An Evening of Lights, Bells & the Nativity

For Family Home Evening this past week, the Woodburys invited a bunch of us to join them for a Bell Choir performance at the DC Temple Visitor's Center. We also got to look at the beautiful (and very bright) lights adorning the temple grounds as well as some beautifully crafted Nativity scenes from around the world.

All kids (Elise, Elijah, Damon, Ethan, Lizzie & Andrew) were so good during the performance! It was just long enough to captivate their short attention spans.

We were sitting behind the Browns and I thought it was so cute that Lizzie, a motherly & precocious 3 yr old, scolded me for wearing a skirt - "Jackie, you're supposed to wear pants!" I almost believed her, she spoke so knowingly.

A highlight for us was seeing Brother Brewer outside, greeting the masses. He is such a warm, uplifting individual.

I love the way the temple looks and the peace I feel when I am there. I love how the Savior's outstreched reflection appears in the window overlooking the temple.

Where are the kids?

I think the pictures are a sufficent answer. : ) I think Rachelle was telling me about a good book she is reading called 'Covenant Hearts' and everyone was playing so quietly, that we had to find out what they were up to. (pictures: Lizzie, Elijah, Elise & Andrew.) We always have so much fun with the Browns! The other night I got lost while driving and called Rachelle for help - she's such a good sport - because she had been to this person's aptartment before (and my husband's cell phone was dead!). She was really patient and I was verging on frantic. Thanks to her and a lot of heavenly help, I got there finally. : )

Banjos Slideshow

"Banjos Rock!"

Last Saturday, our good friends, Sarah and Ethan invited us to go downtown to the the National Theater to watch a free banjo performance by "BanjerDan." (Click HERE for the full schedule of free outreach events put on by the National Theater.)

The kids loved it! Elise and Elijah sat and listened for the most part... Ethan was so cute - dancing and crawling in circles around Elise. At times he seemed more interested in Elise than the performance, giving her hugs and bonking heads with her. BanjerDan was really talented but it seemed he was expecting an older crowd. However, Elise and Ethan really loved dancing to the song at the end. Too bad it was just one song. At the end he had everyone shout, "Banjos rock!"

Sarah always knows the great events and programs put on by DC and the suroundng area, and she's so great about getting out with Ethan - I swear she must have a playgroup or an event to go to every day! I'm exhausted by one or two a week! She's even getting close to her due date, which is around Dec. 25th, hopefully by which she will give birth to her second little boy and yet she still gets out... yup, she's amazing and such a great mom!

I'll never forget that Sarah and Muriel R. that were the first ones to welcome our family into the Chevy Chase Ward. Heavenly Father knew we needed friends like them. We felt so much aloha and were so glad that they had (Muriel was pregnant) kids too! Sarah has been an answer to my prayers many a time. I used to have to ride the bus to my doctor's appointments during my pregnancy with Elijah, something I began to detest as I grew bigger (and bigger!) and because I had to break down the stroller and haul it, along with Elise, the diaper bag and my large self onto the bus. Not to mention the exhausting task of keeping Elise from running into the street while waiting for the bus. Anyway, on a particularly rainy day, and feeling a little down, who should come driving around the corner but Sarah & Ethan! It must have been right after a playgroup. I was so grateful that she drove me to a covered bus stop despite my protestations (I didn't have a carseat or she probably would have driven me further!). I think it was soon after that she insisted on watching Elise during my appointments and I think she even drove me to the appointments as well. That's just the kind of person she is... generous and always serving others. I try to be the kind of friend that she has been to me.

I think I could write a tribute about each of the friends we have been blessed to have here in DC/MD - we have been so fortunate to be surrounded with good people and neighbors and our lives have been enriched greatly by our friends!

US Botanic Gardens

Every year the US Botanic Gardens has a special holiday exhibit that features a model train display, a nature photography display, and miniture replica of various national buildings. For more info click here.

This was a fun outing - but the wind was biting cold! I'm so grateful for Becky Hawkes who lent me some gloves, before my hands froze off. We had a fun bunch that bundled up and made the trip: Michelle & Damon, Sarah & Ethan, Gina & Mark, Rachelle, Lizzie & Andrew, Kaelene, Kiara & Maka, Heather and Pavolina.

I was most impressed with the miniture replicas of US buildings. My camera had a spot or something on the lens unfortunately, however it kind of adds to the surreal feeling of the pictures... The kids didn't even care that it was just a few trains. They stood, pointed and giggled with delight.

