Heavy Heart

Dan and the kids, November 2010

Well, the kids and I made an unexpected trip home last Thursday. My mom called Wednesday night to tell me that my cousin, Dan, had passed away. Dan is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. He dealt with much adversity regarding his health through most of his life, but you would have never known it. He had more joy than you could imagine. He was ALWAYS concerned about everyone else and whatever trial they were going through. I am so thankful that we had such a special friendship....he was and still is a constant encouragement to me.


Five years ago, the Lord blessed him with the most wonderful wife....she is an answer to so many prayers! She is absolutely precious and their love for the Lord is just contagious! And just 4 months ago, the Lord blessed him again when they adopted their 2 year old daughter, Nadezda....adorable! He was the most proud "papa"!! And was just a natural in this role of a father. I am so thankful that he lived such a full life. Of course, I am terribly sad that it was cut so short. I guess we are never ready to say goodbye. But...my peace and comfort come in knowing that one day, I will see him again...and we will together get to worship our Lord!



Thank you Jesus for such an amazing cousin and friend!

7 Months

I can't believe my little girl is already 7 months old...we are past the halfway to a year point! Wow! She is growing up way too fast! Here are her 7 month stats!

Aubrey, at 7 months old, you:

-are starting to take some formula bottles. It has been quite a difficult transition, but things are finally looking up.

- have eaten rice, oatmeal and whole wheat cereals.

- have had squash, green beans, carrots, and peas. You are not a big fan of peas.

- are sitting up really well and starting to scoot around with your hands and feet.

- still love your big brother and most of your laughing is at him.

- have discovered your hands and it is so cute.

- love to spit and make noises with your mouth.

- are only taking 2 naps a day and it is working out well for us.

- like to be outside most of the time.

- love to give us big open-mouth kisses.

- like to pull out every bow I put in your hair!

- weigh around 16 pounds.

- are still wearing size 2 diapers, but are about to grow out of those.

- are still the most precious little girl to me!!!

We Love You Daddy!

Well...this was the first Valentine's Day apart from our husband/daddy, but we made it....and we even were able to talk to him for a little while. There is nothing better than hearing his sweet voice and knowing that he is safe! We love you Daddy!

Here are my 2 babies!! They are definitely keeping me busy right now. I guess they know what I need!

Dressed in our Valentine best!

Happy Baby!

Aren't these the cutest thing EVER!! Thank Aunt Amy...we love them!

Riley wanted to "dress-up" too!

Goin' in for the kiss!!

He's showing you how "big and strong" he is!!! When we talk about his daddy, that's the first thing he says, "Daddy big and strong!" So cute!!

Happy Valentine's Day Edmond!! We miss you terribly!

Macadamia Nut Farm

Last weekend we took a trip to the Macadamia Nut Farm....towards the northern shore of the island. It was a really neat experience. They film many movies/shows here. The restaurant where Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler meet on 50 First Dates is on the grounds here. They are currently filming alot of the new show "Off the Map" here. Edmond doesn't like the series, but I just think it's so cool that it is filmed here in Hawaii. And of course we love "Hawaii 5-0". I don't remember if any episodes were filmed at the nut farm though! Anyway, here are some pics...hope you enjoy!

Our driver/tour guide is wishing us luck by shaking the tei (I don't remember how to spell it) leaves at us. They do this at the University of Hawaii football games too.

They grow TONS of different kids of fruit/plants/flowers here. We were able to taste fresh coconut and guava.

There are lots of chickens/roosters on the island. I was very surprised by that when we first moved here! Here are some cute baby chicks. One got stuck behind a coconut and our tour guide had to free it!

Our tour guide started his own fire and then did a mini-fire dance. It was really neat!

Riley tasted coconut juice and shaved coconut. He seemed to like the juice (yuck), but wasn't a fan of the coconut itself....like is mama and daddy!

All of the women and children received these headpieces with a flower. The flower goes on one side if you are single and the other if you are married.

There was also a boat tour and of course it started raining while we were on the boat. It was still very cool. There is an island out here called "Secret Island". Apparently there were several movies (and maybe some of Gilligan's Island) that were filmed on it.

This was set up for filming of "Off the Map" that was taking place on Monday. So...if you watch the show, you'll have to look for this scene. Supposedly it's on an episode where a man in a parachute jumps out of a plane and lands in some nearby trees. They had that area marked off too!

Sorry about the underlined text....I can't figure out how to change it!!