One of the girls' favorite snacks is something that we call Puffed Rice. The bag refers to it as Hina Matsuri Okashi Sweet Confetti {wow, what a mouthful! we just like "puffed rice"} It tastes similar to Quaker Puffed Rice cereal but it's sweeter, and much prettier than the brown stuff in the "Sugar Bear" box at the grocery store. Our family in Hawaii sends it to the girls on most special occasions, and in such huge volume that we don't very often run out. But a little more than a week ago we did run out, much to little Kamele's dismay. She told me, "Daddy needs to call somebody! Great Mommy will get me more." And of course, she very sweetly and promptly did :-) !!
Kamele was soooooo happy. She could barely wait as I opened up the boxes.
She tore into Ka'iulani's bag before I even saw that they were labeled with the girls' names on them. She's usually a little more patient than that, but I guess that's what a week of puffed rice withdrawal can do to a three year old.
Isn't that the cutest bag of puffed rice you have ever seen (we've never seen the ones with pictures on them before!)? Ka'iulani thought the little girl on the bag looked like Kamele.
She hugged the bags, carried them around like babies, and gave them kisses...
She was that happy to be reunited with her favorite snack.
A little later I found her sitting under the table eating it with her chopsticks. Thank you, Thank you, Great Mommy and Great Daddy. You made the baby's day!!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A Trumpet?! Really?!
Last week Alyssa brought home a trumpet from school. About a month ago the music teacher asked for volunteers who would like to learn how to play a band instrument. Alyssa is never one to pass up an opportunity to do anything music related, so the fact that she volunteered did not surprise me at all. Her choice of instrument however, did. Although the trumpet is very nice, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot that is very feminine about it. Everything else about this little girl screams Princess, so it seemed like an unlikely choice, but she has LOVED it.
Her practicing sounds like a fog horn billowing through the house. Not bad sounding, just really LOUD and resounding. The trumpet she is borrowing from the school is very old, but she's excited to have it! She was proud to tell us that they moved her to the advanced class where she gets to practice with the 5th graders. She has since tried the flute too, and she doesn't like it as much. She said it whistles too much.
Encouraging Rebekah to play too.
I just liked both of their facial expressions in this photo.
The same day that she was able to practice with the 5th grade group she was very pleased to tell me that they were learning to play Odd To Joy. I'm sure Beethoven would be very proud of their "Odd"!
Her practicing sounds like a fog horn billowing through the house. Not bad sounding, just really LOUD and resounding. The trumpet she is borrowing from the school is very old, but she's excited to have it! She was proud to tell us that they moved her to the advanced class where she gets to practice with the 5th graders. She has since tried the flute too, and she doesn't like it as much. She said it whistles too much.
Encouraging Rebekah to play too.
I just liked both of their facial expressions in this photo.
The same day that she was able to practice with the 5th grade group she was very pleased to tell me that they were learning to play Odd To Joy. I'm sure Beethoven would be very proud of their "Odd"!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Get Wild, Child!
Yesterday, we went on a Behind the Scenes Tour of our zoo. Once a year, Milwaukee County Zoo has a weekend where the public can visit areas of the zoo that are normally off-limits. It was interesting to see all the care involved in maintaining each habitat, and the health of all the animals.
The elephant is always a favorite stop for the girls.
This tiger cub and his little sister cub are seven months old. They were so tiny the last time we saw them! It's amazing how quickly they change, even their temperament was completely different. Last time they were very playful and wild, and we either caught them at nap time, or they have really mellowed as they've gotten bigger.
Here, behind the scenes at Big Cat Country, we got to see a keeper measuring out food for the wild cats, and we went in a back area where they store all their toys and habitat enrichment. It stunk SO BAD back there, I really thought I might get sick! Imagine the smell a house cat sometimes has and then think how much greater that would be for lions, tigers, cheetahs, and a jaguar. Gross, gross, gross! Dave had to make fun of my sensitive nose...
And Alyssa had to copy my reaction ;-)
The next two pictures were taken from the winter quarters near Big Cat Country. This is an indoor barn area where the animals stay when it's too cold to be outside. There were yellow lines that we were strongly encouraged not to cross painted all around this guy's habitat. I guess he's not too friendly.
Alyssa was very quick to point out that I share a birthday with this cutie tapir. They post bulletin boards with important notes about the animals, their feeding, general habits etc and she took note of everything! This tapir kept lifting it's nose up at Emma, and it made it look like it was smiling at her.
