Safe and Sound on Solid Ground!

Yay...we made it.

It was HELL. (i'm not going to lie)

But I am SOOO happy to be here and to see my mom, and NEPHEWS and NIECES!!!

*sigh*

I realize how much I have been missing since I have been in Hawaii, and it SUCKS!

*pardon my french*

Don't get me wrong I wouldn't trade it for the world because it gave my dad and Jane an opportunity to get to know my children. And the relationship that they have is indescribable!!

I just want everyone else to know them too. And I want Bug to know THEM!

Anyway....my updates will be limited, as I am enjoying this mini vacation from technology, and taking Rach's advice....ENJOYING MY FAMILY!

We sure do MISS you Popo and Papa....we will see you soon though! :):)

One last video...



Had to share this...what a great way to have Bug leave Hawaii. Is this Brad's son or what?!!? Hope you enjoy it, as it will be a while before you hear from me! My love to all!~

Leaving on a jet plane...



I dont know when I'll be back again!


The kids and I are off. Please pray for a safe travel, and we look forward to starting our new adventure!!

To Popo and Papa- Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you guys have done for our family. I cant even begin to tell you how much we appreciate it, and how blessed we are to hve such wonderful family. You guys mean the world to us, and to the kids. Please know that you are welcome in our home, no matter where it may be, ANYTIME!!!!! And we mean that from the bottom of our hearts! Thank you and we love you VERY VERY VERY much!~

Need packers?


I have 2 of the cutest ones around! (o.k maybe I'm a little bias)

they will go anywhere to get the job done...


may be a tad tempremental....





But cute as buttons....


Here's the video to prove it....



Can't guarantee you'll get much packing done. But I CAN guarantee a giggle or 2! :)

********MORE PICTURES BELOW********

Last minute visits

Holy Moly....so much to do...so little time! ha ha

**Isnt that how the saying goes? **

Well....in between bouts of packing...hauling....selling...and organizing, *rolls her eyes*

we are trying to do a few "last minute" things.

Our family LOVES the outdoors.

Camping, hiking, canoeing, swimming, you name it....we pretty much do it.

Kids and all.

So what could be better than to spend one of our last few days on the island hiking up Diamond Head?!?!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



We left Drama Mama with Papa and Popo (so Bug could have some mommy/daddy time)and headed off...




"Let's go mom"



"everybody in!"



Our destination point (view from parking lot)



"Lets go, lets go..lets hit the road"



Doesn't LOOK that far right?



WRONG! This comes after hiking up that....there's about...oh...176 steps!



Through the spooooky old tunnel....(Bug's FAVORITE part)





Are we there yet? nope. *gasp..pant..pant* More stairs. 184 of 'em..And these babies are STEEP~



yay the top....which leads....to yet... ANOTHER set of my favorite things in the world to do...*sarcastic, in case you didn't catch that* STEPS! lost count. (at least these ones are cool)



at the top of those....*GASP...stumble...trip...gasp* the LAST set of these bad boys! to tired to count.




FINALLY....the REWARD!






and the FUN part.....headin' back down~


TOTALLY loved it. Sure going to miss it. But I am sure looking forward to seeing what good ol North Carolina has to offer!!

Oh and one last thing....here is a video of Bug AFTER the hike....he is mad because I passed him and he HATES to be last at anything. IS this MY kid or what?



TTFN!~

P.S Yes, Bug walked the ENTIRE way up to the top and back down again. We had so many people comment on him, and how strong he was. He of course just ate it up!~

8 more days and counting

Well....the kids and I have exactly 8 days left on the beautiful island of Oahu.

We have been beyond busy....with packing, sorting, and donating things.

BUT....with the stress of it all...

we manage to have a little fun..

Here are my 2 ruggies *gosh I love them*...playing together...



Here is Drama Mama helping me pack! :)


*****deleted one of Kayla cleaning in her birthday suit...sorry******

Next we have Kaiberg (nickname) and the drama mama boogie-boarding...


Mommy and Bug after a swim...


Cheeeeeese!


My 2 sweeeeeet Men! :)


"you talkin' to me?"



Ahhhhhh...it's the Bug Monster!....



Now since Sheri had posted a few priceless pictures of Ad doing this......so I thought I would share these...


Find any gold in there guys?




