A Step Heavenward

Christmas, Part Two

2009-12-23T22:22:00.003-05:00

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Christmas, part One

2009-12-23T21:36:00.004-05:00

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Chronicles of a Kitchen Alchemist, Part 1

2009-09-08T22:06:00.003-04:00

Recently, I caved and purchased this book. I use the term 'caved' because I had been afraid that if I bought this particular cookbook I would go a little nuts and become totally consumed with all the incredible possibilities for healthy recipes.

Since getting the book, I have made butter, whey, cream cheese, soaked blueberry muffins, and Kimchi. I have been amazed at the ease and simplicity with which these formerly formidable soaked and fermented foods came together.

This afternoon, I made Korean Sauerkraut, or 'Kimchi' as it is called there. I have never made anything like this, and this being my first foray into the world of fermented vegetables, I thought it necessary to chronicle my experience here.

For a little background, here is an excerpt from Nourishing Traditions (by Sally Fallon) about fermented fruits and vegetables-

"The ancient Greeks understood that important chemical changes took place during this type of fermentation. Their name for this change was "alchemy." Like the fermentation of dairy products, preservation of vegetables and fruits by the process of lacto-fermentation has numerous advantages beyond those of simple preservation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine. Other alchemical by-products include hydrogen peroxide and small amounts of benzoic acid."

Does this give me license to call myself an alchemist? I think I shall.

"Lacto-fermented condiments are easy to make. Fruits and vegetables are first washed and cut up, mixed with salt and herbs or spices and then pounded briefly to release juices. They are then pressed into an air tight container. Salt inhibits putrefying bacteria for several days until enough lactic acid is produced to preserve the vegetables for many months. The amount of salt can be reduced or even eliminated if whey is added to the pickling solution. Rich in lactic acid and lactic-acid-producing bacteria, whey acts as an inoculant, reducing the time needed for sufficient lactic acid to be produced to ensure preservation. Use of whey will result in consistently successful pickling; it is essential for pickling fruits. During the first few days of fermentation, the vegetables are kept at room temperature; afterwards, they must be placed in a cool, dark place for long-term preservation."
(all italicized text from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon)

The ready-to-ferment product!

Korean Sauerkraut, or 'Kimchi'

(from Nourishing Traditions)

makes 2 quarts

1 head Napa cabbage, cored and shredded
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 cup carrots, grated
1/2 cup daikon radish, grated
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey* (or use additional 1 T salt instead)

Place vegetables, ginger, red chili flakes, salt and whey in a bowl and pound it with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place them in two quart sized glass jars and press down firmly until all the juices come up to the top and cover the vegetables. The top of the vegetables should be at least an inch from the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days at which time you can put it in the fridge or cold storage.

Or, you can store the kimchi in your dungeon if you have one handy.

What, you don't have a dungeon?! Oh, how much you miss.....

While I was making this recipe, I saw that it called for using a meat hammer or wooden pounder to help the mixture get juicy. I had neither on hand, and so I went ahead and used the remnant of the daikon radish (which was at least 20'' long and 3'' in diameter) to pound it with. Yes, I just said to mash your vegetables with a vegetable. But, it works!

Well, there are some who do not appreciate my efforts.....

but hey, that leaves more for the rest of us!

Stay tuned for part 2, in which I shall attempt a %100 Whole Wheat yeast-less sourdough bread.

With Loving Memories...

2009-05-04T10:00:00.003-04:00

My dear Grandma (who was affectionately known as "GiGi") passed away early Friday morning, May 1st. She had battled the crippling effects of Alzheimer's for fifteen years. In her honor I am posting the slide show that was played at her beautiful memorial service this past Sunday.

We love you, GiGi.

A Recipe

2009-04-21T11:51:00.001-04:00

Strawberry Cake With Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed strawberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter and the turbinado sugar. Add the eggs, and beat for 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and the baking soda until the baking soda has dissolved. Add the sour cream mixture and the flour to the egg mixture. Beat well, then stir in the mashed strawberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched.

Icing:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Frost the completely cool cake any way you wish. You can also easily use this recipe to make about 24 cupcakes. Enjoy!

If you are like me and just don't do white sugar most of the time, it is definitely worth the splurge.

I think that it is so ironic that I haven't posted a single recipe on here, seeing as we bake and cook all the time. And later, so that my little blog will be healthy and will not perish from a sugar and cream overdose and a lack of wholesome food, I think I will be posting another recipe soon- either my favorite hummus recipe or whole wheat graham crackers. We'll see. :-)

Have a blessed day!
~Margaret

Sullivan's 11th Birthday Celebration

2009-04-21T11:00:00.006-04:00

Today is my third-youngest brother Sullivan's 11th birthday!! It seems like yesterday that he was just a little shy toddler, and now he's nearly a man! Here are some pictures from his birthday party this past Sunday.

This year (like last year!) Sullivan asked for his favorite cake- Strawberry cake with Whipped Cream Cream Cheese frosting, in the shape of a Lego. I tried my best to work with the fluffy frosting which is much different from the stiff decorator frosting I am used to, and it turned out pretty well. I was going to garnish it with strawberries, put Lillian and Zion got into them and ate 'em all. I am going to be posting the recipe for the cake and icing later today.

Israel, look at the camera!!

Good! Now....Zion!! What are you doing with your tongue?! Oh well. :-) That's Father and Papa in the background talking bees most likely.

I love how in this picture Israel is pursing his lips like he's the one blowing them out!

The cake is demolished, and served up....

...and started to look rather like one of those bad-for-the-environment factories that are so condemned these days. Odd....

The 11 one dollar bills that Grandma and Granddaddy gave to Sullivan, signifying his 11th birthday.

The first of three Lego sets! This one is a "Separatist Fighter Droid." Aren't you impressed with my knowledge of Lego Star Wars sets? Not that I even know what that means or even what a 'separatist' in Star Wars terms is. ;-)

Ooh! A big box!

The biggest 'surprise' was the set that Galen got and put together for him-

The Republic Attack Shuttle!!

They spent the rest of the evening putting together all of the sets, and they are still playing with them today. Right now, in fact. I hear them upstairs making all the sound effects.

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, SULLIVAN! I LOVE YOU!

Easter (or, also known as, better late than never!)

2009-04-20T21:31:00.008-04:00

Yes, it is a bit late for an Easter post but I must recount our....interesting....Resurrection Day!

But first, you must allow me to show you this picture of the newest (and cutest!) mascot for Chick-Fil-A.
Okay, so maybe Oliver is not a mascot, but he is modeling his new cloth diapers. These happen to be the fancy schmancy ones with the cow print. He is so cute that if he wasn't sleeping right now I would have to get up from writing this and go squeeze his cute little cheeks.

I love babies....

Anyways, back to the program....ah yes, Easter Sunday!

Lillian with her two Easter Eggs in the shapes of sharks. One was named Ginger, and the other was named Bruce.

Excitement! The children rip through the contents of the Easter baskets at record speed. Oh, and Lillian and Zion think that it is so funny that *SPOILER ALERT* Mother is the Easter Bunny!

After miraculously leaving for church on time, Father navigated us along the curvy road. Everything was going fine until we neared Tennessee, and then the call made its way through the car like lightning-"Israel threw up!" And it wasn't just on his pants-it was all over his shirt, pants and seat. We concluded that it was probably a result of his not having enough breakfast, having too much candy, and being rather carsick. It was not a pretty sight! That fragrant smell floated through the van, causing all of us to bury our noses in our laps in disgust. When we finally made it to church, Everyone except Israel and Mother went in. Poor Mother had to spend the first half of the service cleaning up vomit! Unfortunately, it would not be the last time that day that someone threw up...

As I was walking out of the service to check on the situation in the parking lot, Mother came down and said that he was going to have to have new clothes. So, I went with them to Wal Mart, which was actually open, and sat in the car with Israel and Oliver while she ran in to get jeans and a shirt.

When we got back to church, we could hear the final song playing and so we waited for the others to appear. They finally did, and so we set off for lunch.

Of course, all the restaurants in Boone except McDonalds and the China Buffet were closed, and so we opted to buy lunch supplies at the grocery and picnic at the park until we would go to the Taylor's house. It turned out to be very delicious lunch, and all the boys needed to get out some energy on the park anyways.

Surprisingly, we were the first people to arrive at the Taylor's, and Summer Grace immediately showed us her room. Lillian and Zion loved to play with her dollhouse, and she graciously let them play with her other toys. I stayed in there for a good while, watching them play, and considering my somewhat socially awkward nature, it suited me quite well for a time and then they all wanted to go outside and play. Lillian loved swinging and so I sat there observing all of the other boys and girls playing. I like doing that.

Anxiously awaiting for the hiders to finish hiding!

Then the children hunted eggs, and I took pictures of the mayhem.

Lillian is there in the middle with her blue dress I made for her from Mrs. Chancey's Girls Regency Pattern. Isn't she cute?

Israel strikes a typical pose with his very full Easter basket.
I love the look on children's faces as they eagerly hunt the eggs

Sullivan checks out Lillian's spoils

"Look, money!"

Finn and his easter eggs!!

After the hunt I went over to 'the bar' where the girls were trying to out-do the boys in standing on the bar, swinging off the bar and landing it, etc. Sound familiar? :-) It is most entertaining to watch. During this time, Wyndham was walking by and told me that Israel cut his foot pretty bad, if I didn't know about it already. At this point I was not surprised in the least.

I made my way over to Galen who was standing near the house to get the scoop. Apparently, he had been running around in the woods (barefoot, of course!) and he slipped and got a very nice puncture wound on a jagged stick. When I asked him how bad it was, he replied,

"Yeah, well......the fatty layer is hanging out, and....."

I didn't stick around to hear the rest. This was beginning to remind me of the Israel incident at Lucy and Pat's wedding when he gashed his head. We just seem have a knack for getting gashes or rashes or throwing up.

Are you tired of hearing about throwing up yet? :-)

It was not long after this that we gathered everyone to leave, because we still had to bake for the coffee shops that evening. Once we got home, everyone went outside except the bakers and we made muffins and cookies for Baldguy.

When we were through, Mother heard a gagging sound coming from the bathroom. She went in, and nearly screamed at the sheer volume of....well....vomit that covered the toilet, the rug, and splattered on Zion's clothes.To say the least, he missed, and quite badly, too. This time we thought that the cause of his upset stomach was that he had been jumping on the trampoline directly after eating and drinking a lot of water.

It was shortly after Father cleaned up the mess that the nursing home called about Gigi being rushed to the emergency room. It would be the beginning of a long week, to say the least!

But we survived.

