Bits

On Easter Sunday Stan and I watched the sunrise from the beach next to our condo in Hawaii. As we watched the sky slowly brighten, I couldn't help but think of Elder Bednar's talk from this last conference. He talked about how revelation is often received in short and undiscernable bits of light that gradually stream into our lives. I loved this talk and I recognize that this is how I most often get revelation. As we have struggled and struggled with homeschool, mostly it's just been me, I've wondered and researched and prayed about what is best for our family. I would say that I'm pretty proactive in finding out different methods of doing homeschool. However, I was really stuck on something in particular because it felt right. The families that I talked to concurred that it was hard and that's just the way it is. They also mentioned how much their relationships have been strengthened with God and with their children as a result of all this struggle. This all sounds great, right? It does and that is why I stuck with it as long as I have. However, I finally realized, with lots of patient encouragement from Stan, that our family needed to do things a little differently. As I felt like I was banging my head against a wall and not receiving direction and answers to my prayers, a ray of light appeared. I realized that as I started listening to Stan and his perception of what I needed, the answers have started to come and it is so exciting! I was ready to give up homeschool altogether but didn't feel good about sending the kids back to school and they really don't want to go back. So, thanks to a wonderful husband and help from the Lord, we are finding a new path, one that will be right for our family.

Maybe the last Hawaii post

We got fried on our last day there at this great Waimae Beach. Stan was protecting his head. We both are still peeling from this day. It was the most relaxing day though.
Same beach. We had some good size waves to swim in.
Behind me is a tree that is near Waikiki Beach. The branches seem to grow down like vines and form roots. It was the craziest thing.
Same tree concept at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. This one looks like a fort. Good bye Hawaii! It was so much fun.

Hawaii Part 5-Luau

Cheesy picture of us that we took ourselves.
Food from the buffet at the luau included roasted pig, chicken, chicken long rice (clear noodle things), poi, salmon and some other fish, and the purple roll is a taro roll. That was my favorite item of the meal. It tastes like a regular bun, it's just made from taro, which turns purple when it is cooked.
A delicious pina colada smoothie served in this fresh pineapple

Celebrating Womanhood

Today is Mother's Day. I was reading something this morning that Sheri Dew said about the influence of all women. There are women in this life who won't have the opportunity to have children of their own. I am not one of them but I really appreciate the influence that all righteous women can have. Sheri Dew talked several times about our divine role as women and it included motherhood, whether or not you have your own children. I have a wonderful mother and I get to be a mother now, but there are many women in my life who have influenced me who are not my mother in the physical sense. This is a testimony to Sis. Dew's statement and ideas that we are ALL mothers. I hope that all women feel honored and special today, regardless of their circumstances. I'm grateful for all the mothers in my life who have given of themselves to help me in so many ways.

Hawaii Part 4-more PCC

This is the plaque underneath the fire hydrant from the next picture. If you click on the picture you can probably read it. I'm impressed with the dedication of these early Saints who were willing to heed the "call to Zion"


Fiji has some interesting stories of practices that used to take place. This is a picture of the King's house. His is the big bed and the best wife slept on the floor next to him. The king's house had 4 doors. One was specifically for him and if anyone entered through that door, they were killed. Also, if the king died the best wife was also killed to go with him. When they built the king's house, the three best soldiers were buried alive underneath the home so they could protect it, or something like that. Being mediocre in this culture would have been advantageous if you wanted to live.

Hawaii Part 3- PCC

Making poi (poy) This tastes very plain but I mixed it with some meat at the luau and it was just great.
canoe ride, our canoe pusher was from Fiji and knew Ryan, Stan's brother, we wrote his name down
Beke, our tour guide. She was from Mongolia. We were happy to upgrade our tickets so she could guide us around and help us manage our time. She was great. We had a family in our group from Calgary and a couple from Colorado. They were all very friendly and fun to be with.
The Polynesian Cultural Center was a favorite spot for us. I loved learning about all the cultures. More to come...

Hawaii Part 2

The flower looked like a bird, this one was mostly for the kids
Beautiful Sunset Beach
Everything is so green and there is foliage everywhere. I loved it
Not sure what Stan is holding.
We stayed on the North Shore near Laie and spent all of our time there except one day. We were so happy to drive out of the big city where there are tons of people and lots of traffic all the time.

