end of the day or part 3

We went to a friend's home for Christmas dinner. While there #5 spotted these lovely Lightening McQueen slippers and did not easily let them go. He has a love for shoes these days and car shoes are apparently even better!
You can see #3 and part of a blue object. That is a blue tub and all the kiddos took turns playing in and rolling around in it. It is usually used to hold toys in that house but if you are looking for a good gift for children 6 and under I would say a large tub would be a big hit!

As soon as we arrived #2 very happily took over baby care for a bit. She was quite smitten with baby L!

Thanks for having us over! It was good to see you again:)

Christmas Day Part 2

What a beautiful, sunny day. As per our tradition out here we have to spend some time at the beach!

We had some swim play.

Played with the sunscreen bottles.

Told Grammy 'Merry Christmas!' and applied sunscreen. Gotta keep up on our multitasking skills!

And played a little football(or at least catch with the football).

A wonderful way to spend the day!

How we spent our Christmas, Part 1

After things were opened there was much lego making to be done. #3 was taking a break to dig into his stocking for some treats(we got fruit and chocolate as it's all about balance, no?) Like #1's head band? His sister got it for him along with matching wrist bands which he wore ALL day. Who woulda thought that would be a hit? My kids spoiled me, due to such a wonderful Awana store where they spent their hard earned awana bucks on gifts for their family. I received 2 sets of earrings, a necklace, notepads, a pen, a beautiful slice of rock that I have setting in my window sill now and probably something I'm forgetting. They were very thoughtful in the gifts they picked out for each other too. Always nice to see that they are thinking good thoughts toward each other.

Of course the best gift is always the unexpected. Like say the box things come in!
and just because I like this silly expression.

#4 would open a gift and say with such sweetness "It's what I always wanted" That is until I tried to capture this on film. But while I can't share with you his sweet 4 year old voice sounding so thankful and sweet I did get one of his brother that's almost as good.



Don't you love the happiness in his voice and the smile over pencils?

Highlights from the week

I love this picture because #5 climbed right up on #1's lap. Not sure if I've seen that before. Sweet brotherly love:)


A blurry picture of a treat for the neighbor. Cinnamon ornament and chocolate pretzels.

#3 Lost another tooth..currently has 2 gone and 2 more loose. Love his smile. Here is the note he wrote for me; I guess he thinks I'm forgetful or something because he makes these signs for the table and they usually have the pipe cleaners standing straight up to catch my attention. It says"Mom dont frgot my tooth" and the tooth is taped on it.

Work Party

I was asked out on a date...... to go to James' Christmas party for work. No prizes were won by us but did have a good night visiting with some friends. Couldn't decide which picture I liked best and thought it be fun to post a few:)

love the laughter

there is a flower peeking out from behind me

and can I just say how much fun I'm having borrowing clothes and jewelry and stuff from my ladies out here! This happens to be my dress but most of the jewels(and I realize you can't see most in these pictures) are borrowed.....and I have many things in my closet that are on loan. It's so fun being a woman!! :D

Finding Joy

A friend was watching my children yesterday and when I picked them up she says, "I'd forgotten how this age(17 months) get excited about everything." What a lesson to us, to find Joy in the little things!

We had some yogurt and berries this morning. Little guy found a lot of Joy in the berries!






------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My daughter and I went to a Christmas Party last night. What a great time!

before the party

Mom-eeee

Yes that is what my youngest says over and over and over again. Some new words would be nice ;)
Oh, but I will be careful what I wish for.
I was cooking supper yesterday and he reaches up like he wants a drink so I hand him his cup. He looks at it and hands it back to me with a look on his face. I call him silly then realize what is going on. I was making Broccoli Soup. It was at the point that I had it in the blender to puree it. But to #5, well he is most familiar with me making fruit smoothies in the blender so that was why he was reaching up for the cup-thought he was getting a smoothie! Love that kid and he made me laugh! He did eat his soup and didn't seem the least bit disgruntled that it wasn't a smoothie :D

Romans & Snow??

We had a Roman Feast as we finished up our study of that time. A quick blur to capture that time. By this time of the evening I had redone everyone's attire about a zillion times and most had abandoned there togos;) #4 decided he was emperor and wore the red robe and a crown for most of the night.


Winter Wonderland 5 at church; kids had a blast. Didn't really take too many pictures because I was too busy talking story. At church Sunday they said they gave 350 bags out to children-what a turn out!!

"Hey, this stuff is pretty cool!" He loved standing on the edge and moving the snow around.



#3 working hard at creating a cookie Christmas tree.

#5 on snow


#5 touching snow

Thanksgiving morning we spent cooking and rocking the house. Our youngest rocker got a little sleepy...fyi it's a little hard to drum and having baby hanging on leg, sitting in lap etc. So the dad tried an old trick. At first it didn't look like it would work because little bit decided he wanted to try to play too.



But within minutes the little guy fell right asleep!