A Prayer Request

2009-04-14T11:56:00.003-04:00

On Easter Sunday, we got a message saying that Vivian (affectionately known as GiGi), my Grandma on my Mother's side, was rushed to the emergency room, with no further details. Mother immediately called the Nursing Home where she has been staying to see if she could get some details. They said that apparently she had choked that afternoon and was really having trouble breathing, and so they rushed her to the hospital where she 'crashed' and completely stopped breathing. They put her on a ventilator. She is still in the hospital where early this morning they took her off of the ventilator but she might have to go back on it because she has times where she will still stop breathing. Mother was with her there with Oliver all day yesterday, and might have to stay all day today. Please keep all of us in your prayers, especially for strength and peace for my Mother as she is with GiGi at the hospital.

"Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;

‘For the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation."
~Isaiah 12:2

Hawaii-Coming Home!

2009-04-03T19:13:00.004-04:00

We boarded the plane, and after a long delay of about 30 minutes during which they were trying to fix some luggage woes, we were off into the inky blackness. I sat by the window, enjoying watching the golden lights disappear into the night from the islands. Kate was in the middle of the 3 row seats we sat in, and sat next to a man to her right.

After the plane took off, the lights dimmed as we ascended higher and higher into the clouds. All the passengers curled up as best they could; most had either brought flannel blankets with them or purchased the $7 blankets that the stewardess was selling, because the airlines no longer give you a blanket to use. As I first watched them, I thought to myself, "Oh, I won't need one of those! It's pretty warm in here right now, anyway!"

But, like many a time, I was wrong. As we got higher and higher, and finally reaching 35,000 feet cruising height above the pacific, it got cold. Very cold. What a simpleton I was not to think of bringing a blanket! Kate had one of her great ideas, and picked up the plastic bag full of thrift store finds and offered me a little girls' skirt to cover my shivering arms with. She used the middle eastern jacket/dress she had bought for Emily to keep warm, and then she appeared to fall back asleep. Me? Well, let's just say I tried to. The cold wouldn't have been so very bad if the window hadn't been so near me. You could feel the cold air coming out of it like it does after you shut the refridgerator door and the cool air escapes out. I switched the little skirt from arm to arm, and after noticing I was a bit warmer, I tried in vain to get in a comfortable position in the decidedly uncomfortable seats, I turned on my iPod and listened to harp music. I felt myself nod, and then, a while later, I must have woken up after sleeping, and I stretched my legs and looked around. All about the cabins, people slept. There was a row of three girls across the row from us, and I saw that all had that calm, smiling expression that sleeping people do. I looked back, and saw that the family behind us was fast asleep, too. Then, the asian family in front of us was asleep too, their little girl who sat directly in front of me had peacefully fallen asleep on her Mother's lap. I saw Kate, and she looked so cozy and snug, all curled up like a kitten. The man next to her, who was very quiet, was fast asleep as well, arms crossed, legs straight out across the aisle. As I looked across the aisles and aisles of peacefully snoozing passengers, I thought,
"Everyone on this plane is fast asleep except me!"
I tried and tried to get some sleep. At one point, I was so desparate, that I covered my purse with the 3T skirt and put it on the seat tray in front of me. No dice.

I was not really tired at all, but feared the zombie that I surely would become if I didn't get any sleep at all. Why, I didn't even know if I fell asleep in the first place!

About 4:00, the cabin began to wake up. Very gradually, heads began to pop up, the faint sound of yawning was heard, and little snatches of conversation floated across the aisles. Kate woke up, and we talked a bit about how terribly cold it had been. Turns out, she had been quite cold the whole time as I had been, and didn't feel as if she got very much sleep at all.

Well, if you're still reading this.........

The man sitting next to Kate was still fast asleep, and it had seemed as though he slept the whole time, or so it would seem. This would not be any problem except for the fact that I needed to go to the bathroom. BAD. I drank way too much water at dinner and before we took off, but I told her that when he moved and woke up I would try to get out and walk my wobbly legs to the nearest restroom. Finally he woke up, and I jumped at the opportunity and asked him if I could get by.

I walked back down the narrow aisle from the bathroom to our seats, and squinted to see which heads were my rowmates. (is that a word?) :-)

There they were! As I stopped next to our row, I prepared to ask him if I could get by again. Then, to my horror, I realized that he had fallen asleep. Again. In those few short minutes that I had been gone, he was fast asleep. I said excuse me, and he didn't move. His legs were blocking the narrow aisle, and I couldn't get by that way. Standing next to the aisle for a few awkward seconds, Kate reached over and motioned to the armrest that was still in position next to his right arm. Immediately, I saw what she had suggested. Before I even knew what I was doing, I stepped on it, and gently swung my other limb over the man and landed half on my seat and half on Kate's lap. We both held our breath for a split second following the jump, waiting to see if he would waken.

He didn't even twitch.

We burst out in a bout of surpressed laughter, as quietly as humanly possible. I returned to my seat, and then noticed that there was light to be seen outside, at 4:00 am, though it was. I pulled the shade, and marveled at the sun, shining on us there, and figured we must have been nearing L.A. We could soon see that we were no longer flying over the pacific, what we saw were canyons and the desert like landscape of Nevada and Arizona. Finally, after seven hours, we saw the familiar landscape of the Phoenix area, and after an uneventful landing, we exited the plane, very groggy and tired. We had a quicker layover due to the delay at the beginning of our flight,and so had time to go to the bathroom and eat some breakfast we had packed. Next, after setting my watch ahead 3 hours to the local Arizona time, we boarded our plane home, a 3 hour 20 minute flight to Charlotte.

On this plane, the seats were much more comfortable, and Kate sat by the window and to my left was an older lady who spent most of the flight on her little laptop she put on the tray in front of her. I videoed take-off for my brothers, and after that we listened to music and tried no to fall asleep for a majority of the flight time.

We had another incident with those airplane bathrooms. We both needed to go to the bathroom, but we felt like we shouldn't ask the woman next to us because she had just ordered her lunch and had it sitting next to her laptop on the tray. The problem was-she never ate it! Kate and I kept waiting, and finally we could wait no longer. Thankfully, she was very nice and when Kate asked her if we could get out, she joked, "No, I'm afraid your'e stuck!" and then she let us by with a smile.

Once we got out, we stood waiting for the bathrooms to be open as the plane started to go through some turbulence while we stood there. It was fun! I like turbulence, because it makes the flight less monotonous.

While I washed my hands in the bathroom, I looked in the mirror and my greasy-haired, tired-eyed reflection stared back at me. After I was done, the plane went through a bout of turbulence so bad that the flight attendant came on over the loudspeaker saying that everyone needed to return to their seats. I stood for a second more, adjusting my necklace as the bathroom lurched about me. Have you ever seem Mary Poppins? Remember the part when the cannon goes off in the captain's house near the Bank's home as it does on the dot everyday and sends their house in disarray? In the next scene, we see Mr. Banks smoothing his tie in a mirror as it moves side to side. That is just what it felt like. As Kate and I returned to our seats ironically, the turbulence stopped, and we had fairly smooth flying until we got near Charlotte.

Armed with a map of the EXACT location that our Mothers and Jenny would be, Kate and I set off for the bistro near the baggage claim. Straining for the familiar faces in the crowd, I finally saw them, sitting at a table at the foot of the escalator, talking. I think that they expected us to be coming on the escalator because they kept glancing at it as they conversed. We were actually coming from the right of the escalator, unbeknown to them! Kate and I walked right up and stood there for a split second and then, quite surprised, Kate's Mother, Mrs. Barry, turned around and saw us and said, "Oh my goodness, you're here!!!"

This produced a flurry of activity-hugs, kisses, and joyous exclamations. I was so indescribably happy to see my dear Mother and my little brother Oliver!! We talked and talked, and hugged some more, and then we all left the airport. Everyone being considerably hungry, we stopped to eat at Moe's, which, in case you have never had the pleasure of eating there, is a fantastic Mexican restaurant that is a cross between 'fast' food and a sit down dinner. Everything is so fresh and yummy, and they have at least 5 different kinds of salsas in which to dip your chips.

Talking about our adventures all the way, Mother drove us all home, which was 2 hours away from Charlotte. I don't know about Kate, but I sure had trouble keeping my eyes open!! After dropping Mrs. Barry and my sister (I mean....good friend!) Kate, Mother and I headed for home, which is, without a doubt, my most favorite place on earth.

When I arrived home, I was first greeted by a flurry of fireworks specially picked out for my by my sweet brothers. Then Father, Lillian, Zion, and Israel all rushed out to greet me, despite the lateness of the hour. After many more hugs, kisses and joy, I was led inside where I found the house so clean it gleamed and the walls were decorated with beautiful handmade posters covered with drawings of sea animals and tropical scenes. Beautiful vases of daffodils perfumed the room, including a special vase at my 'spot,' along with a welcome home sign and a sweetly scented candle. I truly believe that I have the best family in the entire world! I don't know what I would do without each of them, and I am so grateful for their sacrifices they made while I was away.

It was definitely an adventure, but coming home is the best part of all!

Hawaii-Monday, Day Ten

2009-04-02T10:23:00.004-04:00

Since I didn't have the time nor internet access to post a recap of Monday, our last day in Hawaii, I will do so now.

Our last day we woke up with a thrill of excitement as it was our last full day on O'ahu, because we would be leaving Hawaii that night for Phoenix at 10:55. From Phoenix, we would go back through Charlotte, and, after being picked up by our dear Mothers and close friend Jenny, we would finally be home. I printed out the tickets that morning, which was the earliest I possibly could, mostly because I had a nightmare when we first arrived that their printer was malfunctioning and ran out of ink and Kate and I were stranded in Hawaii for another couple of weeks. :-)

The day started rather early, because Embla had horse camp at 9:00 which was 30 minutes away in Waipahu and we did our best to help get them ready. Kate and I did not go with Arnheidur, George and the children, for we preferred to stay behind and pack for our return journey.

Before they left, Embla presented us with two beautiful hand-stamped paper bags full of hand lotions, chocolate covered macadamias, some slippers for Kate and a some bath gloves for me. Arnheidur had also included two hand-stamped thank you cards for us. I was so surprised and touched by her sweet gifts! We hadn't even been expecting them, and that is because she had assembled the gift bags the night before when we had been sleeping. Since I am a big postage stamp collector, she also gave me a giant bag full of old domestic and foreign stamps to add to my collection. Arnheidur sells rubber stamps as well, and so she gave me some new stamp sets to try out when I got home. I couldn't thank them enough for their generosity and willingness in letting Kate and me come take care of her home and two children!

