Christmas Morning

Well, we have the traditional Christmas morning pictures each year.  All of the children eagerly waiting on the stairs to see what Santa Claus brought them.  They all wake up at like 5 am and then proceed to wait until Mom and Dad get out of bed.  It is an agonizing wait.  One that they will only inflict on their own children someday with great pain, but it has to be done.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun.  The yellowed picture below is the first one taken and I think that Bryant's face really sums up his feelings of excitement.  We then made the children sit with Grandma and Grandpa for a picture.  After that we couldn't hold them back any longer. 

Happy Dinner.

So I am doing a new food plan that includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Tonight when I cut open my eggplant, Brandon got a real kick out of the fact that the eggplant smiled at us.  This is really just how it came out.  Just had to share.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

That is Santa Claus (a.k.a. Grandpa)  Yes, this is Santa's new ride.  You see, in Hawaii, it would be very hard for Santa to get around in a sleigh and so instead he has opted for a Ford Focus.  Anyway, this is Santa on his way to the Battalion Christmas party to hand out presents to all of the good little girls and boys.  I have put up a few pictures of Santa with the children.   Sorry that they aren't any clearer.  We had a bad camera day.  Enjoy the happiness on the children's faces.

BethanyBristol

BryantBriana

BrandonBraelynn

This is Brooklyn with her face painting as a crab.  Just a little scary.  The funny part was that the paint they used did not come off very easy and so for the next week it looked like she had a sunburn on her face in a very weird pattern, but Santa still brought her what she asked for.

Daddy's little girl

Tough Job!

Ok, so Lee has a tough job sometimes, but this weekend was not one of them. Lee was in charge of a Marriage retreat for Soldiers and their spouses. He invited me to go with him and teach some of the classes. I LOVE THESE WEEKENDS!! We left the children in the care of Grandma and Grandpa Dover and escaped. We stayed at the Marriott hotel at Ko'Olina. It was by far one of the most amazing places.

This is the picture we saw as we looked out from our room.

It was a beautiful weekend as far as the weather went. When we arrived in our room it was just gorgeous. The bathroom had a full jacuzzi tub and a glass shower. The toilet even had a telephone by it. We had our own sitting area and the entire side of the room opened up with sliding glass doors so that the breeze could come in.When we woke up in the morning we saw whales out of the sliding glass doors and we were still laying in bed. It was the greatest retreat ever. The best part of it was that we didn't pay for it. In fact, Lee was being paid to do it. Yes, the job does have its perks.

This is a picture of Lee delighting in the fruit tray that the hotel had sent to our rooms to thank him for choosing to have the retreat there.

He thought it was really cool of them to think of that.

Yes, the room does have its own hallway entrance and foyer.  It had the bathroom and bar right as you walked in and then our little sitting area and bedroom.  Awesome!

Happy Birthday Braelynn!!

Happy Birthday Braelynn Heather Harms!!!

Braelynn turned 8 years old on December 9, 2009.  We celebrated her birthday with a family party and it was a great evening.  We had all the trimmings and wonderful presents.  Everyone loved the cake and Braelynn felt like a princess.  She loved her princess crown, and the attention that came with it.  We have always said that when Braelynn was born she brought "peace" with her.  She has always been a  peacemaker and continues to lead our family spiritually and with humility.  She loves to share her smile with others and is always very concerned with their thoughts and feelings. 

We are so grateful that she chose to be a part of our family and we can't wait to see her grow up into an amazing young woman.

Post Christmas Tree Lighting

This is Santa's little singing Elf.  Bethany and her school chorus performed at the Christmas Tree Lighting on Schofield Barracks Military Reservation tonight.  Look at how cute that little face is.  It was a really interesting evening.  As we dropped Bethany off it started to absolutely pour down rain.  I quickly decided that it was not the best environment, in an open field, to be taking our little ones and so Lee, Brandon, and Bethany braved it alone.  There were tents set up for the official parties and the chorus, but the rest of those assembled were soaking wet.  Halfway through the evening the tent that the Generals were sitting under decided to dump the contents of the roof on those below ;-) Usually these tree lightings end with a visit from Santa Claus, but this night Santa was rained out and the ceremony ended early.  I think Lee should receive the Dad of the Year award for sitting through this one.  He came home looking like he had just jumped in the ocean and walked into the house.  Needless to say he headed right for the showers.

Shark's Cove

Prince Charming took Brandon out to Shark's Cove this afternoon, after work, and they watched the big waves come in and crash on the rocks.  During the summer time we can actually snorkel in this area and it is really calm and fun.  These winter waves on the North Shore are spectacular.

Fingers Crossed

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Santa will get my

list in time and bring me all the things that I am hoping for.