Dusting Off My Hula Skirt

It's official! We're moving to Hawaii for 3 years!!!

Over the past couple of months, orders have come and Chad has put in requests, to no avail. I haven't blogged about this, since it's like a roller-coaster ride, and until the other day, each request has been denied. Let me fill you in.......


As you know, Chad is up for re-inlistment and rotation to sea duty (4 1/2 yrs) this November. After much praying and seeking jobs on the outside, God opened a "dream job" up for Chad. In May a job for PACOM CCP (Pacific Fleet Command) in Pearl Harbor came up. This is a sea duty job, but unlike most, this billet is not on a ship! We couldn't believe it, and immediately requested those orders. Come June, Chad found out he didn't receive those orders, and since they did not come back up, we assumed they were given to someone else.

We kept checking for new billets, and in July, the same PACOM orders surfaced--but now they were considered a "hot job"--meaning it needed to be filled within the next 5 months. Chad immediately requested it, and we found out in August he didn't receive them. We couldn't figure out why, since he had submitted the request for Top Secret Clearance back in May.

One of the Command Master Chiefs, a Senior Chief, and Chad called the detailer and asked what the holdup was. It was the clearance level. During this conversation, they found out if the Pentagon has opened his file, he can get temporary TSC. Praise the Lord, they had opened his file on Aug. 5, so once again, he requested those orders.

Since Chad's rotation is in 3 months, the detailer wanted him to request more billets. So, he requested a ship in Jacksonville, FL, and 2 positions available on a ship in Hawaii. We were patiently waiting an answer on September 10th.

Much to my surprise, Chad called me on Wed. morning and said "ALOHA!!!" I was totally blindsided and my first question was "what job?". I thought for sure he would go back to a ship.

God is so good, and is much bigger than any one of us humans! He blessed us with a job that Chad will come home at night, and work on the base during the day. He will deploy quarterly for 2 weeks/time to do war games and training exercises. This is so much better than being on a ship. On his last ship, Chad was gone 60% of the time, and their deployments were 6 months!

We have a 3 year committment with that job, and hopefully will be able to extend for the full 4 or 4 1/2 years. Chad is finished working in Everett in November, but will have to go for 4 weeks of training, followed by 30 days of leave, so if my estimation is correct, we'll be in the Aloha state in January!

The Navy will fly us back to the mainland once per year, but I hope to get back with the kids more than that.




We are hoping to live in base housing (although it's off base), in a community that tore down all the old housing, and built new 3 and 4 bedroom homes just under 2000sq feet! That's twice the size of our place now!

We're praying for a 4 bedroom home to host all of our family and friends! You'll be happy to hear that the housing rules forbid us from charging you guys to stay at our house, but let me tell you meals are going to cost you! Pop tarts? No problem--$150/each! How hungry are you? Oh, and our date night is Wednesday, and we know you'll be more than happy to babysit our kiddos! hahaha just kidding. One of our friends joked to us about food and babysitting, and I thought it was hilarious.

Can you tell we're excited?????



In the midst of all our excitement, I have a running list in my head that I need to put onto paper. We need to sell our condo, one of our cars, couch and chair, get rid of our junk to make sure we're within our weight allowance for the move, and Chad has to re-inlist and we need to have his re-inlistment party! So much to do and only 4 months to do so!

This next chapter in our lives is bittersweet. As excited as we are for the SUNSHINE and a new adventure, I have made some amazing friends here, love our church, and have established a life for us here. And, we will be even farther from family. Thank goodness for the internet, phones, and blogging!

I guess it's my turn.......

After reading a couple of blogs in the past couple of days on politics, I feel the need to voice my opinion. I don't naturally voice my political views or like to get into debates, but after reading my friends' viewpoints, I want to jump on the bandwagon, too, and let all of you know what I'm thinking..

When you hear the word REPUBLICAN, you automatically think of enviromentalist hater, killer of animals, and most of all, Pro-Life.

I am a registered Republican, but prefer to be associated with the GOP party--a Reagan Conservatave, and I am not ashamed to say that I am very conservative on most topics, but I do NOT judge my friends if we do not agree on everything. I like to be open-minded and hear their viewpoints, because not one of us has the only correct view on politics.

So, here we go!