And I was even able to transfer him right to bed without him waking:)

We spent the morning dancing today. The first song felt like a total flop; yikes guess the Lord felt we(I) needed to be a little humbled.
#4 decided to come out after the song was over and walk in with us. OK not a big deal. I didn't dance the second song but #2 did. Beautiful! The last song I was out there again. Gave baby and #4 a snack thinking they'd be fine while I danced. Hmm, not too far into the song #4 comes out and is hugging my legs saying "mom I need a kiss". Luckily I wasn't too distracted by this as it is often I how practice-with someone around my legs or on my back(Mom's are persistent!) Not sure how long he was out there but did he wander off after a bit. Someone in the audience told me after that they loved that my child was pulling on my skirt in the middle of things.....just keeping it real I guess.:) Though I'm thinking I will make sure I have a mother's helper with me next time we dance there:D



Guess it's back to the regular schedule this week. Though I'm wondering if that's like saying you are normal? What is normal? What is regular? It is an appointment filled week! Should keep things busy and crazy which I suppose is the norm around here. Hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

When Bedlam Strikes, You Have a Choice…

I found myself nodding along to this post. I think we can all relate:)

When Bedlam Strikes, You Have a Choice…

It's been a bit of a break. I took a little trip to the mainland and had a great time in Dallas with my girls. Over 1300 military wives(probably some active duty ladies too-don't want to leave them out!) came together for an international conference. All of us are involved in a bible study called PWOC or Protestant Women of the Chapel(If you are near a military base call the chapel and see if they have a group!). Priscilla Shirer was the main speaker and Kari Jobe the worship leader. Great ladies, bringing God's truth forward. Many workshops to go to(Point of Grace held one and had a concert too!) and different Chaplains spoke over the weekend and just some great girl time. Reconnecting with ladies that have moved to other posts and strengthening friendships. I heard from many ladies how their husbands had greater appreciation for what they do after having to do it themselves while the wives were away. Bonus!
Maybe I'll dive into somethings I learned over the weekend but for now I am diving back into life. Kids missed me bunches, they are so sweet! Trying to get back into our school routine here. Which is always a challenge after a change of pace but add sick kids in the mix and well, I've decided to just change the schedule up a bit and not worry about sticking to Plan A.

#2 Danced "Give Thanks" on Sunday. I complimented her because she had a great big smile the whole time she danced. She said. "That's because Daddy came and he smiled at me the whole time and it made it easy for me to smile."
Awwww


A new hat from the trip. Each kid wears it a different way-that's what makes them unique!


#4 wanted his picture too.

Sadly I once again have the old camera. It takes a few ok pictures but then goes back to the hazy glow:( Guess a new camera is on my wish list:D

This and That

Kids

#3 comes up to me. "Mom my tooth is really loose. I didn't pull on #4 pants(with my mouth) to make my tooth loose."
Hmm, won't of guessed that's how it got looser if you hadn't mentioned it. LOL

*updated to add-he pulled said tooth out at nap time and has written a huge note to remind me his tooth is on the counter tonight.

`````````````````
I am going to a conference this week. So excited! It's for PWOCI, click on the link and you can find out who the keynote speaker is and a bit more. Last week we signed up for some workshops and I do know I got into one that was a first choice. Received an email today telling the name of the song we'd be learning. Guesses on what I'll be doing? Shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Yes, I am going to a dance class. The name of the class is Worship Our King Through Dance. I really enjoy the Praise & Worship Hula out here and thought it'd be fun to see how others worship through dance too. Name of the song we'll be learning is The Motions by Matthew West.

``````````````````
Oh fashion guru I am not. I also live in sandals out here. Don't even have any tennis shoes since my last pair bit the dust. So here I am going to the cold mainland in slippers. A friend talked me into getting some boots. So I went out got some awesome black boots with heels that zip of the side.....
Well tried them on today with a long blue jean skirt and just wasn't feeling it. Called my daughter in to see what she thought and she didn't like the look either.
So ladies I will need your help this week. Not sure if the look is just off or it's just me not use to the look on myself;) I'll play around with some other combinations as time permits...otherwise it'll just be me and my cold toesies this week!

Dancing for Him

or Hula no ke Akua

My oldest was on photo duty yesterday. It was a job he took on with relish; though I have to admit I was afraid he'd run the battery out before he got any shots of us dancing!

This one gives you an idea of some of the conditions of our surroundings. When we dance here we have people on all sides of us and some standing on hotel balconies to watch. It's really rather odd...

This was when we were running through "Salt and Light". It's always different to dance in the sand and bright sun, the balance is totally different. As you can tell by the expressions one of the guys that runs the service here was talking to us and totally distracting us! The actual performance went much smoother;)



The boy took several candid shots. It cracked me up to see what he took.
But seriously don't these haiku's make us look a bit like sheep dogs with the hidden eyes? :D Actually now that I look at it my head piece looks a little low in the back too :P





Dancing "I Can Sing of Your Love Forever"


The ladies and keiki of the halau who danced today.

Luau time

The kids and I went the Hale Koa Luau last night.
My favorite luau is still the PCC-better food and better seating in my opinion. I had to stand to see the show at the Hale Koa but a bonus of the show last night was the boys who had a lot of energy could run on the grass and play and not distract others.

With all their creations.



My kung fu fighter;)


Trying their hand at some activities.

Outdoors

We visited one of our favorite places a few weeks ago. Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

Just a few pictures to share.


The oldest found something to sketch in his nature journal.

#3 was impressed with the size of this leaf.

#2 thought it made a great umbrella.


I have been missing lately as I can't decide whether to keep up with the blog or not. Things around the home are going a little crazy which has me undecided. But I was at a conference this weekend and one of the workshops I took was about blogging...which has me interested once again;) So time to reevaluate!

Air show out takes

A week or two ago we went to an airshow. The kids had a great time until I made them sit on the Hot, Sunny, Black top to watch my favorite part : The Blue Angels!





Our little pilots.....




If we don't fly this one we could ride in the back.

Going for a ride with Civil Air Patrol?


The first plane we took a picture of because #3 loved the little plane!


I guess the little one lucked out with not one picture of him.....we will have to remedy that soon!