Fun Tag

I feel bad that I haven't done my other tags yet, but I'm excited about writing about Aaron... thanks, Michelle! I promise I'll do the other ones soon though! What is his name? Aaron Kauhimakakuokalani Auna
How long have you been married? 3 1/2 years
How long did you date? 10 months
How old is he? 26
Who eats more? It's pretty close : ) but Aaron's Hawaiian and he has hollow legs.
Who said I love you first? I really can't remember.
Who is taller? I have to echo Michelle: Aaron is - thank goodness!! (Can you imagine?!)
Who sings better? Aaron, most definately! He is a beautiful tenor - he sang with the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir (picture in aloha shrit above) and he also sang "White Sandy Beach" (by Israel K) for our wedding reception. My mom likes to say that's when she fell in love with him. : )
Who is smarter? Aaron's always reading and he has a great ability to remember quotes, so he is. Whose temper is worse? I stew over things more. I've never seen him more than really irratated and it never lasts long.

Who does the laundry? I do, but it sometimes just rests on the bed for a couple of days until I fold it. He's sweet-he never complains, just moves the mound over to go to sleep. I'm trying to be better though.
Who does the dishes? We used to have an agreement that whoever cooked wouldn't have to do the dishes, but now he gets home later and we're both tired so I just do them the next day.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Aaron, he likes to sleep next to a wall.
Who pays the bills? Aaron sets up the automatic ones, sometimes I pay rent.
Who cooks dinner? I mostly cook dinner, but on weekends Aaron will give me a break because he likes to cook too.
Who drives when you are together? Always Aaron. He gets too nervous when I drive and I like being able to relax when we go places. I have a bad history - but I haven't gotten into a wreck since we've been married... knock on wood.
Who is more stubborn? I'm pretty stubborn. It's an Okinawan thing.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Aaron will always apologize first, even if I'm the one wrong - we don't like to fight much and gratefully he has a really good memory - he forgets the bad quickly and doesn't bring it up again. I try to learn from him.
Whose parents do you see the most? We split it evenly during the holidays...
Who proposed? Aaron proposed to me on my birthday in the McKay Bldg. Courtyard at BYU-Hawaii... He wrote me a sweet poem that he ended up reading twice all while kneeling on one knee - he was really nervous. We even took a cheesy picture after to remember the moment. I was impressed he got a ring without me knowing. It was beautiful - I lost it a year after we were married.

Who has more friends? I think we have a lot of the same friends.

Who has more siblings? Me - I have three younger sisters and Aaron has a younger brother and a younger sister.
Who wears the pants in the family? Aaron - the kids listen to him better and they come to me for comfort.

I'm so grateful for Aaron - he is a fabulous father and husband - a loving, generous, thoughtful and forgiving person. He's very musically talented, he plays a little piano and trumpet. He loves to read especially everything gospel-related. He loves soccor and people: I used to like to call him, "Mr. Aloha" because he is so friendly to everyone. He inspires me to be a better person.

I tag Elizabeth H., Sarah W., Alexandra C., and Muriel R. Don't feel obligated, but I look forward to reading yours if you write one.

I'm Grateful for...

A highlight from our trip to Florida over Thanksgiving weekend was our breakfast at Denny's. This picture is sooo unflattering but I laugh every time I see it. Aaron just happened to capture the moment Elijah stuck his foot in my syrup. He looks so calculating and I look cross-eyed - and my eyes are literally popping out of my head. Elise has an "ewww" look on her face... LOL! I'm grateful for moments like these and for family.

However, the biggest highlight for me was seeing our lovely friends, Debbie and Kathy, people who uplift and inspire me. I am so grateful for good friends! They are such kind, loving, ambitious people. We met them at BYU-Hawaii and since graduating at the top of their classes, Debbie has completed nursing school and passed her nursing exam and Kathy went to grad school in London to study Ethno-botany. Amazing! I loved looking at all her picturesque European backpacking photos and hearing her crazy stories! They have a colorful heritage too, their mother is Columbian and their father is from the Dominican Republic. Brother and Sister Reynoso have a beautiful home and a wonderful welcoming spirit in their home. I hope we can that type of home that is open to all and so loving... Their family graciously included us in their delicious Thanksgiving celebrations, including dancing in the kitchen after dinner : ) I got to know their sister Erica who has really gorgeous daughters - Isabella (Isa or Belli for short) and Lilly, much better and she is as lovely a person as Debs and Kat. Debbie recently got married to a wonderful guy, named Josh Keliiheleua, who has Hawaiian heritage but his family is from Oregan. I was so impressed with him! He's so laid back and knowledgeable, he's enthusiastic about teaching (his career) and he is into photography and recording music. This pic is in front of Debs and Josh's townhome. We really love Debbie, Kathy and their family!!

