I love my lips...

Call me childish but I love cartoons. One of my favorites in Veggietales. I love them little veggies. And of course one of my favorite character is Larry the cucumber. On a few of the episodes they have a segment called "Silly Songs with Larry" and it's the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song... One of the earlier songs was "I Love My Lips" The song starts out with Larry laying on a couch telling his psychiatrist about his love for his lips. The first line of the song goes "If my lips ever left my mouth, packed a bag and headed south. That'd be too bad. I'd be so sad" Well I think I'm about to be sad. After the past couple of days I think my lips are going to leave me.

Yesterday after Minichurch I came home and snuggled in bed with my laptop to watch a movie. A little into the movie I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to fix a wrinkle that was under me. So instead of getting up and fixing it I just wiggled around then reached underneath me and pulled. Well I wasn't paying attention to my computer and it slid off the book it was on, down the pillow that the book was resting on and right into my lip. To be more precise the corner of the computer connected with my very sensitive lip. It hit it just right. It swelled up right away. Luckily today it just looks puffy.

Now fast forward to about a hour ago. I had just come back from getting more line for the weedwacker. Just finished repacking the spool and was trying to finish the little bit of the yard work I was doing. I'm getting a good rhythm down and almost finished when a rock broke loose from the wall, flew up and hit me right above my lips, just under my nose. I had a nice little red Charlie Chapman mustache. I was so good too. I had eye protection on. Ear protection. I just never thought of lip protection. Hopefully it won't look too bad tonight. And hopefully my lips don't decided to get while the getting is good.

Take my breath away...

Today I had to go to the doctor because I was having problems breathing because of the vog. It has been so bad lately. I was a little surprised because I haven't had as much problems with my asthma for a while. Or at least not without being right in the middle of exercising. Yet another reason to avoid exercising, hehe. So the doctor prescribed 2 different inhalers to help. No problem because I was able to get on a insurance after all the craziness at the beginning of the year. Except the insurance I have doesn't cover anything but antibiotics. So I got the cheaper one which ok because it's the rescue inhaler. I have to call my doctor tomorrow to see if I can take something else. I'm so thankful that for the most part I've been pretty healthy. I can't imagine how it could be for someone who is really sick and doesn't have insurance.

Hopefully we will get the tradewinds back soon and I won't have the problems anymore. Being able to breathe is a wonderful thing!

On the upside on the 4th I will start my new job! I wasn't sure what to do about the whole job situation, going to the mainland for the holidays, what's next all that. So finally I called a friend who told me about a job she knew of. At the time she told me it didn't seem right. For one thing it is in Honolulu and I really wanted to stay in Kaneohe because of my car situation. For another it's as a dental assistant. I wasn't sure if that was something I wanted to do. Wasn't sure if it was something I could do. But nothing seemed to be opening up. Through this whole time I've been praying and I haven't felt any direction other then that I was suppose to stay here. I wanted to make sure I wasn't turning down something that I was suppose to do so I decide to call my friend and see if the job was still available. The job she told me about had been filled but she might have another job opening. It would only be part time for now and full time after April. I prayed that if I was suppose to get the job I would. If I wasn't then I wouldn't. So I got the job so what does that tell you? In alot of ways this was kinda like me doing what Gideon did and put a fleece out for God. (Judges 6:36-40)

I'm so thankful. God is so good. It's scary but it's good. God wanted me there so He'll help learn everything.

Wipeout...

Today was so much fun. Today I got to hang out with Keao and take pictures at the beach. It doesn't get much better then that.

I got a call from Scott this morning asking if I would be interested in taking pictures at a wedding in November. That is so awesome. I'm so honored that he thought of me for that. It's actually very scary prospect, but a good scary. It's the scary because unknown part. But new challenges are good, they help us to grow.

After I talked to Scott I called Keao. We got talking and as it turned out she had a wedding to shoot this afternoon. So basically I invited myself along. I have wanted to go before but I have a hard time inviting myself to things. Luckily for me Keao had no problems with me going along. It was nice because we got to hang out all afternoon. It was all the way out in Ko Olina which is about a 30min drive away. Which isn't very far by mainland standards but for Hawaii that's pretty stinking far. and not only did I get to hang out with Keao but I got to play with her camera. Yea!

