Just some stuff...

• I celebrated my 29th birthday this past Wednesday. It felt pretty weird to not be around family and friends...kinda felt like just another day. We're going out to dinner tonight, though, to celebrate a little more properly. Here's to my last year in my 20's! Huzzah!
• We had a great time with Michael's family here in August. We tried to show them the stuff of Hawaii, and they seemed to all enjoy themselves as well! Although, Michael was a very sick boy the last few days of their stay...bad timing.
• I got to go to a conference/training for a program called Music Together in Oahu last weekend. It was totally awesome. We stayed at the same hotel the conference was in, and we had very looong days, but we were able to get out Saturday night and go to the mall...yeah for Old Navy and birthday money! I've come to appreciate the small things living on an island without every store at my immediate disposal. We went to dinner at a local place that night as well, and I got a piece of birthday mud pie...yumm! The actual training was really great, and I'm still processing a lot of it. I think I've come away with more personal things, than ideas to implement in my job, because I've realized how much I miss singing! And I mean really sing, not just in the car singing. We'll see where it all leads. If you're interested in learning more about Music Together, they have a great website.
  
• Speaking of work, I love my job! I'm getting to know my babies more and more each day, and I can see that they recognize me and are happy to see me and are trusting me more as well. The other teachers I work with are great too. On my birthday, instead of buying a cake for everyone to eat, they went to the healthfood store and bought me a huge yummy muffin, because they know me! It felt great being appreciated like that.
• Michael's job is going pretty good too. He is almost entirely working morning/day shifts which is awesome for us, so we can be together at nights now! There is a Kimo Bean in Kona, and his friend Jay just became the manager there. Michael is going to be working down there quite a bit from now on, which is also great for us to carpool together! He likes working down there as well.
• I'll post some pictures soon...we're pretty backed up! I don't even know which ones to put on first!
• "Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mytery, today is a GIFT!" Enjoy your day...
  

"If you want to make God laugh, make plans..."

This was the key line from a great movie we watched the other night, "Bella." I can't really explain what the movie was about, except how it made me feel...no matter how messed up our world or our lives may seem at times, there is still hope and love and the possibility of life and redemption. I would recommend it to any movie-goer, but keep in mind that it is not a smash, bang, action-packed type of movie, and be ready for a bit of introspection. And bring some tissues...

This morning after arriving to work and discovering we only had three children today, two of which left early (!) I picked up a book on our shelf of child-related books I'd been wanting to read, and within the first couple of pages read some things that reverberated so well with what I'd already been thinking about, I just had to write it down and share...

(From: "I Love You Rituals" by Becky A. Bailey)

"I have noticed a growing undercurrent of change. Viewed from a small perspective, this change could appear disruptive or negative; yet from a bigger picture, its beauty is unfolding. From a microscopic view we see increases in juvenile delinquency, suicide, rebellion, depression, apathy, and drug addictions. In young children, we see enormous increases in hyperactivity, impulsiveness, power struggles, demanding behavior, and willful fits of displeasure when they do not get what they want. In young adults, brilliance and genius are budding, yet a moral compass is missing. Busy, frantic parents chase dreams and miss moments with each other and with their children. Others work to make ends meet and spend little time with each other: Material goods seduce us more than kindness. News headlines offer tragedy after tragedy, so that denial becomes a defense against hopelessness. But under all these struggles, all these cries for help, is a rumble, a wave building in the ocean of life, ready to crest and carry us all forward. This rumble is our intense, true desire for connection with each other: We long to belong. We strive to offer and receive unconditional love. This desire to be loved and loveable unites us all. "

Isn't that awesome?! And so true! There was a lot more I could have shared, but I didn't want to lose you too quickly, so I'll save it for another time :) It's so easy to look at circumstances, from being stuck in traffic, to a life-claiming accident, and try to blame someone else, saying that they caused this thing to happen, burrowing ourselves deeper and deeper into a negative way of being; when in reality people don't have the authority to determine what happens in our lives unless we give them that authority. We need to live for a greater positive purpose, heading closer and closer to true Love.

photo update

(Move the cursor over the pictures to read each caption...)

Hope everyone is well! I (Kamma) am home today because of a holiday...Admissions Day, the day Hawaii became a state! I bet you never knew you never knew...at least I get paid :) However, I have a yucky cold, so I guess it's a good thing I can stay home and rest.

