Breakfast with Santa

Last weekend the USS Lake Erie hosted a "Breakfast with Santa" for the children of the parents who serve on that ship. It was very well attended and the boys had a blast. Naomi was overwhelmed by it all and she stuck close to me!

We started off making crafts!

Next it was time to eat Breakfast. We all went through the chow line. We had our choice of eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes, donuts, whip cream and fruit toppings. It was really delicious!


Part way through the breakfast the bells rang and they announced over the 1MC that Santa had arrived and before we knew it he was on the Mess decks greeting all the children. Jacob LOVES Santa, Naomi had no clue who he was and Micah doesn't believe in Santa anymore.



After breakfast it was time for the children to meet with Santa one at a time. We happened to be one of the first families which was great because Naomi was done. Jacob was first and told Santa all about how he wants "Army" stuff this year. Then Naomi went with Darrick's help but she just sat there.

Then it was Micah's turn. Here is a little back history...about 2 weeks ago, while using a public restroom Micah dropped his DS in the toilet after it was um, used. The DS does not work anymore so Micah is asking for a new DS for Christmas. We told him that we could not find any DS's and the only one who could bring him a DS is Santa but he would have to ask him. As you can tell from the pictures that was the last thing he wanted to do but he really wants a new DS. He would definitely not sit on his lap.

All in all it was a great time!

Adoption Blog

We were recently asked by our agency to keep our adoption and the country's location on the down low so we have deleted our adoption blog.

Me and my three kiddos

Darrick went back to work today AND he has duty, so today was my official first day alone with my three kids. On the whole I have to say it went pretty well even through we had some rough spots.

I got up early so I could have everything ready, including me, before I got the kids up. Once they were up and dressed we headed to school for breakfast. That went smooth and then the boys were off to class.

Naomi and I hopped in the car and headed to the exchange and commissary. The exchange was fine but the commissary is rough. It was her 2ND time there. I guess the biggest problem is that there is food everywhere and Naomi does not understand why she can't have it. So this time I brought her a little snack but she did not want it, she wanted the food that she saw. The first time we went, Darrick and I thought if we let her hold the food that would help but she tried eating a banana without peeling it and then ripped open a bag of Ritz crackers and started shoving them in her mouth.

After we got home, some friends, Jennifer and Baylor, stopped by with a crock pot filled with a roast, potatoes and carrots for dinner, since they knew I would be alone with the kids. Thanks again it meant so much to me!

So far I have been unsuccessful at getting Naomi to take her mid-day nap. I know she is tired but she just can't relax. So to kill time before we went to pick up the boys from school I took her to the park. She loved it and didn't want to leave.

After school until bed was the hardest. While I was helping the boys with their homework Naomi got very upset and bit me a lot and stepped on the boys papers and cried. But we made it through.

Dinner was so yummy and we only had 2 cups of water spilled and one cup of gravy!

After dinner Micah said he wasn't feeling good and went to take his bath so he could go to bed early. I cleaned up the kitchen while Naomi and Jacob ran around. Then it was their turn for baths.

I got Naomi to bed first, then Jake fell asleep in my bed and Micah in his own. Now I am doing laundry and cleaning up the house for Bible Study tomorrow.

It has really been a big change for me going from 2 to 3 kids and I know it will take time to get a routine down.

HAIR ISSUES

So you may be wondering how it is going with Naomi's hair. My friend Nicole was here for a week, and if you don't know she is biracial, and she gave me a lot of helpful advice. But then Monday after school we went to the beach.

Naomi loved the sand, a little too much. She was actually dumping it on her head. After the beach I put her in the shower and tried to wash it and it would not all come out. I called Nicole and she suggested holding her hair under running water. So we did. It took Darrick and I both to hold her because she hated it and screamed the whole time. We felt terrible. So we just kept pouring bucket after bucket on it and it was still not all gone!

Wherever she sits she leaves bits of sand behind. Tonya, now I know why you didn't like taking your kids to the beach.

Then today I was talking to another mom about Naomi's hair and she was feeling it and said it was really dry. Does anyone out there have any advice? I need some!

He finally did it!

If you have been to visit us in Hawaii, then we probably took you to Darrick's favorite place to eat: Dirty Lickins. Darrick LOVES their hot wings and eats there every chance he gets.

The first time we ate there was for Darrick's birthday almost 4 years ago. It was then that he noticed a poster that said "1000 wing club". He pledged right then that one day his name would be up there.

Well that day has come. Darrick has eaten 1000 hot wings-I'm so proud. Not a lot of wives can say that about their husbands. His determination and persistence is admirable and he never lost sight of his goal.

He does not get anything for making it into the club, except bragging rights. He ate about 15 wings every time we went, which means we have eaten there about 68 times.

Congratulations Darrick-you did it! Hopefully one day the boys will carry on your legacy and get their name on a wall somewhere for eating 1000 something.

Home is where the Navy sends us

We just found out yesterday that this summer we will be leaving the beautiful island of Oahu. We will be packing up our house and kids and moving to Everett Naval Base in the state of Washington.

