Our very nearly perfect Christmas

I say nearly perfect for obvious reasons, the only way it could have been better is if Steven had been able to physically be here with us. We were able to have a quiet Christmas Eve with Omi and Auntie Sharon and then we went home so Santa could build a couple of things. Steven was even able to watch the building process and type advice to me via Yahoo web cam IM. Christmas morning I woke up at 0530 and the kids slept in until 0730!I was so worried that they'd wake up and get into it all before Daddy could get online to watch the excitement. So Steven was able to watch and we could even talk with him on the computer while the action happened before his eyes! It almost felt as if Daddy was really there with us helping open the gifts. Auntie Sharon came over to take pics for me so I didn't have to worry about missing anything and I could really be a part of it too. What a wonderful morning! A bit later,after Sharon left, I got to watch as Steven and his Battle Buddies, JP and Mondo were opening their gifts from us. What fun!
Next, the kids and I went back to the Nihipali's for brunch with Omi, Tutu, Auntie Sharon, Uncle David, auntie Leilani, and Ikaia. The missionaries sort of joined in after they had spoken with their own families. We had a great visit and we were a little sad to have to leave to go to the Gold's for Lunch/dinner and our White elephant exchange.
All in all we had a fantastic day!

Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to quite a lot of snow, especially for Vancouver, so I decided that after lunch we would try and play outside. Last year Keli'i wanted NOTHING to do with the cold wet stuff around her, but today both she and Aukai had so much fun that I had to bribe them to get them inside to warm up! Aukai even figured out how to make a snow angel but where he got the idea, I'll never know. It was not my idea and I never have taught him about snow angels! What a wonderful day and how we miss Daddy!

Our $16 Christmas tree

Our perfect little tree and our special stockings from Daddy. I made a killing on the kids' Christmas presents and was able to get EVERYTHING Steven and I wanted for them, I even stayed in budget and was able to get myself a beautiful necklace to wear! I am feeling very upbeat about Christmas now and can't wait for everything to fall in place for a wonderful day!
PS...the ornaments are nearly indestructible so the kids got to help decorate the tree!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We are starting to get ready for our Christmas here now that Steven has received most of his Christmas for there. We were able to go and buy decorations, thanks to Sears' generosity, so now I have ornaments for the tree and an Angel for the top! I have lights, LOTS of lights, but until now had very little of anything else. The kids get very excited to see Christmas trees and I'm sure they will love having one of our own once we get one this week. All the new ornaments are as indestructible as I could find, wood, pewter, metal, and Plexiglas. Oh, and instead of glass balls, I have large jingle bells. So my plan with all of this is to let the kids decorate as much as they want, while of course I take pictures for Steven to see, and then fixing lopsided-ness once they're in bed. My brother hinted today about a tree, so I may wake up tomorrow to a Christmas tree on my doorstep so that I won't have to try and take the kids out in semi-arctic weather this week to get one.
Hopefully we'll have some snow to play in in the morning, I'd rather have that than a bunch of ice disrupting all my plans.
Our newest activity is going to the YMCA to play, workout and swim twice a week. The kids were VERY nervous the first time we were in the pool. It took me an hour to get Keli'i off of my neck and into the water, but the next time we went, she loved it. It's nice to have somewhere to go to play, but I don't think we'll get to go much this week due to ice. We'll see as the week progresses.
Both Keli'i and Aukai are getting more independent in their playtime, wanting to do everything by themselves. Aukai is really doing good with potty training and Mommy doesn't have to do nearly as many diaper changes. Keli'i is showing interest in the toilet too, so I let her have her turn and soon she should be training too. I anticipate them both being fully potty trained by the end of the winter. (I hope!)
I will be getting the fabric for the quilt I am making for Steven this week and will be getting going on that project. I am excited for it and hope that I can pull it off to have ready for him when he gets his leave. I have between 3 and 4 months, so wish me luck!

Christmas for 4 soldiers is all done!

I've finally finished gathering and wrapping all the stuff I wanted for Steven, his room mate and his 2 battle buddies. Everything is wrapped and waiting for the boxes! I'm very excited to share Christmas with them,we are planning on watching them open everything on Christmas on the web-cam. It should be fun. My only worry is that they don't need the stuff I picked up for them, but that's a silly worry. I know they need and want everything in those packages!