(Here's a cute pic of Debbie and Josh. : )

The other days we spent at Universal Studios and taking pictures at the Temple which was fun too. I'm grateful for family vacations!

Elijah's Birthday Bash

Elijah is one year old! How did the year fly by so fast? A short tribute to his life thus far: he is such a joy, he has a bright smile and happy eyes, an infectious laugh and though he has recently shown some seperation anxiety in social situations, has had no fear when swimming or crawling or walking. For one so little he climbs to some pretty high perches, and quickly! I am always amazed at how far he can go in so little time. He has been a great kid and we feel so fortunate to entrusted to his care and be his parents.

We had a birthday celebration at the Rockville Municipal Swim Center. Elijah was fearless in the water - he plowed through even while water was rising above his head, chasing after balls. I think he would have kept going if we hadn't caught him. Elise had so much fun too. (If you think about it, most of the kids there were her friends too, after all. : ) They both were so tired they conked out on the ride home and Elise was even mid-bite, chewing on a piece of cheese.

We are really blessed to have great friends. I'm kind of absent-minded and it's hard for me to multi-task so people really came to the party's rescue. I had mentioned to Alexandra that I wanted to make a dump truck cake because I saw it on her blog and thought it was super-cute, so she drove over to let me borrow Andrew's dump truck! So thoughtful... Aaron set everything up in the party room - I think we make a good team. I plan and he executes and presides - he is a much better host than me. Our friend Tiana took many pictures for us capturing candid memories that I would never have gotten, Rachelle was the life of the party with the kids in the pool - they adore her and think she's so fun, Carolina watched and played with Elijah as I was running back and forth, Trina thought ahead and brought extra swim diapers, and Michelle and Sue helped us clean up after the party. That was really an answer to our prayers time-wise, because we had to catch a plane to Orlando, FL that evening. Mahalo to all for celebrating with us and making it a special day for Elijah and our family!

Huguelys, Hulets, Holbrooks, Harrisons...

Random pictures of Elise and her friends....
This one to the left is of Michael Huguely and Elise at the Build-a-Bear place in Montgomery Mall. I love Micheal's face! When Elise sees this picture, she cracks up and says, "Picky Nose!"
This was taken a month ago of Elise and Annika Hulet. She's so pretty in pink! I still can't believe she's walking, talking and signing. Her mom and dad have been so good to us! Her dad was the best home teacher - he memorized Aaron's middle name (Kauhimakakuokalani) on the first visit - very impressive. He and Elizabeth are so generous... We love the Hulets!

Damon is such a photogenic guy - always smiling and laughing about something! It's great that he always finds wonder and joy in everything! We see him almost every other day and we're so sad if we don't see him and Taylor and Michelle...


I like this one of Kiara and Elise - They are so oppisite, blond and black hair, short and tall... I still can't believe that Kiara is a week younger than Elise!! I've said it before but we're so glad that the Harrisons moved out here. It's nice for Elise to have girl friends and friends from Hawaii.

Baby Aley's 1st Birthday

Aaron's first cousin, Aley Auna, moved out to Ellicot City after graduating from the University of Hawaii with his MPA. We were so excited because they have a little girl, Audrey, who is just a couple weeks older than Elise and a son, Aley, who is a week older than Elijah. Add the Harrisons into the mix and we have three girls the same age and three boys... Funny, isn't it?

So this past Vetran's day, (Nov. 12th) we celebrated Baby Aley's birthday, who was named after his father, Aley III. Sarah made some yummy chilli and a cool race car cake... I love the pics of the girls snuggled up in Audrey's bed reading books (all on their on accord!) This is how girls play : ).

A fun coincidence: Aley served in the same mission as me (Arizona Tucson) but he went home the transfer I came into the mission.

