Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, I know, today is not my real birthday, it is tomorrow. But Darrick has to stand duty on Christmas Day. So we celebrating my birthday today and Christmas tomorrow. The boys and I went to church this morning and Darrick met us at home when we got back. He had to stand duty yesterday.
So after church I opened my cards and presents. Thanks Dad and Mom for the money and calendar and Grandpa and Grandma and the Sytsma family for the cards.

Then we headed up to North shore to have birthday lunch at Cholo's. I had a yummy chicken, cheese and bean burrito with rice!
Then came the interesting part. The boys decorated my cake. You could definitly tell it was made by 2 kids. They sang to me and helped me blow out my candles as I made a wish: for our daughter to be placed with us this year.
We just opened our Christmas pj's and movies. Jacob got "Surf's Up" and Micah got "Meet the Robinson's". Micah and I made our Christmas breakfast. It is called Cowboy French Toast and it has to sit overnight and then you just pop it in the oven in the morning. We are going to have a slumber party tonight and watch movies and be cozy in our pajamas!

LUKE UPDATE: He doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain and is even starting to run around with his cast dragging behind him. He sleeps a lot and looks like he longs to go outside. On Friday the 28th he has his next appt. when he will get his new splint. He also seems to be terrified of Darrick. We think that Luke associates the pain of his broken leg with Darrick since he was the one with him when it happened. Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts for our puppy.

Our life is never boring!

Thursday night Darrick thought he would take Luke for a nice evening walk. As he was getting Luke out of the back yard he wiggled away from Darrick. He already had his leash on but Darrick couldn't catch him, Luke is really fast. I was in the house with Micah. All of the sudden I heard Luke crying like I have never heard him cry before. Darrick came in carrying Luke and said something happened to his leg. Darrick had been on one side of our van and Luke had run away to the other side when Darrick heard him cry.

He had a pretty good size bump on his leg and couldn't walk. In this picture you can't see the bump, but you can see how swollen it is. It is the leg on top.

We called the vet right away because they have a doctor on call. She told us it would $100.00 for her to come in and $50.00 for the x-ray tech plus whatever the normal costs would be. We decided to wait until the next day and see the vet them. But Luke was miserable, you could see it on his face. All he wanted to do was sit on my lap and if I got up to do something he would hobble around following me until I sat back down and he would crawl into my lap. I don't think I have ever seen a dog's face look so sad.

So yesterday afternoon they worked us into the schedule. The vet said they need to take 2 x-rays to get a good view of what is going on in there, which would cost $250.00. We told her that we do not have that much. She said we could do 1 which was $140.00. We had no choice, we had to do it.

She showed us the x-ray and said it was really bad. It wasn't just a fracture but instead the whole bone broke apart at the growth plate-by his ankle. She said he needed to go to an orthopedic surgeon and have it operated on and set, which was about $2000.00! Since we couldn't do that she said they will try their best to set it with a splint and hopefully it will grow back together properly.

If it doesn't he may always limp, or it may be shorter then the others, or if it doesn't heal right it will have to be amputated! That was the last straw for me and I started to cry. Our life has been so stressful lately and so much going on and now this.

So we asked her to set it. We could hear him crying in the back, it broke my heart. When they brought him back to us it was all wrapped up in yellow gauze with green dog bones on it. We have to bring him back every week so they can check it and wrap it up again.

So for the next 2 months Luke cannot really go outside or get it wet. This morning he seems in pretty good spirits and is getting better at wobbling around. They also gave us pain medicine that we have to give him once a day.

Micah's Christmas celebrations

On Wednesday I went in to Micah's school to help. The whole first grade met in the caferteria and each students was given a plate, a baggie of decorations and a ball of gingerbread cookie dough. Each student got to shape and decorate their own gingerbread man. They all turned out so cute and then the caferteria baked them all and the students got to take theirs home.

On Thursday was Micah's schools Christmas program. It was 2 1/2 hours long but so good. The beginning and advanced band played. The Spirit Squad did a few routines (Micah asked me to videotape them because he thinks they are cute). Then each grade from 6th down to pre-k sang 1 or 2 songs. Micah's grade sang "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree". He did a great job dancing and singing all the words.

