a little sprucing up

I made some new curtains for the kitchen after I found this really cute fabric that I bought before really knowing what I was going to use it for. After I figured out that my old faded, mildew-y kitchen curtain would be the place for it, I started brainstorming on how I would sew it. I had visions of red ric-rac, maybe some contrasting fabric, etc. But once I got to it I decided it would be easier to just keep it simple. Even so, I still think it adds some needed color to the window.


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state fish

Ethan has been learning Hawaii's state flag, flower, tree, fish, etc. these past couple of weeks...which means that Jude is "learning" them with us because he seems to pick up quite a few things from eaves dropping while playing in the other room. So after much practice by repeating it over and over again, Ethan and I finally memorized how to say the state fish. You're probably thinking how hard is it to remember the name of a fish, right? Well for some reason they picked the fish with a name that is 21 letters long...in English it is simply the triggerfish. I could have remembered that, but in Hawaiian it is humuhumunukunukuapua'a. So Jude is going to demonstrate the pronunciation here:

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

I played this song last night in our women's Bible study because our study was on Matthew 27, which is an account of Christ's trial and crucifixion. The gospel message in these words is so powerful that I wanted to share the song on my blog. To remember what Christ went through, for us, to save us from our sins; due to nothing we have done. What amazing, unconditional love to those he called! And what a merciful and gracious God! All praise and glory be His!

soldier Jude

Jude came up to me today in his "armor" and said "Hello your majesteen!" To which I replied "do you mean majesty?" "No," he said "your majesteen." And then I asked him "Are you Sir Jude?" To which he replied "No, soldier Jude." I love this kid!

And later today he told me he didn't want to be a puzzle maker anymore. But his new goal is to be a "painter artist".

Something else I forgot to record in this journal (but is very journal worthy) of our lives that happened back in January (I believe it was Super Bowl Sunday) was that Jude decided he was done sucking his thumb because he didn't want his teeth to stick out. And since then he has been thumb-free....that was it, no more thumb sucking. Not sure why that concerned him so much but that works for me. No more thumb covers or band-aids!

exam day

Today Jason took his exam for his Hebrew class which means....HE'S DONE!!! Can you tell we're a bit excited about it? This class was by far the hardest and most time consuming of his classes for his seminary degree. Learning another language is hard enough but when you're teaching yourself a language that doesn't even use English letters and is actually written backwards from the way we write...it can be a bit tricky. So all that to say "We're so proud of you Jason/daddy for finishing strong!" And since we had a little time to waste this afternoon we decided to take pictures of our excitement.

refinishing furniture

Refinishing furniture is something Jason and I have enjoyed doing together since we were first married. The point of some of these projects lately was to refinish and then sell...you know, make a little money. But we end up really liking the finished project and then keep it instead of selling it. It is now becoming a problem because of the whole small Hawaiian home dilemma. But we are going to get rid of a couple of other pieces in our living room so we can put these real wood pieces in.

So our latest project was a coffee table somebody gave us and it's been sitting downstairs on our shared covered lanai. So we decided to spruce it up a bit. It had that 90's natural wood stain with a watered down white wash finish...remember when that was so popular? We then stained it the ebony stain which we used for our table as well...just for the purpose of using the stain up.

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organizing kick

Well maybe not a major organizing kick because purchasing organizing containers is quite expensive. So I just tackled my sewing stuff since that was taking over our closet and bedroom floor (small house equals lack of storage options)...plus I had to drag everything out to find what I needed every time I wanted to sew something. It's quite fun to have a place for every little thing using cute little drawers and cubbies and plastic organizers...I think being a professional organizer would be such a fun job.


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gardening kick

I've been on a gardening/organizing/refurbishing furniture kick lately. So here are some pictures of my gardening efforts...more posts and pictures to come.

Strawberry plants which are actually doing very well here.

Lettuce and Spinach...just the lettuce has sprouted so far.

Our pineapple plant (from the top of a pineapple I bought, cut up and then planted) that has been growing for almost a year now...it takes about 18 months for one pineapple to grow. About 7-8 months to go!Cilantro and marjoram...cilantro is one of my favorite herbs!And the biggest tomato plant I have ever been able to grow here. Have you heard of the Topsy Turvy tomato planter? It really works! We have tons of blooms and I can't wait to eat some fresh tomatoes...I think I might just go out and buy a couple more of these.

He is Risen!

In Christ Alone (3rd and 4th verse) words and music by Keith Getty and Stewart Townend

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine: bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand;

'Til He returns or calls me home, here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.