Stylist in Training

Sissors + Elise = Recipe for Disaster! Am I exaggerating? Maybe a little, but you can't see that she got some of her bangs too! I was really sad that Elise cut her hair off. Actually, this isn't the first time, but today, she found sissors in my back room that is usually blocked off when I was sending out invitations for Elijah's birthday party. Like most parents, when it suddenly becomes quiet, you know that it indicates trouble... But as my parents, in-laws and friends have pointed out, at least she didn't hurt herself or cut Elijah's finger off or something! Now I have the fun task of deciding how to fix her creation...

Good memories, old friends

In partial response to Michelle's tag ("What were you doing five years ago?") - this slideshow show is of two of my favorite co-workers and people ever: Jeffery Taylor and Travis Lawrence. Five years ago, I was working as an RA at the only co-ed dorm or "hale" at BYU-Hawaii (which had gender-segregated living quarters), with these two great guys and lovely ladies, Sheena and Kavita. I will always remember those semesters with the most fondness because we had such fun and also since that is when Aaron and I started dating. Time flies!! Now Jeff is married to a great girl - Susannah and they have a beautiful daughter. He's working for a government agency, and they own their first home - so exciting. Travis was here on a conference for work. He owns a condo in Hawaii and is working at HRI, I think. I'll correct it once I figure it out. Single ladies, he's a catch! (Contact me if you care for more info : ) j/k.

The Pumpkin Patch Kids

Part of my Halloween fun consisted of dressing the kids up in costumes. We tagged along with Elizabeth Hulet and her adorable little "duck-duck", Annika, to the mall to take some pictures. (I wish a had a picture to post - she was so cute!) I borrowed Elise's costume from her friend Ches, whose mom Tiana created this great outfit for Ches to wear last year. I found Elijah's at a thrift store as well as a little ballerina leotard for Elise, which she wore to Brown's Halloween party with her girlfriends. But a ballerina and a pumpkin just wouldn't have turned out as cute for pictures, so we are so grateful to Ches and Tiana for letting us borrow their pumpkin suit!

Our Halloween at Home

At the Brown's home that is. : ) Our friend, Rachelle had the brilliant idea to throw a Halloween party for her daughter and some of her friends. We had gone to a fun trick-or-treat event at the Congressional mall and took costume pictures of the kids' at Sears with the Hulets (pictures coming soon), but weren't able to go trick-or-treating on Halloween day because Elijah wasn't feeling good. So this was a really memorable way to celebrate - with fun games and ono (Hawaiian for "delicious") food! (Continued below.)

Rachelle had made some great chilli and breadsticks , and cut-up some fruit for the kids - Elise's favorite foods! For first game we tried to eat doughnuts off a string without using our hands. I think it was supposed to be a race but I had a difficult time just getting Elise to follow the rules!

After that we wrapped the kids up in toliet paper to make them look like mummies! Funny story - Rachelle asked the kids at the end of the night what they had turned Ben into and Kaelene Harrison's daughter, Kiara exclaimed (because she knew the right answer!), "Toliet paper!" Too cute!

(Kaelene is our good friend from Alaska, like me, who went to BYUH and is my jogging partner. Knowing she's waiting for me inspires me to get out of bed and exercise - I'm so grateful to her! Also, her husband Sanoe grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii just like Aaron! Such a small world!)

Anyway, Kaelene made some yummy spice cupcakes and the kids had a little cake walk, and then the kids got to go fising and "someone" in the closet attached treats and gifts onto a fishing pole for them. They couldn't figure out who it was and wanted to peek, but Kaelene said it might be a ghost - the friendly variety. That's when Elise got her cool teeth! She loved it and started growling at people immediately.

They also got sweet glow sticks - which mesmerised them for a bit until they found Rachelle's bed and computer! For a good little while they listened to this techno-pop Hampster song from YouTube and jumped on the bed (Rachelle said it was okay. : )

It's fun for Elise to have girlfriends her age - to dress-up with and be girly with. (Although, Elise's friends that are boys like dressing up with her necklaces too - much to the dismay of their fathers!) Also, Lizzie and Kiara are potty-trained and so Elise wants to be a big girl like them when she's with them.

Elijah hung in there and didn't spread too many germs around (I think). We had a such a great time, Elise cried when we left - thanks so much to Rachelle for throwing a terrific party and for taking pictures!

Elijah's "First Steps"

Elijah started taking steps a couple of weeks ago, but he suddenly decided that he wanted to walk more than crawl. It started when we were visiting our good friends, Sarah and Ethan on Monday. I was looking for my keys behind the chair when Sarah said, "He just walked over to the couch!" At first I wasn't excited, but this whole week he's been trying it out. Check him out, he's so cute! : )

Officer of the Month

We are so proud of our Grandpa Aubrey, who was named Officer of the Month! Click on the picture to read the Hawaii Police Department News Release, which describes his important role in investigating some financial crimes and to read the wonderful words of praise by the Lt. Officer who nominated him.