That morning was a very, very quiet one, and I savored every moment of it! Kate and I both packed and cleaned the house a bit for when they came back, and also made sure we had everything that we brought with us, because the plan had been that we would be picked up by George and Arnheidur later on and would be out seeing the North Shore all day until our departure that evening. It should be mentioned that after cleaning up the kitchen and straightening the house a bit, Kate and I made the most fantastic smoothie I have ever eaten. We used the leftover frozen pineapple, mango, and kiwi from their welcome home breakfast, as well as some bananas to thicken. It was so utterly delicious, and it was a good thing we had that late snack, as you will see by and by. We went for a last walk up the beach, and talked a good deal.

When George and Arnheidur came back home at 10:45 am, we were ready for them and George heloed us stow our belongings in their van. We closed the door for the last time, hoping that we remembered everything we had brought. With the exception of a last-minute panic when I realized I left Mother's running shorts in the dryer and, later on, Kate's suspicion of her leaving her very nice water bottle behind, we left nothing that we knew of. We drove to the North Shore, which was a relatively short drive-O'ahu is not as big as I thought! Before we got there, we stopped at the Dole plantation ( a big 'tourist trap') which turned out to be a really neat place to go. We saw how they grew, sampled some of the succulent pineapple, fed the giant pool of fat Koi near the dole gardens, and watched a demonstration on how to cut a pineapple correctly (with the special pineapple knife they sell for 5.99, of course!). Since both of our Fathers keep bees for the OWNER of Dole foods, it was only appropriate for us to go there. "We have a connection to Dole that no one else here has!"

Next we journeyed to a Soap Factory, a very fragrant shop full the heady fragrance of bars and bars homemade soap. We were able to imprint a soap sliver with a stamp that said, "North Shore Soap Factory" as a souvenier to take home. Next was a coffeeshop that sells Kona coffee as well as chocolate grown right there in Hawaii. We even got a tour of the coffee process and saw how the cacao bean is grown, from plant to wrapper. Then I sampled some coffee, and made up my own Baldguy-worthy iterpretations of the flavor and aroma. "It has a mellow dirt beginning, a hazelnut middle, and a bitter chocolaty finish."

Then everyone had shave ice save Kate and me, because, to be honest, we were a bit tired of the stuff. I was starting to get really hungry, because it was well past lunchtime. Not for chocolate, shave ice, or coffee, but real food. In the car on the way to the beach, I offered Kate one of the chewy granola balls I had made earlier and then asked her if she was hungry and she said she was hungry as well. We both decided that if we went shopping with Arnheidur later we would ask to get something quick to eat. They let us off for a little while at the North Shore, where everybody goes surfing, and Kate got some great pictures and I took some video of some guys surfing for Father to see because he is a big surfer. We headed back to the Ewa Beach area for Embla's soccer practice, and as we drove I even got some footage out the window of the actual mountain pass that the Japanese planes passed through on their way to bomb Pearl Harbor.

Arnheidur dropped George and the children off at her soccer practice at 4:00, and then she took Kate and me shopping at some of the thrift stores in the area, because we LOVE thrift stores. At the first one, most of the skirts I liked would have been too big at the waist, and Kate noticed the same thing with the skirts she looked at. However, she did find some cute skirts for her little sisters to have as well as a cool looking middle eastern coat made of a silky material for Emily. These simple thrift store items would save us late on, so remember them. They're very important.

Our next stop we found nothing we liked, I think that for me it was mostly because all I could think of was how hungry I was , because it was now 5:45, and that yummy smoothie was long gone. My brain goes nuts when I don't have protein. I was surprised I could even remember my name at that point! Thank goodness I remembered that there was a subway near to the Goodwill store we had just perused and we asked Arnheidur if we could go in and she said that that would be fine. The ladies working at subway must have thought that I just woke up from a nap because I was so out of it! Their experitse at quick assembly and lightning fast service didn't help matters.
"What kind of sandwich would you like?"
"Um, whole wheat bread, please."
"No, what SANDWICH would you like?"
*mentally knocks self on head*
"Uh, turkey breast with.....ah, provolone?
Then she talked at the speed of light at the condiment and veggie section.
"Mayo, Mustard, Honey Mustard, Vinaigrette, or Salt and Pepper on it?"
"Um......honey mustard?"
When we got to the veggies I almost wanted to say, "Just put everything on it. I'll eat it!"
but I just tried to name just a few of my favorite vegetables for her to put on it to speed up the process. The whole thing, from bread to paying, took about 3 minutes, and we were out of there.

After being horrified to learn that Arnheidur had nearly crashed trying to park in the parking lot, we hurried back to pick up George and the children. The sun was setting, and we were racing it because the park closes at sundown. On the way we forced ourselves to eat our 6 inch subs, and I don't think anything has ever tasted so good. After getting very near to the park, Embla called and was wondering when her Mamma would be there, and so Arnheidur had Embla count to 100 in Icelandic with her on the phone and before she got to 40, her Mamma was there to pick her up. I asked if we had time to stop by Foodland, and they said that would be fine, since George needed to get some milk and eggs as well. We got some power food-veggies, granola bars, almonds, and some apples to take on the plane so we could avoid the mediocre $7 airplane snacks and terminal food. We headed off to a Italian restaurant but we girls were not very hungry so we just ate a few garlic knots (heard that before?) :-) Then we were off to the airport. We walked over to the security checkpoint, and, after a bunch of pictures were taken of everyone, we said goodbye and thanked to them all for their hospitality an willingness to entrust two teenagers of their home and children. Arnheidur made sure we made it through security alright, and, seeing that everything went okay, waved a final goodbye. As we left the security checkpoint, a petite Japanese woman asked us if we had any fruit with us. I looked at Kate and said "no", but, as soon as I had said it, I remembered that I had those apples in the carry on. How stupid!
"Oh, actually I have apples."
I said to her.
"Oh, well yes, that would be a fruit."
*mentally smacks self on forehead*
She said any fruit from Hawaii was not allowed to be taken on the mainland, so she had to conficscate them. I later realized, as we were sitting waiting to board, that those apples were WASHINGTON brand granny smith apples, grown in Washington, and were not from Hawaii. In fact, we amusingly thought, if they were really worried about the ecosystem of Hawaii, they wouldn't let the apples from the mainland into Hawaii in the first place. Our section was called, and we hopped on the plane.
To be continued...

Hawaii-Sunday, Day Nine

2009-03-30T04:30:00.006-04:00

Forgive me for the brevity and perhaps rambling nature of this entry, but it is quite late and my brain and energy is spent-I will expound further after I am home.

We (that is Kate and I) started off the day nice and early at the workout room with an energizing workout I made up. When we got back home at about 7:15, Embla and her Mom were getting ready to go to horse camp, and Kate and I stayed behind along with George and Ellert. Kate and I walked on the beach and pretended to relax. ;-) Relaxing is just so boring!

At about 10 I made our favorite snack, chewy granola balls, to take with us on the plane the next day or for a quick snack. Before I rolled them into balls, George showed us a neat video he had recorded on the TV about the attack on Pearl Harbor, which was miles away from their home. It was very sobering, but it was nice to see the stories behind the places we would be going to that day.

When Embla returned from the horse camp, it was time for us all to go to the birthday party she was invited to. Arnheidur needed something for the party we were going to so she took the chewy balls which were a big hit because we didn't bring any home!

While they were partying, George took Kate and me to see Pearl Harbor. We went to the U.S.S. Utah, and then saw the actual hangars used in WWII and the bulletholes from the attack. Next was the Oklahoma Memorial, a beautiful site made of marble. Then was the Arizona Memorial, which you had to access by a ferry. Before that there was a very educational museum about the site. One thing that struck me were the amount of Japanese people visiting the area. I wondered what their take on it was-Do they feel proud of the of the attack? Were they proud of their country as to watch the explosions that killed hundreds in a split second? Did they feel a sense of pride in their country when their commander told the forces to "...kill every American soldier without mercy" as they visited they very country that their own was so decidedly opposed to?

Anyways, it was so amazing to see it resting there, on the bottom, right where it was decades ago. There are some 1,300 men still buried in the wreckage and so it has been declared a gravesite.

We went back to the party and they were nearly done. Next, we went to a restaurant that was dubbed my favorite restaurant of all time. It's smack dab in the middle of Waikiki beach, airy and fresh, and you grill your own meat complete with any spices you prefer. If that's not enough, they had a giant salad bar, complete with more than salad-ciabatta, fresh pineapple you can grill, a bean salad, potato and pasta salads-it was all so delicious!!

Well, tomorrow I leave for HOME at 10:55 pm Hawaii time! I am so excited. Paradise is nice, but home is the best! I am so ready to leave for various reasons, and I can't wait to see my dear family again!! I have missed them so very much in the past 11 days.

Hawaii-Saturday, Day Eight

2009-03-29T02:14:00.004-04:00

We went snorkeling today.

If you know me, you'll know that I can take anything as long as snorkeling and water play is involved. Today I was ecstatic to find out that we would indeed be going to Hanauma bay!! But first, Kate and I made a delicious welcome home breakfast for George and Arnheidur-eggs, toast, bacon, fresh fruit (kiwi, mango, and pineapple), and french breakfast muffins. They really enjoyed it, and even the children ate some!

While Kate and I were cleaning up, Cousin George brought us a nature guide from the big island and showed us some of the pictures of the amazing fauna and flora they have on the island. George was talking about the way that animals adapt and that this particular bird which changed its feet to make them easier to walk on lava was kind of like evolution."

Gulp. I had an irresistable urge and a quiet voice inside that I must say something about how animals adapting to their environment is not evolution. So I said "Yeah, that's neat how they adapted to their environment, but that isn't Evolution, because they are still birds, and give birth to birds." He didn't seem to want to continue the discussion, so the subject got changed to what snorkeling gear we needed to gather for our trip.

After packing up all the snorkels and lunch stuff we hit the road. After our beautiful drive through the Hawaiian mountains, our first stop was the 'blowhole' which is a neat rock formation that looks and acts like a blowhole, and the north shore, where we watched people try to kill themselves in the 7 foot waves in 3 feet of water. Kate and I got pictures of our Hawaiian version of the Sound of Music. Then we went to the main attraction, but the parking lot was closed because it was full!! We didn't know what to do. But, miracle of miracles, we came back around and it was open!! I was so happy, and we went right away to take pictures of the amazing bay. After watching a short film that you are required to watch in order to snorkel there, you know, the one that says, "Don't touch the fish, don't touch the coral, don't touch the turtles, just DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING," we found a spot amid the other beach-goers and ate a quick but healthy lunch I had packed and went right to it!