Hawaii! Part 1

We upgraded our Cavelier for this. It was a lot more fun and worth the extra money. Stan enjoyed it much more than I did but I'm not sure I would ever want to own one, so it was fun to rent and enjoy the breeze and the heat as we cruised around. (We saw several trees that had buoys in them, anyone know why?)
Fun to see different kinds of trees, all without a trace of snow!

This one, and many others, grew around the power lines.
These kinds of trees are everywhere in Hawaii.

Disregard the face and look at the beautiful grounds and Temple in Laie
That's better
The whole street from the ocean leads up to the grounds of the Temple on the hill. It's stunning.
I LOVE HAWAII! The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there. The culture, due to the mixture of people is fun and interesting, the ocean was fun, and I loved that it is a civilized place. I would definitely re-visit Hawaii. There is a lot to do if you want to but there is always the beach.
As you can see from the pictures above, we visited the Temple, twice actually, and I could have gone again. I love the Temple! My favorite place on Earth to be. It was the best place to start our week long retreat. One lady in the Temple told me I was adorable from head to toe. That makes a pregnant woman feel pretty great.

The value of a great husband...

is priceless. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed having Stan physically and mentally present over the past several weeks. We knew having him in school, working full-time, and having a busy calling would be hard on our family but you never actually know how hard until you are trying to live through it. He just completed the first half of his MBA program and passed his big test! He is taking a break for a while and we are so grateful. I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate how much he helps me. Feeling like a single mom is so hard. I really respect those women who really are single moms. This post is just to praise Stan and his valiants efforts! He always wants to help and be supportive and now he gets to do it and it is so much appreciated by me and the kids! We love our husband and dad so much and are so grateful to have whatever time we get to have with him before he decides to finish the rest of his schooling.

One week

Only a week left until Stan and I are enjoying some sun and heat on the beautiful island of Oahu! I can't wait. The kids are also excited to spend a week with grandma and grandpa Wright.
And while I'm posting, I'll share our most exciting news:
A baby boy will be joining our family sometime in early September! We are all super excited. I was extremely relieved to find out he is healthy so far and growing as he should be. This is the first time we've ever found out the gender prior to birth. I'm excited to think of names. Joel has one suggestion he is stuck on. I actually like it too. I feel compelled to name this boy after someone in our family line with a really neat story. I'm on the hunt. Anyone who reads this that is related to us can offer suggestions...

LOVE this movie

They've just released a new version of the Joseph Smith movie online. It's awesome! A great way for others who aren't familiar with the beginnings of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the doctrines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xVw6PsSinI

Macy had a birthday

Macy is our child that really likes to play with toys. She asked for several different things but was never really set on one thing in particular. When she opened this Barbie set she said: "I was wishing for this!" It was so cute.


The kids did a great job decorating the cupcakes. We had just returned home from Calgary so I was happy for the help.
We are all so glad Macy is a part of our family. She makes us laugh, she's great at sharing and helping, and she's willing to let us know what she thinks and how she feels about most anything. I hope she doesn't ever grow out of any of it.
Sidenote:
Being around the kids ALL the time makes me wonder if I've always been this boring. Somehow in becoming a mother, I've set aside some things that have made me who I am, or who I thought I was. I didn't do it on purpose, it just kind of happened. Somehow I need to integrate my personality and interests into family life more. Any suggestions?

A little field trip

Stan had to visit Banff for work so we tagged along to help break up the monotony of our dreary winter. They have a museum there with real stuffed animals. The kids love that sort of thing. Here's some of the pictures we took while we were there. We learned that Banff was the first National Park in Canada, established in 1885 or so. The building that this museum is located in, was built in the early 1900s and it's the original one. It has been updated but it's a pretty neat place.
There were five different antlers that we had to indentify. We got them all right! Do you know what this is?
Macy liked all the animals except the dark grey wolf. She's just cute next to anything.
A little bit about the building.
And here they are after we visited one of the candy shops, in front of the museum. We stayed the night in Calgary at a favorite hotel that Stan stays at frequently for work and had a great time swimming. No pictures of the swimming. I seem to forget the work it takes to travel "alone" with the kids since Stan was busy, but I still think it was worth it to get away from our house for a couple of days.

