Back to School!

What better place to be than Mom's lap when you're sick?

I met with the principal at Matthew's school about a week ago to see about getting Omri to go with him.  He seems to think it won't be an issue, but we have to make sure the School District/Board is up to speed before he can start attending.  The principal has worked with Service Dogs before & really appreciates them and the work they do.  I'm hopeful this will help.

Matthew has been sick with the flu.  The above is a picture of Omri & Matthew at the doctor's office while we waited on the results of his flu screen.  Unfortunately, it was positive so they've both been homebound for a few days.  (Omri has had his flu shot so he's good to go!)

Scott's trying to convince us he's old enough to drive...yeah....NOT YET, BUD!

Jason & I are doing well.  We're staying busy.  He's working as a courier, and I'm still working as a sonographer.  He bowls in a league 2-3 nights a week & throws darts twice a week.  (I'm their sub on the dart teams as my shoulder isn't completely ready to throw that often.)

We've started to get snow here in Alaska.


The temperature is anywhere from -10 to 20 degrees F right now.  It's only going to get colder!

Stay warm, we love you all!

Dea

Changes

2 years ago, we met someone who has absolutely CHANGED OUR LIVES!

Omri at 4 Paws 2-14-12

Feb 14, 2012, we met OMRI! 

Omri and Matthew at Coconut Island in Hawaii summer 2013

Now, we are getting ready to embark on a new adventure!

Yep!  We're moving from the warmest state to the coldest!  Hawaii has been great, but it's horribly expensive & just not our thing.  We will be living 120 miles or so south of the Arctic Circle so instead of pictures like this:

,

you'll get pictures like this:

Why Alaska after Hawaii?  Why not?

Love,
Dea

30 Days of Thankfulness, Prayer Requests and Pictures!

As this month is Thanksgiving, I would like to ask all of you to join me in 30 Days of Thankfulness.

November 1:  I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What are you thankful for?

I also have a ton of prayer requests:

1. Please pray for the family of my Dad's cousin, Walton.  Walton passed away early this morning.

2. Please pray for my dear friends battling cancer: Angela, Tyson, Cheryl

3. Please pray for my mother.  She is still adjusting to Dad's death.

4. Please pray for my niece's church: First Southern Baptist Church of Pearl Harbor.  They need to raise the money to buy the church building form the navy.  The building is priced at $1 million (I think.)  They have a small congregation of around 60...not very many for Honolulu!  There are a lot of military families that go here.

5. Continue to pray for my rehab from rotator cuff repair.  There were 3 of us that tore ours all around the same time: Jennifer, Chena, and me.

6. Please pray for persecuted Christians all over the world...especially in the Islamic world.

Finally, how bout some pictures of Hawaii?

Love, Dea

Just pics

Oh, The Things You Hear!

   I had initially planned on having this post be about this past year of our lives in the Pacific.  However, after a conversation, make that 2, 3, 4, 50, that I've had at work (and out in public) lately, I changed my mind.  As a healthcare worker, I get asked a lot of questions: What is this for? How long have you been doing ultrasound? When did ultrasound mean more than babies? Why couldn't I eat before my test?  Why couldn't I use the bathroom before my test?, etc.    Those are normal questions that I expect to hear and answer.

The following are questions I've had directed at me in the last week or so:
1. How do you feel about the law in some states where you have to have an ultrasound before an abortion, they shouldn't have that right to tell ME what to do?

2. Don't you think Congress is doing a great job?

3. Don't you think we need to get rid of this Congress?

4. I think all guns should be banned, don't you?

5. Why do people even go to church? There is no God.

Yes, these are real questions and comments from people I've encountered.  (These are just the ones I can post here!)  My usual answer is: I'm not going to discuss that at this time. (This is the one I use while I'm at work.)  If someone persists, I'll just get really quiet & not say anything.

For the record, if anyone is interested, here are my answers:

1.  Personally, I like this law.  I am a born again Christian & believe life begins at conception.  There is a reason for EVERY pregnancy.  I don't always understand what that reason is, but I put my faith in God, not man.  However, I also feel that it isn't my place to force my beliefs on you., nor judge you.  That's between you & God.  Professionally, it doesn't make a difference to me or not, and I will take care of you to best of my ability no matter if we disagree vehemently or agree wholeheartedly.
2 & 3. I have no opinion about the current Congress.  I'm not a politically minded person & really don't keep track of what they're doing.  I do feel that if you're going to represent us, you need to keep in touch with what we, your constituents, really want.
4. No, I do not believe all guns should be banned.  I think we need more research into countries that have taken away their citizens guns before we do that HERE. 
5. God is real, and I go to church to worship Him and remember that without HIM I am nothing.  I can go to God anytime any place and know He is listening and cares.

For someone who was born, raised & has lived most of her life in the Bible Belt, these questions and a liberal atmosphere like we have here in Hawaii are quite shocking at times.  For those of you who have known me my whole life, you're probably wondering ... does Dea really keep her mouth shut?  I'll leave that for you to ponder & maybe one day, when I'm not working, we'll discuss is.  :)

Love,
Dea

I've put off writing this post for a while.  My dad died May 10, and I've been out of sorts really ever since.  He went quickly, and he isn't having any pain any more so those are blessings.  He had a stroke sometime in April, and his speech, swallowing, and one side was affected.  When we talked on the phone, he seemed to be in great spirits.  He knew where he was & he kept his sense of humor to the end.  Deep down, I have peace because he put his trust in Jesus when he was 15, and I know I'll see him again.  I do have emotions that are normal grief emotions.  I get angry, nervous, etc.  These are all normal or so I'm told.