I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. Okay, well maybe the mountains in the spring, but this was like swimming in a dream! I kept saying that it felt like that I was inside a National Geographic magazine on the ocean! The colorful reef, the vibrant fish with so many colors, and the turquoise and clear water that lapped at it all. It is really and truly an awesome witness to our God's creative design. Kate and snorkeled together for the most part, but sometimes we would accedentally get separated. Or, the chain of events would go like this-Margaret (in front) accidentally kicks Kate in the shoulder while trying to catch up with a big fish. Margaret stops to apologize, but while she is stopping Kate knows it didn't hurt her, so she just starts to laugh really hard and consequently gets her mask suctioned to her nose and eyes. Margaret, laughing now as well, stops to help Kate, and a fluke wave bops her over the head the minute she takes her mask off. Margaret feels stupid after all that and so dives 4 feet to the bottom and chases the fish she had originally been pursuing when the above incident occurred. He responds by fanning out his top and lower fins making him look bigger than he was. Kate gets to see the fish, Margaret doesn't feel quite so stupid.

It was great fun. :-)

Kate and I snorkeled for a total of 2 hours and we also saw not one, but two, sea turtles-in separate places! It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat. They are so graceful, even as they crunch about the coral. I really wanted to go out far where it was 20 feet deep, but the wind was whipping and the sea was rough way out ther and I didn't want to have to be rescued or get drowned. That would be a lovely end to our trip! Besides, the lifeguards already had enough on their hands. :-)

We went to a nice beachside restaurant at a local resort and had a delicious dinner with music and a sunset to boot!! Poor Embla was so worn out she slept on a beach towel in the nearby patch of grass nearly the entire time we ate, but Ellert was still full of energy and liked to run around next to the band stand and dance to the music.

After dinner Arnheidur wanted to go see what was on at the movie theater and Kate and I exchanged looks in the car. We were so tired and it was already 7:40 at night! Nearly all of the movies showing were PG-13 and R rated, but then only one we thought we would like to see was Knowing, with the guy from National Treasure in it, Nicholas Cage. I must confess that it was horrible standing there, not really wanting to see a movie so late, but waiting to see what our hostess would decide. It was determined that most of the movies' next showings were far too late, and that we might be able to do that tomorrow night instead.

A big sigh of relief went up from Kate and me. We're not big stay-out-all-night-and-see-movies sort of people. We were perfectly happy to be at home and write, read or just relax. I am the go to bed early and get up early type anyways, and don't do well with staying up late and getting up late.

Ah, and speaking of which, góða nótt!

;-)

Hawaii-Friday, Day Seven

2009-03-27T20:54:00.005-04:00

Today Kate and I have been in Hawaii for an entire week! It's hard to believe it-time has gone by so fast.

This morning was a quiet one, we stayed around the house doing things to prepare for Arheidur and George's homecoming. We did several loads of laundry, and did the sheets so that they'd be fresh and clean from all of the jumping that had been done from them. :-)

Ellert and Emlba helped me make cupcakes for their parents, and then helped make some chocolate frosting to ice them with. Kate had the great idea of spelling out "Welcome Home" with them, and then I found some skittles and arranged them into flower shapes on top of the extras. Kate and I cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, and then we all went out to the beach to play before lunch, and then came inside to eat and clean up the house. While Kate played on the trampoline with the children I swept and vacuumed, and when the children got tired of the trampoline, Kate and Embla played chutes and ladders while Ellert helped me swiff the floor clean. Then we all played some more board games, and then they watched PBS while we finished up the work. We left early to pick up their parents because we wanted to stop by the hospital where Kate's uncle Michael was born. We found it-a large pink hospital on top of a big green hill-but weren't allowed to go in because of the ID check. Kate got some good pictures though, and then we headed to the airport to pick up Arnheidur.

By the time we got there, Ellert was asleep and we knew we should wake him up if he had any chance of going to bed that evening, since it was already 5:00. Kate took him out of the car to the bathroom, and Embla and I circled around the airport a couple of times singing Icelandic songs and then she fell asleep. When I pulled to the baggage claim the second time around, there they were, Kate, Arnheidur, and Ellert, all waving happily at me. We were very glad to find her without any difficulties like the ones they had experienced when picking Kate and me up! :-)

Arnheidur had a great time, and seemed pleased with all our efforts on the home front. Embla and Ellert were good, and very happy to see their Mama! She wanted to take us some places while we waited on George to arrive and so she took us to some shops and Kate and I looked around for a while. We found a prom dress and, seeing as we had time, we each tried on one. The mermaid style one I picked out turned out to be a disaster, being very full in the stomach area and very tight elsewhere, so I didn't leave the dressing room with that one. However, Kate's rust and gold colored gown looked beautiful!! I tried it on as well, and we both took pictures of each other. Then we went into a wedding store-a place designed to help you plan your wedding, and I browsed their cake section. They had some model cakes covered in fondant sitting out, and they were cute! Most of the chefs advertising there charged a base rate of $3.50 a slice, which makes my own price of $2.50 sound reasonable.

Then we met up with Arnheidur and the children, and all went to eat a Buca's, an big, eclectic Italian restaurant that reminded me of Joe's Italian back in Boone, only much larger! We got an outside table and were able to talk over the events that happened at home as well as about Arnheidur's trip over dinner. We had bruschetta, Pizza Margherita (though not as good as yours, Grandaddy!), and a HUGE spinach tomato salad with roasted walnuts and special balsamic dressing. It was great! After dinner Kate and I went up and down the busy escalators with Embla and Ellert who think that escalators are the coolest thing ever, while their Mother paid for the meal.

We went to pick up Cousin George who had literally just stepped off the plane when we got him, and then we had a rather quiet drive back home. They loved seeing the cupcakes (saved for tomorrow when Embla can present it to them!) and were happy to see the clean house. Kate and I are planning a big fancy breakfast tomorrow and then.....Hanauma Bay!!

Góða nótt, hver og einn!

Hawaii-Thursday, Day Six

2009-03-27T00:39:00.002-04:00

This morning began bright and early as I decided to head to the fitness center early instead of going after lunch like I had been. There were hardly any people there, and when I got home, completely charged, Ellert and Embla had just woken up. At breakfast, Kate and I took an inventory of the things we might need if we decided to go grocery shopping that day. It turns out, we were in dire need of milk (the children drink it like water) and we needed supplies to make a nice breakfast for George and Arnheidur we had been planning for them when they return.

Before we went, though, we took the children out to the volleyball net to play soccer, football, and volleyball. Ellert, the most eager of our participants, immediately went across the street with Kate to the court. However, I didn’t even get out the door before Embla, whether because she was tired or just mad, decided she didn’t want to come. She sat on the couch and whined that she wanted to watch the T.V. I walked out, and then looked back inside and then walked some more and then came to see what she was doing and, as expected, she was watching TV. I walked in and said, “Well, believe it or not Embla I am more stubborn than you are. We were not going to watch TV right now.” I then said that I could pick her up while she screams and carry her across the street like a little baby, or she could walk to the beach herself. She just stared at me with a expression of utter determination. So, an expert in the art of man-handling (or, in this case, girl-handling) I picked her up and without much of a fuss I carried her to the park where Ellert was awaiting her eagerly. Well, you can guess what happened next-she sat down and put her hands across her chest and pouted. Now, I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but Ellert’s mood is, for the most part, completely tied to Embla’s. So, you can imagine how he felt. His best friend was not coming to play with him, and, on top of that, wouldn’t even look at him. He cried, and she pouted, basking in the reality of her control. I tried to get him to play with me, but he just said, “GO AWAY!!” and went back to trying to get Embla to come play with him. I also tried to get him to see that Embla wanted his attention and once he didn’t pay attention to her nonsense she would be soon to join him, but, understandably for a 2 year old boy, he didn’t quite grasp the concept and continued on.

Finally, Kate was able to successfully lure him away to the court, and we began to play. Just as I had predicted, as soon as her I.V. of sympathy was cut off, she joined us in playing ball games. But, it was not to last! I was playing soccer, I was the goalie and she was the shooter. She kicked a ball that landed right next to the goal line and I playfully kicked it back to her but it went past her. BIG mistake!! When I got back from retrieving the ball, she was on the sideline in the same hunched up position she had been in before. Ellert came over to sympathize with her, bless his heart, but she pushed him away. About then we decided that it would be a good time to return to the house. When we got back home Embla did her picture journal entry with the help of Kate and I played with Ellert.

So, after coming inside at about 9:45, we set out to find Foodland. We weren’t quite sure of how to get there, so we went to the nearest shopping center to see if it was the one with the grocery store in it. Kate ran into one of the nail parlors and asked them where it was and they said just down the row. So we turned and went around the shopping center to get a better view and there it was! We got out and grabbed a cart and set to work finding the things we would need at the first regular grocery store we had been to in Hawaii. Embla and Ellert rode in the cart and Kate and I had them help by holding the groceries. We each allowed them one thing to pick out, so Embla chose balloons and Ellert got granola bars. Everyone always seems to say how expensive food is in Hawaii, but it depends on what you buy. Most of the healthier things like produce and fruit is relatively cheap- for example, pineapple was 89 cents EACH, and everything else seemed to be normally priced, that is, with the exception of milk. It was 6.89 a gallon! After getting through the checkout with no one throwing a fit, we were able to successfully load the children and groceries in the car and navigate our way back to the house.

It was lunchtime when we got back, so we fixed them some cereal and yogurt and then Kate and I ate the leftover chicken, salad, quinoa, chips and some salsa. It was good!! Then we all went out and drew with chalk for quite some time! We did it on the sidewalk across the street. I traced Embla and Kate traced Ellert’s body and we drew the faces in and then had some lessons on how the heart and blood vessels work, how the lungs help you breathe, and drew each of them carefully inside the outline of their bodies. Then we noticed that at our front door was a big 5 gallon container of water just like the one that we had run out of the day before, with the brand sticker on the front and a receipt next to it. They have a water cooler, and so we figured that they have more water delivered every week or so to their house. But, being my skeptical self, my first thought was, "Oh! Someone left us water and poisoned it...."

Then I examined the receipt from Menehune Water Company that was stuck underneath it as well as the sealed container and deemed it safe for our consumption.

:-)

A bike ride was next on our list and we outlined the entire neighborhood with our bikes that have seats on the back for Embla and Ellert. On the way back, Ellert fell asleep, and so we all drew and did quiet activities while he slept. Next we woke him up with the promise of “sidewalk paint” and off we went over to the sidewalk across the street to try it out. Midway through the painting time, Ellert got upset because he couldn’t have his own puddle of paint to use by himself, so Kate took him home to take a bath, since by now his hands were very messy anyway. Embla and I remained painting until she got her hands covered in it so bad she said she wanted to go home and wash it off. I did manage to finish the first words of the Apostle’s Creed in Latin before we left for home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing wild Icelandic pony (when Kate and I are the horses and she’s the rider) on the trampoline and playing ball with Ellert. I attempted to read a book to them that was written in Icelandic, but as expected I didn’t do very well. Ellert understood me though, because he said some words back to me in excitement like any child would do if you were reading them their favorite book. We ate dinner and after we were all cleaned up they watched a movie (in Icelandic, of course!) and Kate and I blogged and cleaned the house up a bit because Arnheidur and George fly in tomorrow at about 5 pm!

