endless summer nights...

...are over! on my way to work this morning. new job and apparently new office too...

he's here!

our newest nephew, rayden, arrived on the 16th! congrats to byron & lynn...

rayden :)

so sweet...


tolu w/rayden


lua w/rayden


kahi w/rayden


hubby w/rayden

happy 80th birthday, aunty hala!

here are some of the photos:

left to right (well, kinda going up and around) the kids (and who they belong to): noa (j5), kalob (j4), tolu, aunty, malu (j5), cousin (i wanna make sure it's okay to put her name here before i actually do), kam (j2), li`a (j2), & jayden (j4)

it's kinda interesting that my youngest daughter tolu is in the same generation as the mommies of the rest of these little ones...didya catch that? hehheh...that's my child with my sister's grandchildren... :D one of the joys of having a big family!

aunty calling malu--he can really get her focused! :)



malu and aunty

and here's the original post below:

this deserves a separate post for sure!! happy birthday, to our second mom, aunty hala! the picture below was actually taken the day we said goodbye to her husband--our uncle--who passed away last november...

aunty with kahi, lua, & tolu on the right, and some of my sibs' kids
(left to right: k3, j6, k2, j7, e, j2)

aunty--my mom's older sister--isn't able to communicate with us much anymore as she has alzheimer's...my older sister and her family are taking care of her right now, and they're doing a wonderful job. aunty and uncle never had children of their own, so we became their children. they've provided us a lot of opportunities over the years and more importantly have showered us with love and support...

we'll be celebrating together as a family this evening, so i'll post pics and update this blog later...have a good one!

summertime update: three choirs & a spunky girl

just a few quick updates...our stake pioneer day activity/service project has been cancelled...instead, we will be rehearsing with the stake primary choir that morning (now that the date is open)! distributed practice cds already and really looking forward to working with the children!!!

from www.lds.org

as for "hiding" behind the piano, dunno how much hiding i'll be doing as the grand piano in the stake center is actually front and (just off of) center...well it was a comforting thought when i blogged about it a couple days ago! :)

from www.lds.org

i also got invited to sing for the stake choir for sunday's session...yup, invited...this is the only stake that i know of that requires an invite--'cause there are just so many people who would love to sing for brother s., our stake choir director--not enough chairs in the choir loft to accommodate the willing masses! :) can you imagine?!

from www.lds.org

fortunately for us, he is also our ward choir director, so hubby, kahi, lua, & i get to bask in his expertise on a weekly basis. he's a retired music teacher who has been blessed with amazing talent to express his testimony through music--and to be able to teach some of the theory behind it all in the process...

some of our ward choir members at our recent social @ bishop's home (brother s. standing second from right)

brother s. has also got quite a range--although he's a baritone, he sings all parts well--he can even hit some notes in the stratosphere better than some of our sopranos! :) (and that comes admiringly from this alto 2 here). he can usually sing all four choral parts from memory...and that says a lot when we practice at least three songs every week!!! we're definitely fans of brother s. can you tell?!?

brother s. addressing us at our combined high priest/ward choir social

finally, haven't made my way back into work yet...may just wait for hubby to be done with teaching so little tolu won't have to go to tutu & papa's house and wreak havoc there! :) she's generally a good girl, but um, yah... :D spunky, spunky, spunky!! my mom might need to motorize her walker soon to keep up with our spunky tolu!!! (love you, ma!)

catch a glimpse of ms. spunkiness in action:

whatchya doin'??? (heee--nothing!)

dad seeing what tolu's up to (those white spots show that the fountain's starting up again)

...and there she goes!

So You Think You Can...Vote for Mark Kanemura!!!

Mark Kanemura and his older sisters Jeanine and Rhesa (one of my bestest buddies) off the set of So You Think You Can Dance in Los Angeles...

We're pulling for him to make the Top 10...and beyond! Go sole, chee hoo! :)

oh, what do you do in the summertime...

...when all the world is green? (children's songbook, p. 245)

well, we've been hanging out a lot at ala mo's while the girls have been taking a summer class nearby...which we haven't done in ages! lots of new things to see and do...

also working on some items for the stake primary choir...we have about 40 children, most of them ages 8-11 singing for our upcoming stake conference--saturday evening session. they'll be doing a medley first, then singing "if the Savior stood beside me" later in the program. we are excited. i especially love that i get to "hide" behind the piano... :) lua was invited by our ward primary presidency to sing, so i'm looking forward to that!

we also have our annual stake pioneer day activity/service project coming up soon, too!

in addition, i am planning to go back into work next week (yes, on my vacation time), as i need to close out my old position and get acquainted with the duties of my new one...i've enjoyed hanging out with tolu these few weeks (while kahi and lua went to summer school, and hubby taught a credit recovery class)...and in just a few short weeks, the school year will be in full swing again! i'm reluctant to say goodbye to vacation but am excited about my new job and watching my girls (and my hubby) navigate through another school year...

happy fourth of july!