The couple was from Alaska and so nice. The day was perfect. A little overcast but overcast in the good way. Overcast it great for outdoor photography of people because it doesn't give you any harsh shadows or squinty eyes. I can't wait to see the pictures. I know Keao's will be amazing as usual and I want to see them. I'm also curious how mine came out. Unfortunately for me Keao has them. But I know she's nice and she'll share them soon.

And all this was on top of a great weekend. On Saturday was Splashdown, the 25th anniversary celebration for Hope Chapel at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. I haven't been there yet and I wasn't disappointed. I love water parks. Except for the whole bathing suit aspect of course.

The first ride of the day was the Cliffhanger. Which is a 6 story free fall. What a rush! What a great way to start the day.
After the Cliffhanger it was back up the HUGE hill then on to the Volcano Express. A 5 and a 1/2 story drop. But it's not just a drop you get to race your friends. I raced Dural and Matt. There was a whole lot of trash talking going on. I got hung up in the start and so I didn't win but that's ok.

After the Volcano Express we moved on to the Shaka. I rode with Matt who was so brave considering that he is scared of heights. I rode in front and it was insane. Just look at it, it's crazy. I'm so proud of you Matt.


Next was the Flyin' Hawaiian. Supposedly a nice and safe ride. Supposedly because looks can be deceiving. It is actually a very dangerous slide. Just ask Scott :)

From there we moved onto the Surfsliders. Again we raced. Not quite sure who won as I had to close my eyes at the end. My slide was especially fun as it was completely dark until you got to the end.
After the Surfsliders we met up with Scott and headed to the Tornado. The Tornado is the latest slide that they have made. It is this gigantic tunnel that drops you into a funnel that looks like it came from a cartoon.

You get to ride up to four people so Scott, Dural, Matt and I all got to ride at the same time. The inner tube looked like as one person put it a giant Honeycomb cereal piece. Though I started out facing forward I ended up going over the drop backwards. I seriously felt I was going to fall off. I obviously didn't and ended up riding the Tornado again. In fact I rode the Shaka, the Cliffhanger and the Flyin' Hawaiian twice too.

After all that we were all pretty starved so it was off to dinner then the festivities for the night that included some pretty awesome worship and a visit from the mayor. Pretty cool! And I haven't even told you about Keao's Blast from the Past birthday party and Dural's birthday dinner. I'm not going to do so now but I will soon. I promise.

Fun, fun, fun...

Someone asked me today how I was doing with everything lately. I would have to say good. It's been good. I had no idea what to expect. I mean really how do you prepare for loss. You deal with so much conflicting emotions. In many ways I wanted it because Grandpa would be free. But I don't think you are ever ready to say goodbye. We were expecting it but it's still hard. It's a loss and you still have grief to deal with even when you can see what's coming. I think it's the 'what's next' question that has been the hardest. It has been for me. It'll be 4 years in December. And it was so much of my life. I can't even imagine how it is for Grandma.

I mentioned all that to say how funny it is that I can be so busy not doing anything. I'm not working yet but somehow I'm busy. I think more then anything it's that things have a way of bunching up. It'll be all quiet then all of a sudden it's crazy busy.

This past week that was the case. Didn't do much after Sunday at the beginning of the week then it got busy. On Friday I went with a friend to her doctor appointment. Her kids and I hung out in the waiting room while she was busy. I'm so excited because she's 7 weeks pregnant! Her dad teased her that she will have to have a baby to keep me here after my sister got pregnant.

A little known fact: Not only are Power Rangers superheros they are also really good rock climbers

Captain America to the rescue

After the doctor appointment we went shopping. I wore my poor friend out. She had to go home and take a nap. I, being, a glutton for punishment did some more shopping after I dropped them off. By the time I got home it was almost time to go to church. Church as always was great. And afterwards I hung out with the gang that was there. Great friends, good food from the courtyard cafe, good times. Yup, good times.

If you drive around the island on a Saturday at this time of the year you won't be able to find a empty field. It's soccer season here in Hawaii. I went to 2 games on Saturday. The first was the little guys. 3 on 3, a team of six 5 and 6 year olds. It's awesome. They really have no idea what they are doing and they really don't care. They just have fun. Last week they were more interested in squishing the cockroaches then they were in the game. They do more chasing the ball back and forth then anything. They even chase it when it's out of bounds. They are so cute!