Hawaii-Wednesday, Day Five

2009-03-25T19:54:00.005-04:00

Today was dubbed beach day. We played on the beach before lunch, we played on the beach after lunch, and we went out after dinner.

Kate and I were in our clothes the first time we went out around 8:45 and Ellert and Embla were in their swimsuits, so they ran around next to the ocean and then we buried them up to their necks in sand multiple times. Next, I made Embla into a Mermaid, and Kate helped Ellert become a Merman. They were really sandy, especially Embla, so when Kate and Ellert got back from getting the sand toys, she requested to go home and take a bath since the water was too cold for her. I took her back and ran her water for her, and then when she was done K & E came back from the beach and they watched Reading Rainbow while we packed ham and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. We all went out again, this time with swimsuits, goggles and masks at the ready. While Ellert the sandman chased Embla the fairy, Kate found a fancy gazebo with a chair for everyone and a big table to boot, so we had our picnic there.

About that time we saw the trash truck drive up, and instantly Ellert stopped eating to watch it do its job. We watched, hoping that I put the bin in the right spot for the truck, because the night before I simply put it where the neighbors next door had put theirs. With a sigh of relief, we watched as the very full trash bin full of milk cartons, cereal boxes, and paper plates went up, up, up the side of the truck and over the open hole in the top.

The entire beach was nearly deserted; indeed, when we first walked up there was not a soul on it except for a huge flock of Red Crested Cardinals, so all of us decided to go play on the park that is right there on the beach. By the time we were done playing, there were several other children on the playground and we all had a rollicking good time. I played tag with Embla, and then we all played pirates. Ellert was the Commandant of the British Royal Navy, and Kate, Embla, and I were all pirates either trying to catch the Commandant or get away from him. It was great fun.

We were all sufficiently hot by then and were ready to swim! Kate took Elllert in the water next to me while I snorkeled. The water was clear as a pond, though not half so flat, so, needless to say, I got quite a bit of sea water down my snorkel. Then I spotted a sea urchin, and yelled over to Kate to come see it. I held Ellert and we wave jumped together in the waist deep water while Kate snorkeled a bit. In case you're wondering where Embla was while all this was going on, she was at our picnic site next to the water. She had gotten quite cold, and was snuggling with her bunny named 'Bunny' in one of the chairs.

After walking a bit further down the beach, snapping more pictures as we went, I swam around some more while Kate served Embla and Ellert their snack, and then, gathering everything up, we were ready to head home. When we got back home, we had quiet time during which Ellert fell asleep and Kate took Embla outside to play in the trampoline and while he slept, I wrote down some more Icelandic words we could use with the children. After he had been asleep for about 25 minutes, I decided that he should be woken up to prevent any bedtime blues that seem to occur.

Once he was awake, he was pretty upset about it. He's a lot like some of my siblings in that respect-they cry and get all upset when they are woken up. I decided that I should probably offer him some cereal (his food of choice) since it was snack time. I told him that if he calmed down, I might offer him something to eat for snacktime. He did so, and I asked him if he wanted some Rice Krispies. He moaned a yes, and then sank back onto the cushions of the couch. After making them I noticed he wasn't coming over yet, so I looked over at my little Icelandic phrase card and asked him "Eru per Komdu, Ellert?" (are you coming?) and almost immediately he shot back, "Ya"
He came over but apparently there was something gravely wrong that I couldn't find out nor fix about his cereal. So, I steered him outside towards the trampoline where Kate and Embla were playing in hopes that playing there would cheer him up a bit. It didn't work, he screamed. Kate and I switched off-one took Ellert inside, and the other continued to play games with Embla on the trampoline. I am afraid that Kate got the short end of the stick for I could hear Ellert's loud protests all the way outside. :-)

While Embla and I were playing, an idea came on how to get Embla to practice her Icelandic on me and teach me some in the process, for she is quite shy about her intimate knowledge of the language. I pretended that I was one of those ponies at the store that you put quarters in and they start riding. But, instead of quarters, you had to say an Icelandic word and then the meaning of it in English. She started right away. I learned house, which is hýsa, and ride, reið, before she began to get tired of it. So, I changed the game to where to wake the Monster from his hibernation, you have to turn make the 'bad' words that the sleeping Monster says into 'good' ones in Icelandic. She liked this one, and I learned how to say apple which is epli. Then, she was the monster, and I was quizzed by the Monster on my knowledge of the Icelandic language, if only for a handful of words.

It was scary.

;-)

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Kate took Ellert out for a bicycle ride in hopes that it would soothe him. When she returned, her precious cargo was all smiles and finally ready to play. Then, they joined Embla and I on the trampoline and played (Icelandic) ponies. Then we climbed the tree in their yard and enjoyed the warm breezes.

It was about 5 now, and so Kate set to work cooking some yummy chicken for us to go with the leftover quinoa and while she did that I put the finishing touches on the macaroni. I slaved over some macaroni. It took me all day! I made the cheese from fresh, warm milk (which naturally, I milked by hand!) ground the flour for the pasta fresh from the field, and hand-kneaded the macaroni dough, and then threw it all together in a warm pot. They loved it.

You don't believe me? For shame!! Oh, that blue box over there? Why, that is just a cereal box that Embla......uh, drew on and embellished with a picture of macaroni in anticipation while I slaved over her favorite mac and cheese. Yeah. No, that is NOT a cheese packet in the trashcan!! You are staining my reputation, now go out!!

After dinner, we took them once more out to the beach for a bit and played hide and seek and tag at which I failed miserably. She always seems to know just where I am! ;-)

After getting them ready to bed with NO fits, Embla and Ellert are watching Dora the Explorer in Icelandic right now as Kate and I email and update blogs. Oh, and in case you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Kate before, she is amazing. You must meet her because she ROCKS!

Without a bit out crying or whining from either of the two chidren (a HUGE first!), they went to bed, and as I write we are waiting on them to fall asleep.

góða nótt from Iceland.... I mean.....Hawaii!

Hawaii-Tuesday, Day Four

2009-03-25T02:48:00.007-04:00

As I type in the post name, I can hardly believe it is already Tuesday! Before I left Mother told me that time would fly while I was here and that I would wish I could stay longer! In fact, today Embla pointed to the calendar and said, "When do you leave?"

We showed her on the calendar where the 31st was there at the end of the month and then she said,

"No, I want you to leave on the next calendar flip"

This morning Kate and I were up bright and early, and I was able to catch the morning playing of Reville on my video camera for all those back home. Next I will attempt to get Taps on film!

Today we had a quiet morning, unlike yesterday, and not much happened until we went outside to the beach for our picnic at about 11:00. It was extremely windy, but we picknicked nonetheless. After watching some little girls jumping off the little round tops on the pipes in the water, Kate and Embla walked the slippery pipe that led to them and I took pictures of it all.
We were inspired to swim, seeing the water wasn't as cold as we thought, and all hurried back to the house to re apply sunscreen and get on swimsuits. When we got back, we had nearly the entire beach to ourselves and so we each took turns jumping off the top of the pipe with the children, snapping photos all the way! When we got home the children watched a movie in Icelandic and they had the routine 'quiet time' we had been instigating the past few days. I went to the gym again, and sweated and sweated. I love working out. I just love it!

When I got back to the house I was reminded that I had promise Embla I would make cookies with her today. So, with her help (and she was helpful and did exactly as I said!), we made a batch of Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip cookies. Kate chopped up some white and dark chocolate bars, and then added in some mint chocolate three musketeers bars Arnheidur gave us. They turned out very well and everybody liked them, even Ellert (he had 3 I think!) I really think that they children are catching on to our way of doing things. We had an extremely low number of fits today and much less whining than ever. Both Embla and Ellert are saying please more often now without us having to remind them each and every time. I is refreshing to see our little efforts pay off.

Kate took the children out on the beach while I cleaned up and did a bit off swiffing around the kitchen. When I came out, they were on the park, and so I joined them. But no sooner had I started to play with them I saw something floating (or swimming) near the shore, about 10 feet out and getting nearer. It was black, and shiny on the top, and was swimming against the current, so it seemed. We watched it get steadily nearer for quite a while, all the time trying to identify what it was. Embla and Ellert were so excited to get to see real turtles-in the ocean! Finally, when it was about 6 feet away, we realized they were two sea turtles, one on top of the other. The one on top looked like he was simply hitching a ride on the much bigger lower one doing all the swimming. Kate got some amazing pictures of them that I will post upon my arrival home. Just when we thought that the next wave would wash them ashore, the lower turtles' flippers shot out and churned up the water at least two feet in the air. We all squealed in excitement. Then the turtle decided to go, and go it did! In 3 seconds they were off and away back into the turquoise blue water. We didn't see them again after that, but we will remember it for a long time!

We headed down the beach to a little outcropping of rocks in the ocean we had wanted to see, but it was a long way and we didn't quite make it. However, we did have a great photoshoot in one of the trees along the way. Embla and Kate walked briskly back, but I turned and saw that Ellert was in his own world again-battling the ocean with his sword stick complete with sound effects. He was coming as slow as Christmas, and I knew it would be a long, long time before he and I made it home at that rate! So I had an idea I had used on Zion before-make walking back a game.
"Ellert,"
I yelled to him, and it took me a few more tries before I finally got his attention.

"I am the evil dragon-king, and you are Ellert, the dragon slayer prince. You have to get me now before I get to your castle over there!"
I pointed to 6th picnic table on our right.

He loved the idea and chased me and chased me. Somehow, he always just nearly had me, but I got away. Then, the dragon got tired and started to walk slower. Seizing the opportunity, Ellert broke out into a run and ran over to me. I turned around, and he made a motion with his stick like he was throwing fire at me. I pretended like my arm was hit and waved it around madly. I was standing with the wounded arm towards the sloping part of the beach facing Ellert, when somehow I lost my balance (which is nothing remarkable considering my clumsy oaf-ish tendencies!) and fell down as real as it was. He burst out laughing and jumped up and down in delight at me as I lay dying from my mortal wound, for his fire darts had pierced my scaly dragon skin. We continued on and on until we met up with one of the ladies and her son who live in the neighborhood and knows Ellert. She was very kind, and her little boy, James, was a sweet little boy too. We talked for a while and then Ellert wanted to go home and play there, so we said goodbye to his friends and headed back home.