...and that's all she wrote! have a good one... :)

hubby & tolu watching the hot air balloons 4th of july morning '06

down the street

getting closer

overhead

okay, i'm podagee (& portuguese--there's a difference!) so that can't be all i'm gonna write. i'm very grateful to live in this country where we can enjoy the freedom that we do.

i'm thankful for those who have sacrificed their time and even their lives to protect that freedom.

think about it. we can freely choose how to worship, who to marry, how many children to have, who our friends are, where we live...we are offered free public education (yeah, i know, private school girl here, but it's there!)...how often do we reflect on all these things that we so often take for granted--which are NOT givens in many parts of the world???

happy birthday, america! i am grateful for all these things and more...and now that's all she wrote!

in memory of a colleague

yesterday, as i was walking through ala moana shopping center with my family, i received a phone call from my mom...she said she heard that a colleague of mine had been killed in an act of domestic violence, if i knew anything about it (she hadn't caught the names), and if i was okay...

although i didn't know who it was at the time, my heart was immediately saddened...although we have approximately 200 people on staff, the culture of my workplace is one of a large family....and like any large, extended family, there are those who are easier to love and those who you know better than others...but whoever it was, the loss would be felt...

then i got the call from another co-worker who gave me the details as she knew them up to that point in time...although surrounded by numerous shoppers scurrying to and fro, in that moment when i learned who it was, i felt strangely isolated and alone.

i knew her. in those interactions i had with her over the years--albeit brief and infrequent--i learned that she was quiet and smart and had a ready smile. she made a positive impact on her students. she will be missed.

her mild demeanor makes the whole situation more tragic...and i was further saddened to hear that her young son was also a victim. he was about the same age as my youngest daughter.

trying to make sense of the senseless...

vacation...and a tag

so as you can probably tell, i'm still on vacation...thus the creation of a new blog and post after post...after post...

you can probably also guess that i've been in a bit of a reflective mood lately...saw this as i was surfing through other blogs...and considered myself tagged...frankly i could use more self-reflection at the moment. thanks, ardis!

3 joys

1. when there's total and complete harmony in my home...it's happened before--and it could happen again! heh-heh

tolu (3), kahi (1), & lua (2)

2. sitting in the midst of loved ones...especially when there's a whole bunch of 'em--like at a family party or in church when a new baby's being blessed...

with the in-laws...family reunion '06
(most of my father-in-law's 15 children with their spouses & children--I say "most" 'cause with as many people as there are in this photo, we were still missing about 5 people!)

3. listening to birds outside my window in the morning or waves breaking on the sand--or pointing out those things to my children on the rare occasion that we get to experience the sounds of the countryside together (my kids are total townies!)

wai`anae sunset

3 goals

1. return to new zealand--this time with my family! it's my hubby's dream destination, though he's never been there before

2. finish my ph.d.--okay, more like start my ph.d.--wait, let me back up...how's about: read a book

3. learn to speak another foreign language--like portuguese, the language of some of my ancestors...alrighty, perhaps i should start with the ones i already know in part and master those first...like standard english...(coo, coo)

3 current obsessions

1. getting a handle on my family history book (all 200+ descendants of my paternal grandparents--hey, i have first cousins who are already great-grandparents)...for example, this is just one of dad's 9 siblings...

dad's oldest brother, his wife, & 13 children

a lot of cousins + as many photos + the tendency to need everything just so = unfinished book

2. organizing/scrapbooking all my photos (we're talking a couple decades worth)--see current obsession #1

sunday school class 1980's--four of us were also ks classmates

3. learning to blog...where more than my cat will read it. wait, i don't have a cat! uh, oh...

maybe i can borrow this one...?!

soundtrack of my life

if i had to sum up my life in song, this would be the abbreviated, chronological compilation...these are a sampling of songs that speak of faith, identity, knowledge & service, love, and family...

I Am a Child of God
Hymn #301
"I am a child of God,
and He has sent me here,
has given me an earthly home
with parents kind and dear,
lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
help me find the way.
teach me all that i must do
to live with Him someday."


who i am, where i came from, why i'm here, where i'm going

Aloha `Ia `O Wai`anae
by my aunties a. pilila`au & r. kaleiwahea
"...o wai`anae ku`u home..."/"...my home at wai`anae..."

these are photos we took during spring break 2008. we took our children and some of their friends to see the countryside where papa, tutu, and mommy grew up!

tidepool past makaha


2008 neneu shave ice stand across from pokai bay in wai`anae town


train tracks in nanakuli


Sail On, O My Soul
by noble cain
"from the harbor of my heart, sail on, my soul..."
~the other kamehameha song~


after song contest @nbc senior year


aerial view of the hill, where i spent the first 13 years of my school life


Always
by atlantic starr
"...and forever it will be you and me..."


my eternal companion

laie, hawai`i temple

We Are Family
by sister sledge
"...i got all my sisters and me..."


our life raising three girls

and the list goes on...