December 31st-January 1st, 2012- Starting New New Year’s Traditions!

     Since we had so much fun starting our Christmas Advent tradition this year, I decided we needed to come up with some New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traditions too. As usual, from a tiny atoll in the Pacific where you cannot stop by the local bookstore or pop into a specialty or party store to see what’s available in the “starting family traditions” department, I headed for the internet. Of course, we have always had the tradition in my family of staying up until midnight to “watch the ball drop” on TV and having black eyed peas and ham hocks on New Year’s Day for good luck, but that’s it, and I wanted something more.  Plus, we can’t “watch the ball drop” because it hasn’t dropped in New Year when it’s already midnight here across the International Date Line.

     There were so many ideas, I decided to print out my favorites (or the ones I thought we’d be most likely to do), and talk to the boys at the lunch table to see which ones they agree upon.  Here’s what we did:  “Fortune Tree” and “An Ancient Tradition.”  The fortune tree consisted of everyone finding small objects around the house, which would symbolize something “fortunate,” such as a coin for wealth, a matchbox car for travel, etc…My oldest loves fortune cookies, so this was perfect for him, and he turned out to be quite good at it, writing down enough fortunes that we each had two to choose instead of just one. The idea is that you write a fortune to go with the object, then you wrap it up and “hang it on the tree like an ornament to pick out at midnight.  The boy’s objects were too big to hang on the tree, so we wrapped them all up individually in tissue paper and put them under the tree instead, and since no one (except my fiancé) was able to stay up until midnight, we moved it to a “noon day” fortune picking today.  That turned out to be my favorite tradition this year.  The others included having fondue for dinner last night (I did not realize that a lot of people have fondue on New Year’s Eve), and making not just black-eyed peas, but some “Hopping John” for our meal today.  We also made peanut butter pancakes with bananas and honey roasted peanuts on top for breakfast, but since we usually make some type of pancakes every weekend, I suppose that wasn’t so much of a new tradition. J 

     Last, but certainly not least, we completed the ancient tradition of writing down some bad habit or luck we wanted to get rid of and burned it in in our “propane fireplace” outside before making s’mores, and we wrote a “predictions/accomplishments” letter to ourselves to be opened next year and see what we got right.  And now, well I am catching up on my blog since one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get back to writing and blogging more like once a week instead of once a month.  Happy 2012!! 

December 25th-30th Getting Ready for 2012!

     Christmas morning was full of excitement and the spirit of Christmas as my parents, my boys, my fiancé, and I all opened presents, enjoyed pancakes and bacon, and relaxed all day long.  After our tradition of opening gifts one at a time from youngest to oldest (so we can all enjoy what everyone else has gotten), we had breakfast and sent the boys off to their dad’s for the rest of the day.  Then, my fiancé spent hours in the kitchen preparing our Christmas Day Feast of turkey and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, and chocolate pie for dessert. Yum!! We even were able to talk to the rest of the family in Oregon by speakerphone. It was a memorable day.  The high of the holidays over, we continued throughout the week settling back into routines and saying goodbye to gammy and grandpa as they headed off to Hawaii for the rest of their vacation. Only New Year’s left and 2012 begins.  I wonder was the New Year has in store for all of us…

December 24, 2011-New Birth!!

     A few weeks ago, both my boys started asking about being baptized. At bedtime, we regularly talk about God and His word, and this particular night, the boys wanted to know if they could be baptized.  So, I spoke with the local protestant chaplain, who also happens to be my neighbor, about meeting with my babies.  After ensuring they knew what baptism was all about, the chaplain left it open for us to decide whether or not baptism is what the boys wanted at this time in their lives. A resounding and confident, “yes, we’re sure” from them later on was all it took for me to know God is working in their lives to lead them to Him.  We scheduled the baptism for today in the salty water of the Kwajalein Lagoon. It was a brief, but very touching ceremony surrounded by close friends and family (including my mom and dad).  I am so proud of them both! We decided upon Dec. 24 as it is not only the eve of Christ’s birth (or at least the eve we celebrate the coming of Jesus to earth), but it is now also the beginning of my sons’ new lives in Christ.  I can’t wait to see what He has in store for them.  The most comforting thought for me is knowing the King of Kings now has them firmly in the palm of His hand and will be living in their hearts from now until forever. This means whenever I cannot be there for them (and even when I am), they will have the ultimate guide and “boss” for their lives, leading them to His greater good and guiding them through all those big decisions in life. In fact, that is part of how baptism was explained to them, as making Jesus the “boss” of your life.  Following the instructions of the “supreme Boss” will never lead you astray. Even when it leads you through trials, you will ultimately come out the winner in the end if God is in it.   Thank you, Father, for loving my boys and leading them to you.  Guide them throughout their lives and make them Godly men, never afraid to humble themselves before you and recognize you at their shepherd, friend, savior, and healer in times of need and in times of blessing.  Happy New Birth, my baby boys! Always remember how much God loves you and how far He will take you into love, life, peace, and freedom if you will just let Him.
 

