Happy New Year Everyone!!

Not only are we celebrating the New Year, but we are also celebrating the fact that we only have 2 nights left in a hotel!!! I think we are all looking foward to having our own beds again (and space too). We hope you all are having a great time celebrating a great year gone by and what is to come.

Our little fishes

So apparantly going to the pool 3 hours every day for a month is all it takes to teach your child how to swim. Asher is a swimmer now! He will jump off the side of the pool, go under, and swim to you or to the wall on the other side of the pool. He will even swim underwater. He still likes the security of having one of us close to him while he is swimming but it is so comforting to know that he can handle himself is he happens to fall in until someone can get to him. And he is Sooo proud of himself. Now little miss Anna THINKS she can swim because she will just jump in right after him. She has no fear. As much as we are all ready to leave the hotel life behind, the kids are really going to miss having a pool anytime they wish.

Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas everyone! Yes, our little hotel tree is a fake one but it still reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. We had a very nice Christmas and Christmas Eve despite our hotel surrondings. It was hard for me at first...no Christmas tree hunting, ham or turkey, mashed potatoes, lasnagna or seafood on Christmas Eve, no decorations to put up together, or ornaments to mark the year. To make the room feel Christmas-y, we made snowflakes to hang in the windows and construction paper garland to hang around the room. The kids had so much fun making it, I believe we just might do it every year together now! And on Christmas morning, the kids broke out singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. It was so cute. I think they were just so excited that his birthday party was finally here but who wouldn't love a party where everyone got to open presents! Joel and I have been trying to create our own traditions with our family, but keep coming up empty handed...but the kids have done it for us. Next year, we plan on having a cake for this birthday party as well.

Some other nice things are we had dinner with friends of a friend for Christmas Eve-a barbecue (crazy, huh?!) and the kids had so much fun playing with people other than me. Today we are having dinner with a nice couple we met through church hunting (and yes, we are still hunting but that is a how other blog in itself). For me, it is so nice feeling "real" by having home cooked food at a house with real people and kids to play with.

We hope you all had a blessed Christmas celebrating the best gift of all! We love and miss you.

20 weeks

For those interested, here is what I look like right now at 20 weeks...halfway!! We have an ultrasond scheduled for Jan. 4th so maybe we will find out what this little jelly bean is.

Let it Snow

Wow, I never thought snow would be such a foreign word to me. To my Bostoners...wow. I don't know what else to say! We have seen the snow storms all over the news over here, and from what I hear from friends, I am not sure if we ever experienced something like that in our 41/2 years there. I heard on Thursday it took many people up to 6 hours to get home and that there were abandoned cars all over the place due to running out of gas. And then to get it again on Sunday with rain and then freezing over. It is just so surreal to me. Joel kind of giggles when he sees it because he thinks about how long it took to shovel our driveway. So to all those out there shoveling, we are thinking of you!

So Many Praises

After 2 somewhat hazy weeks in Hawaii, unsure of what our future here really looked like as far where we were going to live, we felt God telling us "I told you I would take care of you!". We spent an agonizing week "house hunting" and debating so many issues that came with each. And then today, God's hand gave us a big squeeze when the impossible became possible. We got the call that there is a house available for us on base when we were told before it would be months. It isn't exactly what we wanted or expected in a house, but it is a house on base which is the only place we wanted to live, and it does have 4 bedrooms and a fenced in backyard for the kids. We are so happy that this issue is solved now. We can't move in until Jan. 2nd so we are trying to think of some creative ways to celebrate Christmas in our hotel.

Other big praises...we paid our car off today!! We have been working towards this for a year now and sometimes it felt like we are going nowhere. But we made it!! Our only debt left is our school loans so we are ready to start plucking away. And Asher wrote his name for the 1st time today. We were at a restaurant for dinner, and him and Anna were just coloring. And he just did it! Proud mama I am...I folded that menu up to save.

We have also had some nice family time taking time to explore the island. We hiked to the top of Diamond Head crater which is what these pictures are from. Asher hiked the whole 1.5 miles by himself but Anna got the best seat around-Daddy's shoulders.

Some Hawaii Experiences

Climbing a cool tree in a local park

Anna and Asher at a luau

Anna and Mary learning how to hula

Asher loving the beach

Aloha

Here we are in paradise so many would say. We arrived here on Nov. 29th with 2 very cranky kids, but overall they were very good and patient over the long flight. It rained our entire 1st day here (which was yesterday) so today is really the 1st day we have been able to enjoy the island, and it certainly is beautiful. We are staying in an Embassy Suites right on the beach in Waikiki and the hotel is just amazing...absolutely tropical. The pool has a kiddy pool which has been great for the kids, live music every morning and evening, an awesome free breakfast, and our room is amazing. I have never stayed in anything like it. We are here indefinately. As of right now, we are #1 or #2 on the list to receive housing on base which could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. We will know more on Monday but we are praying for a home to become available within 2 weeks. We have already all been living in the same room for 2 weeks, and I am not sure how much longer we can handle it! Poor Asher keeps asking for his new house but at least we have the pool to distract him. Joel does have to go in bright and early Monday morning but only for a short day...he will get about 8 days off in order for us to look for a rental home, which we are required to do for the military to pay for our hotel stay until housing is available. It is all a bunch of hoops to jump through.

But as for Hawaii, it is beautiful. I believe I have been very tough in my judgement because I am still dealing with the emotions of leaving the only home Joel and I have known together. I cried almost the entire 1st day here...a strange thing to do in paradise. I think I am still in denial that we are here for good, it is not a vacation, and we are not going back. I can't pronounce any of the street names-let alone guess at a pronounciation! Joel says "well it was like that in Boston too"...hehe. But even here, we aren't even sure of what a stranger says to us when we ask for directions. All the buildings, even the mall, are open with no real doorways or even ceilings! Quite a culture shock but everyone we have encountered has been very very nice. The Air Force Base is beautiful too. It will just take time to adjust to this way of life (and the time change). I even forget it is December with Christmas coming until I see the decorations up somewhere. Thank you dear friends for your encouraging emails and prayers, your friendship and words lift my spirits so much.

I will leave you with some pictures...yes Picariello's, we went to Duke's and had the Hula Pie today-it was everything you said it would be, and we couldn't help but think of you.