Hawaii - Day 4

On Saturday, we climbed Diamond Head and visited the Dole Plantation.

The view from the top of Diamond Head

Pineapples grow on bushes! Who knew?

Banana trees

Some more of the flora and fauna at the Dole Plantation...

Hawaii - Day 3

On Friday, we drove to La'ie to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Getting ready to go

Waiting for the canoe pageant

The Maori (Aotearoan) canoe

Knot tying

Playing an Hawaiian bowling game

Rafting in "Fiji"

Standing tall in ''Rapa Nui" (aka Easter Island)

Starting a fire in "Samoa"

Near the end of a long day

After the luau

Hawaii - Day 2

We walked around Honolulu during the day Thursday. We saw...

A statue of Fr Damien outside the state capital building

Iolani Palace

A tree outside Iolani Palace

The State Supreme Court room inside Ali'iolani Hale

[Picture coming soon]

The cathedral Our Lady Queen of Peace

Tommy arrived in the evening from Philadelphia. We're all together again!

Hawaii - Day 1

We made it to Hawaii. Traveling there made for a long day, but it's worth it. Check out the scenery...


Tommy arrives on Day 2...

Friday Evening Dinner - Mediterranean Style

Here's what you can do with 5 minutes of instruction and the right ingredients. Makes abstaining on Friday something to look forward to...

It's a Greek salad, couscous, and white fish grilled in oil and lemon juice. Perfect for summer.

Summer reading for pre-teen boys

This topic came up at Faith and Family connect, and I thought I would copy my suggestions here, too, so I won't forget in a couple of years when Joseph is 10-13 and looking for good summer reading.

The Redwall series was big with our older boys at that age, too. They also enjoyed Fr. Finn's books--Percy Winn, Tom Playfair, Harry Dee (at TAN books). Also Narnia and the Hobbit. we waited until about 13 for LoTR, but it depends on the child.

I just ordered some George MacDonald fairy tales to read aloud this summer to our family, and have only just started the first one myself (The Princess and the Goblin), but so far I am enjoying it. I second the idea of reading "girls' books' aloud--or via mp3--great idea!--to boys. Our guys really enjoyed Little House books, Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm, and some of the Lousia May Alcott books--little Men and Jo's Boys come to mind--read aloud when they might not have gotten into reading them on their own. we do the same for Saint stories. The kids enjoy listening, but don't necessarily read on their own unless I assign them.

Do they like animal stories? Beautiul Joe, Greyfriars Bobby, and the Irish Red series are excellent dog stories. Horse stories about boys and horses: Misty of Chincoteague (a little easy) and the rest of that series, The Black Stallion and Island Stallion series'.

Hilda van Stockum's stories are all good reading--The Winged Watchman is an exciting story set during WWII in Holland. Our family--boys and g irl alike--loves her Mitchell Family stories. How about North to Freedom (the book behind the I am David movie)? Also, try Swallows and Amazons--kids living on an island for the summer, sailing. One use of "stupid" that was unnecessary and annoyed me, but otherwise a wonderful read. Just encourage them to stick it out past the first chapter; the story gets much more exciting.

For your 13-year old, maybe In the Shadow of His Wings? Read it yourself first and see. You might wait a year or two.

Small Successes

I have been feeling a serious lack of accomplishment lately. Inspired by Faith and Family Live, I thought I would step back and take a look at what is getting done around here, rather than focusing on what isn't getting done. So here are my small successes for this week:

1. Pet care: the guppy on my kitchen counter has a full jar of clean water and clean rocks at the bottom, as do the fish in the big tank in the living room. We did a 50% water change for them this week.

2. Tommy's birthday gift: the family/college cookbook is finally finished and emailed to him to print on his printer at school.

3. Thanks to my friend, Andrea, I found out where to buy cherry blossom honey! Now to get to the shop before they run out.

Okay, not so bad after all. We did accomplish something around here, even with John and Patrick away. Lifted my spirits a little, too, to write it down.

This week

I'm working on grades for the kids this week. It is a difficult and draining process for me, and one that I never enjoy. But Patrick's college applications will go much more smoothly next fall if he has grades on an official transcript. So I have to get them done for his sake, and for John's and mine, really. We will stress less during the application process if my part of the job is done.

And in the back of my mind, I'm pondering next year. Patrick's senior year with Meghan as a toddler who learned to climb stairs this week, even though she can't walk yet. It's going to be a challenging year all around. Matthew is ready for a bit more direction. Joseph is pretty independent, but only in third grade after all. And Katie starts junior high--7th grade.

And I wonder. Can I handle this again? I'm not getting any younger and I have been battling ear infections all winter that have drained my energy reserves. Granted, Meghan's personality is very different from Matthew's, just as Patrick's personality is very different from Tommy's. I'm dealing with a familiar situation, but differing needs all around. So it is hard for me to figure out how I'm going to make it all work so that we stay focused enough to finish well, but still enjoy our last year with Patrick at home.