In the afternoon I went to the other game. The girls are I think 7 to 10 year olds. So there is a little more finesse. Also so much fun to watch. I, of course, spend the time taking tons of pictures. And I do mean tons. I've gone to 5 games so far and I've taken 642 pictures. I have nothing to say for myself. Nothing at all.

The little guys are so cute!

We're the Blue Angels. Can you guess the color we are?

See how much fun they have

Our team didn't win but they didn't care because they had fun

We're cheering for the ones in white

The girls won. It was a hard fought battle

Yo ho, yo ho....

On Friday and Sunday I was privileged to help Keao Sunaoka with the Children's choir performance. Keao has been working with these kids for, I think, several months. They are amazing. The great thing is though they love performing they love just sitting around singing. That is so awesome. They are also a bunch of kids and can go a little crazy so Keao asked if I could help with just keeping the kids rounded up. I came in at the last moment so I don't know how much help I was but I had fun.

After Children's choir performance on Sunday I got to do one of my favorite things. Go out on the boat! Keao asked what I was doing the rest of the day. I told her hopefully I was going out on the bay. I love it. I love hanging out and swimming at the sandbar. I love going snorkeling. I love going fishing. I pretty much love it all. Even food taste better out there. Usually my friends and their two kids come with us but they weren't feeling well so we went without them. They missed out it was gorgeous. The water was extremely clear and the waves died down and got very flat. So of course that meant we HAD to go snorkeling. Even grandma went snorkeling. I was so surprised. She had never done it before. She didn't snorkel for very long but just the fact that she did it was so shocking.

I had been snorkeling for a while when I popped out the water and told Uncle Phil that I really wished I had the underwater camera. He said we did. What!!! Why didn't you tell me. He told me I didn't ask :)

I took a lot of pictures, of course, but unfortunately it's on their camera so I don't have the pictures to post. I got some really nice ones. As I was floating around snapping pictures something came up by my shoulder. It turned out to be a eagle ray. I followed it for a little bit and got a great picture but since I don't have it you will just have to take my word for it.

The little ripple on the righthand side is Aunty Mary

Look at how flat it is

Aunty Mary, Uncle Phil and Grandma

Uncle Phil and Grandma snorkeling... or at least attempting to snorkel

Grandma is pau. She was heading back to the boat

That's life...

On the 23rd of this month it had been a month since my grandpa passed away. It always amazes me how quickly time can fly. One thing that I have been really encouraged to see is how well grandma is doing. I was really worried about how she would do. My grandparents were married for 53 years. That is such a long time. A life time.

My grandfather was always a bit of a homebody but even more so after the diagnosis of Parkinson's. My grandma how had always been social kinda adjusted her likes to be like his which as a married couple I think it's good in way. But I think that even though you are suppose to become one you are still two separate people with different tastes, wants and needs. I think that it's important to have that. My dad said once that a marriage relationship should be like a sailboat. One person is the sail and the other is the rudder. You couldn't have the one without the other. Without the other you couldn't move forward and go where you want to go. God made us unique and different for a reason. We are separate, we are different and that's good. We need to have a different point of view sometimes.

Because this was normal and familiar to her I was worried that grandma wouldn't get out as much, especially too as she now says that noise that comes with being with people makes her brain spin. But since grandpa passed grandma has gone to church, a birthday party, gone swimming several times at a friends house, gone out to eat, shopping, a bible study, the swap meet, and out on a boat! I've been so proud of her. She had been doing great. Thank you everyone for all the many prayers for her and the rest of my family.

Gonna take a walk outside today...

I was reminded today about just how long it had been since I posted a new post. I decided I was going to remedy that.

Today has been a great day. I love days like this. I got to do some of my favorite things. Hiking, taking pictures and spending time with friends. Yea! Going to eat afterwards at a Japanese Buffet was good too but I digress. Earlier in the week I had talked with Keao Sunaoka and she mentioned that later in the week she was going hiking with a new friend from her mini church. She asked if I wanted to join them. But of course! It was nice too because they were going to Manoa Falls and I hadn't been there yet.

Keao came and picked me up around 9 this morning and we were off. The day was almost perfect. It could of been a little cooler on the trail, but who's complaining. It probably took us much longer then it would for anyone else because Keao is like me and likes to stop and take pictures. Sorry Abby! She will probably never go hiking with me again.