Sweet giraffe.
One of the coolest things we saw was this female moose {deer mule, I think is what the tour leader called her}. She doesn't look too different from a deer, she was bigger than a deer though. The more I look at this pic, I think she might be a deer more than a moose but I don't know enough about what defines the species to say for sure, Dave was confident that our guide called her a moose. Anyway, she came to eat at the barn right as our tour was about pass through. We had to be really quiet, and she was so close that we could have touched her easily {although we were told not to!!} Because we were in an area that only the keepers enter to feed the animals, she seemed really comfortable with our presence.
Shy wolf.
Relaxing bear.
A 22 day old baby camel, the newest addition to the zoo.
A fun day at the zoo made me even more excited about this! The weather is warming up here, it's supposed to be in the 50s every single day this week! Hurray! Again, I realize this little button belongs in my sidebar but...The National Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a campaign called Be Out There! All this week as Spring is arriving in most areas, their website has all kinds of suggestions for cool outdoor activities to do each day to help your child "Get Wild." I know we are looking forward to time spent outside!!
The elephant is always a favorite stop for the girls.
This tiger cub and his little sister cub are seven months old. They were so tiny the last time we saw them! It's amazing how quickly they change, even their temperament was completely different. Last time they were very playful and wild, and we either caught them at nap time, or they have really mellowed as they've gotten bigger.
Here, behind the scenes at Big Cat Country, we got to see a keeper measuring out food for the wild cats, and we went in a back area where they store all their toys and habitat enrichment. It stunk SO BAD back there, I really thought I might get sick! Imagine the smell a house cat sometimes has and then think how much greater that would be for lions, tigers, cheetahs, and a jaguar. Gross, gross, gross! Dave had to make fun of my sensitive nose...
And Alyssa had to copy my reaction ;-)
The next two pictures were taken from the winter quarters near Big Cat Country. This is an indoor barn area where the animals stay when it's too cold to be outside. There were yellow lines that we were strongly encouraged not to cross painted all around this guy's habitat. I guess he's not too friendly.
Alyssa was very quick to point out that I share a birthday with this cutie tapir. They post bulletin boards with important notes about the animals, their feeding, general habits etc and she took note of everything! This tapir kept lifting it's nose up at Emma, and it made it look like it was smiling at her.
Sweet giraffe.
One of the coolest things we saw was this female moose {deer mule, I think is what the tour leader called her}. She doesn't look too different from a deer, she was bigger than a deer though. The more I look at this pic, I think she might be a deer more than a moose but I don't know enough about what defines the species to say for sure, Dave was confident that our guide called her a moose. Anyway, she came to eat at the barn right as our tour was about pass through. We had to be really quiet, and she was so close that we could have touched her easily {although we were told not to!!} Because we were in an area that only the keepers enter to feed the animals, she seemed really comfortable with our presence.
Shy wolf.
Relaxing bear.
A 22 day old baby camel, the newest addition to the zoo.
A fun day at the zoo made me even more excited about this! The weather is warming up here, it's supposed to be in the 50s every single day this week! Hurray! Again, I realize this little button belongs in my sidebar but...The National Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a campaign called Be Out There! All this week as Spring is arriving in most areas, their website has all kinds of suggestions for cool outdoor activities to do each day to help your child "Get Wild." I know we are looking forward to time spent outside!!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
are we time traveling?
We were talking about "springing ahead" and the time change as we left church this morning. In trying to explain how we "lost an hour" I found myself giving a much more elaborate answer than the girls' questions warranted.
Quiet, bewildered faces looked up at me and Emma asked, "Are we time traveling?" She thought about it more, and pretty much convinced herself that we are now lost in the time-space continuum. Her confusion was probably added to by Dave trying to describe his certainty that after growing up in Hawaii (where daylight savings time is not observed) and then his frequent trips to and from during Christmas and Summer vacations he has officially "lost time."
Being over tired {after being short an hour of sleep :-) } she wouldn't relent, and even after discussing it all the way out to the car and back home, confusion remains.
Quiet, bewildered faces looked up at me and Emma asked, "Are we time traveling?" She thought about it more, and pretty much convinced herself that we are now lost in the time-space continuum. Her confusion was probably added to by Dave trying to describe his certainty that after growing up in Hawaii (where daylight savings time is not observed) and then his frequent trips to and from during Christmas and Summer vacations he has officially "lost time."
Being over tired {after being short an hour of sleep :-) } she wouldn't relent, and even after discussing it all the way out to the car and back home, confusion remains.