Embla and Kate were watching Finding Nemo in Icelandic when we finally returned, which left Kate and me rollicking with laughter. There is just something so funny about seeing familiar little cartoon fish talk in a foreign language.

While they watched, I prepared dinner-chicken and a quinoa with veggies and salad for Kate and me and fish sticks for E&E. After dinner, which included not a fit nor whiny voice to be heard, Embla asked if she could please have some shave ice. Certainly, we said, and Kate set right to work making it for them. After making it we realized Ellert hadn't eaten any of his dinner, so we shuddered in the realization that we would have to try to get him to eat at least one bite before shave ice time. We were shocked to see that with only one balk he ate a piece of fish stick and we handed him his shave ice out in the yard as he finished his round of golf. With a happy dance and a fist bump, we went back to cleaning up dinner as they played in the yard.

I set up Arnheidur's iPod she purchased at the comissary and quickly put on Ellert's favorite Icelandic lullabies CD in hopes it would help with bedtime. It did, and the only problem we had was when Kate put on his PJ's and he didn't want to. Embla talked to her Mom and made her daily picture journal entry about the turtles we had seen earlier that day.

All is well; safely rest, God is nigh!

Hawaii-Monday, Day Three

2009-03-24T04:03:00.005-04:00

Our first full day with Embla and Ellert by ourselves.

This morning at 4:30 I woke up to the sound of hysterical screaming. It is not at all nice to be woken up by any manner of screaming when you're having a dream about that you won the lottery or are scuba diving in Jamacia. Well, what does one do when you're on a dream Island itself and you get woken up by a very upset little boy missing his Mama? You drive them around the block playing relaxing Icelandic Lullabies to lull them back to sleep, of course! Kate did the honors, and although he did wake up when she pulled in, he went back to sleep a little while later. His caretakers, on the other hand, had a bit more difficult time going back to sleep. They finally gave up trying at about 6:00 and stumbled out of bed to begin the day with God's word.

It's a good thing we did that. You'll see why soon.

Next, Kate makes this fabulous breakfast-eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, and a cantaloupe and kiwi fruit salad. We partook of the delicious feast she had made, all the while thinking how much the children would enjoy it.

But, it was not to be. Embla was up first, at 7:00, and she refused to eat a bite. She only wanted Cheerios and Froot Loops mixed together with milk. When Ellert came out of his bedroom, Kate offered him a plate full of wholesome food and he pushed it away in disgust and pointed to the Rice Krispies. It was most irritating. I put the leftover food away in hopes that they would eat it for lunch.

Arnheidur had asked us to mail some packages at the post office in Ewa Beach, so we decided to go that morning. We found the PO with little trouble, and were also able to mail our postcards in addition to the packages that Arnheidur asked us to mail. The children played and we talked about how it was a felony to mess up other people's mail boxes by swinging on the gates. ;-)

After finding the P.O. we were feeling rater optomistic and so decided to seek out the salvation army thrift store I had seen on Saturday on the way to Diamond Head. I had printed off directions, and the whole way, the google gods were good to us and we found the shops at dole cannery which were nearby the store itself. Then, we nearly got lost when we had to turn onto a one way street we didn't know. We were almost in complete despair over driving all that way and not finding our goal, but then we saw a sign for it and we were so relieved.

I've never seen a more tight parking lot! We opted for a parallel place next to a wall and then all of us went into the store. We switched off watching the children in the store and looking for clothes. Kate found a cute dress to take to Tanzania, and I found a light blue linen skirt and a little white shirt I thought that one of the little Barry girls could wear. After I rushed out to move the car for a 15 passenger van that needed to get by, we made our purchases and were off to find hwy 1.

I have never, ever driven or parked in such a BIG city and Kate and I have certainly never tried to find our way back home before, but yet, we ended up doing so without any problems except the ever-present heavy traffic. When we got home it was nearly lunchtime, so we gave them the plates that they had refused to eat for breakfast and reminded them that they had to eat them if they wanted any shave ice we would make for them. They ate some of it, and then wanted.....guess what?....cereal! I now know why Arnheidur was worried about the milk running out-they drink it like water!

The shave ice episode produced one enemy and one ally. You see, we were switching off with who got to use the cup that comes with the Dora the explorer once it was filled up with ice. Well, naurally, Ellert would get angry when it was Embla's turn. He threw a fit and we let him calm down a bit and then we asked him if he would like a different cup. He screamed more. It was hard to tell if he wanted the cup his sister had or the new one I had offered. Finally, we decided that it seemed more like he was desirous of the new cup, so once he calmed down and asked saying "please", we scooped him up some and poured on the syrup. We gave it to him and he ate it at first. While I was explaining to Embla why you never should give a child a cup when he is screaming for it, he decided it didn't have enough syrup for his liking. Out of habit, he screamed, and then proceded to roll on the floor when we told him that he had to calm down first. Eventually, I just decided to put his cup in the freezer while he threw his fit so that it wouldn't get melty. Kate took him to his room to calm down and I explained more to Embla about how to ask for things correctly and why it works when he screams to anyone that doesn't stand up to him. She seemed to really understand the whole concept, and had a few serving of shave ice and every time that she asked she said please after each request and thank you when I gave her her strawberry shave ice.

About this time Ellert came back on the scene, finally calm. We asked him "Would you like your shave ice" "

"Yes."

"Remember, say 'please,' Ellert."

"Peeas?"

We gave him his cup.

*quiet little voice*
"Tak."

The children and Kate had some down time at home and I went to check out the fitness center which was not 2 minutes from their house right on the base. It was fun, I sweated a bunch in there.

When I got home it was time for Embla to do her homework and then I got Ellert addicted to paper airplanes (he loves airplanes anyaway!) and next we painted. I was sure to line everything that could be lined with paper towels, and they painted away, but not long after the paint made their way to their hands and up their arms. After cleaning up Ellert's blue and green hands and Embla's red, purple and yellow shoulder length glove, it was quite clear that at least Embla would need a bath. I started her water and then ran off to check on Ellert and got him some cocoa puffs, his snack of choice. While this was happening, I realized that I heard a whole lot of splashy noises coming from the bathroom-more than is normal, and so I rushed in to find the bathtub much too full and the water sloshed out on all sides. It didn't help that she was rocking back and forth, back and forth in the water. It was funny for some reason and off I ran to get some towels. Once it was clean and Embla came into the kitchen for some cereal, Ellert was playing in paint, again. Thankfully he didn't get it into his har, only on his hands, which is a mess easily cleaned up. After all of the above, we went out on the beach to play for a while then came back to the house to go for a bike ride. They have two bikes with a seat on each one for the children. We rode around for a bit, stopping at a few places like the park, and then headed back home for some dinner.

We called Arnheidur after they were ready for bed because she wanted to talk to Embla every night before bed. After some major roughhousing on the bed with Kate, we decided it was way past their bedtime. They wouldn't go. Finally, we decided it would be okay if they both slept in the same bed in Ellert's room, and in about 10 minutes they were fast asleep like little angels. Kate and I quickly followed suit, but not before I had typed my fingers off to try to get my blog up to date. :-)

I crashed and slept so deeply I think that didn't move until the morning.

Hawaii-Sunday, Day Two

2009-03-24T03:09:00.004-04:00

This was the day that Arnheidur and George left for their vacation on the 'big island.' Kate and I got up pretty early again, but we read bible, ate breakfast, and took Embla and Ellert on a walk outside around the base while their parents packed. It is a very good neighborhood, there are several parks on and off the beach as well as picnic tables galore! The weather was warm and breezy so it made our walk pleasant. The children were pushing the bears they got at the build-a-bear workshop the day before in little strollers. We played on the park, walked to the inlet, raced witht the strollers, and then came the first dispute with Embla. Remembering the day before when I carried her up Diamond Head, she asked quite whinily if I would carry her back to the house. No, I said, You can walk, you're a great walker! And besides, it's not far at all back to the house!" She commenced to crouch in the middle of the sidewalk and cry. Ellert, who is very attached to his big sissie, walked over and said "O no! E'bla crying! It's okay, E'bla, it's okay."

Cute, yes, but it didn't solve the problem of the little girl who would pout all day if you told her no. Then, an idea occured to me. I asked Ellert if I could use his baseball in a whiny voice, and, of course, he said no. At the speaking of the word, "No", I screamed, cried, yelled and dramatically rolled on the sidewalk like Ellert does when has a fit. You should have seen their faces. They were shocked! Here's big girl Margaret, throwing a fit like a baby in the middle of the sidewalk on the naval base. It worked beautifully, and I told them that was what the same thing Embla had been doing when I told her she couldn't go on my back. Something seemed to click inside her, even though Ellert just thought that it was downright hilarious. They thought it was so funny, they forgot the crisis of Embla not wanting to walk, and then they saunterd on back to their home. After a lovely walk on the beach with my best friend Kate, who I was so blessed to have with me on this adventurous trip, eating lunch, and watching the Scenic Hawaii channel, it was time to go to the airport.

I was more than slightly terrified when I realized I would be driving them to the airport that day. I knew that I would need to get the way back down cold so I tried my best to listen to their instructions and pay attention to the road signs as we went. Kate was praying for me the whole time because we were both nervous about driving in all the Honolulu craziness. George directed me to his office on the Naval base in Pearl Harbor which was fun to finally see! Embla knew her way around that building so well.

Since they had separate flights, Arnheidur dropped off George first and then while I got to talk to my dearest of dear Mother back home, she drove us the the comissary, another shop. They must think we just love to shop! :-)

We took turns going into the store because the children were asleep. I went in with Arnheidur first, and purchased some lovely postcards and she bought an iPod that I will hopefully be able to set up for her while I am here. Then it was Kate's turn, and I happily sat in the car eating a snack while the children napped. Then, Ellert woke up screaming. I happended to be holding the remains of a mini Luna bar I was eating in my hand, and he saw it and screamed for some. I told him he had to calm down and stop screaming if he would like any. He did, and I broke him off a chunk. No dice. He screamed. And screamed and screamed. "NOOOO, A LOT!" he said, and thus began the fit that ensued the rest our time in the car. I on the other hand was not upset at him and was calm-I knew that I must be so if he has any chance of stopping the screaming. As if things in that little minivan couldn't get any worse, Embla, dazed and half asleep, got out of her seat and said, "I need go bathroom."

I grabbed a plastic bag that I had my postcards in, but before I could get her pants down, she went to the bathroom all over herself. Still trying my best to remain calm, I helped her take off her pants and dry off the carpet. Eventually Ellert stopped crying and calmed down, and asked very nicely for a banana, which I happily gave him. Then, as soon as he saw his Mommy coming to the car, get this-he SCREAMS at the top of his lungs. I mean, he had been calm for probably 5 minutes, and here he was, crying. I think that he felt like he hadn't gotten any sympathy for his outrageous fit from me so he'd try to get some from his Mother, which he did.