A soldier's silent night

Get your tissue ready and please pray for those away from their families this Christmas season.

New slide show, Enjoy!

Lessons in Gratitude

My Thanksgiving has extended to this entire week. Starting on Saturday with a potluck dinner with the family readiness group where we met with the other families of soldiers with Steven and had a briefing to give us information about how everything is supposed to work.I learned a lot that I need and met some more people. Aukai and Keli'i got to play with new friends.
My lesson continued on Monday when my friend, Sheena called to ask if I wanted the kids to go to her place to play and I could get things done. I had been sick and was really tired but I needed to get stuff done for Tuesday when my Home Teachers were supposed to come over and haul away anything I had ready to go out the door. So instead of trying to clean and pack stuff with the kids unpacking the same stuff, I was able to get groceries, clean my fridge, and get some stuff ready to go before I got too tired.
Then on Tuesday, my HT did come over just as planned. But, unlike the plan, they didn't just haul away the stuff I had ready, they stayed and helped me clean and rearrange my living room so it was exactly how I wanted it! They moved my TV to the other side of the room in mere minutes and that alone would have taken me an hour full of unplugging, unhooking, disconnecting and carrying. All they did was work together and move it all at the same time.
I have been able to talk with Steven, get my home warm, get groceries for the kids, clean, and play with my kids. It has been a wonderful week full of blessings for which I am eternally grateful.
I hope all of your weeks have been full of thanks too. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love, Janell, Aukai, and Keli'i

Another week down...

So another week is over and done. I am very glad. I want the entire time to fly but I'll take the days passing at a normal rate.
We had a pretty uneventful week last week. I had my book club on Tuesday, playgroup Wednesday ("group" is a loosely used term as we were the only ones there), Thursday I scrubbed down the kitchen and bathroom (it's actually still clean! Thanks kids!), Friday we talked with Daddy for most of the morning(!!!!) and Saturday we dealt with runny noses and coughs so we didn't do much. So there's our week!
Steven is doing well. He doesn't really get along with his roommate but he has 2 good guys that he spends most of his free time with, so I've adopted them for Christmas. They'll all get small stockings with Dollar Store toys, a utility knife, and a candy bar, not much but at least they have something to open. The official last day to send care packages for Christmas is Dec 11 around here, but to be safe, if you want to send anything for Christmas plan on sending it around Dec 4.
This next week, I'm hoping that I'll be much busier. Tomorrow we have free pictures being done through www.oplove.org (check it out and donate if you can, it's a wonderful program), Tuesday I have an FRG meeting, Wednesday is empty so far but I hope we make it to YMCA to play, Thursday we have a birthday party for my nephew, Friday is open as yet (see Wednesday), and Saturday we have a potluck Thanksgiving party with the FRG and a briefing on the soldiers. So the week should fly by.
Our newest project for the kids to do for Daddy is that we went for a drive after Stake Conference today to gather pretty leaves so that we can iron them between wax paper and send Daddy autumn. They were happy to do that. We're holding it together pretty well these days although Aukai still whispers to me that he misses Daddy and they both freak out when they see him on the web-cam. They are so sweet. I am very blessed.
I hope that everyone is well.

Slight change of address

There has been just a slight change to Steven's address. I don't know if it really makes a difference but why risk it!

Spc Steven Nihipali
B Btry 2-146 FA
COS Marez East
APO AE 09334

Thanks everybody!

Steven's address

To send stuff to Steven,you'll need his address! Here you go...

Spc Steven Nihipali
B Btry 2-146 FA
FOB Marez-east
APO AE 09334

He is settled in Iraq and they're starting their missions soon. So they're getting busy, maybe the time will go by faster! Thanks all!

Love, Janell and kids

Safe and well

As of 2 days ago, Steven is safe and doing very well with his group in Kuwait waiting to be sent into Iraq. He is learning everything he can so that he's more prepared and he is getting ready to sign up for some online classes to stay busy in a safe way. The kids miss Daddy very much and it has affected their sleeping patterns to the detriment of Mommy who is exhausted but still can't manage to get to sleep before midnight!