Micah also brought home his Christmas letter to Santa. He really wants a PSP and gave a pretty convincing argument for why he should have one. We looked around and they run about $175.00 here without a game. Maybe for his birthday we will think about it...

Mother-in-laws

As I was taking a shower this morning, I was thinking about our day yesterday...

In the afternoon, after piano lessons, we stopped by some friends house for a playdate. After entering the house and saying hi to my friend, I was greeted by her mother-in-law. She had been there for a week already and plans on staying with them until February. Wow, that is a long visit and at times I could see the frustration in my friends face as the mother in law did things.

At Micah's piano lesson when we walked into her house I noticed that her livingroom was rearranged. I commented on it and she said her mother-in-law was visiting and she decided to do it and she said I just don't say anything.

It has been almost 5 years since my mother-in-law passed away from cancer. We were very different people yet she always liked me. But like a lot of mother-in-laws she frustrated me too.

And now that she is gone I wish so much that she was here. A few years after she passed away I apologized to Darrick for wasting so much time putting him in the middle by complaining about how she did things or when she did things or why she did things. I wasted so much time it is something I will always regret.

It shouldn't have mattered how different we were. She was Darrick's mom and raised an amazing son who is my wonderful husband. For that alone she should have been honored.

And I miss her for my boys. She was crazy and loving and would have spoiled them to no end. I have made it a point to not let her memory fade away. The boys know who she is and where she is. I tell them how much she loved them. I keep things of hers around the house. I have a small white pitcher of hers that we put syrup in everytime we have waffles or pancakes and I remind the boys that it is hers.

Even though she can't read this I just want to thank you Linda for your wonderful son and for loving me into your family.

If you are BLESSED to have a mother-in-law thank her this holiday season and enjoy her company. Celebrate the differences, appreciate them. Don't put your spouse in the middle and just let things go. And give your mother-in-law a big hug in memory of Darrick's mom Linda.

Cookies, Crafts and cards

This morning as I was dropping Micah off at his classroom, Mrs. Hudson told me that she forgot to buy all the ingredients to make gingerbread cookies and all the 1st grade teachers are getting together after school to make the dough. She asked me to go so I said I could after I dropped Jacob off at preschool.

I thankfully found all the ingredients I needed and the bill was $103.00!

After I dropped off the groceries and was leaving she asked me if I could stay and help the kids make their Christmas presents for their parents. So I sat at the table manned with a hot glue gun, frames and lots of beads and decorations. When that was done it was onto making reindeers out of candycanes. She also told me that she needs my help tomorrow morning to help the kids design and decorate the cookies and to make antler headbands for the 1st grade to wear for the Christmas program.

This is not what I envisioned when I looked at the few weeks the boys were both in school before I start subbing. I want to be in my pj's reading in bed...

This afternoon I finished up all my Christmas cards and hope to get them in the mail Tuesday or Wednesday. Christmas is sneaking up on me fast!

The days are flying by

I am finally starting to feel a little better today. It has been 1 week since I went to the ER. It was a really rough week with not feeling well but I made it through.

TUESDAY: In the afternoon I had to go to get my fingerprints taken to start working as a sub. It was cool because it was all done electronically, no black ink involved. That evening Micah had a scout pack meeting. They played some fun games and went Christmas caroling at the Minimart. Tuesday night we had our friends Charlie and Alex over to spend the night. On their way from Japan to California for Christmas they made a short few day stop in Hawaii! We were excited to see them and to meet their new little sister, Elizabeth.

WEDNESDAY: After feeding all four boys and getting them ready we headed to the Navy Lodge to swim in the pool. I let Micah and Jacob have a special day off from school. They swam and goofed around for hours and I got lots of time to hold Elizabeth. In the evening we all drove up to North Shore, watched the sunset and ate Stordo's on the beach. It was so hard to say goodbye.

THURSDAY: We found out at the beginning of the week that Oscar and Beth (Vairin) Gonzales will be moving to Oahu at the beginning of January. Oscar was offered and accepted a new job here and starts the beginning of January. So they flew out to check out places to live. We picked them up at the airport and then let them borrow Darrick's car to use while they are here. Darrick also fit in a quick tour of the USS Lake Erie.