Darrick has been on ship duty for the past 5 years and he is ready for some well deserved shore time-we all are! This will be a 3 year tour and then back to ship duty until he retires!

So you have until this summer to come out and see Hawaii and us too of course!

Polynesian Cultural Center

Saturday we took Nicole to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The weather was not the best, rain off and on, but we had a great time. It was Nicole and Naomi's first luau. Naomi was not too excited about her lei and just wanted to pick the flowers off.

After the luau we made our way over to the night show. They were selling light up sticks so we bought one for each of the kids. Naomi liked it a lot, so much in fact, she thought she would eat it.

Jacob was so exhausted that he fell asleep during the night show but Micah and Naomi watched the whole thing. After the night show, Naomi just let loose and was laughing and acting so silly making funny faces. We all laughed so hard and were so excited to see her put her guard down and just be a 2 year old!

Sweet Kisses and Sweet Moments

Thanksgiving

We have a lot to be Thankful for this year. God is so good to us! We finally have Naomi with us. We are amazed and overjoyed to watch Naomi discover a whole new world. We are seeing the world through her eyes. Everything is new and wonderful.

We started out the day in our own backyard, she was so happy to play on our little plastic swing and slide. Then we went over to our friends Pat and Carlos for our Thanksgiving meal. She had so many new foods and in abundance she was enjoying everything. After the meal we went to park and she was having fun, but the real fun came when the sprinklers came on, we now know she loves to play in the water. I guess we never really thought of all the things that would be new for her. Like swings, slides, sprinklers, ham, marshmallows, turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, salad and green bean casserole and then came the cakes and pies. In Africa she ate rice, beans and chicken livers and now all this and it was Thanksgiving so she ate a lot of it. Jenn and I were so happy to watch her and her big brothers have such a great day. Jacob is doing a great job as a big brother. Micah has really stepped up, he is so helpful and is thriving on a new role as a big brother to a brother and a sister. We are very proud of them. They take good care of Naomi and keep watchful eyes on her. I hope that is something that will continue.

Today Jenn's friend Nicole made it safely to Hawaii. We have big plans to show her a good time here. I am sure you will get to hear all about it. Today was the traditional stop at Pali Lookout. It seems that is one of the first things we do with all our guest. Then we had Big Kahunas for lunch and Zippy's for dinner. Both are very yummy.

Crazy Sock Day!

This is Red Ribbon Week and today is Crazy Sock Day!

Box Car Racing

Sunday the boys were invited to a birthday party at the Box Car track in Kunia. Kids 7 and older can ride by themselves so I got to ride with Jake. Darrick couldn't join us because he was zonked out with pain medication.

Saturday at North Shore

Saturday we took the Flint family to our favorite place on the island, North Shore! It was a rainy day but we made the best of it. We started with a delicious lunch at Cholo's. Then we quickly stopped at Turtle Beach before going to Sunset Beach.

The waves were a pretty good size and we had fun watching the surfers. There was also a monk seal on the beach. After the beach we stopped and had shave ice. We convinced the Flints to have ice cream on the bottom and they loved it!

Friday Night at the Hale Koa

Thirteen years ago after Darrick went to Boot Camp, he met a guy named Matt Flint at A school. They became fast friends and were so happy after A school when they both got stationed on the USS Supply together.

This week Matt, his wife Gina and their son Bradley have come to visit us! Friday night we took them to the Hale Koa to swim and watch the fireworks. We are all having so much fun together!

They're Back...

This weekend Darrick ended up in the ER with his 4th Kidney Stone.

Friday night we went to the Hale Koa to swim and hang out with some friends visiting from the mainland. After we got home Darrick was complaining of pain and started throwing up. We thought maybe he had food poisoning.

Saturday we took our friends up to the North Shore and he felt fine. But by evening the pain was back much stronger and he was throwing up. Around 11:00 pm he drove to the ER. They verified it was a kidney stone and gave him morphine. The boys and I drove to the ER at 3 am to pick him up and were back home by 4:30 am. Darrick was knocked out all day Sunday with pain medication which left me to do all the last minute running around we had planned to do together.

This morning the pain has lessened so we are hoping the worst has passed. Today he just took advil and that took pretty good care of the pain.

I didn't know you could do it, but I did it

Yes, I did it, I sprained my jaw. You might wonder how in the world I did that.

Let me take you back to high school...

When I was in high school I needed to get my tonsils out. Well during the surgery they somehow popped my jaw. I don't know how because I was asleep. So from then on my jaw always pops when I open my mouth really wide.

Well about a week ago I was eating and suddenly had this terrible pain on the left side of my jaw. I was hopping it would go away, but it has not, so I went to the doctor. She told me that when someone has an "abnormal" jaw like I do, the ligaments are stretched funny and when I bit I strained them resulting in a sprain.

She recommended a liquid diet or soft foods until it heals but that is really hard. Hopefully it will heal quickly!