Friday, March 5, 2010
February Thursdays = Working at the Library
Every Thursday during February, one of our public libraries did this really cool series of storytimes that related to careers. Each week we could stop by for a visit where we would hear a few fun books about a specific job, and then get to play with toys related to that work. Rebekah enjoyed it a lot!
February 4, 2010: Post Office
Having fun "delivering love" as a mail carrier. I thought the little hats and homemade mail bags were too cute. She loved stamping on all the post marks, and sorting mail.
February 11, 2010: Doctor's Office
She was such a good doctor to her baby, Rebecca. They gave us a little medical notepad where the moms could help their children record all the vitals of their "patients." Rebekah took Rebecca's temperature; "It's good," she told me. Blood pressure: Good. Heartbeat: Sounds good, hmmmm...strong. Dr. Kamele's diagnosis....
"Um, I think I need to cut your hair off."
February 18, 2010: Construction Worker
She loved gluing construction paper scraps to make a "rough building plan," and then using all the play tools and blocks to build her castle.
February 25, 2010: Pizza Chef
Kamele loved these Melissa and Doug pizza toys where all the pizza toppings velcro to the pizza, so she could make any kind she wanted. As usual, she turned any chance to sit around a table and serve food to me into a tea party. It was fun.
Sometime in February her registration and application for school came back to us in the mail, saying she was accepted for K4 in the fall. It was very bittersweet for me. I don't look forward to sending her to school. Among many other things, these mornings at the libraries, playtimes, and tea parties will be missed so much. So, we haven't decided for sure what we are going to do yet. With her birthday being as late as it is, it wouldn't be completely unreasonable to hold off for one more year. I just don't know if I would be doing that more for me or for her. She tells us that she wants to go, and she already walks around the big girls' school like she owns the place. I know she'll do great if we send her, but I also know she'd do wonderfully here at home with me...
February 4, 2010: Post Office
Having fun "delivering love" as a mail carrier. I thought the little hats and homemade mail bags were too cute. She loved stamping on all the post marks, and sorting mail.
February 11, 2010: Doctor's Office
She was such a good doctor to her baby, Rebecca. They gave us a little medical notepad where the moms could help their children record all the vitals of their "patients." Rebekah took Rebecca's temperature; "It's good," she told me. Blood pressure: Good. Heartbeat: Sounds good, hmmmm...strong. Dr. Kamele's diagnosis....
"Um, I think I need to cut your hair off."
February 18, 2010: Construction Worker
She loved gluing construction paper scraps to make a "rough building plan," and then using all the play tools and blocks to build her castle.
February 25, 2010: Pizza Chef
Kamele loved these Melissa and Doug pizza toys where all the pizza toppings velcro to the pizza, so she could make any kind she wanted. As usual, she turned any chance to sit around a table and serve food to me into a tea party. It was fun.
Sometime in February her registration and application for school came back to us in the mail, saying she was accepted for K4 in the fall. It was very bittersweet for me. I don't look forward to sending her to school. Among many other things, these mornings at the libraries, playtimes, and tea parties will be missed so much. So, we haven't decided for sure what we are going to do yet. With her birthday being as late as it is, it wouldn't be completely unreasonable to hold off for one more year. I just don't know if I would be doing that more for me or for her. She tells us that she wants to go, and she already walks around the big girls' school like she owns the place. I know she'll do great if we send her, but I also know she'd do wonderfully here at home with me...
two winter weekends at the havenwoods, and signs of spring!
Two winter weekends in a row, Havenwoods State Forest had lots of family activities going on, so we took the girls over to enjoy...
We went for a carriage ride pulled by these two beautiful horses. They were huge!
The girls with a police horse.
Loving the turtle she named Swimmy.
Kamele explored the different kinds of food small mammals like to eat. She insisted on taking a photo with each one.
The girls made lots of crafts:
Like painting raccoon faces on rocks.
The second weekend that we went, Alyssa was at the Kalahari. This is what happens when Emma is left to own creativity with outfit selection: Black leggings that have a lace trim by the ankle, usually paired with a skirt, but she opted for the pink Daisy Duke shorts instead. Top it off with a High School Musical tee that plays music and purple snow boots ~ the height of first grade fashion!
Emma's friend Jordyn came with us.
The girls fished in an indoor pond.
Caught one!
Hilarious fun as they played with animal puppets.
We were able to snowshoe...Rebekah lasted so much longer on these than I thought she would, it was really a lot of fun.