ABORTION: This is the biggest deciding factor for me in deciding who to vote for in all the races, not just Presidential. I believe in order to stop abortion altogether in the US, we need to get to the heart of the matter, not just protest in front of clinics, or kill the abortion doctors.

No, it starts at home. We as parents need to teach our kids that they are created in God's image and each one of us is precious to Him. I believe that growing up today in broken families, families without dads, or both parents working around the clock has attributed to the growing number of teen pregnancies, STD's, etc. (This is not the case in all single parent households as I have a friend who is doing an amazing job raising her 2 kids to LOVE Jesus and themselves). Girls are growing up without their daddies to tell them how important they are and to respect themselves, and as a result, many (sadly this tendency is much higher in lower income families) run to boys for love and affection. Boys, on the other hand, don't have their fathers to teach them how to respect girls and to encourage them it's okay not to sleep with girls left and right. They are looking for "high fives" and a pat on the back, and if their father's aren't in the picture (or another dominant male family figure), they look to their peers for approval.

Also, look around us--what does our society promote? Sex! Every time you turn on the tv or the internet, or open a magazine, you see girls dressed with low-cut shirts or skimpy skirts, and most teen and adult TV shows today are based on sleeping around or living together, affairs, and one-night stands. It is very hard today to shield your eyes from such immorality.

I believe if we get to the heart of the matter and give our children the attention they need, and teach them to find self-worth in Jesus (yes, I know many are not Christians, but abortion is very high in churches), we will see a change. Take kids under your wing and let them know how special they are, and to respect their bodies. Teach them abstinence at a young age.

Part of the problem is all around the world, including the US, have made it very difficult to adopt. If you have a heart for parentless children, the main obstacle is money. I am so encouraged that Antioch Adoptions here in Seattle has seen this as the main issue, and is pushing through the red tape for normal middle class Americans to be able to adopt without having astronomical fees. I can only pray that God would open the floodgates and AA can be in every state, and we can be saving more kids from the foster care system. If you don't have a desire to adopt, but know a family who does, contribute money towards their cause! There are many ways to save children.

No, we can't stop it worldwide, but lets look out our backdoor and turn to the young kids nearest to us. We can make a difference--not by picketing, blowing up abortion clinics, or killing abortion doctors--all of those have given us conservatives and Christians a bad name.

I cannot in my right mind vote for a leader of our country who says " I am going to teach them (meaning his kids) first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." A baby is not a punishment. A baby is a gift from God, not matter what the reason. What if our parents thought it was bad timing to have us, or money was too tight, or they made a mistake, so they ran to the clinic to get rid of their "mistake/punishment"? I know in some countries abortions are forced; I am mainly talking about 1st world countries like the US.

I have respect for people who don't take the easy way out, but choose life for this child, just as their parents chose life for them. That being said, my heart goes out to all women who feel trapped and feel there is not other option, or who will be ridiculed and judged so harshly being a single parent, or who have already gone down that road and made the decision to abort their child. Instead of judging, I pray for them, and thank God that He spared me from having to make such a decision.

God commands us to "Love your neighbor as yourself".

If we elect a president who doesn't value the sanctity of life inside the womb, how do we know he'll go to bat for all the parentless and/or impoverished kids here or around the world?

Olympics Junkie

Okay, I admit it. I'm an Olympics Junkie....No, maybe Die Hard Fan is a better description! I thought I was just patriotic and teaching my kids all about the importance of the Olympics and the world coming together for 2 weeks of peace and harmony.

But, looking around the house after 1 week of the Olympics, I have recognized I have an issue. I don't know what to call it--"Watch the Olympics and ignore everything else" disorder, or just admit that housework pales in comparison to the opportunity to watch this great sporting event that ONLY COMES TO OUR TELEVISIONS ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS!!!!

Yes, I have stayed up well past midnight (even to 1am) EVERY night this week watching with great anticipation the swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball (my favorites this week)..... I was so tired one morning that I actually let the kids watch TV for an hour in bed with me!! Do I feel convicted? Nope! Blame it on the big "O"!

I also have come to the realization a few things about myself.

• As we took a swim yesterday, I realized the next Dana Torres, I am not!
• As we hiked up a steep hill today on Bainbridge Island, I decided I wouldn't even make the Olympic Trials in Track and Field--not to mention hurdles!!
• I could do cycling as long as I'm the "tow behind" that you see kids riding in! I can navigate!
• As far as gymnastics goes--nice dream, but I've never been able to do a cartwheel in my life...Not the splits either! In fact, I don't know if I've ever touched my toes with my fingernails while stretching in gym class......
• Savannah just doesn't understand why I can't be a Seahawks cheerleader--I know this doesn't pertain to the "O", but does have something to do with coordination!

