Poll...

In case you haven't noticed, I put a picture under the title of this blog at the top. I don't know what I think of it yet so if you could, please let me know what your opinion is of it, good or bad, I'll except both. You can do this by leaving a comment. I plan on changing the picture every so often depending what my life is like. For example, if it is snowing, I'll put up a picture of snow, if it is Christmas time, I'll put up a Christmasy picture.

Thx

Day seventeen.....in Hawaii!!!

Well, we're still here in Hawaii...with out our luggage! :( We don't know if it was sent ahead of us to Memphis or kept back in Hawaii. All this morning I've been on the phone trying to get a hold of somebody at the airport and on the computer trying to track the luggage. At the moment I'm on hold and they said I'll be on hold for about three hundred and something minutes! :( It's only been thirty-two minutes so far. So, let me fill you in on the events of last night. We got to the airport a little bit after 9:30pm and stood in line for about thirty minutes waiting to check in. Then it took forever for the people to give us tickets because we were on standby and not scheduled for this flight. My mom was in pain so I ended up carrying my camera bag, my mom's laptop, my carry on bag, my mom's purse, out jackets, and dragging both suitcases!! One suitcase is missing a wheel so it was a pain and a half to drag. My shoulders are still killing me from carrying all the bags for so long! It was very difficult to bend down to get our IDs out of our purses and make sure everything didn't fall. From the check in point, we went to the security screening area. I was flying trying to unpack the laptop, take off my shoes, take the liquids out of the bags, put everything in the totes, and make sure I was not making anyone wait on me. From there it was a forever walk that lasted even longer because my mom can't walk fast, to get to our gate. When we finally arrived at the gate, everyone had pretty much finished loading and all we could do was wait to see if there were any empty seats. After thirty minutes the lady finally told us that there wasn't any open seats but we could try to fit on the plane that left twenty minutes after that one. So we walked over to the next gate and did what we do best...we waited another thirty minutes only to find that that plane was full too! The lady ended up scheduling us for the nineteenth, today. So tonight we are going to do it all over again!! Except this time I'm getting my mom a wheel chair so she doesn't have to walk so far and isn't in a lot of pain. I don't know what time it was that Marshall picked us up or we got home, I was just depressed and very tired. On top of all that, I'm starting to come down with some sort of sickness! I haven't been feeling good for the past couple days but being at the airport last night didn't help.

Please, please pray that we get on the plane tonight!!! I'm not interested in staying until Christmas and then trying to come home on Christmas day, but if that is God's plan for us, we will find joy in it. For some reason God didn't want us to go on the flight last night and I have to be okay with that. It just seems like my whole world is crashing in! Maybe it's just that I'm a girl and very emotional. I don't know, but things don't seem to be going good with me. It is probably God trying to stretch me and teach me new things. It is just hard to have a positive outlook on things when I've already let it get under my skin.
This is hilarious because I would never have thought that I would think of myself as 'stuck' in Hawaii! Anyone else in my spot here would be in heaven. :) Believe me, we are not staying here on purpose and I'm sure when we get home and all this is over, I'll wish I were in Hawaii!! :) :)

We really miss everyone and can't wait to be home again!


12:30pm--I just got off the phone with a guy from the baggage claim in the Memphis airport. He said that they have my bag but not my mom's. My dad is going to go down there sometime today to pick mine up and try to locate my mom's. So...we're in Hawaii with only the clothes on our backs, maybe until Christmas, and no food in the fridge!! :( I feel like a homeless person, except I have a home. I did put my toothbrush and brush in my carry on bag so I have those, but that's not enough to live off of for a week.
When we were in the line to check in last night, the thought did cross my mind about packing an outfit in my carry on, but it didn't go any deeper than that. I guess I'm gonna have to learn to listen to those passing thoughts. :)

Day sixteen in Hawaii!!! :) :) :)

This post concludes my last day of being in Hawaii. I have very mixed feelings about going home tonight but I think my feelings about goming home are stronger than my feelings about staying.