November 26-December 23, 2011 Speeding through the Holidays!

     After a much needed “Tom Turkey” Thanksgiving celebration with my matron of honor and her family, life sped up again.  Thanksgiving this year was more than I ever could have asked for. I’m not a big crowd kind of person, so spending the day with my immediate family + my matron of honor’s family of 4 was no less than perfectly perfect. My friend made a fabulous turkey with a scrumptious gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, and a delicious stuffing while my fiancé and I tried a couple of new things this year, such as “sweet potato pie,” not sweet potato casserole as I am used to coming from the South. We also made fresh cranberry sauce (I am now a super big fan of real cranberry sauce, although I always disliked the canned and jellied kind growing up) as I have found that fresh cranberries with a little sugar and orange juice mixed in is so good on turkey! The green bean casserole recipe from last year made it back to our feast again this year, and of course, we had pumpkin pie for dessert! I know I am leaving something out, but that’s what happens when you don’t write for a month at a time.  L In addition to the wonderful food, the company was superb. The rest of the holiday weekend was spent in decorating for Christmas and helping my oldest son through his scuba classes in the pool.  He is so excited to get into the “real water” soon and see what he can see. He’s a fish, but who wouldn’t be growing up on an island as he has. 

     On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, December began its marathon of activities around the atoll starting with Santa’s arrival and the Christmas Tree ceremony.  The following weekend was just as packed with our department holiday party, the cub scouts cub car races, and the PTO Mother-Son Luau event.  Back to work for a few days, and the second weekend in December was spent on Roi enjoying their Tree Lighting Ceremony, and a Christmas Themed Photo Scavenger Hunt around the island! As if these events were not enough, during all this, I also decided to start a new Advent Family Devotional Tradition this year, so each evening (or sometimes during our lunch hour), the boys and I would read about the events leading up to the birth of Jesus and often complete a related activity or discussion.  This quickly became one of my favorite parts of this holiday season, and I wish I had started it sooner or even known of the abundance of resources out there to enjoy the Advent season with your children while teaching them about the reason for the holiday.  I think I can safely say that my boys enjoyed it as much as I did. Praise God!

     The third week of December was not only full of holiday parties and activities for my kids as it was the last week of school before break, but it was also the arrival date of my parents! Yes, my parents came to visit for the holidays!! It is my mom’s fifth visit during my 15 years here, but my dad has never made it before, so it’s been quite an experience for him.  After a couple of days relaxing and getting over their jet lag, I made them get up and go again. This time, we headed up to Roi to learn about the WWII history there as well as the current lifestyle. My oldest son joined us after his second 2-day camping trip with the boy scouts (this time to the island of Carlos), and my fiancé and my dad had a chance to compete once again at table tennis. It’s been over a year since they played together last, and it is one of the games we have decided to include as part of our wedding reception activities, so it’s good they have had a chance to practice and “buff up” on their skills before our upcoming July event. J  We did all our usual favorite Roi-Namur activities including eating at the snack bar and chow hall, swimming at the pool, visiting the beach shack, and riding around in a golf cart. Simple pleasures…that’s what island life teaches you.  I’d rather be out in the sunshine or in the beautiful waters of the Central Pacific than tweeting or texting, that’s for sure. I do like to blog, but on my own time, in the wee hours of the morning or night when life has slowed down even more than usual.

     After returning from Roi, the Kwaj holiday event kicked in again with Scuba Santa and the Parade of Lights (boats in the lagoon showing off their electric holiday decor).  Even though I’ve experienced these events year after year, it is nice to see them still going, despite the pressures of a failing economy, declining budget, and a smaller island population than we’ve seen here in a long time.  Life still moves on, and the most important and special of traditions are kept no matter what, in the spirit of the season, keeping life on the atoll unique and worth sticking around a while longer for. So, that takes us through Dec. 23, which is my brother’s birthday stateside. Happy Birthday, Bro! Hope it was a good one.  It’s a nutshell narration, but it’s all mine, and a way to remember what my life was like in December of 2011.  It’s fun to look back at what I was doing this time last year and see what is the same and what is different.  Fortunately for me, I have all the same blessings if not more, and my life on the island goes on….much longer than I ever would have thought.  But that’s okay. God is with me here as he will be wherever he takes me next, whether that be in the year 2012 or 2020.  Speeding through the holidays is not so bad because it simply means I’ve been having plenty of fun, right?!?! 

