Marriage on the Rock

Today Darrick and I started a marriage series called "Marriage on the Rock", not marriage on the rocks :) by Jimmy Evans. We opened up our home so we are hosting and another couple are the shepherds or leaders and then there is one other couple. There are 52 couples in our church doing the study.

We will be meeting every Sunday at 5:00 pm for the next 10 weeks. For part of it Darrick will be in San Diego so we have to do via email. We are both really looking forward to it.

Happy Birthday Micah and Jacob-a little early

Today we celebrated the boys birthdays. Darrick is leaving this week with the ship to go to San Diego for about a month and will miss both of their birthdays. Jacob will be 5 on January 23 and Micah will be 7 on February 8.

Micah was thrilled and surprised to get a Nintendo DS! Jacob loved his puzzle from Nana and Papa and his first big boy scooter!

We had chocolate cake and ice cream and spent the day together. It was a good way to celebrate.

Goodbye Old Friend

Yesterday our dear Pepsi passed away. Darrick's mom bought Pepsi for him about a year before Darrick joined the Navy. When Darrick joined my parents agreed to take over the responsibility of taking care of Pepsi. Jeff was young and really enjoyed having Pepsi as a pet. These pictures are from this summer when we were visiting my parents. Thank you Dad, Mom and Jeff for giving Pepsi a loving home.

Another day of subbing

Wednesday morning at 6:30 am I got called to sub again. In order for me to get to school in time we have to leave the house at 6:45! So we had to get ready quick but we made it.

I was in a 3rd grade class, my favorite age! It went well. It is also nice that other teachers are meeting me and they really like the fact that I am an experienced teacher. One teacher already asked me to sub 2 days for her in February!

Today I did not get called, which was nice because I could get some errands done.

There is also a terrible news story that happened here today. A man threw a toddler off an overpass into the freeway traffic below. The child died and they are still trying to figure out why this happened. Also a woman was murdered the day before. Things like that never happen here so everyone is in shock.

hiho, hiho, it's back to work I go

Today was my first day as a sub in Hawaii. I actually got the phone call last night, which I like so much better then getting called in the morning. The assignment was for First Grade at Iroquois Point Elementary-Micah's school.

So the boys and I had to get up much earlier then normal and we had to be out the door by 6:45 am. Then we dropped Jacob off at before school care and then Micah and I headed to school.

I signed in and got my key and headed to the classroom. To my surprise there were NO lesson plans! Yikes! So I winged it the best I could. But later in the morning, the teacher's roommate brought the lesson plans. Then things went much better. The day went really fast and everything went smoothly.

Since I have my teaching degree, I am in the highest pay category, which means I get paid $147.00 a day! When I subbed in NJ about 10 years ago I got paid about $70.00.

So all in all, it went really good. But one funny thing happened. All the classrooms have really big windows. A couple of times I saw Micah pass the window and peek in. Then his teacher told me at recess that Micah went to the bathroom about 4 times this morning and was wondering if he was ok. I said he was and that I think he was spying on me!

Some ladies also came by because they were checking the students in the school for headlice. One of my students have to leave because they were infected. Oh dear!

Jacob's hair

From the time Jacob was born, he has had very challenging hair, as you can see from the first picture. Darrick wanted to cut it right away, but I told him you cannot take a little baby to the barber. So we dealt with it for many months. I finally gave in and we got Jacob a haircut. Soon after that his hair grew very thick so we started to get him buzz cuts. It looked cute on him and he has had his hair like this for about 4 years. But now he has decided that he wants to grow his hair out, I think because Micah is growing his out. This morning was the first time we could style it since it finally got long enough. But all his hair grows forward so I had to but gel in it to get it to stay to the side. What do you think?

Makin' Cookies

Last night the boys and I made sugar cookies. I actually got out our play dough cutters and the boys had so much fun making all kinds of different cookies. We used a sugar cookie recipe from my sister-in-law, Laura's mom-yummy!

Then today we all got in on the action of decorating them. Darrick and Jacob seemed to have less, they said the cookies kept jumping in their mouths. It was a lot of fun!

And here I am wearing my sweatshirt

It is actually on the cool side today so I am wearing my sweatshirt.

Well, it is cold for Hawaii.

OK,OK, here is the picture

So here is the picture of our awesome HAYS sweatshirts that Jennifer gave us. We love them, thanks again, Jennifer!

We also put a picture of Luke with his fourth cast and his cone. He kept chewing his casts and so now he has to wear this.

Start of the soccer season

Overnight Guest

Yesterday our friend, Jennifer Homesley, came to stay with us overnight.