All the packing is done and we are just waiting for the time to pass. I think Brody is going to take us to the airport around 9pm. We are still on standby for this flight so that means we may or may not be flying out tonight. If there is still room on the plane after everybody has boarded, then we can fly, but if there isn't, Marshall is going to pick us up on his way home from work tonight and we will try to fly again Sunday night. Please pray that we get seats tonight! We are really homesick!!

This is how my mom looks today! She is doing so much better and almost everything on her own.

Day fifteen in Hawaii!!! :) :) :)

Last night I actually set the alarm on my mom's phone for 7:30am so I got up on time to start the day and good thing too because Saki came over around 9:30am to see if I wanted to go shopping with her at the mall. It is hard for her to do Christmas shopping with Aika because she gets into everything and doesn't want to be held or be in the stroller. I was following her around in one store to make sure she didn't get into anything but gave up on that and just held her whether she liked it or not throughout the other stores. Saki was looking for a shirt for Brody for Christmas and some little things for Aika and whatever else she saw and I just had to get a few things for my mom before we left. We left the house at 10am and didn't get home until 3pm. We ended up going to Waikiki to a Quicksilver store so she could look more but they didn't have what they said they had at the other store. Since we were in Waikiki, we went to an ABC store and out to eat in the Ala Moana mall. It is the biggest open air mall in United States and has the second largest Sears. The parking was horrific! We drove around for like forever trying to find a place to park. We ate at Island Burgers. It was okay. I ordered a Hawaiian burger. It was pretty good but I didn't really enjoy how much teriyaki sauce they put on it. I ate half and put the other half in a to go box for my mom to eat later. All the way home Saki talked to me about how she can make us stay longer to watch Aika while she works. She has been loving us watching her and doesn't want to see us go. :( Hearing her talk the way she did, despite how much i want to come home, made me want to stay longer. She is very desperate for a babysitter! Anyway, I had a really good day with her! :) :) On the way home, Saki stopped by a place and bought some Malasadas, Hawaiian donuts, for us to eat. They were really good!! :) :)

So after shopping with her, I went out back behind the house and took some pictures of the greenery just so I could post some pictures on this blog because I've been getting complaints about how I'm not posting enough pictures. So, Ayala, here are some for you. They aren't like amazing, but they are pictures. :)

My mother is putting her sitting stillness to a use...this is a picture her finishing a paper chain that she started yesterday.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post pictures of Marhsall's house. Today I was sort of in a picture taking mood so I took a ton.

This is a picture of the front of his house as you drive up...

Here is the side of his house and a beautiful view!...

This is the back...

Marshall and his dogs after I finished cutting his hair.

Ayala, here's for u...

Marshall picked bananas off a tree in his yard today. A couple were ripe and were really good!!

Christmas in Hawaii...

Marshall decorated the tree more today. Here is the almost end result...

Well, that's all the pictures for today. I hope I posted enough! :) Tomorrow night I fly home so don't know when I'll get on to blog. I might just do some little blog and a couple last minute pictures and then blog again about the flight home after I'm all rested up. When I get home I will not have as much time as I've had here to blog and be on the computer so I probably won't blog everyday.

Day fourteen in Hawaii!!! Happy Birthday Rushi!!! :) :) I love and miss u tons!! :)

My day started out with sleeping in until 10:45am! It felt really good. When I did get up, my day was pretty much like yesterday except I didn't have Aika at all. :( After our really, really late breakfast, or early lunch, my mom did some reading then went back to bed after taking some pain killers. She woke me up at 1:50am because she was in a lot of pain even when she didn't move. Yesterday was her slow down on pain meds day and she paid for it last night. Today she was smarter and has been taking them every six hours like she is supposed to. :) I ended up doing something that required energy today; I ran on a treadmill that Marshall's roommate has in her room!! I only did it for thirty minutes but when I got done sweat was pouring off me in the bucket fulls! I had just gotten dressed for the day and had to get re-dressed and rinse off because my clothes were soaking wet. Again I didn't think when I packed to come here and didn't bring any clothes to workout in. :( So a little later on today, after my mom got a shower and the cleaning was done, I went to Safeway, a grocery store, with Marshall to buy some food for three more nights of dinner, tonight, Thursday night, and Friday night. My dad called today wondering when we are coming home. I looked up flights for Friday night and found one. I think we might be taking it but I'm not too sure about it yet. I emailed my dad about it and I'm still waiting for a response.