Now if the Olympics Committee is up for suggestions I have a few:

• I could definitely compete in "How high can the dishes pile up in the kitchen before crashing down"
• Stuffing everything in your master bedroom closet in record time before greeting your friends at the door!
• Letting your oven go without cleaning it for....oh, I am a little too embarassed to say how long. Thanks, Mom, for cleaning it for me!
• I just saw the semi finals for the 100m dash (men's) and they finished in 9.85 seconds! Give me a few screaming kids in Target, and I can be out the door, in my car, buckled, and driving in less time than that! The kids in the car, too.....well, that would take another minute or so! haha

So, if any of you were planning on coming up to visit this week, please feel free to shove aside the laundry that has piled up on the couch. We're taking another week off!

And, if any of you reading were on the riding trail in Woodinville (the one that goes from Seattle to Issaquah) on Wed. and saw 4 kids cheering for all the cyclists and runners ("GO GO GO GO GO.......WOO HOO WOO HOO....over and over again), waving beautiful yellow weeds in their honor, those were my kids and their friends.. Yes, I am a proud mom this week!

Okay commercial is over and Michael Phelps is going for his 8th Gold and I REFUSE to miss it!!!!

The things kids say....

Recently I have heard some really cute comments and questions from my kids and thought I'd share them with you....

Savannah:

One day we were talking about making good choices like God wants instead of bad ones like Satan wants. This opened up the door for a flood of questions for about 4 days in a row. A few are:

"Where does Satan live? Does he live under the road?"
"Does Satan have hair?"

On our cat and her kittens:
"I know where the cats eat Mom--they eat from the red buttons on Precious' belly!"
"I have milk in my tummy, Mom, but the kitties can't get mine."

Just today:

"Savannah, what are you doing?"
"Sun-Diving"
"Sun-Diving, huh?"
"No, not sun-diving, tanning! I'm working on my tan, Mom" (as she sprawls out on our shaded deck!)


From the mouth of Jackson:

"What's your name?"
"Five"

"How old are you?"
"Five"

"Be nice to me!"

Said to my uncle: "Baby tummy?" to which my uncle replied, "I think now's a good time for that diet!"

We have kittens!!!

Last Saturday night, Chad kenneled up the dog, and the next morning let her out. When he did so, he heard little meows coming from inside the kennel! Apparently the cat had gone in there and Chad didn't know. We had another crate set up for the cat! I guess Sparkles was the "midwife".



Our cat, Precious (can you tell who named both animals?), had 3 kittens. If you are wanting a kitty or know of someone who does, I think the end of Sept. we'll be sending them to new families. But for now, we're all enjoying playing with the kitties and trying to figure out where the cat has spontaneously moved them!

Pictures from Montana

Here are some pictures from our 2 weeks trip to Montana. We had a blast, but it's good to be back home. I know there are quite a few pics, but it was hard to narrow it down, and my cousins wanted to be "featured" in my blog--so here's to you, Whitney (you better get back to work, slacker!) and to you, Landon (have you put away your life jacket yet? haha).


Grandma & the Grandaughters


Key Lime Birthday Cakes I made


More Cousins

Kyley, Jackson, and Emmett are a total of 6 months apart in age.

Kristen, Ashton, Emily, Whitney, Madison, and Aubrey.


Matt and Savannah


Jackson's favorite thing was boating


Savannah & Elaina tubing



Mom's still got it! Her trademark talent--skiing with her foot in the tow rope! Isn't she great!


Looks like cousin, Iwona's got it, too! Way to go :)


Packing up after a fun weekend


Matt giving out a ride


Grandpa Jack and Grandma Betty Celebrating 60 Years!


Jackson and Emmett hung out at the candy table all evening!


Grandpa Larry with Savannah-Banana & Spike as he's named them :)


Jackson in the forklift at my dad's job site


Isn't he cute?


Taking a ride in Grandma's Fiat


Spike's turn--he's siting on his knees :)


Grandma Charlotte (my dad's mom) and her great-grandkids, Gabby, Savannah, Bianca, & Jackson