I can never understand those who just take a trail like a obstacle to conquer. For me the journey is just as important as the end result. It also helps that I get to take a break to take a breath. I used to go hiking all the time with no problem. Now it's a little bit different. Dratted asthma! It's gotten worse here especially as I'm bad about getting out there and exercising. Going uphill is the worse. It wouldn't be so bad but I'm kinda partial to breathing. So I'll use the excuse of taking pictures. I get some nice shots that way so it all works out.

On the way to the falls

Keao Sunaoka and Abby

Just one more Abby...honest

Smile Keao!

No this isn't the Falls but a little falls on the way

Me, Keao and Abby in front of Abby's doorway

Manoa Falls

Poor Keao was so hungry. Good for her Abby was prepared

Not quite sure what's happening here. I think they're airing out

Beautiful

Oh happy day...

Today is my birthday! Yea me! I got to spend part of the morning with some great people. My good friends Keao Sunaoka and Jenny took me to Boots and Kimo's for their famous pancakes. Actually I was going with or without them but it was much better with them along! Breakfast was great, thanks guys! I have been wanting to go there for about 2 years now a couldn't swing it until today.

When I got home the presents from my family came in the mail. Then right after I opened them my family called and sang me Happy Birthday. Tonight my uncle and auntie are coming over with my cousin and we are bbqing. This is the cousin that I share a birthday with. So it's for both of us.

Who knows what the rest of the day will bring but I'm very thankful for how it's been so far.

Keao Sunaoka and Jenny (notice the smothered pancakes in front of Jenny. I got one of those too. It was soooooo yummy!)

Celebrate good times, come on...

On Monday I was able to go out to dinner with my Birthday Dinner Club girls. It was so awesome. Especially considering that the last time I was out other then quick store runs was the Monday after grandpa went into the hospital, I really miss you guys!!!

Like I said I was able to escape...er, go out... to dinner. We went to Haleiwa Joe's here in Kaneohe. I had only been there once before and I always forget how much I like it. The atmosphere is amazing. And of course the food is great. I had the Teriyaki Sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes and green papaya salad. Yum! But the company was even better. I share this month with another friend, Auntie Judy (and of course millions of other people. I, in fact,
personally know 9 people born on my birthday) so the dinner the dinner was for both of us. Another friend, Auntie Sharen, got us tiaras to wear. It's become a tradition. It started 3 birthdays ago the first time they took me to dinner. I had told my mom that I was a little bummed because that was the first birthday that I wouldn't share with my family. As I mentioned in the past post, I love birthdays. But that year nothing would happen as my grandparents aren't ones to have celebrations or anything. I set up going out with friends to the Cheese Cake Factory but they didn't know it was because I wanted to do something for my birthday.

Well after I talked to my mom I get this call out of the blue from Auntie Judy, saying that she and a couple other friends wanted to take me to dinner. When I asked her if my mom talked to her all she said was "a little bird told me". I didn't know if I should be insulted or not. After all she just called my mom a bird! When I got to dinner my Auntie Sharen had a tiara for me to wear. I felt so special, though they made me wear it to the theaters when we went after dinner.
At the last dinner I got the tiaras for Auntie Sharen and Auntie Mary, starting it up again.

While we were waiting for dinner I looked up and noticed a cute little gecko hanging out by the light. I mentioned it when they asked what I was taking a picture of not knowing there was a geckophobe among us. And of course she was one of the ones sitting close to it. She was forced to change seats.

The next day I gave grandpa some of my leftovers. Now that he can eat that kinda of stuff I like to offer it when I can. So I chopped up some steak and heated some 'tators for him. He seemed to really enjoy it. Soon he was pau, or so I thought. Like 10 minutes later he told me that he hadn't had breakfast yet. I was surprised and asked if he was hungry. He told me he was. So I made him a scrambled egg and he ate about half. He told me he was full now. I wanted to ask him, are you sure, really sure???

Haleiwa Joe's

The view from our table, Haiku Gardens

Auntie Judy and me, the birthday girls

From left to right: Auntis Judy, Auntie Sharen, Angela, Auntie Mary

Make a wish!

Oops I did it again...