This is a picture of Mom, Dad and my boys a couple of years ago at Bass Pro Shops in Dallas.  Dad had that same look on his face when we buried him.  I think he's waiting to pull something on Mom,personally.  I'll write more about Dad later.

I went to Maui earlier this week for work.  Here are some pics from there:

These are called silversword & they're only found on Haleakala crater on Maui.  They bloom once every 50 years.  Pretty, huh?

Love, Dea

Top 10 lists

This is just a fun post for me.  Nothing too serious...just light-hearted fun!

In no particular order, I have compiled lists (that sounds so serious, huh?  HA!)  of my favorite things.

Top 10 movies:
1. Top Gun--even though Goose dies..it's still a fav!
2. Shrek--LOVE this--gotta look at what's inside someone!
3. Pretty Woman--what woman wouldn't love to have a spending spree on Rodeo Drive?
4. Double Jeopardy--Ashley Judd & Tommy Lee Jones...need I say more?
5. Star Trek--the 2010 version where Spock & Kirk meet at Starfleet Academy
6. Zorro--Antonio Banderas anyone?
7. True Lies--just a great movie!
8. any Indiana Jones!
9. Sweet Home Alabama--one of my favorite lines. "Just cause I talk slow doesn't mean I'm stupid."
10. Monsters, Inc.--who doesn't love Kitty, Mikey & Boo?

Top 10 Drinks:
1. Pepsi--duh!
2. Raspberry Lemonade
3. 7-Up
4. Sprite
5. Water
6. Mountain Dew
7. Cherry Limeade from Sonic
8. Apple Juice
9. Margarita
10. Strawberry Milkshakes (thick ones only!)
***Incidentally, I am from the South, but I can't STAND tea!***

Top 10 dog breeds:
1. Lab
2. Beagle
3. Cocker Spaniel
4. Golden Retriever
5. Yorkie
6. Shar Pei
7. English Bulldog
8. Siberian Husky
9. Basset Hound
10. Boxer

Top 10 Places
1. Arkansas
2. Georgia
3. Hawaii
4. Wyoming
5. Northern California
6. U.S. Virgin Islands
7. North Carolina
8. Missouri
9. Virginia
10. Montana

Top 10 Books
1. The Bible
2. The Left Behind Series
3. Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler
4. Laura Ingalls Wilder books
5. John Grisham books
6. Carolyn Coulter's FBI series with Sherlock & Savage
7. Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus
8. 50 Shades of Gray series
9. Devil's Island by John Hagee
10. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
(My High-School English teachers are probably rolling their eyes right about now!)

Top 10 Foods!
1. Vanilla Ice Cream from Dairy Queen!
2. Strawberries
3. Peach Cobbler
4. Chicken Fajitas
5. Homemade Salsa
6. Poi--just kidding!  Mashed potatoes really
7. Baked Sweet potatoes
8. Fried Ham
9. Caribbean Ham
10. Homemade buttermilk biscuits

Top 10 (Modern-day)Celebrities:
1.  Jon Bon Jovi
2. Trace Adkins
3. Carrie Underwood
4. Jennifer Lawrence
5. Harrison Ford
6. George Strait
7. Blake Shelton
8. Bradley Cooper
9. Helen Hunt
10. Diane Keaton

Do you like any of these?  Let me know!

Dea

Pictures of Hawai'i. . . FINALLY!

I finally got around to borrowing Scott's computer to download pictures from the camera to put on here.  I'll try to note which island the pics are from.  TRY!

This is Rainbow Falls on the Big Island.

This is Oahu.

This is steam from Kilauea Volcano on Big Island

Matthew and

Scott with Kilauea in the background (Big Island)

Sunset off Maui with either Lanai or Molokai in the background

Jason & the boys when we first got to Big Island--these are the cliffs

that are closest to our house here.

Maui sunset again

 

 

Scott & Matthew playing at the top of Rainbow Falls (Big Island)

Jason and me with Akaka Falls in the background (Big Island)

 

 

This is me at the end of the road north of Hawi on the BIg Island

 The 3 pictures above are all from Maui--Paia is the town's name.

 

Big Island

 

Big Island--Jason laid down on the cliff's edge down from where we live to get the picture below for me.  I'm too chicken to do that!

Big Island

 

Big Island surfers

Double Rainbow on Saddle Road you can see the lower

portion of Mauna Kea in the background.  This is

Big Island also.

Big Island

Matthew looking for humpback whales

There's a hole in this rock that makes it look like a whale's

blowhole when the waves crash in.

 

We have a TON of pics, but we tried to only select a few "representative" pictures for ya'll to look at.

 

Tell Scott & me which one is your favorite from the above & we'll print one out for 5 readers & send to you!  Be sure to leave your comment & email address so we can get your address, ok?  Next time, Matthew & I will pick the "winners".

 

Love,

Dea