mele kalikimaka

Well our computer is still out of commission but I wanted to get some pictures on the blog of our Christmas...so here I am at Jason's work computer again. We started off the day with our now traditional homemade cinnamon rolls (recipe to come later)...Clone of a Cinnabon. I had a bunch of extra material laying around from a project I started a few years ago and never finished, so I thought it would be fun to make the boys matching pajama pants...then I realized this is why I don't sew clothes. The result was more of an 80's style balloon pant, but they still looked pretty cute Christmas morning.

It was fun watching the boys open their gifts. Our neighbors from downstairs, James and Troye, came up for a little bit to enjoy the boys excitement too....and have a cinnamon roll or two.Then we read the Christmas story from the children's Bible and sang happy birthday to Jesus. We each had a cupcake with a candle and blew them out.

Once the kids went down for their naps, the party planning began. We decided (with James and Troye) to ask anybody we knew that didn't have family in town, to see if they wanted to come over for Christmas dinner. So we set up our downstairs shared lanai to hold about 15 people and spent the afternoon cooking, baking and decorating. Our meal was basically Thanksgiving all over again with my family's traditional eats as well....shrimp and meatballs for pupu's (appetizers), sweet potatoes with cranberries (recipe to come later), and cherry mash and fudge for dessert. It was a day of celebrating with new and old friends. Christmas day to me is gathering of friends and family...with plenty of food and laughter...with some game playing thrown in.
Most importantly, this day means celebrating the birth of our Savior, the greatest gift and most joyous occasion. I am truly thankful for God always fulfilling his promises and the hope that brings.

what do I do without a computer?

Well unfortunately our computer has crashed. So I am sending this post from Jason's work computer. If it seems like I have abandoned this blog, it is only temporary.

So hopefully we can fix the problem soon and I can get back to my regular blogging.

the garden isle

We just got back from our mini-vacation to the neighboring island of Kauai. All I can say is...amazing. We got to Kauai when the sun stared rising and the roosters started crowing...literally. I guess after the hurricane of '92 the chickens were blown from their cages and have mass produced since then.

We stopped at this great playground (I think the greatest in all of Hawaii) and let the boys get some of that crazy energy out (kind of like the Mountain Maze for those of you who are from Chattanooga). They had a blast.

We then ventured on over to see the 80 foot Wailua Falls.

We then headed over to Puka-Dog for lunch to get their famous hot dogs...with their famous lemon garlic sauce and your choice of 5 fruit relishes. I actually heard about this place on the Travel Channel the night before we left. So of course we had to find it once we got there.

Our next stop was to Gaylord's Plantation and we got to take a carriage ride around the property. The boys thought it was the greatest thing since it was their first horse drawn carriage ride. They also had other animals there to pet but after seeing these donkeys chew the wood off the fence, the boys weren't too excited to get up close. This is Waimea Canyon...the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. Amazing to see and freezing at the top....3400 foot elevation. There was also Waimea waterfall which is 800 feet high...so high that the water was blowing away before it could hit the ground. We then made it back to our hotel in time to check in. We left the next day after swimming in the hotel pool for a little while. It was nice to get away and spend some time together as a family. Whenever they have $9.00 tickets one-way again, we want to go back.

christmas cookies

I wasn't planning on doing any Christmas baking this year because...well because I just didn't feel like it. So I don't know if it was because we are sans Jason these last couple of days and I wanted something to fill my time, or if the cool 75 degree weather got me in the baking mood. But I saw this recipe on another blog and really wanted to try it...not sure why because it is way too time consuming. But the best tasting cut-out cookies I have ever had...if I do say so myself.

It's not just your normal sugar cookie. It has a little bit of orange (or lemon) zest. Once it's rolled, cut out and put on a lightly greased cookie sheet...an egg yolk "paint" gives it some festive color and then it can be popped in the oven. By looking at the pictures you would think it would be a fun thing for little kids to do...but let's just say that Jude was told "no" a lot and finally was excused from the table with parts of angels and corners of stars missing...with the evidence smeared all over his face. But for Ethan's age and older it is a really fun project.

Once the icing was drizzled on the top, we got to enjoy eating them. Yum!

what are you saying?

Okay I realize that I have quoted my children a lot lately but I know if I don't write it down I won't remember all the cute things they say. This one is from Jude this time. He used to call airplanes "mi-mi" but for some reason lately it's "pee-pee". So I thought maybe potty training would be in our near future because he was constantly telling us "pee-pee". But unfortunately diapers will be a part of our life for a little while longer.

I told him that daddy is on an airplane (in other words out of town) and that is all he says lately when referring to his daddy. So yesterday he was saying at the top of his lungs while we were out and about:

"Daddy, pee-pee."

elf name

Christmas Elf Name


My Christmas Elf Name is







Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com


Gotta have a little bit of the south in there...

christmas songs

Ethan singing to himself: "snoooww-el, snooow-el, snooow-el, snoow-el"

**translation "Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel"

bug bite

Who knew a mosquito bite could result in an infection and two prescriptions? Well apparently the mosquitoes in Hawaii can. Poor little Jude seems to be the mosquito's choice for feasting...he is a sweet little guy. I guess Jude tends to have more of a reaction after being bitten than the rest of us. He has three big welts and one is infected.