Yup once again I missed a birthday. This time it's my sister's Rena. So to you Rena I sing... happy birthday to youuuuu!


I have always loved birthdays. They were always so special. Maybe it's because that with such a large family like I have it's nice to have at least one day where you are the special one. You wake up and everyone wishes you "Happy Birthday". They are especially nice to you. We never had to do chores on our birthday. We got to have our favorite meals. Then there was always the presents from everyone. Cake and ice cream of our choice. And as we got older we always did the birthday sleepovers with all the girlfriends. Love birthdays! I will say though that I have had some that haven't been so fun.

I can remember one year my birthday fell in the same week as V.B.S. at our church. Though now that I think about most of my birthdays fell in the same week as V.B.S. But I digress. This particular year I, for some reason, didn't have a specific job. I was just a floating helper. That's unusual for me. Usually I'm in the thick of it. But not this year. Well on the day of my birth that year it rained... and rained... and rained. Now our house was built after WWII for a crippled war veteran and like most old houses it has it's quirks. One quirk is that the main sewer line that ties our house to the main city sewer line is made of terra cotta and is of course the same age of the house. Our neighborhood has a nice tree lawn. Which makes for a picturesque neighborhood but does horrible things to terra cotta sewer lines. You see the trees send out these hair-like roots in search of water. Over years these roots can find or make little holes in whatever they find that stands in the way of the water they want. It's quite amazing if you think about it... unless you think about what hair or hair-like roots do to drains. Yup you guessed it. Nasty!!! So lucky me, the only one who didn't have something that she absolutely do that night, got to stay home and clean up the basement. Which had about six inches in some areas nasty, disgusting, you-know-what-water. Luckily dad was able to snake it but I still had to mop up a bunch of bucketfuls. We had a carpet in one area that got wet so I had to drag that out to the trash by myself. Do you know how heavy wet carpet can be??? Then I had to disinfect everything. I had just finished when everybody came home, of course. I can't remember exactly how long I stayed in the shower, but it was a long time. I think I went through a bar of soap! Thankfully most birthdays aren't like that.

Hungry, hungry, I am hungry...

It's has been really good being home. I mean really good. I can't get out of the still but grandma and grandpa are doing so much better. Grandma is getting around better now then before the surgery. And grandpa has been so much more awake and aware. Such a difference from before. It really helped changing his Parkinson's meds around. Yesterday I was able to give him a bath and shave. He was felling so good that I was able to take some pictures with him and grandma. That was kinda tricky because he is stuck in the bed and grandma can't move around too much so I was limited in what I could do. Then I couldn't take as many as I would have liked because they both weren't up to that. But I figured I better stick while the iron was hot and get some shots in.

Grandpa and Grandma

One of the good things that have come from this hospital visit has been that we've been able to just feed grandpa what he wants to eat. It sounds weird but grandma had so limited grandpa's diet that there wasn't much that he could eat. Now he can eat for pleasure. Though there is one stipulation, everything has to be pureed. Not a big problem but it makes for some interesting looking food. Case in point, today grandpa had some laulau that my auntie brought over. Now laulau looks kinda gross to begin with but pureed it's down right disgusting. Have a look!

Ewwwww

The view from my window the other day. Gorgeous!

Another nice thing about being home is that I can just sit and play on my computer (when I'm not rooming around). Right I've been having fun putting together slideshows from the pics I took when I was in Ohio this past May. I love my Mac. It has a great movie program that I've been using and loving. One of the things I really enjoy is finding just that right song to go with the pictures. I'm a real nerd about that. If you have noticed pretty much all my blog titles are either titles of songs or lyrics in them. Told you I was a nerd. But it keeps me out of trouble so I can't complain.

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home...

Yea! We're home! Or at least some of us are. Yesterday we were able to bring grandpa home from the hospital. Yea! He likes being home so much better. Can't say that I blame him. Yesterday was also grandma's gall bladder surgery. Everything went really well and when I talked to the surgeon he said he was very pleased with it. She was supposed to be able to come home yesterday a couple hours after the surgery but she didn't feel up to it so she stayed the night. That actually worked out well as I just had grandpa to get settled. We could have done it but this worked much better. I talked to her this morning and she said that she only had pain when she breathed in?!? So isn't that like all the time??? I don't know. She sounded good just kinda tired. Hopefully she'll be up and on her feet in no time.

