abc tag

A- Attached or single: attached
B- Best Friend(s): james & susie
C-Cake or Pie: cake! i LOVE birthdays just for the cake!
D- Day of Choice: saturday (especially when kalei's in school!)
E- Essential Item: wipes
F- Favorite Color: blue - the shade varies day to day
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: worms!
H- Hometown: warsaw, indiana
I- Indulgence(s): cookie dough, marshmallows, quality rocky road ice cream
J- January or July: neither - i don't like weather extremes
K-Kids: three - one girl, two boys
L-Life is incomplete without: family!
M- Marriage Date: 7/8/99
N- Number of Siblings: one brother
O-Oranges or Apples: juicy, seedless oranges or crisp apples
P-Phobias or Fears: missing teaching moments or, worse, teaching by my own bad example - not adequately preparing my kids to be confident, faithful people
Q-Quote(s): "Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself." Og Mandino
R- Reason To Smile: it's a beautiful day, my children are entertaining each other, my husband will be home early, and we leave for florida in 9 days!
S-Something new: i survived a japanese game show! (that show is hilarious!!)
T-Tag: anyone who feels like being tagged :)
U-Unknown Fact About Me: i have to skim the ending of books so that i can tear myself away long enough to care for my family, my house, etc. - also, if the book does not have a happy ending, i usually won't read it.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: moderate oppressor
W- Worst Habit: like kam - yelling at my kids to talk lovingly to each other
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: ultrasounds
Y- Your Favorite Food: cherries, anything chocolate (but NOT chocolate-covered cherries), milk, pasta
Z-Zodiac: gemini

happy father's day!

happy father's day, james! we love you like crazy and are so very thankful that you are the head of our family. i can totally understand why you are the kids' favorite - you're my favorite, too!

love, love, love you!!

why doesn't the Lord consult me on His plan for me? or, in other words, i think i'm being compelled to be humble.....again

as some of you may know, in january a nasty storm came through and took quite a few of our roof shingles away. our roofer informed us that we could file a claim with our insurance and not be penalized for it since the damage was weather-related. state farm came out and looked at the roof and decided to cover the damage to the back part of the roof. it was pouring the day the adjuster came out and he didn't see the damage that had been patched on one side of the roof as well as the back. so, we just had the back replaced since that's all insurance would cover and i spent many minutes being frustrated with the whole thing since they didn't cover the damaged side and the newly replaced roof looked quite a bit different, color-wise, from the old roof. i mentioned this to my agent while talking with him about something else and he told me that i could have the adjuster come back and reevaluate the damage. so, after jumping through many hoops and chasing down roofers and adjusters and tracking faxes, we found out yesterday that state farm is going to replace the rest of the roof!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! they are replacing the damaged side and then going ahead with the rest since the color difference is so noticeable. the claims agent said they don't normally pay for replacement based on color-matching, but for some reason his supervisor approved our claim for it. so...............i know this is a long beginning to make a point, but i also know that if state farm had seen the side damage in the beginning, we would've only had half a roof replaced and would be in a pickle a few years down the road when the unreplaced shingles needed fixing. once again, the Lord has taken care of us in a way that provided for ALL our needs. and, once again, i am standing at the receiving end of this wonderful blessing and looking back at the process and wishing that i had just been faithful throughout, instead of stamping my foot and growling at the unknown. how many times will i need to be compelled to be humble before just doing it on my own? is that a question i really want answered? i just wish i would mature already! by the way, that's my next project: developing more patience.

roaming amid the crazies

can you spot the walking baby?

do these children look attention-deprived to you?

the great outdoors

we have been loving the outdoors this spring! a few weeks ago, we picked strawberries and then had our own mini strawberry festival with strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry milkshakes. yum!

the kids love the backyard and are adjusting nicely to kawelo's mobility and curiosity.

the kids found this nest in one of our maple trees and we've been able to watch these eggs.....

....hatch into baby birds!

"ma nature's lyrical with her yearly miracle - spring! spring! spring!"

(seven brides for seven brothers)

arrival of the thirties

so.... is it good luck to see a semi-famous, probably gay man (josh johnson of hgtv's "design star" - think "sparkle!") shopping in the women's department of the saks outlet on your 30th birthday? i'm gonna go ahead and say it is! thanks james, kalei, koa, & kawelo for being so excited for my birthday and making it so sweet and special - i love you!!!!

p.s. i love the look on kawelo's face - is it awe.....confusion.....we just don't know!

Journal Masthead

Here's props to Kam's awesome design that is now the masthead for our new journal: the International Journal of Exercise Science (http://www.intjexersci.com)

After a few days of promoting the journal at our national conference in Indianapolis, her design has now been seen in at least the following countries: Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico, Italy, England, Malaysia, Singapore, Nigeria, Jordan...

THANKS Kam!!!