While I was making dinner, Marshall went out back to cut down a 'Christmas' Guava tree for his house. He went into town last night to buy one but all the ones that were shipped over have been sold out and they are waiting for more to come in. He brought it in and set it up and put some lights on it. My mom is making a paper chain to decorate it and Marshall's roommate is going to buy some ornaments tomorrow. I'll get more pictures of it after it is all decorated.

I have to get off now.

Hopefully tomorrow I have something more interesting to say.

Day thirteen in Hawaii!!! (we miss u auntie ariel!!)

Another day in Hawaii...same old same old, except today was actually a good day! :) :)

My mom decided to see how long she could go without taking any pain medications. The last time she took them was at six this morning. She is in pain only when she moves. She started walking and doing everything else on her own today, only she still needs help getting in and out of bed. She is trying to make goals for the day so we can get home sooner. She fulfilled her goal for today! Her next goal is to be able to sit down for a long time since she is going to be sitting for ten hours in the plane. She didn't sleep as much today as yesterday probably because of the meds. Pretty much all in all she's doing much better.

My day was pretty busy today. It started out good! Basically I cleaned the house, helped my mom when she needed me, helped Marshall, made the meals, did the dishes, took a little walk around the house, and watched Aika for about five and a half hours. :) Marshall came home about ten thirty this morning with a cut on his head. He had been putting in fence posts across the street and somehow managed to get hurt. It wasn't bad though. Not a big gash or cut. It was like he took off a couple layers of skin in a roughly one inch by one inch square on top of his head. I cleaned it up and put some salve on it then he rested for a couple hours. He is fine now. He actually is on a date right now. :) My mom tried to convince him to bring her back to the house to meet us but Marshall wasn't too keen on the idea...go figure. :) So I've been very busy doing just about everything around here. :) It's actually been great because the busier I am the less time I have to think about how bored I am and how much I miss everyone! :)

Today I've had my hands quite full. Aika is a high maintenance kid! She is always looking for something to do and if you don't provide anything for her she will literally turn your house inside out! Between throwing everything on the floor, chasing the cats, spreading crumbs around the house and trying to get on the computer she always has me on my toes!!! :) It is  hard to watch her when I can't take her outside really and when there are no toys in the house. I have to stay in or right by the house so if my mom needs me, I'm just a holler away. :) Today I did take Aika on a little walk, although I did all the walking, behind the house to a hill and then to the gate out front and back to the house. It was hot and the sun was shining all his rays on us! I was sweating after that short ten minute walk. Aika ended up falling asleep half way through and then slept for almost two hours on the couch. I absolutely love watching Aika!! I think tomorrow Saki is going to bring her over for a little bit too!! :)
I heard from Ayala yesterday that when Micaiah got back to Memphis he slept for like twelve hours then when he got up the next morning, he came out of his room in his swim shorts!! :) It was around thirty degrees outside too!! He was so used to just wearing swim clothes all day in Hawaii!!! My dad and Mic were really in shock after being used to the high seventy weather of Hawaii and going into the low thirty degrees. That's one thing I'm not looking forward to... :(

Hopefully my mom will be able to fly home in a couple days!! Please pray for her!

Well, I have to go for now. I miss you all soooo much!! :(

Day twelve in Hawaii!!!

There isn't really supposed to be a day twelve...but here I am, still in Hawaii! There was only supposed to be half of a day eleven too. I don't know why I'm still here besides the fact that my mom needs me, but there must be a reason why God planned this like it is. Maybe I'll never know, but I am determined to look for what He has for me everyday. I don't want to miss Him here or anywhere.