November 24-25, 2011- Thanksgiving Cute Kid Quotes!

     Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving (although here it is actually Friday the 25^th on Kwajalein), so that we are on track with everyone else in the states and can watch football and the Thanksgiving Day Parade with the rest of the world as tomorrow we have to go back to work one more day before the weekend. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my children and the funny things they say.  Usually, my stories of funny quotes come from my youngest, as he is my “class clown,” but this time, I have a few stories that came from my oldest that I wanted to share.  A few weeks ago, I had mentioned to a co-worker who was over having dinner with us that our boss said she was going home after work to have a glass of wine. It was just one of those comments that was part of the story I was telling, but before I could finish, my son (who was just introduced to the D.A.R.E. program at school) stopped me and said, “She needs to be in the D.A.R.E. program!” Of course, we had to explain that there’s a difference between having one glass of wine after work than being addicted to drugs or alcohol, but thank goodness, my boss got a kick out of the joke. It’s interesting how literally children take everything we say. That’s why we parents have to be very conscious of our speech at all times (unless we want to do a lot more explaining what we mean all the time). J 

     That next week, my son and I got some ice cream from the local Baskin Robbins, and as we were enjoying it, he said, “Hey mom, this is not hot!”  I said, “What? It’s not supposed to be hot” to which he replied, “but look…” and he showed me where it was written on the container, “Caution-Hot!!” It was actually a macaroni and cheese container. That’s life on Kwaj. When the ice cream shops runs out of ice cream containers, they use the food containers from other restaurants in the food court to get by until the boat comes in with supplies. 

    Finally, my co-worker dressed up as a girl from the 1960’s for Halloween, and as we were walking to one of the kid’s Halloween parties, my son called out to his friends, “Hey, look at the 80’s girl!”  I guess today’s 80’s is like yesterday’s 60’s. J  At any rate, Thanksgiving, for me, is a time to enjoy the blessings of family, friends, the abundance of food we have been given as well as the joy of life on an atoll.  We are very lucky today to have jobs, to have a roof over our heads, and to have food and water (as my youngest son has taken to thanking God for each night). We are lucky enough to be able to enjoy luxuries such as a good glass of wine, a scoop of ice cream, and a fun filled Halloween party. So many in our world never have a chance to experience any of these treats or events in life. Today, I will strive to remember those things whenever I am tempted to complain about there not being any fresh green beans at the grocery store yesterday for the green bean casserole or that I have to clean up after my son for the third time today because he keeps sharpening his new colored pencils at the table and drops the shavings on the carpet underneath him.  Today is a day for being thankful that we will have turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and sweet potato pie, and that my son was able to purchase those new colored pencils with his own money from his birthday presents.  Today is a day to be thankful for life and everything that comes with it! Happy Thanksgiving!! 

October 19-November 23, 2011- Blogger’s Block

     Instead of writer’s block this last month, I’ve been experiencing blogger’s block.  This consists of all the life events that keep me from sitting down and writing, such as planning 2 sleep overs and one beach party for my sons’ 8^th and 10^th birthdays, leading the cub scout’s Wolf Den (in which my youngest son participates), carrying out my monthly 4-H Citizenship Club activities, teaching Sunday School, serving as the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) secretary, celebrating Halloween, helping my oldest son through Scuba classes and attending their cub scout, basketball, and then flag football events, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and taking care of both my boys full time while their dad was away on a month long business/vacation trip back to the states.  Now that Thanksgiving is only a day away, I feel I have a moment to breathe before the next set of holidays starts up.  It’s been a little too much for me lately, but this is always how it happens. I think I’ve scheduled myself and my boys for just the right amount of activities, volunteering, sports, and so forth, but then when things finally ramp up, I realize it’s too much.  Balancing schedules is always more complicated then it seems like it will be. Oh well, we made it through and have hopefully learned a lesson for next time...Too many things on the schedule make for less time to rest and ensure we are staying on the right track with what’s most important in life, our health and happiness, and our relationships with family and friends and our God.  

October 15-18, 2011-Coming back to Life…

      I guess the stress at work and the rough weekend ride back to Roi from our camping trip did me in.  The next week, I became sicker than I have been in years.  Working with children, especially preschoolers, and having my own young ones, I have built up immunity. Even my fiancée said, “I’m never seen you sick like this, ever.”  Well, that must be why it hit me so hard.  I literally was “hacking up a lung” (as the saying goes) in my office several days in a row. It was so disturbing to my staff that they kept coming in to ask if I was okay, and when I finally planned to take a day off from work to focus on getting some rest and hopefully “kicking my cough,” my co-workers were very supportive.  Finally, I am coming back to life and getting ready to celebrate both my boys’ upcoming birthdays as well as all the myriad of holidays that roll around this time of year.