We decided against the feeding tube as grandpa really didn't want it. It was more of us wanting to make him comfortable. When he was in the hospital he didn't eat for like 3 days because they were worried about him choking. It was so hard to have him tell us how hungry he is and ask why they wouldn't feed him. He is now able to eat it just has to be pureed and his liquids have to be thickened. We discussed it with a doctor who specialises in geriatrics and she informed us of what are options are. Grandpa is now under hospice care. What that means is that he is at the point where the disease is beyond fixing and we are just now keeping grandpa comfortable. I had always thought that hospice was for like the last 3 months of your life. But the hospice worker who got us started said they have had patients who were in hospice for 20 months. The main thing is just keeping the patient as comfortable as possible. This is a huge blessing for me as I didn't know what to do now. I've done care just never end of life care. It's totally different. It's wonderful to have their experience and knowledge at our disposal. We will now have a nurse come visit us at home once a week. And there is a nurse on call 24 hours a day for any questions or concerns we have. We don't ever have to take grandpa to the hospital again. They are able to provide all the medical care we need. I am so thankful for this because this is exactly what we needed.

Livin' la vida loca...

On Saturday I was able to go to a couple friend's wedding. I was so glad because it was pretty iffy that I would be able to. But I was and had a great time. Congrats guys! Well while I was there Scott mentioned something about he was glad I was able to get out because the last couple of blogs have been such downers. Not his exact words. I have paraphrased. I was thinking that they have been and it's kinda sad but that's my life now. And on Sunday it was another one of "those" kinds of days.

The day started quietly enough with going back to the bedroom to catch some extra zzz's after spending the night on the couch. When I got up again I discovered that grandma decided not to go to church that day. She did go back to her room to lay down when I got up. Grandpa was having some problems with drainage from his nose sticking around in the back of the throat. Because of the Parkinsons he couldn't cough hard enough to really move it and he was having problems swallowing. I ran out to the store real quick to get a nasal syringe and when I got back I found out grandma had called 911. I could hear the sirens coming down the street as I went in the house. They followed me in not long after that. Thankfully grandma's pastor came over soon after so she was able to keep grandma calm as I tried to fill in the firefighter getting grandpa's info. A short while after that we were in the ambulance on our way to Castle ER. Then the 20 questions started again. Also thankfully grandma was able to get a ride from Pastor and by the time she showed up grandpa was pretty settled. Then the waiting began. There's alot of hurry up and wait involved with the ER's I've found. By 4:45 my cousin came to see grandpa and was able to take grandma home. About 15 minutes after they left. The transfer ambulance showed up to take grandpa over to Moanalua Hospital.

The brand new ER over there just opened at 2:30 in the morning. the poor nurses were running around trying to find everything. And the new ER is HUGE!!! One of the nurses joked about dropping bread crumbs so that they would be able to found their way back. Through this all grandpa did really well. He was breathing fine after they suctioned him within the first 20 minutes of being at Castle ER. They were really concerned because he was dehydrated. That has been a concern of mine but it;s hard to get him to drink enough water anyways but doubly hard now that he is sleeping more. Plus hallucinating and agitated more often then not when he is not sleeping. They also found that he has pneumonia but that doesn't seem to concern them as much as the dehydration and his very low blood pressure.

As of today he is doing very well. They admitted him to the hospital that night. My uncle and cousin brought my grandma and the car. They stayed a hour or so then I forced grandma to go home. Which was good because I didn't get home until 11:30 that night. We have decided to have grandpa have a feeding tube which will really help with his dehydration problem. So we don't exactly know when grandpa will be out of the hospital. Hopefully soon.

Then of course there is grandma's surgery on Friday. Tomorrow is her pre-op. Then Friday is the surgery. The recovery isn't suppose to be bad but you never know with grandma.

So that is my crazy life right now. A whole lot of hospital. So far it's been 3 days straight of all day at the hospital. Without a end in sight for now. Yesterday a friend kidnapped me for lunch for a couple hours. That was so needed. Thank you Angela! It wouldn't be so hard but it's not like I can just concentrate on grandpa. I have to care for grandma as well. At times having to just bite my tongue at things she does. Oh well. That's life. At least my life.

Happy Birthday to youuuu...

