a boy and his truck

It's always so exciting when the UPS guy pulls up out front! Although I think Rob is thinking, scratch that... I KNOW Rob is thinking, "WHAT on Earth did Amber order this time?" But this time, it wasn't me! Boo ya! But I knew exactly what it was...

A truck from Nannie!! 

And he basically hasn't stopped playing with it. Actually, saying that it must never leave his sight would be more appropriate.

Thank you so much Nannie! He clearly loves it!! 

why i deleted facebook

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. (I think most people do.) Sometimes I love reading people's updates... sometimes I don't, but I feel bad "unfriending" them, or ignoring their request to be friends again... after I already unfriended them once. And some of the people, I hardly remember from middle school. I have met lots of people along the way... having lived in several different cities, and I love the idea of keeping in touch with them. But it just never really works out that way, ya know?! Instead, I have 450 "friends" and I'm reading about what everyone is having for breakfast. (I'm guilty too). Also, what's the point of a high school reunion anymore?

I had already disconnected from Twitter a month or so ago. But, that account has been deleted as well. And Facebook, now it's your turn!

I just get SO tired of reading the anything-that-tells-me-how-you-think-I-should-be-living posts. Just because you live your life, does not make it the right way for everyone. Get off it. Those are the posts that grate my nerves the most. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. But truthfully, I don't care... and I can't even believe I'm writing a post about it.

Goodbye, Facebook.

aloha friday!

It seems like I'm only posting on Fridays these days... I really need to get with the program. I'll try harder to post more frequently! 

So what's new this week? Honestly, I have to go and look back at my calendar to even remember what happened during the week. Rob went to work, and is home now. Sydney of course. Tim Tams, what? Those are so 2 months ago... we're ALL about the honey cinnamon covered almonds he brings back from Chinatown... in Sydney. I'm like, "can you bring back 5lbs of almonds please?" And I'm sure it's totally something we can find here. But alas, it's easier for us to get our almonds from Australia. 

Christian had physical therapy, but he was in a mood... and not fully cooperating. It is what it is. 

We went to MyGym, and I tell ya, Christian has NO FEAR. He walks up the ramp to the ball pit, and just cannon balls into it. It's a few feet drop off. All the parents are like, "whoa!" Yep, that's my boy. 

I've committed to regularly attending a Monday night Mom's Bible study, and so far I'm loving it. The girls are awesome, and I can bring Christian along. The kiddos go play outside while one of the other mom's older kids (teenager) babysits. I am so eager to really connect with these women, and plan some play dates.

BUT... this week. Oh man. Are we excited!! The Bishops are coming for a visit!! I CANNOT WAIT. Like, I'm going to explode I'm so excited to get our little ones together... and THEN go spend 5 days on Kauai with them! We already decided the the kids are sleeping in the same room, so if they wake up in the middle of the night they can swap stories and let the parents sleep. HA! Kauai is my favorite island (of the ones I've been to) and I can't wait to go back, with friends.  

Rob and Christian, Duke and Kira during our visit to California in December.

Liisa and Kira, me and Christian. Obviously Liisa has the photo where we're both actually looking at the camera.

Love!

Happy (very late) Aloha Friday!

aloha friday... and what a sweet boy.

Aloha Friday y'all! 

We had a great week, with Rob home almost all of it. On Sunday we started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class through the church. It's convenient that we can leave Christian in the nursery, although it also means that we may be missing the service for a while. Luckily, it's online and broadcast on TV. Rob and I are hoping to become better stewards with our money, and also hopefully one day own a home here in Hawaii. A dream. (The very average 4-bedroom house across the street just sold for $900k... so yeah.)

Christian doing a pre-flight (drive) check!

The week consisted of me really getting into my triathlon training, with lots of swimming, running, and biking. A little yoga too. And some weight lifting. I've also been eating very clean the past 2 weeks, thanks to the AdvoCare 10-day cleanse I was doing. But so far I've continued to eat clean, cut out sugar and dairy, and I've never felt better. So I'm trying to ignore all the Trader Joe's goodies that our awesome landlord brought us back from California! 

The week also included lots of time at the park and beach for Christian. 

And this morning we were honored to be able to attend the Hawaiian blessing and dedication of the Easter Seals East Sultan Early Intervention's new building. Wiki says, "In Hawaii anything new (a new building, a new stretch of road to be opened, a new garden) receives a blessing by a Hawaiian practitioner (or Kahuna) in a public ceremony (involving also the unwinding of e.g. a maile lei)." One thing I absolutely love about Hawaii, is how they keep ancient traditions alive. These blessings are an awesome thing to witness. And Governor Abercrombie also showed up for the ceremony, along with KHON news. So we'll be looking out for Christian on the news tonight!

