morning silly

Sitting by the window on a rainy morning, waiting for breakfast to finish cooking.

#4: I smell something.

me: Do you smell the rain?

4: No, I smell Octopus

me: What does an Octopus smell like?

4: food


fyi, I was cooking oatmeal not any sea creatures;)

Beach Days

The water finally felt good to me! It's been a little chilly for my taste lately. Guess now that the heat is on, I enjoy cooling off more!

someone is avoiding the camera


just having some fun

he was happy to bury himself in the sand


Everyone now has a hat that fits so hopefully you will see more pictures of kids in hats. It's so bright out here I try to get the kids to protect their eyes and face when not in the water. They do pretty good for the most part....although the oldest managed to lose his somewhere. It's been lost long enough I gave up hope of it finding its way home;) Miss grows-a-lot now has a hat that fits her head and we are searching for a new swimsuit for her. Girls are so much harder to dress then boys! Trying to find something fairly modest and somewhat stylish(especially when mom is not handy with the needle) is sometimes a challenge!

We are dancing to a chant this Sunday; I think it was requested from one of the Chaplains that will be leaving soon. It's a little different than usual. We move a bit faster and have to speak(Hawaiian) a few times during the dance. It is actually a bit fun now(shh don't say I said that) and is quite the aerobic workout! You know when you've had a good dance-your legs and arms hurt;)


#2 just took a couple shots of the 'walk' in during practice. Oh, here's a 'fun fact' for you. Women whom are expecting are not suppose to wear leis, which is why mine is not tied.

Thai Tacos

Just thought I'd share a recipe since I haven't been around in awhile. We tried this tonight.

I think I found it through Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

It received a thumbs up from me. Kids ate about half the taco and then declared it too hot. I think they needed a few cups of water to eat it all. So next time I think I'll put in a little less pepper flakes in for them and a little more coleslaw mix for me. As it is I have enough leftovers for this week and the freezer since I don't think they'll be up to trying it again so soon. I think some cool watermelon would be a good compliment to the tacos!




A few pictures from Saturday. Went to the park to play, had the kids walk around the path with me once. Not sure it was much exercise for me as we had to stop every few feet to pick up different kinds of seeds but at least it was some movement. It was a hot day, summer is definitely here! But we did find there was some breeze at the park so if you didn't mind breathing in dirt it was kinda ok, lol! It's very yellow and dry around these parts.

Baby is 30 weeks along.

The cutest thing

Well, maybe not the cutest but it was exciting to get in the mail. So small, I had to double check the size as I can't imagine something fitting the diaper. Makes me all excited to meet this child growing inside me!

The kids met a clown and were each given a balloon animal. #3 and his parrot, it had been perched up on his shoulder but he took it off to buckle up and mama couldn't figure out how it had stayed their so perfectly before

#2 and her swan.

#4 and his rabbit.

#1 had a sword but it popped before pictures were taken.

I went to a ladies retreat a couple weekends ago. Pam Farrel was the guest speaker. It was a lovely time if you take away the fact that I can't sit comfortably for long periods of time;)
Saturday morning we had a sunrise bible time. Bagpipes on the beach-played to Amazing Grace.

Our Praise team, leading us in song.


#1 and his broken tooth. #2 in the background makes me laugh. A song had come on the radio that she had done hula too so she was doing the hand motions.

flu

I caught this on CNN today and thought I'd look for it to see if I could post it. The flu is nothing I would like to have now but it's a little crazy with the coverage IMO. Good hygiene people, good eating people and that will help your chances of fighting disease in general.

a praise report

I talked to #2's doctor today. Her ultrasound was normal and she is discharged from their care! woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LET'S HEAR FROM OUR PAST PRESIDENTS

The following is an excerpt from a mini Above Rubies newsletter.



Sometimes it is good to read the convictions of our past presidents. It reminds us to keep holding on to these convictions today, and not to let them go.

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports... And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion... reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." ~ George Washington

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." ~ George Washington

"But a constitution of government once changed from freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever." ~ John Adams

"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought if or us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." ~ John Adams

"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." ~ John Quincy Adams

"All who profess Christianity believe in a Savior, and that by and though Him we must be saved." ~ Andrew Jackson

"All history has proved that only those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord."

~Abraham Lincoln



"That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." ~ Abraham Lincoln



"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it." ~ Abraham Lincoln

"Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives." ~ Ulysses S Grant

"Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the supreme law."

~ William McKinley



"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

"I have always believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, whereby they have become the expression to man of the Word and Will of God. " ~ Warren Harding

"We do not need more intellectual power; we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more government, we need more culture. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen. If the foundation be firm, the foundation will stand." ~ Calvin Coolidge

"The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country." ~ Calvin Coolidge

"Democracy is the outgrowth of the religious conviction of the sacredness of every human life. On the religious side, its highest embodiment is the Bible; on the political side, the Constitution." ~ Herbert Hoover

"A splendid storehouse of integrity and freedom has been bequeathed to us by our forefathers. In this day of confusion, of peril to liberty, our high duty is to see that this storehouse is not robbed of its contents." ~ Herbert Hoover

"The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was given to Moses on the Mount... I don't think we emphasize that enough these days." ~ Harry S. Truman

"Today, prayer is still a powerful force in America, and our faith in God is a mighty source of strength. Our Pledge of Allegiance states that we are 'one nation under God,' and our currency bears the motto, 'In God we Trust.' The morality and values such faith implies are deeply embedded in our national character. Our country embraces those principles by design, and we abandon them at our peril." ~ Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." ~ Ronald Reagan

"The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated." ~ Ronald Reagan

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are... I'm from the government and I'm here to help." ~ Ronald Reagan