We had a great time with my dad and Mikayla. We packed in so much in a relatively short amount of time. They also got a lot of relaxing time to just chill, which is what a vacation is supposed to be for! Sad to see them go back. I will post more pictures of their visit as soon as my dad sends me the ones he took (hint, hint Dad :)). Michael's parents are coming to visit on Tuesday and his brother Luke and girlfriend Jessie come on Wednesday. They will be here for about 10 days each. We are very excited to have more company and family around again! I'm just glad I'm sick now, so hopefully it will be gone by the time they are here.

I feel like time is just flying by. We've already been in Hawaii for over 5 months...crazy! Two of my closest friends have had babies while we've been gone...a big CONGRATULATIONS to Ashleigh and Steve and their little one Elizabeth Avery, and also to Ashley and Eric and their daughter Violet Grace...wish I could be there to hold your precious babies! It's so hard to try and feel a part of it all through just pictures, but I'm increasingly grateful for our electronically-advanced society. We've been enjoying watching the Olympics when we can...pretty amazing what talent and determination can accomplish!

My job is going really well...we have seven total children right now (can have eight at the most). I am the primary caregiver for three of them, a 3 month old, a 4 month old, and a 5 month old, and they are all boys. I'm supposed to be getting a 6-week old later this month as well...that'll be interesting! One of my little guys, Daezon (pronounced like "dazin"), the 3 month old, rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time yesterday AND scooted forward a bit to get a toy...so exciting! The simple joys of a child-care provider! :)

I'll leave you with a quote...

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Gil Baillie

Love and blessings to you all!

We've been having a great time with my dad and my niece, Mikayla...sorry for the delay in posting! Here are some pictures to tide you over...

Time is flying!!!

First, here are some photos from the last few days...

Second, here are some updates on us...

After working two days at the cabinet shop, Michael's old back problems came roaring back to the forefront. We decided that it wasn't worth the higher pay for him to not be able to move and sleep (!) so he's back full-time at the Kimo Bean. We believe that there is a purpose for everything, and we're feeling good about the decision. His boss at the Kimo Bean was very excited to have him back too! Our friend Jay's parents are both massage therapists here, and his dad Alain (pronounced like Ah-lawn, he's French) gave Michael a wonderful 1-hour massage and lots of helpful stretching tips for me to do on him. He's now feeling pretty much back to normal and enjoying the slow, easy pace of working at a coffee shop :)

My dad and niece Mikayla are coming out to visit for about 2 1/2 weeks, arriving next Friday, July 18th. My last day at the Hilton is next Thursday, July 17th, and then I start with Early Head Start on Monday, July 21st, so it's perfect timing! We are so excited to have guests and get to show them all of the wonderful places and things we've come to love here. It will also just be good to have some familiar faces around!! They will be here until Monday, August 4th, and then Michael's mom, dad, brother Luke, and Luke's girlfriend Jessie are coming out a couple of weeks later! We'll be pretty busy for awhile, and we're gonna have so much fun!!

Speaking of my new job, I can't hardly wait to start! I had a meeting yesterday with the lead teacher, Melanie (we hadn't even met yet!), the director Ellen, and the educational coordinator Stacy. We just talked about some specifics about times and dates, and other little details. We got to see some pictures of the children from last year (5 or 6 of whom are returning this year), and they are so cute!! I'm just excited to be around babies again, and see what other kinds of opportunities this opens up for me, both tangibly and emotionally. It will definitely be a different kind of situation than what I've done in the past, and I'm so looking forward to being a part of these young moms and dads lives and helping them as well as learning from them in the process. I know it's going to be a great experience for me.

Well, that's it for now! Hope all of you are doing well. Please write a comment or drop us an email and let us know how you're doing and what's new! We'd love to stay in two-way contact!

Pictures...

We took these pictures coming down Kohala Mountain from Hawi towards Waimea...

4th of July Fun!

Hope everyone had a fun, celebratory 4th of July! We had a good time, doing some new things! We went to the beach in the morning, and then went to the 17th annual Rubber Duckie race at the Kings Shops in the Waikoloa Resort area. We had 'adopted' two duckies, which benefited the United Cerebral Palsey Association of Hawaii, and it was fun to listen to some local music beforehand and eat free popcorn, and then go watch the 'race.'

Later we went to Michael's boss at the Kimo Bean, Kim's, house for a BBQ and fireworks in the street! We had a lot of fun hanging out and relaxing. Enjoy the pictures!