The Good News

The good news is that after a little more than 3 weeks of torturous anticipation, Elder Marcus Auna's call to serve came in!

Let me begin by saying the polls were way off, as they tend to be in cases like this. Even though the survey was small, 5 out of 7 people guessed Asia. Mom Lyn was rooting hard for Korea! : ) However, the Lord called and chose Marcus to serve in the San Bernardino, California Mission! We are so thrilled for him to start his adventure sharing the gospel. It's so wonderful to see how he is preparing himself, keeping himself worthy, and also feel of his excitement and desire to serve the Lord by sharing the Savior's gospel of "good news"!

The picture above is of Koa, Kai, and Marcus. Actually, Kai was one of those who guessed closest to the mark. He guessed North America, while my mom, Patty, guessed the exact state, California. Nice guesses!

Mom Lyn was so excited that she called the whole family. She even called a person she didn't know! : ) She had a long conversation with a lady she thought was Aunty Candice because she was acting so interested and friendly, until she mentioned that she hurt her back playing golf - Aunty Candice doesn't play golf. After mom had that realization she tried quickly to end the conversation and the lady thanked mom for letting the family know - so maybe she knows who she was talking to, but to Mom Lyn it's still an embarrassing mystery. I couldn't stop laughing!

One fun trivia fact about Marcus' mission is that Landon Donovan, a professional soccor player and member of the U.S. National Team and the Los Angelos Galaxy team, resides in San Bernardino.

Also, according to Wikipedia (click here to read the rest of the article), "San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States by area, containing more land than each of nine states. The county is larger in area than the states of Massachussets, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware combined. Any of those states could be replaced in the list by New Jersey, Vermont, or New Hampshire." In Elise's words, "Wow, Amazing!!" Good luck, Marcus! Our prayers and love are with you.

(Click on the map, and it will link you to an larger version, and click again to get a clear picture.)

Out to the Olive Garden

A couple of weeks ago, we went to lunch with some of our favorite friends, Michelle and Damon, to the Olive Garden. Even though we have been there before, the place was impossible to find! Let's just say, we took a very scenic route. Once we got there, the kids had so much fun and were so well-behaved. Besides, how can you go wrong with soup, salad and breadsticks?! Delicious. Actually, I stole these pictures off Michelle's blog and posted it on mine! : ) Elise and Damon were just too adorable, I couldn't help it.

Every morning, Elise asks for her friends, especially Damon, Ches, Taylor and Ethan. This week has been a drag because we are in self-imposed isolation due to a stomach bug the kids are recovering from (which we also unwittingly gave to Damon, poor guy).

Michelle is one of the people who help keep me sane! She lives right across the parking lot, so we hang out a lot. It's nice to be able to talk about our kids, their growth and the cute things they say, our challenges and sucesses, our dreams, working out (she inspires me! We used to work out together until she joined a gym. : ) and other goals... Besides that it's also fun to talk about stuff like reality tv (lol!), books, ways to record our memories... She once drove me to the temple twice because it was rainy, I didn't have a car, and I forgot my temple reccomend. Can you see why we love the Holbrooks?!

Another person I'm so grateful for is Sarah W.! I think I'll save her for a future blog...

Happy in Hilo

Hi! I wanted to introduce you all to some of Aaron's family and Aaron's mom's side (The Napeahi family)! These pictures of this past August when we went home for my Uncle's funeral in August. If you want to know who someone is, just move the mouse over the picture (just click once to activate the control) and there should be a caption. Enjoy!

Amusement Park Junkies

These pictures are of our trip to Disney World this past June in celebration of our anniversary. My sister Liz came too and was very kind to watch our kids the night of the 22nd. She's so fun - we'd scream together & giggle, and of course the kids love her so much, just like they love all their aunties and uncles!

We loved the whole trip, though we were going non-stop for six days - Magic Kingdom, MGM studios, the Epcot Center and Animal Kingdom. Aaron was so adorable - he had it all planned out (we're talking maps and spreadsheets: ), where we needed to be to get the maximun enjoyment out of our trip. He reminded me a lot of my dad, in that way.