Crossing the border

Today I became Canadian, officially, sworn in, citizenship card in hand. It was an interesting experience. I have recently been thinking about my border crossing experiences. Each time, I have similar feelings. As I approach the U.S. I feel excitement and anticipation and sometimes wish I could just live in my "home," the country where I grew up. I feel like I'm home when I'm there. But each time I return to Canada, I feel relief and a sense of "home," for this is my home now. This last time I passed back into Canada, the border guard welcomed me back to Canada. It was comforting to me.
So today as I was listening to the welcome speech in the citizenship ceremony, then promising to obey the laws and be a good citizen, and finally singing "O, Canada," I had mixed emotions. I felt like I was finally making that next and more official step into the new life I've already been living for several years. Thankfully I don't have to give up my U.S. citizenship but I can now actively participate here where I live. And I am determined to be a better citizen and to try to know something of what is going on around me.

One more, while I'm at it

Stan and I celebrate 10 years of marriage this year. We're going to Hawaii to celebrate. We are staying on Oahu. Those readers who have been, we would love some suggestions of must see places, or must do hikes, walks, drives, etc.

Houston

This winter has been long, cold, and dreary. I looked for a plane ticket to Houston, for fun, to go see my sister. The tickets were cheap! My mom and I went for a weekend in February and my dad watched the kids. I still sometimes can't believe he did it. He must really love me. The kids had fun and he survived the experience. My mom and I had fun with my sister. It was so much warmer than here at home. We enjoyed sunshine, quiet, a temple session, some yummy meals, and lots of good visiting time. We went to Galveston just to see it. It didn't look too devastated. I'm sure a lot of rebuilding has happened since Hurricane Ike in 2008. We had to go to the ocean because we were close. They have many of their houses built on stilts. Smart idea.

The excitement of Christmas

I LOVE these faces! Not just how excited they are but for what. They are so easy to please and it makes gift giving so fun. I hope we don't become too materialized that these excited faces only show for expensive or electronic gifts. I have to admit that sometimes Stan wonders if what I bought will suffice. Then he sees these faces and his confidence grows.... I guess I know my kids better than I think sometimes.
We also bought them a candy machine. We are going to help them start a business. Stan has been too busy and we haven't found a place to put it yet, but it will happen and they are going to learn in real ways how to manage money so they'll be prepared for real life when they leave home.

the kids find fun

I'm reading a book right now about creativity and how everyone can and should develop it. It is fascinating. All kids ooze with creativity and imagination and I think over time many of us lose it, for various reasons. Not everyone is or should be creative in the same ways, that's what makes families, workplaces, church groups, etc what they are. It's good to have variety. I've been away from blogging for awhile for no other reason than too lazy to catch up. So I'm making an attempt. These pictures show some of the kids creativity and their excitement and love for life. What is it about my life that I don't find as much joy as these sweet kids? I'm missing something big...

Brynn's baptism

Brynn was baptized on a blizzardy night in early February. Thankfully the roads were fine the day before so the grandparents could travel here safely. It was a special time for us and for Brynn. We are proud of her for making this decision to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is a great example to her siblings and friends. She even made invitations for all of our neighbors and several friends.

The Blind Side

I just finished reading a book that I found really interesting. It is The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. There is a movie made about it that I haven't seen. My sister-in-law was nice enough to edit her book with a lot of white out, so I could read it easier (I'm not afraid to admit that I don't like to read books or watch movies with a lot of swearing.)
A few things I really liked about the book:
-Tom Lemming, who is famous for gathering and compiling football stats to distribute to coaches, etc, began this dream without pay for 7 years! What sacrifice for something he really believed in and loved doing.
-this quote "what sets football apart from other sports is that what you don't see is often the most important thing." This is so true in many aspects of life. Motherhood is this way. Parenthood in general. I think many times in our lives as we give service, we do it quietly and unnoticed, as the Savior did.
-The Tuohy family was amazing. They LOVE sports, saw something unique in Michael Oher and helped give him the opportunities he needed to be successful in life They were mentors. They believed in him and helped in ways never could have happened without another mentor figure.
If you like sports, football especially, you'll love this. Even if you don't, the messages of the book were inspiring. (Remember there is a lot of swearing in the book. I'm not sure about the movie because I haven't seen it.)