Then we dropped Arnheidur off and said goodbye. We were officially babysitting now! Someone called Heida kept on calling the phone, but we weren't sure if we should pick it up or not. Kate braved the highways as the driver and I was the navigator. For the most part, we did pretty well finding our way back to the house. We did miss the turn and got confused a couple of times, but we made it! After playing monkeys on the junglegym at the beach and jumping on the trampoline, we came inside and E & E watched a movie in Icelandic while we fixed dinner. Then, right before bed, Kate came over and said, "You know, that person that kept calling and calling....that must have been Arnheidur!!"

My heart almost stopped beating. Heida......arnHEIDur.....oh nuts!!! She must have called 6 times! How many things can I do wrong?!

I instantly called her back and she was so freaked out and nervous that we didn't answer her calls and understandibly so. I assured her that everything was going well and the children were not crying for her yet. She was glad to hear that. She then said that she would try to call at noon and at night each day to check in.

Embla put herself to bed but for Ellert, on the other hand, it took a good deal of coaxing and Kate driving him around the neighborhood listening to Icelandic Lullabies before he drifted off. Kate and I drifted off almost immediately. :-)

Hawaii-Saturday, Day One

2009-03-23T23:34:00.005-04:00

The comfortable couches were made up for us to sleep on, and we slept like rocks. Until we both woke up at 3:30 AM Hawaii time (9:30 AM EST.) Kate easliy went back to sleep, but I lied there tossing and turning. I don't know if I slept or not, but boy was I glad to see the sky turning pink outside. I watched the sun rise, and then we read our bibles on our first day on Hawaii! Kate is reading through the Bible as well. Each day here I realize how very blessed I am to have her as my friend.

That morning at around 10 Embla had a birthday party at the big Waikiki Mall and so we all joined her at the Build-a-Bear workshop that the party was held. Kate and I set off to find an electronics store to buy some batteries for her camera, which took a while due to the enormity of the mall and included a nearly disastrous encounter with a salesman of 'dead sea' salt. :-) When we got back they were just getting through and then everyone except Arnheidur, Kate and I went to the food court. Arnheidur had wanted to show us around a real Japanese Market where there were all kinds of foods to choose from. If you ask me, I think it all looked the same-fried or boiled parts of U F O's (unidentified food objects!) wrapped in seaweed or a dough. It was interesting though, and I don't think that I have ever seen so many Japanese people before in one place at a time in my life!

When we met George and crew at the food court, we also met Rachel, the birthday girl, and her family. They are Filipino, and all the girls and women have the longest, most beautiful black hair I have ever seen! They were so kind, too.

We ate some of the U F O's from the Japanese Market as well as some clementines I had brought from their house. After lunch, we drove to Waikiki Beach in Honolulu and walked around looking at all the sights like the international market, where, as Arnheidur put it, "It's all trash; but you have to see the trash to say that you've been there!" We did find some souveneirs for our families back at home, and shortly after 200 games of 'I spy' with Embla we made our way up to the beginning of Diamond Head, where we would hike to the top of that beautiful green crater with plunging cliffs and crashing seas below them. Embla had on flip flops, which would be a problem for walking the rugged landscape, so I carried her on my back all the way up (except on the stairs), and most of the way down too. It was an excellent endurance workout for me, and she had fun.

Anyways......the view from the top was breathtaking. The clouds, the pacific, the beach, the green rolling hills and the mountains all rolled into one amazing panoramic view of God's marvelous creation. Once we got to the bottom, we all had a Hawaiian shave ice, like a snow cone but much, much bigger. Kate and I got a pineapple one to split. It was pretty good!

Afterwards our full day got even fuller because we got to go to the base grocery store, where they have excellent quality groceries for cheap! Kate and I picked out some things we wanted to have on hand for the week and discovered that we are alike in another way-salad! We both really enjoy eating it so we got several boxes of spinach and lettuce as well as some carrots and dressing. When we got home we were too worn out to eat anything much, and crashed at a fairly early time of 9:00.

Arriving in Hawaii

2009-03-23T03:32:00.006-04:00

It's a bit hard to believe, but I am on the beautiful Island of O'ahu, Hawaii! We (that is Kate and I) will be on the Island for 11 days babysitting my 2nd cousin's two children, Embla (5) and Ellert (2) while he and his wife are taking a vacation to the "Big Island." It has all been a whirlwind-I got the news of the possibility of the trip on Monday night, and left on Friday! I am going to post some excerpts from my journal since I didn't get on the internet at all until today.

After an uneventful 3 1/2 hour flight to the lovely Phoenix airport, Kate and I boarded our flight to Hawaii. The plane was pretty big, and we sat next to a guy named Michael who was from Alabama. He was, first off, rather socially deprived, having not had a normal friendly conversation his entire flight time, which included several layovers. He was visiting his brother in Hawaii and asked if Kate and I were Protestants because he saw the cross she was wearing. Well, we said, we are Christians, and go to a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church!

Finally, after flying for quite some time, I caught a glimpse of the beautiful Pacific Ocean shimmering thousands of feet below us. After getting quite bored watching Wall-E, using up nearly all the battery power my iPod could put out, and talking until we couldn't think of anything to say at all, we suddenly realized that when the Pilot had said we would arrive in Hawaii at 6:00, that would be their time, not Phoenix time. Oh, what a long, long flight! It makes one wonder how the Islands are part of the U.S. anyway! I won't even bother to tell you how hard it was to gauge the best time to venture out into the aisle to get to the bathroom. But it was so well worth it when we finally descended altitude and could see the peaks of the 'Big Island' visible in our window. Adrenaline rushed through our bodies when the Pilot announced that we were now descending to Honolulu! We snapped dozens of pictures out the window of the green mountains, turquoise waters, and sugar-white sand. We could even see George's home from the plane as we landed! The deliciously warm air, tinged with the scent of the tropical plants that grow all around the airport greeted us, as well as plenty of people dressed in native Hawaiian apparel and leis. We continued on in what we thought was more or less the right direction, and were very glad to see that we made it to the main terminal where we assumed George would be. But, minute after minute, we saw no sign of him, his wife, or his children. We refrained from panic, and somehow, even though we were quite exhausted, we just kept looking all around the large airport-in the baggage claim, the food court area, and, of course, all around the main terminal. However, we still were not able to find them. After an hour of searching, we were nearly at the end of our strength. We sat down out side the baggage claim, feeling a bit like when you are waiting on your ride and it seems everybody has a ride and gets picked up except you. Then, Kate remembered that we had George's cell phone number, but neither of us had one, and so she bravely walked over to a couple of Japanese guys and asked if they had a cell phone we could borrow. They didn't seem to understand- the one she aimed our request at just kept texting madly away on his BlackBerry. Finally, the guy standing next to him got his attention and he gave us the phone to use. I called George on it and he said he'd be there in just a minute. He also mentioned that he had left a message at my house saying that we were nowhere to be found in the Honolulu airport and that they weren't even sure if we made it to Phoenix. He said I should call and leave another message right away.

Oh GREAT, I thought, Mother and Father are going to be absolutely terrified! Then the news will make it to Barry Mountain......Oh.....Oh COCONUTS!!

But, I had no way of calling them because the Japanese guy's ride had come and he was waiting rather impatiently next to me to receive his CrackBerry back so he could continue to text.

Not 5 minutes later, George and Arnheidur appeared, and their children, Embla and Ellert, gave us some beautiful real flower leis made with snapdragons. They were all dressed in Hawaiian attire and Embla crafted a lovely banner for us. George went off to get the car, and while he was gone we were horrified to learn that when people pick you up at an airport, you usually meet them at the baggage claim. We explained that we didn't have any luggage, just carry-ons, and that we were looking for them in the baggage claim, and then Arnheidur said, "Well, you know, when you want to get to the right place, next time, just follow the crowd!

Oops. Okay, great! Well, this is a fan-diddly-tastic way to start off the trip where you're taking care of two children for, I thought to myself. Both of us were sufficiently mortified by the time George came with the car, and so we quickly got in. Arnheidur offered us some refreshing watermelon. We were much too tired, but they insisted on taking us to a really good chicken and rice place in the city, and I'm really glad that they did. :-) It was quite good, and we sat outside in the warm Hawaiian breeze while we ate our first meal of our Hawaii trip. After settling in on their comfy couches, we slept fitfully.

Serving in Scripture

2009-03-03T16:54:00.006-05:00

How we are commanded to serve from scripture:

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, and patient....." 2 Timothy 2:24

We are commanded to serve-

"........with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free."
Ephesians 6:7-8

The other day Galen and I were bemoaning the frequency of our having to refill Lillian and Zion's sippy cups. I came upon this verse-

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

Enough said! This verse puts a whole new perspective on our daily tasks. Using the truth presented-yes, even changing that diaper or wiping that little nose can be a service unto the Lord. Wow.

"In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty." Luke 17:1

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

This was the official Bible verse for our Homeschool baseball team way back. It's been one of my favorite verses on the topic of serving ever since.

Artwork taken from allposters.com

Greatness is Serving

2009-03-02T21:51:00.002-05:00

This year, my Mother, brother, and I decided to read through the Bible together in one year.

Before we decided to begin reading the Bible in a year, I had experienced the wonderful benefits of filling my mind each day with the truth of God's word, but I have never been sure quite where to read. I always felt a bit 'lost'-I had read a few books through, and was reading a few Psalms each morning, but what I really wanted to start from the beginning and start to see the big picture the Bible so vividly paints.

My Mother and Galen are doing a neat program where you are e-mailed your portion of scripture for each day I decided am doing a program where you start reading a few verses per day in Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, and Matthew, then continue on from those starting points

This morning one of the passages I happened to be reading was Mark, Chapter 10. What struck me was verses 35-41, where Jesus was speaking to James and John about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom.

³⁵ "Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; ⁴⁰ but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” ⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. ⁴² But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ⁴⁴ And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
(emphasis mine)

It's amazing how the things that you will read in your daily scripture portions that speak to the heart of the problems you may have been struggling with. I am constantly amazed at the Lord's faithfulness to me.

Lately, I've been shown, through examples in scripture, and, most painful of all, in the words of one of my siblings-what a really selfish person I can be. How I want to have time for what I want to do, I want things to go according to my plan, I want full and complete recognition and affirmation for of all my good deeds, etc. etc.

And, if I don't get what I want....whatever it may be....well, let's just say it doesn't go over so well.

At all.

