Well Facebook has taken over the blogs. I still want to keep this thing up though. It is the closest thing I have to a family scrapbook.
We have had a busy summer thus far. Still catching up from having baby last year and Tim's deployment. He has been home 8mths now. I don't remember having him here this long before and with just one tdy thrown in the mix. Yes this should be a good thing however, it just makes the deployments that much harder to endure when you get too use to having them home. It is best just to keep coming and going.
Tim is doing well. He has been taking a class here and there. Hopefully he will finish a degree by the time he leaves the Air Force in 5 years. He has 2 years 5 mths left to this tour. Hawaii is nice. Weather just about perfect all the time but we still long for the seasons. Drinking coffee when its cold and having an excuse to sit indoors and read because weather doesn't permit would be nice. I sure have struggled homeschooling this year due to the want for outside pleasures.
Cole will be in 6th grade this year. He swims and still plays the violin. Sheryl Shohet his violin teacher has been great for our family. She plays for the Symphony in Honolulu and is a very serious teacher who knows her stuff, makes it fun but demands good work from Cole and myself.
Sydney takes ballet and swims on the swim team too. We took Sydney to an audition for the Missoula Children's Theatre on base yesterday. She didn't get picked for a part. Tim called 3 times during rehearsal to see how it was going. We left and walked back home with tears in eyes. A very quiet walk with not much to say. She did her best and was crushed. Hard lessons. Nothing like Dad at the end of the day to give little girl a hug and tell her he loves her. It does make things better.
Mack....Well what do you say about him. You know, you give a kid a name like that, I guess you should expect him to live up to it. We struggle daily. He sad he can't help being bad he just does it. This brings us to a lot of biblical discussion. I hope the Lord continues to pierce his heart as he grows into the man God will have him be.
Nora makes everyone smile. All my kids have. They just seem to be magnets to the rest of the world. She is a show stopper in the grocery, beach and all around. I do get sad that she cannot share her joyfulness with those we are closest to. In Germany, Idaho, and NC we always have folks who genuinly want to see the children and can't wait to shake hands, hug or love on them. We don't have that here in Hawaii. We really haven't formed close relationships with anyone particular here.
There are seasons for everything I guess. I have begun to get more involved with Tim's squadron and the deployed spouse program. It involves calling and talking to others, checking in on families and finding out if they have needs that are not being met. Sometimes I get grateful folks who are thankful for the call other times, I get hung up on. I have pondered going back to school. Online is making that more possible. I hope that I can accomplish this while we are here. Like I don't have enough to do but here goes it needs to get done sometimes.
Time to start school again. Still need to order books and such. We are using Tapesty of Grace this year with Veritas for Bible and Teaching Textboks for math. I don't want to speak too soon but I think I may have found my groove with my curiculm.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
New Member of the Family....Chubs the Cockatiel
That is what the lady in the pet shop gave her. (We are saying a "she" for sake of argument)
Today we got her out of the cage and let her play. Up until then we were wondering if she liked us but I think we just needed to learn how to handle her properly. She was a bit scared at first. Everyone hates change. She really likes Mack.
We are looking for a Hawaiian name. So far we have Maui, Koa, Shaka....Any ideas.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday at Hickam Beach. This is the second year in a row, I have driven to the beach before church to take pics near the water. We had Easter Brunch at church followed by worship service. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house with a short trip in between to the beach (inlet area) the kids enjoyed catching crabs and Nora gets to play in the water for the first time.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Passover Dinner
Our house for Passover dinner. It was a house full with the friends from church. An experience for us all. Wish my house was bigger to take it all in. Thursday, April 02, 2009
An Essay from an online educational newsletter I receive monthly from Veritas Press.
Entitlement, Owning the Problem, and the Classically Educated
I'm like any other red-blooded American who wonders how we are going to pay for all of this. Our federal government has been on a spending spree to rival . . . well, this kind of spending actually has no rivals-ever. Recently, trillions of dollars have been (or will be) "invested," spent, or otherwise disposed of in the name of getting our economy back on track. Consequently, we, the citizens, are the owners of a failing insurance agency and the largest lenders to two of the largest and unhealthiest auto companies.
Now I realize I'm being a bit sarcastic, maybe even cynical, here. I also realize you are as tired of hearing about this as I am, but that is partially my point, so hang in there for a minute. I also realize there is much that is hard for us, the average citizens, to understand. However, this is really quite a disturbing set of circumstances when all things are considered.
Coupled with all this spending is a new strain of entitlement-one that believes the federal government has both the obligation and the right to look into details of private transactions and make unilateral changes to contracts and existing agreements. Talks of even scarier intrusion are quite common.