And have snowball fights! Making the best of chilly winter weather! Who would have known that the following week we would have weather in the 40s (which is pretty much tropical at this point) and by the following weekend the kids would all be outside riding scooters? Despite these snowy pictures, Spring is in the air and I can't wait!
We went for a carriage ride pulled by these two beautiful horses. They were huge!
The girls with a police horse.
Loving the turtle she named Swimmy.
Kamele explored the different kinds of food small mammals like to eat. She insisted on taking a photo with each one.
The girls made lots of crafts:
Like painting raccoon faces on rocks.
The second weekend that we went, Alyssa was at the Kalahari. This is what happens when Emma is left to own creativity with outfit selection: Black leggings that have a lace trim by the ankle, usually paired with a skirt, but she opted for the pink Daisy Duke shorts instead. Top it off with a High School Musical tee that plays music and purple snow boots ~ the height of first grade fashion!
Emma's friend Jordyn came with us.
The girls fished in an indoor pond.
Caught one!
Hilarious fun as they played with animal puppets.
We were able to snowshoe...Rebekah lasted so much longer on these than I thought she would, it was really a lot of fun.
And have snowball fights! Making the best of chilly winter weather! Who would have known that the following week we would have weather in the 40s (which is pretty much tropical at this point) and by the following weekend the kids would all be outside riding scooters? Despite these snowy pictures, Spring is in the air and I can't wait!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Teenage Inspiration?
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
This post has been on the tip of my tongue, so to speak, for at least a couple of weeks now. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to say about it, but I've given it enough thought for me to say something, so I'm giving it my best try.
During the months of January and February, Dave and I were in a Sunday School class called Running the Rapids. It's a series by Dr. Kevin Leman about guiding teenagers through the rough waters of adolescence. If you have never heard any of his teachings ~ you need to! He talks about really serious stuff, but in a very warm-hearted and funny, yet no nonsense type of way.
I have to say that while I've never dreaded the teenage years of our girls, it is a little intimidating to think ahead to a time when we will have three teenage (or at least almost teen) chickadees in our nest, all at the same time. I think Dave has actually given this more thought than I have. When I was pregnant with Rebekah, a similar series {I think it was about effective communication with teenage children} was offered at church, and he wanted to go to it, while I insisted on a different class. I remember looking down at my big belly and thinking, Seriously? We have a six year old, a three year old, and this tummy, and you want to think about them being teenagers? Well the time has passed very quickly since then, and while we still have a few more years, it's certainly on the horizon more now than it was back then.
Dr. Leman's series likens the journey through adolescence to a whitewater rafting trip through turbulent waters. Waters in which our girls will make some of the most important decisions, the consequences of which will follow them through the rest of their lives. He encourages parents to learn how to be an effective guide during challenging times. I couldn't possibly describe the entire series in one sitting, and even if I could, I'm not sure that my synopsis would do it any justice.
Basically, I really appreciated the rafting guide analogy, and it made me think so much about my role in helping the girls grow into the people God created them to be. Have you ever been on a white water rafting trip? I have only been once, and it was in a very controlled environment where the risk of injury was quite small (even if I doubted that during the experience!) Let me tell you though, the guide sits at the back of the raft, not prominently in front, which is kind of where I was hoping our guide would situate himself {I wanted him bear the brunt of any rough waters we encountered}. But we were the ones who had to sit in the front and navigate, just like our girls will have to learn to navigate through difficult situations one day. When we were being tossed around, I can't emphasize enough how reassuring it was to hear calm instructions coming from the back of the raft. I hope that I can be that trusted voice of reason for the girls when they need it the most.
I love feeling like I am teaching the girls stuff. So at the beginning of the series, my first thought was that being a proper guide was simply a continuation of this teaching. Great, I can handle that :-)! However, teaching implies that I have some kind of control over the outcome. We are already experiencing with Alyssa the fact that as our little ones get older, the control we once had shifts much more to influence. Lord, let us be good stewards of this influence!
Implicit in guiding someone, is the idea that the path or destination is ordained already. Not by us of course, but rather that God has a plan for them. One that we must trust, and more importantly, one that the girls must trust. I will never have the complete control to keep them in the raft by my own strength, and I can't pretend that it's my job to try to do so.
