signage

this pretty much sums up kalei at the moment - and gave me a good laugh when i saw it on tuesday.

james rocks

i just returned from a girl's night out/baby shower and this is what i found in the living room:

james is the best dad ever.

home again, home again, jiggity jog

i'm back in kentucky after a wonderful week in florida. dad is doing so great! he's up and around - still not able to lift anything over 2 lbs., but able to hang out on the beach and watch the sunset or moonset or just chill. here are some photos of the beach wildlife:

thanks, mom & dad for making it such a relaxing week for me! i went down to help out, but ended up getting all the extra sleep time, beach time, sewing time i needed.

the kiddos seem happy to have me back:

here is koa next to the latest addition on his map wall. that's right, we now know all the alamo car rental locations in florida. well, it was a map of florida, and it was free.


thanks again, mom & dad, for letting me come down and entertain you for a week - i'm available summers and holidays!

Koa's dinos

This was our project while Kawelo was asleep and Kalei was at school. He had a great time and wanted to show his dinos off.

surprise!!

i'm in florida! i flew in yesterday and surprised mom & dad at the hospital - fun! thankfully, since dad has already had his bypass, there wasn't any danger of giving him a heart attack. so that means james is flying solo this week (thank you!!!! i love you!!!!), and i'm here to be the entertainment so dad won't think too much about the giant incision places healing all over his body (i feel queasy just thinking about it - i would not make a good nurse). thanks for all the prayers and good wishes for dad - he's doing great and won't let us do anything for him, of course - i'm totally seeing where i get all my stubbornness from - and to think that all this time i thought it was from mom...

these hands

these hands have always been there for me. they have soothed and comforted me and my babies. these hands are the hardest working hands i know. they are quick to pitch in and help with any project. they are at home with a scalpel, a shovel, a bottle, the scriptures. most importantly, these hands are always holding my mom's hands.

i am so grateful beyond words can express that these hands are still here to hold mom's hands.

i am also so grateful that, once again, the Lord has placed us where we need to be to get the help we need. we wondered why we were in arkansas over and over until koa needed his surgery and one of the top neurosurgeons had just moved to arkansas children's hospital. similarly, dad is in just about the most perfect place to have bypass surgery (i think "land of old people" is florida's unofficial state motto - dad's not old, of course - he just barely qualifies for membership in aarp - he's a spring chicken by florida standards) and the hospital he's in is one of the top facilities for bypasses. so, apparently, golf was not the only reason to move to florida. we love you, dad!!!! see you soon!

favorite question of the day

yesterday, from koa:

"can i eat my broccoli now?"