She is from Texas and is staying there, with family, and her 3 year old son Brayden while her husband Jeremy is deployed for 6 months. Since they would be gone so long before her husband left they moved out of housing. Well in order to get back into Navy housing and on the waiting list, the housing people told her she had to be her in person.

So she found a military space A flight, the kind we took to Japan, and flew to Hawaii. The only thing is that the flight was returning to Texas this morning at 8 am.

So she left her son Brayden with family and hopped on the plane. Her flight was to arrive at 1:45 and she made her housing appt. for 4:00 because it closes at 4:30. Well her plane ended up being late and didn't come in until 4:00.

Micah and I had arrived to the terminal at 1:15 to pick her up but were quite entertained by all the airplanes and helicopters landing and taking off. We were at the Marine Core Base. So when she did land we called housing right away and they said they would wait for her. We booked it over there and made it there at 4:35. Thankfully they saw her and she got on the list!

We had such a nice time hanging out and talking. She is 5 months pregnant and I got to feel the baby move! She also brought Darrick and I cool sweatshirts from the Hays store! I absolutely LOVE them.

This morning Darrick and Jennifer left at 4:45 am so he could drop her back off at the Marine Core Base terminal and then Darrick could get to work by 7:00.

Leave is over

Today Darrick had to go back to work because his leave is over. It was so great to have him home. We did not really do that much but hung out at home a lot which we all needed.

On Saturday, we did decide to go out and do something. We decided to drive up the West coast and take a little hike. We had never been up the west coast that far and it is so beautiful. We have had some rain lately so there were some pretty big mud puddles since it was a dirt trail. To the right of the trail were the mountains and to the left was the ocean. There were some points on the trail where you could go off the trail and explore.

We saw some tide pools and decided that would be a good place to have lunch. After we had our picnic lunch the boys explored. They found baby hermit crabs and five sea cucumbers. We did not have our camera so I found a picture on google of one. Of course, the boys ended up in the water. Whenever we are near the ocean they end up in it, they can't stay out. After awhile we hiked back. It was a really fun time!

I also got all my paperwork back from the state and so when school starts again on January 14 I can start subbing!

Rememebr them in prayer

This is an article from CBS.com Our friend Jeremy is on the Port Royal and all Darrick's old shipmates from the Hopper. Please keep them in your prayers.

Pentagon: Iranians Harassed Navy Ships

(CBS/AP) In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels. U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. "It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we've seen yet," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Iran's Foreign Ministry said Monday that the confrontation between Iranian boats and U.S. Navy ships over the weekend was "something normal" and was resolved. It suggested the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels. The incident occurred at about 5 a.m. local time Sunday. CBS News has learned from Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman that the three ships - the guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal, the guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper and the guided missile frigate USS Ingraham - were transiting the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf when they were approached by 5 Iranian fast boats, some of which were assessed to be visibly armed. The small boats began charging the U.S. ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the Navy vessels and forcing the U.S. ships to take evasive maneuvers, the Pentagon official said. CBS News Correspondent Vicki Barker reports that, according to Pentagon officials, the Iranians reportedly radioed something to the effect of "We're coming at you and you'll explode in a couple minutes," although there was no precise transcript of communications that the two forces exchanged available. There were no injuries but the official said there could have been, because the Iranian boats turned away "literally at the very moment that U.S. forces were preparing to open fire" in self defense. Whitman said the Iranians' actions displayed "wreckless, dangerous, and potentially hostile intent." He also said that the U.S. ships followed "appropriate protocols" and were in international waters. The entire incident took about 15-20 minutes duration, according to the Pentagon. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said he was not aware of any plans to lodge a formal protest.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said the weekend incident between Iranian boats and U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz was "something normal" and was resolved."Without specific reference to this incident in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will confront Iranian behavior where it seeks to do harm either to us or to our friends and allies in the region," McCormack told reporters. "There is wide support for that within the region and certainly that's not going to change." Whitman said the Pentagon will work with State and National Security Council officials to determine "the appropriate way to address this with the Iranian government." Historical tensions between the two nations have increased in recent years over Washington's charge that Tehran has been developing nuclear weapons and supplying and training Iraqi insurgents using roadside bombs - the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq. According to CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, White House spokesperson Tony Fratto said the Bush administration urges the Iranians "to abstain from such provocative acts that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future."

Sugar Bowl!!!

Today is the day. The University of Hawaii Warriors has made it to the Sugar Bowl. They were the only undeafeated college team in America, 12-0!

We, along with the whole state were in our living room at 3:30 for the start of the game in New Orleans, decked out in our Warrior gear to support. It took 3 shots to get Jacob to cooperate.