Quite possibly the scariest thing I experienced during our rafting trip was that when we fell out of the raft, I immediately did the opposite of what we had been taught in our training session, only a half hour earlier. I tried swimming and fighting the rushing class 4 waters, instead of letting the water carry me to an eddy {a safe area of calmer water}. How quick are we to do that in everyday life? And why do our instincts often fail us like that? Because we are forgetful people, that's why. We forget the price that has been paid for our salvation, and because of this we act like we can or should do things on our own, in our own way. We'd rather swim against a current that slams us into rocks and pushes us so far under we can't even see the surface, than turn to the One who can calm the rapids and steady the raft.
I've pretty much taken the long way around saying that I hope can always be the kind of guide who leads the girls to their true source of strength, confidence, and hope. Lord, thank you for each teachable moment we have with the girls. In all that we do, help us point back to you as our ultimate guide. May the girls find joy and assurance in you alone.
This post has been on the tip of my tongue, so to speak, for at least a couple of weeks now. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to say about it, but I've given it enough thought for me to say something, so I'm giving it my best try.
During the months of January and February, Dave and I were in a Sunday School class called Running the Rapids. It's a series by Dr. Kevin Leman about guiding teenagers through the rough waters of adolescence. If you have never heard any of his teachings ~ you need to! He talks about really serious stuff, but in a very warm-hearted and funny, yet no nonsense type of way.
I have to say that while I've never dreaded the teenage years of our girls, it is a little intimidating to think ahead to a time when we will have three teenage (or at least almost teen) chickadees in our nest, all at the same time. I think Dave has actually given this more thought than I have. When I was pregnant with Rebekah, a similar series {I think it was about effective communication with teenage children} was offered at church, and he wanted to go to it, while I insisted on a different class. I remember looking down at my big belly and thinking, Seriously? We have a six year old, a three year old, and this tummy, and you want to think about them being teenagers? Well the time has passed very quickly since then, and while we still have a few more years, it's certainly on the horizon more now than it was back then.
Dr. Leman's series likens the journey through adolescence to a whitewater rafting trip through turbulent waters. Waters in which our girls will make some of the most important decisions, the consequences of which will follow them through the rest of their lives. He encourages parents to learn how to be an effective guide during challenging times. I couldn't possibly describe the entire series in one sitting, and even if I could, I'm not sure that my synopsis would do it any justice.
Basically, I really appreciated the rafting guide analogy, and it made me think so much about my role in helping the girls grow into the people God created them to be. Have you ever been on a white water rafting trip? I have only been once, and it was in a very controlled environment where the risk of injury was quite small (even if I doubted that during the experience!) Let me tell you though, the guide sits at the back of the raft, not prominently in front, which is kind of where I was hoping our guide would situate himself {I wanted him bear the brunt of any rough waters we encountered}. But we were the ones who had to sit in the front and navigate, just like our girls will have to learn to navigate through difficult situations one day. When we were being tossed around, I can't emphasize enough how reassuring it was to hear calm instructions coming from the back of the raft. I hope that I can be that trusted voice of reason for the girls when they need it the most.
I love feeling like I am teaching the girls stuff. So at the beginning of the series, my first thought was that being a proper guide was simply a continuation of this teaching. Great, I can handle that :-)! However, teaching implies that I have some kind of control over the outcome. We are already experiencing with Alyssa the fact that as our little ones get older, the control we once had shifts much more to influence. Lord, let us be good stewards of this influence!
Implicit in guiding someone, is the idea that the path or destination is ordained already. Not by us of course, but rather that God has a plan for them. One that we must trust, and more importantly, one that the girls must trust. I will never have the complete control to keep them in the raft by my own strength, and I can't pretend that it's my job to try to do so.
Quite possibly the scariest thing I experienced during our rafting trip was that when we fell out of the raft, I immediately did the opposite of what we had been taught in our training session, only a half hour earlier. I tried swimming and fighting the rushing class 4 waters, instead of letting the water carry me to an eddy {a safe area of calmer water}. How quick are we to do that in everyday life? And why do our instincts often fail us like that? Because we are forgetful people, that's why. We forget the price that has been paid for our salvation, and because of this we act like we can or should do things on our own, in our own way. We'd rather swim against a current that slams us into rocks and pushes us so far under we can't even see the surface, than turn to the One who can calm the rapids and steady the raft.
I've pretty much taken the long way around saying that I hope can always be the kind of guide who leads the girls to their true source of strength, confidence, and hope. Lord, thank you for each teachable moment we have with the girls. In all that we do, help us point back to you as our ultimate guide. May the girls find joy and assurance in you alone.
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