FRIDAY: Micah was running a fever so he stayed home from school. In the morning we went to Jacob's preschool Christmas program. It was really cute. His class sang 2 songs. Jingle bells, where all the kids played an instrument and My God is so Great. He did all the hand motions and sang the words.

SATURDAY: We had a breakfast meeting at Zippy's for Micah's soccer team. He seems to have a really great team and starts practice this week Thursday.

SUNDAY: This morning Oscar and Beth came to church with us, Darrick is out to sea right now. After church we drove up to North Shore and ate lunch at Cholo's. From there we went to Sunset Beach to check out the Billabong Pipeline Masters . There was no competetion today but the surfers were still there. We stayed for awhile and then stopped for shave ice. Before bringing Oscar and Beth back to their hotel we stopped off at Pali Lookout. They are flying back to Cali tomorrow. But we will see them again soon!

Oh, what a weekend!

FRIDAY: The day started off with getting the boys to school. It was the day of Iroquois Point Elementary School's winter carnival. It was from 9am-6pm. I was there at 9 am helping in the first grade booth. At 11 I went to Micah's classroom because it was his classes turn to spend an hour there. At 12 I left to go pick Jacob up from school so he could come to the carnival too. Micah got out at 1:10 and we drove to Waipahu so I could get my TB test read. Then it was back to school for the carnival. Darrick met us there and took the boys around while I worked in the booth until 4:30.

While all that was going on Darrick had a very important morning. It was the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Darrick's ship was chosen to sail around Ford Island during the ceremony. Every year less and less survivors return to remember this day because they are all passing away. This year they erected a "Healing Field" which had one flag posted for every person that died during the attack. Each flag also had a tag with an individuals name on it. There was also one Hawaiian state flag for every person killed in this war who is from Hawaii.

So back to Friday. We left the carnival at 4:30 to get showered and changed for the USS Lake Erie's Christmas party. Auntie Hiromi took the boys overnight so we could party all night long! It was held at the Marriot in Waikiki and the food and entertainment was awesome! But the highlight of the event was the award ceremony. One of Darrick's guys, those who work for him, was named Sailor of the Year and then to top it off the Captain picked 2 sailors who he promotes to the next rank and pay grade and it is effective immediatly and it was the same guy. Darrick was so proud and all his guys were jumping and cheering and hugging, I even saw some teary eyes-it was such a great moment for Darrick and his guys. On a side note, we DID NOT win anything in the raffle again this year. Darrick had his hopes set on 2 really nice flat screen tv's but they went to someone else.

The last bit of news for Friday was that we got our orders: We are going to Naval Air Station Lemoore which is in California. As of now that is where we are headed next but there is still a chance it could change. In February Darrick will find out out if he was selected to go to Officer School. If he does those orders will be void and he will go to Officer School and then get sent back to a ship, where we don't know. If he does not get selected we will go to Lemoore and enjoy 3 years of Shore Duty. The downfall is that there is a slight chance he will be sent to Iraq since they are sending a lot of guys on shore duty there. But it is all in God's hands and we will go where He sends us.

SATURDAY: After we picked the boys up from Hiromi's we spent most of the day unpacking and the boys played with some kids they met in the neighborhood. In the evening we decorate our Christmas tree. The boys put all the ornaments on. Luke seemed to think that it was his own personal relaxing area. We had to put the tree skirt away because he bit off a button and chewed on a snowmans arm. Are the pictures of the boys by the tree started out cute and adorable but went downhill fast!

SUNDAY: I woke up yesterday morning with a really terrible pain in my jaw, on the left side up by my ear. We all went to church but it kept getting worse. And during lunch it was so painful I could barely eat or chew. We were on our way to the ships kids christmas party and Darrick and I decided I should go to the ER. There was no reason for Darrick and the boys to miss the party and just sit in the ER with me. I had to wait about 3 hours and I had a slight fever and my glands were swollen. The doctor thought I have an infection in my glands and gave me motrin and antibiotics. If it doesn't go away in a few days I have to see my regular doctor. When the guys were done with the kids party they picked me up-I was just getting done, so it was perfect timing.