;-)

So I then realized my own deep need for a refresher course on the characteristics that we, as Christians, should be exemplifying in our daily lives.

So, starting tomorrow, I'll be posting some on the topic of serving using scripture as our guide.

Until then!

Artwork taken from Art.com

The Atlanta Trip!

2009-02-11T11:22:00.018-05:00

This past Sunday we returned from a delightful trip to Atlanta, GA. Father had a conference there and allowed the remaining eight of us to tag along! We had a wonderful time, and got to visit and dine with our Atlanta cousins, Austin and Elizabeth, numerous times during our 3 day adventure.

After arriving in Atlanta Thursday evening, our first stop the next day was the Tutankhamen Exhibit, where 50 of King Tut's treasures from his tomb were on display along with 80 other ancient egyptian artifacts highlighting the different dynasties of Ancient Egypt. It was amazing, to say the least, but there is something eerie about seeing the actual golden sandals that adorned the king's feet, and peering into the canopic jars that held his internal organs.

Naturally, no pictures were allowed inside, but we were able to get a decent snapshot with the 3,350 year old King outside the civic center where the exhibit was.

Oh well, nevermind about a decent snapshot-it looks like Israel decided to pout about the fact that he doens't have gold flip-flops like Tut. :-)

And then, we must have a silly picture. Galen looks like he's hanging in the air between King Tut's Hega scepter and his face!

Next we went to the stunning Georgia Aquarium, the only aquarium in the world to have four whale sharks in captivity.

Yes, I said whale sharks, and I can prove it, too. I have photo evidence!

At the touch tank, they had several stingrays and two juvenile bonnethead sharks swimming in circles sharks just beggin' for you to stick your hand in the water and pet them!
Lillian and I managed to touch a stingray!

The 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager Tank was the most amazing exhibit of the entire aquarium.

After initially picking my jaw off the floor at the mere size of the tank itself, I was further astonished at the hugeness of the whale sharks and the incredible variety of fish. Wow, just WOW!

"O LORD, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all:

the earth is full of thy riches.

So is this great and wide sea,

wherein are things creeping innumerable,

both small and great beasts.

"Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created:

and thou renewest the face of the earth.

These wait all upon thee;

that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

.....the glory of the LORD shall endure for ever:

the LORD shall rejoice in his works." from Psalm 104

A very nice employee gave us a special behind the scenes tour of the penguins, who were evicted from their previous home by the construction work for the new dolphin exhibit. Poor guys. They'll be stuck in their little refugee habitat for at least 2 more years.

Pesky old dolphins.

:-)
Cute, huh?
This is Dodo, the head honcho of the penguin society.

More touch tanks! This one was for touching anemones.

We went by the Belugas, but unfortunately, they were cleaning the tank so the water was very cloudy. The divers you see in the picture above got their lines all tangled up and were attempting, rather unsuccessfully, to untangle them in the 55 degree water. It was most entertaing-more so than the belugas themselves, who spent most of the time pouting in the opposite corner because the divers were intruding upon their privacy.
Israel and Zion enjoying the coral reef exhibit! Most of the coral was live, imported from Fiji.

Galen, our video guy for the trip! He got some great footage of the whale sharks.

Mother and Zion, enjoying the incredible variety of fish!

Sulli-man!

Father and Oliver, relaxing at the Centennial Olympic park after the aquarium.

After the aquarium, we went to our cousin's house for a delicious home cooked meal. It was so nice to eat real food and not to be at the mercy of the restaurant! After we played legos and enjoyed the company of our beloved cousins, we went back to our separate hotel rooms- Sullivan, Israel, Lillian, and I in one, Father, Mother, Galen, Zion, and Oliver in the other. We slept very fitfully that night!

Next day, Uncle David, Austin, and Elizabeth took us on an trip to the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War History Museum, and then on a hike to the summit of the historical Kennesaw Mountain.
Here's all of us eating lunch after going to see the largest painting in the world at the Atlanta Cyclorama

!!WE LOVE OUR COUSINS!!
Later on that day, we went out to dinner with Aunt Diane, Uncle David, Austin, and Elizabeth to a yummy barbecue place.

On our way back home, we stopped by our Grandparent's house in Anderson, SC for a visit. We played some card games, ate a delicious meal made by chefs Granddaddy Ron and Grandma Marcia, and went on a boat ride.

Even after all the fun and excitement of our mini vacation, I'm so glad to be home. Routine is indeed a blessing in itself!!

Quotes!

2009-01-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the most recent quoteables from the funny farm...

"Man, the cake on that icing was terrible." -Israel

"Well, I'm hungry again. Funny how that happens!" -Father

"Mom, what's the third prime minister of pregnancy mean?" -Sullivan
"Mommy," Lillian says as she holds baby Oliver- "when can I have baby?"

Lillian- (talking about the guy at the BYB drive through) "I like that guy-he have a earring!"

Lillian points to a cereal box with 3 disney princesses on it. "Look Margaret-Me, (points to Jasmine) you, (Snow White) and Mother! (Belle)
Me- Um.....wow, thanks Lillian, I wish I looked like that!

Mother- "Wow, Galen, I am surprised you can fit in the babies' rocking chair!"
Galen- "Well, I guess that its just because I have a very skinny pelvic area!"

Mother-"I think that Grandma would like a Geranium for her birthday...
Sullivan (not listening)-"Whaaaat did you saaaay?"
Mother-"Oh.....well, I said I think that Grandma would like some Uranium for her birthday-you know, for that nuclear project she's got going." :-P

Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

2008-12-28T09:19:00.000-05:00

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

You wake up, bleary-eyed; yawning perhaps, and squinting at the clock, just like any other day. And then, suddenly, you realize-it’s CHRISTMAS! Sitting up, you realize that it’s not too early to get up- you don’t really hear any noise downstairs yet. So, you slide off the covers-leaving your pajama clad body to shiver a bit at the cold room-and gingerly step onto the thick rug that sits atop the shiny floorboards. Outside the door you hear little pitter-patters of feet in the hallway and voices talking in hushed, excited tones. Then, going as quiet as you possibly can on such an exciting morning and squeaking more than a few floorboards on your way, you descend the stairs. At the bottom, you can see the doorway to the library-where the Christmas tree is-covered from the floor to the top in snowflake wrapping paper. On one side, a slight crack in the paper offers a tiny glimpse of the tree light that sets the room aglow. You go to the bathroom to get dressed as quickly as possible, for who wants to bother with such things on Christmas when the very air is full of magic and anticipation. When you emerge from the bathroom, the room is buzzing. Your brothers and sisters are practically running circles with anticipation, and the feast of a breakfast begins to take shape-Mother’s fluffy, homemade biscuits, the fruit salad you labored over the night before, full of succulent slices of pineapple & grapes, blueberries and strawberries, creamy sausage gravy, and cheesy potato pie sit atop the island in the kitchen. The spicy smell of warm cinnamon permeates through the air as the sticky, gooey cinnamon rolls are pulled from the oven. Everyone sits down as the blessing is said, and then the little ones are first to rush to the delicious buffet spread before them. This day, however, their eyes are bigger than their stomachs-because excitement, no matter how delicious the food, doesn’t allow one to eat very much. Naturally, the children finished their feast before the slow-eating grown-ups, and are raring to go. After a few minutes more of eating, silence fills the room as the Christmas Story is read. You never tire of hearing the simple yet beautiful tale of the Savior-the birth of the Father’s one and only son. Afterwards, you and your siblings crowd around the door to the Library, waiting on your parents and grandparents to get the cameras at the ready for the busting through of the paper.

“ONE, TWO, THREE- GO!”

Shouts Father, and in you bust through the wrapping paper-the Christmas Tree lights shine bright in your eyes as you search for your stocking-the one with candy canes dancing across the green wool, your name embroidered on the front in scarlet thread. You find it-there, on the computer chair, and then proceed to empty the contents amid squeals of joy and surprise as your siblings do the same. The stockings are wonderful-each child receives the perfect, most beautiful gifts and candies, picked out lovingly by your thoughtful and caring Mother, who spent countless hours choosing the contents of the stockings for each of the six children, tailoring each to the personality (and taste!) of each child. In your stocking, you receive your very own pencil sharpener and set of pencils in a carrying case printed in a bright, cheery flower print. Also there are chocolates in various forms, including a dark one studded with succulent fruit, a pack of organic lollipops, creamy peppermints, chewing gum, beautiful hair clips and ties, a ’58 convertible, and a tin of color changing putty, which, because you are a very tactile sort of person, you take it right out of the box and watch the purple putty turn to a bright pink with the touch of your hands.

As you watch your siblings around you, smiling as they open their stockings, enthralled by their new box of princess band-aids, playing with a mouth-harp, or trying out a 3D puzzle-you sigh, and feel incredibly thankful and in awe of the great blessings the Lord has given you-not just the gifts, which are but temporary pleasures- the life that the Lord has so graciously given you, wonderful parents, who truly care for you, a comfortable, warm home, good (if not to mention delicious!) food, caring and generous Grandparents, a brand new baby brother in addition to four happy, healthy brothers and a sister- and, most importantly, a Savior, whose birth is celebrated on this joyous holiday. Opening presents, you feel the same feelings of thankfulness and joy for all the Lord has abundantly blessed you with. You would not be anywhere else than here, in your dear farmhouse, with all the people you love surrounding you.

Okay, if you've made it this far without falling asleep, that's pretty good. :-) Now, enough jabber, here's some pictures!

Oliver in his santa outfit on Christmas Eve! He even looks like he's smiling a bit.

The former baby and the baby!

Awww.........he's the cutest little baby in the world! (okay, I am slightly biased...) :-)

Table #1- l-r My lovely Grandma and Grandaddy, Sullivan, Zion, and Israel.

Galen and I at table #2-enjoying the delicious dinner!

My lovely Mother, who cleaned up for me!
".....and he took the roast beast"-from Sam's, that is. ;-)

"Ahviler" and I, as Zion calls him.

Then, Lillian and Zion started cuttin' the rug with Grandma and Grandaddy!

In our family, it is a tradition to paper the doorway of the room holding the Christmas tree and the gifts. When all are ready, cameras poised, we bust through the paper!

Zion proudly shows some of the contents of his stocking. And yes, it is a firework. :-)

As usual, everyone was delighted with the contents!

I was no exception.

Lillian with her lovely scarf from Grandma Rose!

Israel was very pleased with his Roman Centurion outfit. He adds this to his current collection, which includes policeman, knight, king, indian, and cowboy costumes. :-)

Miss Lillian opening her cute tea set-and it's made with recycled milk jugs to boot!

Zion opening his " 'rocery sore."

Merry Christmas to one and all-and may you and your family have a blessed new year!

Cheers!
-Margaret