It's been said that America had better repent of such financial recklessness or we will receive the judgment of God. A pastor and friend had a different take. He indicated that this is the judgment of God. Is what we've done not a bit like the man who has lost his job and promptly goes out to buy a new $75,000 recreational vehicle with borrowed money to help the economy? Taking on more debt-a lot more debt-hardly seems a wise approach to getting out of debt.
Yet a bigger problem remains. It's the problem of ownership. No one owns the national problems we face. I feel little ownership of the federal debt. I feel little ownership of the process that includes the foolishness that tacks on huge pork-barrel add-ons to popular congressional bills. Summarily speaking, I feel little ownership to community, cultural, or collective sin. I don't have a clue as to how to repent of it, either. Do you?
We might bury our heads believing that these problems were not caused by us and can't be fixed by us. And, at a micro level, we might be right. But who does own them? Who really takes responsibility? May God give us a clear sense of what it means to corporately confess our sins as so many of us pray every Sunday. And may God give us wisdom to carefully and collectively follow that repentance with godly actions-actions that include strategic efforts to bring concern for biblical wisdom and righteousness into the public square, actions that include an understanding of what God's Word means when it says that judgment begins with the House of God.
Frankly, we need godly politicians. We need godly pastors, too-ones who won't shrink from tackling the difficult or equivocate on complex matters such as these. Finally, we need godly, articulate, bold lovers of truth in the rising generation who will be not only the next politicians and pastors, but businessmen, parents, citizens, laborers, and friends of the lost.
Summarily, we need a people who know the facts, think well, and articulate their thoughts in such a winsome way that they are able to conceive what it means to own a corporate failing and know what to do about it. That is why I believe a classical Christian education is so important, because I believe that is exactly what it produces.
But we need more than that from these people. We need them "to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God." May we become those people, and may we raise a generation of those people.
Marlin Detweiler
Entitlement, Owning the Problem, and the Classically Educated
I'm like any other red-blooded American who wonders how we are going to pay for all of this. Our federal government has been on a spending spree to rival . . . well, this kind of spending actually has no rivals-ever. Recently, trillions of dollars have been (or will be) "invested," spent, or otherwise disposed of in the name of getting our economy back on track. Consequently, we, the citizens, are the owners of a failing insurance agency and the largest lenders to two of the largest and unhealthiest auto companies.
Now I realize I'm being a bit sarcastic, maybe even cynical, here. I also realize you are as tired of hearing about this as I am, but that is partially my point, so hang in there for a minute. I also realize there is much that is hard for us, the average citizens, to understand. However, this is really quite a disturbing set of circumstances when all things are considered.
Coupled with all this spending is a new strain of entitlement-one that believes the federal government has both the obligation and the right to look into details of private transactions and make unilateral changes to contracts and existing agreements. Talks of even scarier intrusion are quite common.
It's been said that America had better repent of such financial recklessness or we will receive the judgment of God. A pastor and friend had a different take. He indicated that this is the judgment of God. Is what we've done not a bit like the man who has lost his job and promptly goes out to buy a new $75,000 recreational vehicle with borrowed money to help the economy? Taking on more debt-a lot more debt-hardly seems a wise approach to getting out of debt.
Yet a bigger problem remains. It's the problem of ownership. No one owns the national problems we face. I feel little ownership of the federal debt. I feel little ownership of the process that includes the foolishness that tacks on huge pork-barrel add-ons to popular congressional bills. Summarily speaking, I feel little ownership to community, cultural, or collective sin. I don't have a clue as to how to repent of it, either. Do you?
We might bury our heads believing that these problems were not caused by us and can't be fixed by us. And, at a micro level, we might be right. But who does own them? Who really takes responsibility? May God give us a clear sense of what it means to corporately confess our sins as so many of us pray every Sunday. And may God give us wisdom to carefully and collectively follow that repentance with godly actions-actions that include strategic efforts to bring concern for biblical wisdom and righteousness into the public square, actions that include an understanding of what God's Word means when it says that judgment begins with the House of God.
Frankly, we need godly politicians. We need godly pastors, too-ones who won't shrink from tackling the difficult or equivocate on complex matters such as these. Finally, we need godly, articulate, bold lovers of truth in the rising generation who will be not only the next politicians and pastors, but businessmen, parents, citizens, laborers, and friends of the lost.
Summarily, we need a people who know the facts, think well, and articulate their thoughts in such a winsome way that they are able to conceive what it means to own a corporate failing and know what to do about it. That is why I believe a classical Christian education is so important, because I believe that is exactly what it produces.