This morning it still hurts pretty good and after I got the boys to school, I took a big nap. I also turned in my sub application and made an appointment to get my fingerprints done.

Go Warriors!

The big news on the island is the University of Hawaii's Football team! They were undefeated and are now headed to the Sugar Bowl! It is really a big deal here and everyone on the island is supporting their team!

We have been getting dumped on, as far as rain goes. We are in the rainy season, but with the rain comes mud. Hawaii does not have the usual mud you may be use to. It is red dirt which makes red mud which stains and gets on everything.

Wednesday I got a TB test done as part of the process to becoming a sub. I have to get it read tomorrow.

Tuesday I went on a field trip with Micah's class to the Hawaii State Library and Honolulu Hale. At the library the kids heard a story and then we walked over to Honolulu Hale which is outdoor Christmas decorations, themed Christmas Trees done by local government agencies and a wreath making contest.

I have been spending my days unpacking and trying to get our home in order. We put our outside Christmas lights up and got our first Christmas card today from Charlie and Maud!And promised here are some pictures of Jacob's first day of preschool! Jacob is so hard to get to look at the camera-he could really care less about pictures. And that is his teacher Miss Josie.

We Survived!

Here I am sitting in a quiet house, in our new kitchen, because all the men, including Luke are fast asleep. We were able to find someone in the new neighborhood who has a wireless connection so we can check our email and write on our blog.

FRIDAY: The day before the big move. Thankfully Darrick has a 4 day weekend because the ship did good on their inspections. In the morning we had our lease signing and viewing of our new house. It looked great and we were excited to move in. While we were signing the new lease they told us they were giving us $500.00 to help cover our moving costs! So we were able to hire some movers to help us with the big stuff. Also on Friday was the last day of my substitute teacher class. So on top of all the stuff for moving, I was studying for the final for the class. Friday afternoon I took the test. I was a little nervous because I have not taken a test for over 10 years, when I was at Dordt. It took me about an hour.

SATURDAY: Moving Day! We were all up bright and early and the movers arrived at 8:30am. Everything went really well. They took all the big stuff like furniture and then when they got to the new house I told them where to put it. We decided that the shed that we bought will fit in our backyard so Darrick spent a big part of the day taking it apart in sections so we could move. As the boxes came into our new house I unpacked them. It was a long and exhausting day.

SUNDAY: Moving Day 2! We still had boxes to move and most of the kitchen to pack and then unpack. We worked on putting the shed back together. Darrick worked late into the night cleaning our old house for our final inspection on Monday. Another long day!

MONDAY: Today it was back to school for Micah and Jacob's first day of preschool. He was so excited and proud to be going to school. I will post some pictures when I find the cable. After we got the boys to school we had to move the motorcycle from the old house yet. But it would not start so Darrick had to walk it all the way to our new house. Darrick and I made 2 trips to Lowes today. We needed a ladder and some fencing to put around the bottom of our backyard fence so Luke can not get under. I mowed the yard-it is so little!!! Darrick finished the shed! And we did more unpacking.

I received my grade from the sub class and I got a 95% on my test so I passed (80% was passing). I am very happy. Next steps are fingerprints and TB test.

Jacob had a great day at preschool and is excited to go back tomorrow. They are practicing songs for their Christmas program. He said they learned about God and prayed. He played, had lunch and a nap and did some papers.

I LOVE our new place and am so happy here! We will send some pictures when we get some. We passed the final inspection on our last house so are now done with that. We just have the unpacking and organizing. As I am unpacking I am also getting stuff out to decorate for Christmas.

Luke had a vet appt. today and is now 9 lbs. We had his 2 last puppy shots and is healthy.

We called the company that does our phone/internet/cable and the soonest appointment they could give us is December 28! Can you believe it?!?! Hopefully we will survive.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that it was pouring rain on Friday. Beautiful and clear on Saturday and rainy Sunday and cloudy today. We got wet sometimes but on the whole us and our stuff survived!