Elijah got a little sick on the trip, but thanks to his daddy who took him to the clinic, he was able to get some medicine and recover a little bit. Elise loved the spash parks, water parks and anything to do with Nemo. We even got to see Nemo the musical which was performed with larger-than-life puppets. It was beautiful!

The "big kids" (Aaron, Liz and I) loved the fast and visually creative rides like Space Mountain, Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster, Hollywood Towers, and Expedition Everest. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Okinawan Obon festival

This photo taken around Grandma Masako, was of this past August when all my side of the family went home to Maui for my Uncle Les' funeral. He was a kind, generous man (topic for a future blog: ) and my mom's younger brother. Now she is the only surviving member of her family. Despite the somber circumstances, it was great to be with family, support my mom and celebrate my Uncle's life. By coincidence, we got to attend an Okinawan Obon festival, which is a way that Okinawans honor their dead ancestors. My father played music with several others for the festival and mom danced gracefully as we tried to emmulate her. Dad played the Sanshin (object pictured with Vickie) which is a three-string banjo-like musical instrument. We borrowed my Aunty Amy's hapi coats and Vickie brought her own kimonos. If you click on one of the Obon video links on the right sidebar and then scroll back up to the top of the page, you'll get to see the YouTube videos that were created and posted by dad, and you can see some of the dancing and hear the music Dad played. It was a great way for all of us to remember culturally where we come from and a wonderful introduction for Elise and Elijah!

Homestead Farm Revisited

What a great fall tradition! However, it still felt like summer both years we went. This first picture is fall 2006 and features from left to right: Ethan, Elise, Damon, Summer and Ches. I borrowed this second picture from Tiana Christensen's blog, which is of this past fall with Ches, Elise, Elijah and Annika. For those who are not familiar with Homestead farm please check out their website! It is farm situated on beautiful rolling hills that allows you to pick your own apples, berries, pumpkins and even saw down your own Christmas trees. They offer hayrides to large groups and have small wagons, like the ones in the pictures, to pull your kids around in. The only thing you have to pay for is whatever you pick. Tiana's mom treated us to the apples and I made a pie on Sunday for our neighbor using their fool-proof crust recipe. It turned out pretty good but I need a lot of practice! I told her that I could mess up a "fool-proof" recipe! : )

The farm was a lot of fun for the older kids this time - Ches and Elise both picked small apples and tasted them on the way back to the register. Tiana's mom pulled all the kids, pumpkins and apples! She's in good shape, I'm impressed. Tiana joked that it was her new hip. : ) Later though, her mom teased her and said we should have pulled Tiana around in the wagon, and maybe that would have motivated little Ellie to be born! We love the farm, and wish more of the gang from last year could've come, too.

Sears Photos

A couple of weeks ago, we went with our friends, Ethan and Sarah Woodbury to take pictures at Sears - the first professional pictures we've ever taken of the kids. Sarah and Ethan are vetrans, Ethan is so good at smiling and posing for the camera! Elise was never really cooperative until Elijah came along. I think the whole situation was less scary with her brother. Elijah, on the other hand, like Ethan is a total ham for the camera.

Aloha!

I was really moved by Elder Eyring's talk during General Conference about remembering and recording our experiences for the sake our children. He shared a sacred experience when he saw the selfless service of his father-in-law in building a water pump for his family late at night. Elder Eyring was touched and was told through the Spirit that he was not recieving these experiences for himself and that he should write them down.

So with that powerful sermon in mind, we're jumping on the bandwagon and venturing into the world of blogging as one method of journalling. (Is that a word?) I've also recieved some encouragement and inspiration from my good friend and neighbor, Michelle. I've read some of her great posts and viewed some adorable pictures of Damon, which has motivated me to document the life of my family out here in DC/MD.

An inspiring quote from Elder Eyrings talk: "I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

("O Remember, Remember," General Conference, October 2007)

Through her eyes

I have often wondered what it would be like to view the world exactly as another sees it. What inspires creative people and how do their minds work? As I look at a piece of art or read a book I recieve impressions, but I doubt what I perceive is the same as it's creator. I also wish I could see what my children see - what's special about a pile of dead leaves?

I have talented sisters, and Liz is really gifted in photography. I feel that I get a glimpse of what she sees when I look at the photos she's taken and feel the same way as I read my youngest sister's Connie's perceptive blogs. It's a great way to get to know someone, and while sometimes I wish I saw things the way they do, I know that it's a gift that we each see so differently.