But we need more than that from these people. We need them "to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God." May we become those people, and may we raise a generation of those people.
Marlin Detweiler
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Nora and Sydney
Sydney at the top, around 6mths and Nora below at 7mths. One of the few dresses I kept. I always liked Sydney in red. Now its Nora's turn. Our girls are all smiles!!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Reasons to use Shaklee
For all my friends with small children, I would like to recommend Shaklee cleaning products.
Did you know?
• Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.
• Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.
• Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners,
have levels 2 to 5 times higher inside your home than out.
• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids
developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
• 1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma. Rates in children under five have
increased more than 160% from 1980 –1994.
• If your home is anything like the average U.S. home, you generate more than
20 pounds of household hazardous waste each year (the EPA designates
toilet cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, oven cleaners, and bleach as hazardous waste).
Shaklee
Difference
Get Clean Products offer
cleaning choices that are:
SAFE
✔ Nontoxic
✔ No harmful fumes
✔ Hypoallergenic
✔ No volatile organic cleaning
compounds
✔ Formulated without hazardous
chemicals such as:
• Kerosene
• Phenol
• Cresol
• Lye
• Hydrochloric acid
• Sulfuric acid
• Sulfamic acid
• Petroleum distillates
• Ammonia
• Sodium hydroxide
• Butyl cellosolve
• Phosphoric acid
• Formaldehyde
• Morpholine
POWERFUL
✔ Outperforms 12 national brands
✔ 100% money-back guarantee
GREEN
✔ Sustainable ingredients from
natural sources
✔ Biodegradable surfactants
✔ Recyclable packaging
✔ Recyclable wipes
✔ Recyclable dryer sheets
✔ No chlorine bleach
✔ No phosphates
✔ No nitrates
✔ No borates
✔ No volatile organic cleaning
compounds
✔ No animal testing
Did you know?• Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.
• Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.
• Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners,
have levels 2 to 5 times higher inside your home than out.
• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids
developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
• 1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma. Rates in children under five have
increased more than 160% from 1980 –1994.
• If your home is anything like the average U.S. home, you generate more than
20 pounds of household hazardous waste each year (the EPA designates
toilet cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, oven cleaners, and bleach as hazardous waste).
Shaklee
Difference
Get Clean Products offer
cleaning choices that are:
SAFE
✔ Nontoxic
✔ No harmful fumes
✔ Hypoallergenic
✔ No volatile organic cleaning
compounds
✔ Formulated without hazardous
chemicals such as:
• Kerosene
• Phenol
• Cresol
• Lye
• Hydrochloric acid
• Sulfuric acid
• Sulfamic acid
• Petroleum distillates
• Ammonia
• Sodium hydroxide
• Butyl cellosolve
• Phosphoric acid
• Formaldehyde
• Morpholine
POWERFUL
✔ Outperforms 12 national brands
✔ 100% money-back guarantee
GREEN
✔ Sustainable ingredients from
natural sources
✔ Biodegradable surfactants
✔ Recyclable packaging
✔ Recyclable wipes
✔ Recyclable dryer sheets
✔ No chlorine bleach
✔ No phosphates
✔ No nitrates
✔ No borates
✔ No volatile organic cleaning
compounds
✔ No animal testing
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Nora Claps-6mths old
Can you get
any happier? Nora figured out how to clap today. She has done it several times own her own without being shown how. She thinks it is the coolest thing going.
Friday, March 06, 2009
All over Oahu
Rare moment
Wish I had the man sitting just in front of these trees enjoying nice and quiet until.....
Mack loves to crack Macadamia nuts, he would have stayed there all day. Job opportunity?
The kids took this shot. China Man's Hat. The wind was really kickin' that day. It was cold here for HI while my visitors were here. I was bummed but I don't think they really noticed. They just kept telling me that it was warm to them.
Submarine tour. I prefer to stay on the land. Nora was too little, that's my story and I am sticking to it.
Hawaii with PawPaw Tommy and Mimi
Polynesian Culture Center boat ride. The kids never get tired of this place.
I have no idea where to begin. 10 days and about 1,000 pics of Hawaii. We whale watched, snorkeled, some went on a Submarine, North Shored where the surf was high and watched surfers do their thing. Ate out a ton! I am still full. I don't need to eat for a really long time.Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Nora
Nora is getting bigger. She sits up, plays with her toys and has a smile that just doesn't stop. Nora also nurses every 4 hours which means I am exhausted!! She is 5.5mths so we let her eat her first cereal yesterday. It was a family event. I think she is going to like this eating thing.
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