My mom is doing better. She got out of bed for dinner last night and I helped her walk into the living room where she could sit in a comfy chair to eat. She slept okay last night, I think. I haven't asked her if her ribs hurt her yet, but she didn't wake me up groaning or anything so I guess that's a good sign. :) She came into the living room again for breakfast this morning around 7:30 then went back to bed. She's sleeping now.

My dad and Micaiah made it on the plane last night from Honolulu to Phoenix with seats right next to each other! :) When my dad called the airport before he left, they told him that they had three open seats on the plane but fifteen people who were on standby and they served US Airways costumers first. :(  He didn't think they would be able to make that flight, but God worked everything out!! :) They landed in Phoenix at 5:24am Hawaiian time. He didn't text us when he got on the plane for Memphis so I don't know anything about that yet.

I will update this later when I know more.

12:00pm--My dad and Micaiah made it safely to Memphis around 9:53am Hawaiian time, 1:53pm Memphis time. They are home now!! :)

My mom woke up on and off a little bit last night but wasn't in any bad pain.
After I got done blogging earlier, I went back to bed. I haven't been sleeping a lot lately, staying up until around 2:30am and getting up 7:00am, so that helped. My mom and I just got up for lunch 30mins ago. She is going to get a shower then Brody is going to bring Aika over for my to watch her around 3pm.
I have to get off now and start my day...a little late. :)

Day eleven in Hawaii!!!

We left the house around 8:00 this morning to go to a brunch at Saki's work. The food was really good! From there, which was around 9am, Mic and I went to an ABC store to buy some little gifts for friends and such. ABC stores are on every half block in Waikiki for tourists. They carry everything from Hawaii clothes, trinkets, food, shoes, hats, everything...a tourists dream! :) So Mic and I shopped for a while, well actually, I helped  him pick out some things while I waited for my dad to bring my purse from the car. Like a non-thinking person I had left it there. :( I didn't really need to do any shopping, I just had to return a shirt that I had bought that was the wrong size. When we were half way done finding everything Mic needed, Saki and Marshall came in with Aika and wanted me to watch her while they moved Aika's car seat from Saki's car to Marshall's. She ended up falling asleep on my shoulder and I had to find out different ways to do things one handed, like paying the cashier and holding up shirts to see if I liked them. :) From there, we dropped dad off at the hospital so he could get mom ready to come back to Marshall's house. Marsh dropped Mic and I off at the house then went back a little later to pick up mom and dad. While they were gone we cleaned up the house and watched Aika. Mom did good coming from the car, up the steps, in the house and into bed. She needed someone to lean on though. We don't know how much longer we will be staying here, hopefully no longer than a week.

I miss everybody sooo much!!! :( It is getting harder being away from everybody for so long. Don't get me wrong, vacations are fun and very much needed sometimes, but if they are too long, you lose sight of why you went on vacation. With me, the hardest thing is that there are just too many temptations out here and nobody to help you stay on track. We don't have devotions every morning, don't read the Bible everyday, don't have Tuesday night, Thursday night, Sunday morning gathering...the list goes on. Yesterday has been the worst for me so far. I was a total wreck and none of my sisters were here for me to cry on their shoulders. :( Today though has been almost one hundred percent better!! :) First off it's better because my mom is back! :) Second because I got an email from Abba and talked to Alaina yesterday, and third because I got to talk to Austin and Ayala on the phone for a while today. They really encouraged me and just listened while I poured out everything I was going through and then gave me some neat stuff! I ended up crying on the phone and felt really good afterwards. :) I think what I need is just to get into a schedule and to call my friends more often! :)

My dad and Micaiah are leaving for the airport around nine tonight. Their flight leaves at 11:50pm Hawaiian time. They will be getting into the Memphis airport around 1:30pm Memphis time. They are still on standby so pray they get on the plane. :) :)