Here are a few pictures from Alyssa, Emma, and Kyra's Hula recital. They take dance at Aloha Dance studio. They performed a few Hula dances in the red dress with green grass skirt, a poi ball routine in the red dress, a Tahitian dance in the elaborate skirts, and a dance with feathered gourds. The costumes were a lot of work for mom, but that's show biz I guess. They have had so much fun this year, and can do crazy stuff with those poi balls!
Justin and Chance worked out a surprise for me on Christmas . I wasn't expecting any presents this year (except the new boots I helped the kids give me). But on Christmas eve, Chance brought out a box with a poem on it from Justin. It was the willow tree statue on the left called "promise", and the poem was about the first stage of his deployment, as he left, and treasuring the moments together. I couldn't hardly read the poem through all my tears. It had been a hard day already, getting santa stuff ready all by myself, but I felt happy that he had thought of me, and didn't expect anything else. Then on Christmas morning, after the kids had opened up all their presents, Chance brought out another box. It was the statue on the right, called "hero", and had a poem from Justin about ways he feels I have acted as a hero. I see him as my hero, so of course I was bawling again in front of everyone. Then when we got home that night, Chance came in with one more wrapped box, and told me I was supposed to save this one till Justin gets home (I'll post a picture when I open it in March). In a strange way, this was one of the best Christmases I have had. I don't hardly remember what I got, or what I stressed myself out about giving, in the past years. But I hope I will always remember to appreciate the times we are together, and not take them for granted as I usually do. I love you honey.
This is a little late, but here is a picture from Emma's Baptism in September. It was so fun for her to have Daddy home for 2 weeks. All her cousins and family were there, and her 2nd cousin and buddy Eva even showed up from Orem. The weather was a little shaky though. It rained on and off, and the power even went out that afternoon. This wouldn't normally be a big deal, but I had moments before filled my crock pot with potatoes to make cheese soup for 50 people after the baptism! Luckily the power came back on a couple hours later, just in time for the soup to cook during the baptism, and everything turned out perfectly.
This picture is in the airport, when Justin came home on leave in September. Christmas time has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Getting ready to play Santa all by myself has made me really miss Justin. He will be home in only 8 weeks, but I still feels like a long time to me. I seem to be about 15 minutes behind in life lately. I'm feeling tired physically and emotionally from doing this all by myself so long. My kids are late to school every day because they miss the bus, and Chance's grades were bad last quarter because he's not doing his homework. Hopefully the Christmas break will give us time to restart the new year better. You just don't appreciate how much your husband makes a difference till he's gone this long. I was sitting in church on Sunday feeling sorry for myself, and I remembered that Christmas is not about me, it's about Christ. He chose to leave his loved ones on earth at age 33, so he could save all of us. Justin will be home in 2 months, and we can be together forever because of Him. Those thoughts helped me get a true perspective back. The truth is, I know that we have been blessed and strengthened this year.