Because we know how hard it is to get them back once they go away to school on another continent. Even if it is our home continent. :(

On my breaks, I've been reading, thinking, praying, pondering, looking for encouragement, ideas, solutions to this problem that is a bit of a cloud over my life right now. Then, this morning, I read this blog post, which inspired me to stop thinking and make a list. Which is an idea that if you know me, you will know appeals to me. :-) This weekend, I want to start brainstorming our most important needs and priorities. And then plan the coming year based on them. Not something I haven't done before, but something I haven't thought about in awhile.

I'm going to share the blog post with John when he and Patrick get home from Boy Scout camp. One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to leave his needs out of the equation. I am not meant to parent these little people he loves and helped create without him. But if I don't hear what he needs (and each of the older kids, too, for that matter), I will probably create some overly optimistic and highly demanding schedule for us all to follow next fall, and John's needs and priorities might easily be left out.

There's more, too. I can't forget the power of God's grace in our lives. I can't forget to trust that with prayer and discernment, He will lead us to His perfect plan for our year. The one that will help us achieve our highest priority for next year: getting our children one year closer to Heaven.

Maybe this is how I should spend my vacation: praying and talking, listening and planning, reconnecting and hoping.

Irony

It's the Feast of Corpus Christi, a Solemnity, but there's no priest at Misawa AB right now. So there was a Liturgy of the Word service, but no Mass. Therefore, no Holy Communion. On Corpus Christi.

It has been a sad and rather empty-feeling Sunday. Joseph commented this evening at dinner that it didn't feel like Sunday at all. We miss our Jesus.

Please pray for vocations to the priesthood, especially to the Military Archdiocese.

Vote for Meghan: Finals!

The votes are in, and Meghan is now officially one of the top 3 cutest babies in Misawa. Today's heavy rain and high winds have delayed the final voting until tomorrow (Sunday).

If you're headed to the American Day Festival, please be sure to Vote for Meghan!! (from the end of the parade until 3:00 p.m.; any amount donated to the American Day fund is accepted--winner is the one who receives the highest monetary contribution). Winners will be announced Sunday, at about 3:30 p.m. at American Park.

Cereal girl

Remember this Sesame Street song from the 80's?




Here's our version:

mmmmmmm...........

Buying eggs

A cultural tidbit from the grocery store.


Japanese egg packaging is different from the U.S.--10 eggs instead of 12 per package and in recyclable plastic containers. These seem to protect the eggs just fine. I never find a broken one. The thing I don't like that they don't close securely once the seal has been pulled off. Maybe I'm opening them the wrong way, but I can't figure out another way to do it. I have saved a few cardboard cartons from the eggs the commissary imports from the U.S. that I use for refrigerator storage.

Another unique feature: they stamp the expiration dates on top of each egg.


Eggs in Japan are delicious and very fresh. The yolks seem to be a bit more orange in color than American eggs, very bright when you slice hard boiled eggs or scramble them. The thing the kids like best though, is that there is no salmonella here, so if we bake with Japanese eggs, they get to taste the cookie dough.

Vote for Meghan!

Meghan has advanced to the second round of the Misawa's Cutest Baby contest. She was one of the top ten cute babies on base.

So we're getting out the vote for this week's second round. If you live here, please stop by the BX this week and vote for Meghan by contributing one dollar per vote to this American Day fundraiser. Thank you!!

Logical question

"Why do they not fight on the sidewalk?"

That's what Matthew asked when told that in Romeo and Juliet, the Montagus and Capulets were in trouble for fighting in the streets.

Then, giggling, he said "When I grow up, I'm going to name one of my kids Romeo." And then, after a second's thought, "But I hope he will not be so angry and doing all those things to get in trouble."

Dat!

Photo credit: Katie

Meghan has become very interested in the names of things around her. Whenever one of us is holding her, she points and says, "Dat," meaning "that" we guess, and waits for us to tell her the name of the person or thing she is looking at, but not necessarily pointing directly toward. It makes a fun guessing game.

She still loves ceiling fans and points at them to be named regularly. Also photographs, wanting to know the name of the person in the picture.

Today she has a rotten cold, but it isn't stopping her from asking "Dat!" In fact, we think the "Dat!" is what kept her from a much-needed nap. She just keeps pointing and asking and can't seem to settle down to sleep. Guess thar's what the drive to soccer practice is for.

Spring fever

At the moment, Katie and Joseph are sitting at the school table and singing the Larry Boy theme song.

Anything to distract from schoolwork.

The temp is about 10 degrees (C) warmer than yesterday and all they really want to do is go out for recess.

I'm about to let them. It's almost lunchtime anyway.

Lunch

Meghan is very interested in feeding herself these days. When lunch consists of brown rice cereal and whole milk yogurt, it's highly messy entertaining.

Want some? I love to share.

She's pointing at the pink rabbit in the bottom of her bowl. It always surprises her when she notices the decoration on it.

So tired!

Naptime is next. :-)

Lesson learned

It's not just having all the activities and appointments on a calendar...I have to check it regularly, too.

You would think I would know this by now.

Sigh...

How much?!