It's time for another family birthday. This time it's my sister Dara (for number in line please refer back to Country Road post). Happy Birthday Dara!



You can be praying for us as we have moved into yet another season of change over here. Grandma has discovered that she has gall stones and will have to get them removed. Or have her gallbladder removed. She has had several friends tell her that they've had their gallbladders removed and that she shouldn't go that route. She saw the doctor and they recommend taking the gallbladder out. They set the appointment tentatively for next Friday. If not then, then the 30th. She had a peace about the surgery yesterday then today she is waffling. Talking about the recovery and what it might be like.

She has been having problems as well again with feeling her head is all foggy and she can't think straight. She also was having problems with her legs feeling 'heavy' and that she can hardly move them. She went through a battery of tests last year and they didn't tell us much. They think her leg problems were caused by a pinched nerve. Sometimes I think she gets so emotionally overwhelmed and this is her way of handling it. She kinda shuts down. She knows that I'll take care of grandpa. Lately she has been spending alot of time back in the bedroom while I stay out with grandpa.

I think one of the reasons for that is because grandpa is slipping away from us. He has been hallucinating more and when he's not hallucinating more often then not he's sleeping. Though I don't care for that as much it is easier when he does sleep. At times when he hallucinates he gets combative and antagonistic. Or argumentative. This is not grandpa at all and I think grandma is taking it hard. That's very understandable. But it doesn't make it any easier.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

I just wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am for the people that God has put in my life. I really have some amazing friends. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. As quite a few of you will attest I am terribly negligent when it comes to keeping in touch with people. I always have the best intentions and more often then not that's all it is; good intentions. But no matter how terrible I am my friends are very forgiving and when I do see them it's as if no time has passed. What with missing alot of church and mini church it has been a bit since I've seen everyone. This on top of being gone for a month at my mainland home. Then there are my wonderful friends on the mainland. There must be times they wonder if I have fallen off the face of the earth. To all my friends a heartfelt thank you!!!

Yesterday was truly a blessing to me in more then one way. In the afternoon I was able to get out with Keao and go for a walk. That was great because not only did I get some sunshine and excercise but I got to hang out with Keao. Since I've tied to home more those have been some things I've been lacking. If you have ever read Gary Chapman's book on the five love languages you will understand what I'm saying when I say spending time with people I care about really fills my 'love tank'. My primary love language is quality time. The time spent with Keao blessed me so much. Thank you Keao, you don't even know!

Then in the evening I was able to go mini church. Yea!!! Love that mini church! My mini church has undergone a lot of changes in the past few months. Right before I left to the mainland Malia, my mini church shepherd, the defector...just kidding...kinda, left our mini church to start a couples one. I am, as you can see, not bitter about this. I was sad to see her go because that night was one of the few chances I have to just sit and catch up with her. My friend Dural took over as mini church shepherd. I really appreciate him, he does a great job. He's one of the 'good guys'.

Since I started this mini church it has gone through so many changes. When I first went it was just a women's mini church at someone's house. Then that leader left and it changed to a 'coed' mini church at the shepherd's grandma's house. Then we moved to Starbucks after that leader moved. Now we are at someone's house again. That's nice because we do worship now. Last night's was really good. Our group has also grown. Last night we had 14 people there! I think I am the only on left from the original mini church. It's good to have new people but it changes the feel of the group and though I excited at what is happening I'm kinda sad too to see it change.

Today is also my dad's birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad is good at keeping his kids in line

July is a crazy month for b-days in my family. I've already missed a couple so I will give them the shout out now. I going to try to remember doing this on a regular basis.

Happy Birthday Chrissy!

My sister's: Dara and the birthday girl Chrissy

Happy Birthday Katy!

Me and the birthday girl Katy

Happy Birthday Angeline!

My mom and the birthday girl Angeline

I also have to mention some birthdays for my 'other' family.

Happy Birthday Auntie Sharen!

Happy Birthday Auntie Mary!

The birthday dinner for the July birthday girls. Back row: Angela and me, Front row: Auntie Judy, birthday girl Auntie Mary, birthday girl Auntie Sharen.

Happy Birthday Malia!

Me, the birthday girl Malia, Krystie, Pua. This picture is rather appropriate as Malia just got engaged.

If I have missed any of your birthdays I'm sorry. Yell at me later.