However, the most melt-my-heart moment happened when Christian ran on stage to give "Uncle" Jamie and this little girl Anya the biggest hug, while Anya's mom was speaking about her journey. Jamie is Christian's physical therapist... and Christian pretty much followed Jamie (and Anya) around the entire time. This really is such a great program and everyone we've worked with has been fantastic, and definitely lifelong friendships have been made. It's just the way it is here on the island. I love it.

Christian giving hugs!

Governor Neil Abercrombie 

Still following Anya around... 

Everyday I reminded how truly blessed I am and I never want to take not even one day for granted. 

This afternoon we'll head to the Hawaii Kai Public Library to see if we can find any "new" truck books. Although we've recently been deviating from ONLY reading truck books. We always let Christian pick out what books he wants to read, so it's a little surprising. Branching out! And tomorrow we're having a date night with one of Rob's co-workers and wife. Rob used to work with this guy at his previous company, and now he also works for Hawaiian. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

an answered prayer

Yesterday Christian had a consultation with a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. Because of that darn torticollis, of course. He's made leaps and bounds of progress since first being diagnosed, but the slight asymmetry in his face was cause for some concern. The pediatrician explained that the tight muscle in his neck could be the cause, and as a last option, they could surgically "release" the muscle. Of course my first thought is, MY BABY HAS TO HAVE SURGERY?!? No, not quite, but the uncertainty was there.

Like I mentioned before, his pediatrician was encouraged at his 18-month appointment by his improvement. 

So we prayed for our little guy. Prayed that surgery wouldn't be necessary, prayed for guidance if they felt it was. I really couldn't handle the thought of him having to have surgery for something so "superficial" BUT I also didn't want this (very slight) asymmetry in his face to be something that would affect him the rest of his life either, or get worse. Everyone agreed (physical therapist, pediatrician, chiropractor, his family) that getting as much information as possible is the best thing. 

Here's the prognosis. The doctor couldn't find ANY tight muscles in his neck. He thought his range of motion was great. And since Christian has roughly another 15 years of growing to do, the (very slight) asymmetry would fix itself through normal growth. He said to call him if in a few years we felt it hadn't improved, but in his professional opinion, this would be the end of it.

WHEW.

I mean, everything the doctor told us, was BETTER than I could have anticipated. NO tight muscle? GREAT range of motion? Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

Thank you God for answered prayers. 

aloha friday!

This week has been a mix of fun and sad, but mostly lots and lots of fun. But sad because it our good friends' last week here on Oahu before their big move back to the mainland. I can't even believe it's happening already! I even told Rachelle yesterday that it hasn't quite sunk in that her family, and Christian's play buddy, will be leaving!! So we spent last weekend, and this week, cramming in lots of trips to the zoo and the beach.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Waikiki beach, and it was a blast. We surfed while the dads watched the boys, and then switched so they could have a surf too. It was SO much fun! And you definitely encounter some... interesting... people in the waters of Waikiki. But we had so much that we're going to do it again today!

Why wouldn't there be a violin playing Santa on the beach?

Surfing babies!

Christian running to meet Rob as the guys paddled in. So sweet. 

Tomorrow we'll be grilling out at the beach again. (Because that's what you do every weekend in Hawaii.) It'll be a farewell (and celebration) to some of our most favorite people that we had the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with. And I already told Rachelle yesterday that we want to plan a trip to visit them sometime soon!

After our afternoon at the beach, we're going to a play Rob's cousin has a role in. I hear it's funny, and I'm excited to see it!  

Some of you knew I was doing a 2-day juice cleanse. Well, I failed... miserably. Wednesday night (the first night of the cleanse) I started feeling really weak, and light headed. I thought it must be the "detox" from the cleanse. But I just felt "off." I don't know how to describe it. I decided to eat a small salad, and then was completely sick the rest of the night. It almost felt like the flu... but when I took my temp, it was actually on the low side. But I was up most of the night, and it was not fun. And just to add, I've done juice cleanses before... and I've never experienced anything like this. Rob said he was actually worried about me. Yikes. But I feel 100% better today... I was about 90% yesterday. 

On Monday, Rob goes off to work. He's actually staying in the country this time! And I start my Honolulu Triathlon training. I feel kind of silly to call it training because I'm only doing the Sprint course, but I need a reason to workout. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Aloha!