I was hopping around online today looking for a carry-on bag of some kind to use when we travel home this summer. Something smaller than an actual suitcase. Something large enough to hold Meghan's diapers, toys, books, and snacks, and my book, wallet, keys, and cell phone. Something that doesn't look like a diaper bag so that I might actually use it again in future travels.

I was shocked (seriously) when I saw how much this stylish bag costs--on sale no less. I could buy an extra round-trip ticket between Japan and home for that much!

Do people really pay this much for handbags? Yikes.

Being Tommy's Mom

Photo credit: Patrick

One afternoon about a year ago, I was at the gas station. A woman I didn't recognize approached me as I was filling our van with fuel. "Are you Tommy's Mom?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "Oh," she continued, "I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that he was there to help my daughter." She then told me what a good influence Tommy had been in a challenging time.

"Are you Tommy's Mom?" I had been asked a few weeks earlier by a different woman. "Yes," I said. "Well," she said, "You probably already know this, but he is such a great kid." And she proceeded to tell me how my oldest son's actions had helped her and her family.

A friend of mine who worked with Tommy last year reminds me every once in awhile how impressed she was with his level of responsibility in a challenging work situation.

In the wee hours of the morning on May 5, 1989, my first child was born. It happened in the usual way with an anxious phone call to a midwife followed by an anxious drive from Silver Spring, Maryland, down to Georgetown, John trying to drive both quickly and gently as we navigated the construction on the Beltway. Each bump set off another painful contraction.

We arrived safely, and about 3 hours later, so did Tommy. I was a night law student at the time while working full-time in a firm downtown. I was exhausted as I held that small, warm bundle. Exhausted and exhilarated. And frightened. And wondrous. "Hello, little baby, we love you," I had said before we even knew he was "he". I have continued to say it as we have gotten to know who "he" is.

He is a gentle young man with an open heart and a cheerful manner. He is a conscientious young man who is learning to make his own way in the world. He is a talkative young man who stops to listen to the difficulties of others. He is sometimes a slow mover, but takes immediate action when needed. He is a thoughtful young man with a lively sense of humor. He has had his share of hurts and troubles, but his spirit of perseverance keeps him looking up, his eyes on the eternal goal.


As a new mother, I was for a time uncomfortable with the name "Tommy's Mom". Influenced by the writing in popular women's magazines, I worried that it lessened my value, my dignity, to be labeled by the name of my child. I was young and ambitious and focused on worldly success. I wanted to be known by my own name for my own achievements. As time went on, I first accepted the inevitability of the name. Then I grew to understand that Tommy, and any of our children whose names have become part of mine, is a daily gift of grace and love to our family and to the world. In giving me this child to nurture and love, God did not limit my dignity. He increased it.

When I was first called "Tommy's Mom" I did not appreciate the honor that was being given to me. But I do now. When someone asks me if I am Tommy's Mom, I respond,"Yes," with a grateful, joyful heart.

Happy 20th birthday to my dear son. May God grant you many years.

New bloom

Two falls ago, we rescued a tree from the woods behind our house. It had been tossed in a debris pile, but I noticed that it was still alive. Getting it into our yard was quite a project. John dug a large hole to plant it in (Corretion: I have been reminded by Katie that Tommy and Patrick actually dug the hole. Sorry for forgetting your part in it, guys.), we cleared the debris off and then had to figure out how to get it over the fence. It was quite heavy, as the root ball was pretty much intact. Probably the only reason it survived for almost a year in that pile. After using the fence as a fulcrum to lever the tree over and into the hole, it was planted. It has been slowly coming back, growing more and healthier-looking leaves. Last year, it had a few blooms, but nothing like what we saw when we looked out the window this morning:

Photo credit: John

It is covered with beautiful, pale pink flowers.

Photo credit: John

Now we want to identify the tree. Camellia trees are common in Japan, and we think it must be some type of camellia, but I can't find a photo with flowers that look exactly like these online. Does anyone know?

Photo credit: John

I really hope it is a camellia. When I was a teenager, I read (and loved) a series of books about a wealthy g irl in the 1910s who named her car "Camellia" for the flower I think, but I never knew what the flowers looked like. If these are it, I can see why she liked them.

Photo credit: John

But I can't imagine the car was as lovely as the blossoms are.

A thousand words

Last Friday, we actually were up to a little more than playing hookey. We went out with my friend, Therese, so she could take photos of the g irls in the lovely matching Christmas dresses my mother made for them. And of Meghan in what we call her "cherry blossom dress", which Mom made for her to wear for Easter.

Meghan is not quite 11 months old, but we wanted to catch the cherry blossoms for her one-year-old photos.

It was a bit too sunny that day, and Meghan was recovering from a cold. It was also nap time. But Therese handled the challenges of the light and the crabby baby and the clothing changes with grace. Best of all, she took beautiful photos of our beautiful daughters. Not that we're proud of them or anything. ;-)

If you are in Misawa and are looking for someone to capture your family on film, I highly recommend Therese. She is a true artist.

Take a peek at Therese's website: http://www.thereseannphotography.com/

If you'd like to see her photos of our daughters, scroll down to the lower left of the page, and click on the set of photos labeled "Sweet Sisters."

Thanks again, Therese. :-)