But we are sad to report that Hawaii lost 10-41. But we are so proud of the Warriors for making history in Hawaii and for their coach June Jones for his open discussions about God and his faith!

Any Advice?

Since Micah's birthday is in February and he asked Santa for a PSP for Christmas, Darrick and I thought we would do some research.

During our search we have discovered Nintendo DS. The unit itself is less expensive, the games are less expensive, it seems more kid friendly and it has a lot more younger kid friendly games.

We are just wondering if anyone out there has an input to the PSP vs. Nintendo DS debate? We would really appreciate it!

The boys

Today has been one week since Luke broke his leg. We took him to the vet today to get his new cast, he has to get a new one each week for about 2 months. This one is bright orange with green smiley faces on it.

I also put a picture of the boys with some cute shirts we found during Christmas.

Micah's says :Big Bruddah
Jacob's says :Lil Bruddah

The boys wanted to get a cute little tank top with pink writing that said "Baby Sista" but we didn't know what size to get.

We also got our internet, phone and cable hooked up today as well as getting our broken dishwasher fixed! Things are looking up!

Such an amazing woman

I just received one of those emails you never want to receive.

A little background: About 10 years ago when Darrick and I were stationed in New Jersey we became very good friends with a girl on his ship, Sonya Haught. Sonya was from West Virginia and we even went there and met her amazing family. I had an instant connection with her mom and her passion for adoption.

We were so blessed when we moved to Hawaii to find out that Sonya was stationed her also. We enjoyed hanging out and I was even Sonya's birthing coach and cut the cord when she gave birth to her son Braiden.

Last Thanksgiving Sonya's family came to Hawaii. Sonya has an older brother and then she has a twin brother. Her parents have adopted 4 kids, and one with severe special needs. It was so awesome to see those kids, and her parents, have fun of a lifetime in Hawaii. Sonya's mom and I spent a lot of time talking about adopting. She is so passionate about it. She is always searching to find families for kids. She just encouraged us and helped us get started on our journey.

Sonya has since gotten out of the Navy and moved back home to West Virginia. I got an email this morning from her that her mom unexpectedly passed away yesterday. Sonya was shopping with her mom and they were driving in the car, her mom was driving and she passed out. She said her mom was airlifted to a hospital in Ohio where she passed away.

She was such an amazing person, so full of life and love. Please pray for this family. Especially her dad and those kids who they adopted. Below is a picture of her having fun celebrating her adopted daughter's birthday.

Merry Christmas

As I was finishing my last blog post I heard a lot of dripping sounds. I looked up and water was dripping out of the kitchen ceiling onto the counter and floor. So we had to call emergency maintaince. So before we could have our Christmas Eve sleepover we were visited by an elf who cut a hole in our roof and discovered it was from a leak in the overflow drain from the upstairs bathroom.



We woke up Christmas morning, popped our Cowboy French Toast in the oven and got the turkey ready to go in next. Just as we were about to sit down for a nice family Christmas breakfast the doorbell rang and it was another elf who wanted to patch up the hole with drywall.
The food was yummy but the atmosphere wasn't. It is hard to have a nice family meal when there is a stranger in your kitchen pounding and scraping. Micah decided he did not like his meal and ended up eating Special K but the rest of us liked it.
From there we went into the livingroom to try and have more privacy. Micah read half of the Christmas story and I read the other half. Then we took pictures of the boys in their Christmas pajamas by the tree.


Then it was time to open presents. The theme for the boys was Pokemon and Star Wars. And they were very excited about a rocket Uncle Charlie and Auntie Maud got them!


Then it was time for our Christmas feast. I made an 11 lbs. turkey, rolls, black olives, corn, stuffing, greenbean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy and sparkling cider. Everything was delicious except my gravy. The flavor was awesome but it was super runny.

Here is a picture of my Christmas dishes I bought in the spring. I have always wanted Christmas dishes with holly and I finally found some I really liked.

In the evening we headed to the Pearl City Cultural Center to attend our church Christmas Eve service. It was really awesome and the children, Micah and Jacob included sang 2 songs. There was also hula, hip hop dancing, praise time, a moving testimony and an awesome sermon by our pastor Mike Kai.

Jacob fell asleep on the way home and after a nice bath, Micah was out like a light.

Darrick and I cuddled up on the couch and watched "The Nativity Story". It was really good and we both liked it a lot. Then it was time for us to hit the hay too. It was a very nice Christmas.

Darrick left early this morning because he has to stand duty on the ship. We are going to join him there in a little bit because they are having a Christmas service and meal on the ship.

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

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.