while I was talking I was wondering why
she was being so quiet and SO STILL.....When I glanced over the below picture is what I saw :)

Confessions of a Tupperware Tosser

It all sits in a disorganized heap under the counter by my refrigerator- The lids strewn from one end of the cubbard to the other- The base's just tossed in- looking a bit frazzled.......Yesterday I had some free time and decided to tackle the tupperware cubbard......... The farther into organizing it the more I noticed a pattern- I had a TON of lids but not so many bases- By the time I was done I had 12 more lids than containers-
I pondered the reason behind the extra Tupperware lids like I have pondered the reason why we have so many uni-socks that went into the wash duo-socks (they truly do get sucked up by the washing machine- last month my machine flashed a code- I googled the code and found out that this particular code was most commonly caused by socks stuck in the drainage pipe......our drainage pipe was actually clogged with dryer sheets that Ryan had mistakenly put into the washing machine.......but next time we get the code it really could be socks)
Back to the Tupperware Lids...as I was thinking over our lid overage last night it started dawning on me why all the extra:
I have a phobia about expired food- My brother Levi and I share this phobia.  If you ever see us at a potluck kinda standing off together with our heads together in deep discussion we are discussing which food is 'safe' to eat- I won't go into all of the details of how we determine safe- what I will say is that if you are lax about checking your expiration dates or if you have chickens that you get the eggs straight out of the pen and then eat them you are probably on the 'no eat' list........please do not be offended- some of my family is on this list- If it makes you feel any better I have mold in my shower and I hardly ever clean out my refrigerator- yesterday I noticed a dead fly at the bottom of the fridge and I know, even though they would never openly admit it, some of my extended family would consider my house keeping skills less than sanitary :)
When I said above that I rarely clean out my refrigerator (like 6 times a year) and that I have a phobia about expired food I put the combo together and realized where all of my Tupperware bases have gone.........
STRAIGHT INTO THE TRASH CAN!
Yep, by the time I go to clean the food out of the Tupperware- the first thing I do is take off the lid and throw it into my sink- secondly I usually either get a whiff or a visual of what is in the Tupperware and am so grossed out I know that I could never eat anything that touched the piece of Tupperware that the expired food is in again- so I throw the expired food and Tupperware into the trash (forgetting to grab the lid out of my sink).
If anyone needs one of the lids pictured below for a piece of their Tupperware send me a message and I will get it in the mail :)
Hope you are having a great Tues.!

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