You can't see it real well in the picture but his left foot is twice the size of his right. Of course this happens the day Jason is leaving town for a few days....it always seems like we get sick or something when he leaves town.

what do you get?

What do you get when you have 5 boys, ages 5 and under, in the same house all morning long all by yourself?

This...

and this...and lots of car and train noises mixed in with some arguing/screaming noises...which resulted in the trains being put away for the rest of the morning.

We then took a breather to watch Lassie...who needs all the new animated/computerized cartoons when you can watch a fun black and white sitcom that uses words like "gee whiz" and "good gravy".

And by the end they were all fed, happy and ready for a nap. Whew!

I love a good bargain

I might have to start a separate blog just for my fabric finds because I'm sure this isn't really exciting to read about but I had to post about this one. Lately I have been looking for vintage Chenille fabric for the bears that I make...kind of a shabby chic/super cuddly soft look. I've looked in fabric stores here...nothing. I looked online...way over-priced. So yesterday I was out browsing around at our local discount store (Ross-Dress for Less) and I found two comforters made out of Chenille fabric...the really cute kind...and for super cheap. Apparently no one else is looking for vintage Chenille comforters in Hawaii...but that's okay with me.

next lesson...spelling

Ethan (in a very excited voice): "Mommy, I spelled February!!"

Ethan just started memorizing the Days of the Week and Months of the Year. So I guess spelling words will be next on our list. But since we're just now starting with the at-family words it might be a while before he's spelling 4 syllable words.

hawaiian "snow" day

About once a year (during the winter season) we get these storms that bring in destructive and scary gusts of wind. So yesterday and all through the night we had 30-60 mph gusts, that at times felt like it was going to blow the roof off. But other than power outages (which thankfully didn't affect us) and power line and trees down, we all survived and are glad that it's calm...for now. We do have school closings and business closings due to the power being out which I know has inconvenienced a lot of people...but I kind of like it because it actually feels more like winter...only it's still warm and sunny and we are wearing shorts and t-shirts.

are you for real?

This is the DELUXE Miracle Jesus Action Figure...not just the regular one but the Deluxe. Its selling point is that it has "glow in the dark hands". And it's Deluxe because it has the accessories for the story of Jesus turning water into wine plus the accessories for the story of the five loaves and two fish. This particular action figure was given to Jason from one of the school moms...which is very thoughtful of her to give to him (although he laughed when she first gave it to him because he thought it was a joke....just a slightly awkward moment). But it has been sitting in Jason's office for quite a few months now and I'm still not sure what to think of Jesus action figures...it seems a little sacrilegious....especially when Ethan asked Jason one day "Daddy, can you get God off the shelf so I can play with him?"

Christmas parade Hawaiian style

a highschool marching band

Jude was just happy that he got to eat snacks all morning and watch the "co-co's" (motorcycles)go by.

Today was the Kaneohe Christmas Parade. We met up with our friends and found the perfect place to sit...a school play yard that was fenced in, yet still had a great view of the parade. The parade lasted 2 hours, so it was nice to have a place for the boys to run around when they got a little antsy (the parade wasn't super exciting).

sneak preview

Top 5 reasons why you should not take your Christmas pictures on the beach with small children, using a tripod and timer on your camera:

1. The time spent straightening, combing, brushing and fixing your "hair-do's" doesn't matter as soon as you step out onto the beach because the wind turns it into a "do" that looks like you didn't put any effort into it.
2. Children under the age of 5 can not hold a smile for 10 seconds waiting for the timer to go off...and it usually looks more like they're in pain or really mad.
3. You will more than likely see someone you know...and it will happen to be when you are posing during the 10 seconds of your timer...so a few of your pictures will be snapshots of you waving hi or turning your head to chat.
4. Telling a child 5 and under to not play in the sand while sitting in it is...well is pretty much impossible. So expect your children that are 5 and under to be covered in sand by the end of the picture taking.
5. Because of the noise of the waves you cannot hear the camera making the clicking noise when it takes the picture, so you sit there...probably a little too long...wondering if you can stop smiling and get up.

And this is what happens...try, try and try again.

my first customer

Business is open...sort of. I sold my first bear. It was for a friend of mine who wanted a gift for her 6 year old niece. So she asked if I could make a pink bear for her, and while I was out browsing for buttons and ribbon, I saw these cute little canvas totes that I thought would go so well with the bear...and what little girl doesn't want a cute tote. So I added the letter of her first name to the front and some ribbon around the top to coordinate. I added buttons made from coconuts for the bear's eyes (my friends request) which I actually like a lot better than the buttons I was using. So I'm now taking orders if anyone is interested.

gettin' the Christmas groove on

Since today is our traditional day for decorating for Christmas, I thought I would post a little Christmas music and dancing to get the party started. Thanks to my friend Anne for this fun link.

happy thanksgiving

artwork and handwriting courtesy of Ethan