Better get back to packing. I'll have more pictures once we get moved and I can find everything!! LOL

TTFN!~~~

P.S Please continue to keep Rachel and her family in your prayers. They are an awesome family.

Want to help me celebrate????

Tomorrow is Hannah's Celebration of Life.

And since I am too far away to actually attend....I have decided I will have my own one here at home with the ruggies.

You can join me from where ever you are.

There is only one restriction.

You must, and I mean MUST leave your adulthood at the door.

We do have a dress code. It must be strictly adhered to.

o.k i fibbed 2 restrictions....

We ask that you "don" the following: (all of which I went and got today!)

Feather Boas:

Your shiniest most sparkly pair of shoes: (mine are quite similar...after all I was looking for "just the right" pair...and here they are below)

and my favorite new addition.(Hannah would have LOVED this!)...a tiara!!! (oh, and crowns permitted also...you men out there...no excuses!)

So please.....dust off those boas....shine up those crowns.....and clip those wings. Because I KNOW Hannah will be looking down at us.....in HER wings, HER shiny, sparkly shoes...and HER glorious, jeweled out *slightly askew I might add* tiara. Her smile will be so big....I can see it already.

so please...take the time out of your busy lives...to take a moment and help me celebrate the WONDERFUL life of Ms. Hannah Banana!!!

SHE WILL BE MISSED!~~~~~~

Shock.

I can't even think.

I found out a friends 5 year old daughter Hannah passed away this morning.

She was on a beach outing with family and was swept under by a riptide.

PLEASE pray for her family.

I can't even imagine the pain they are going through.

I am so heartsick.

So many questions.

So little answers.

Rach, Brein and Jess....from across the world...

we are thinking and praying for you.

I am so so so sorry. From the bottom of my heart.

I have learned to never take a day for granted....

and just how SMALL my problems seem to be.

Dance Hannah Banana.....dance!



thank you Sheri...for sharing such a BEAUTIFUL memory of a true sparkle.

Laugh or Cry?

Thats what I get for bragging about how Bug NEVER played with crayons or markers except where he was supposed to.

As soon as he walked in....I grabbed my camera and started rolling...

The kicker is.....he tries to shift the blame..(at the end)

is this Brad's child or what? *laughs*




And some picture's to go with the video:

His face:

Side view:


Do I even want to know how he managed to color there?


Alright I confess...I did it.


laugh or cry?

as you can see...I chose to laugh! (much to Sammy's confusion)

Please ignore the mess.....as we are in the middle of a move with about 3 weeks to go.




~~as far as Brad goes....we are still trying to figure out the best way to deal with things. He is still having a hard time with attacks daily. We are going to try one more week of "his way" and then I think we will have to look into other options. Thank you all for your phone calls, emails, and letters. I know there is a light at then end of the tunnel somwhere, and it makes it easier knowing we have such a support system!

Better...

thanks for the prayers.

They seem to be working.

He went and saw the behavioral specialist that he was referred to.

He said they talked..

and talked..

and talked.

And short of taking medication to control the anxiety.....

he has to learn a few "natural" ways to deal with it.

side note: a HUGE thanks to those that offered support and advice. It meant a lot to Brad to read some of the emails, and posts that people have been kind enough to send me. I think he finally felt like this was something that happened more often than we thought. I was shocked at the number of people that put aside their issues and "confided" that they too were dealing or had dealt with the VERY same things. We truly are blessed to have such a network of family and friends surrounding us. MAHALO!

So we are going to try that approach first.

And we agreed, that if it didn't work....there was nothing wrong with trying the medication.

We are hoping after the move and things get settled....the attacks will subside.

So, please, continue to keep our family in your prayers...

we appreciate it more than you know.

Prayer can be a POWERFUL thing. (no matter your belief)

JMO. (just my opinion)

Still waiting for answers...

I am becoming VERY familiar with the ER here.

Brad has now had 4 episodes resulting in a trip to the ER.

Only to be released some 5 hours later with a "follow up with your doctor as soon as you can" and not so much as an I.V

If you know Brad at ALL....you would know how rare this is.

In 10 years I have known him...he has been to the doctor's exactly once....

for a KIDNEY stone.

Here is where we stand...

O.K We have ruled out:

diabetes
high blood pressure
high cholestrol
hyper-thyroid
tumors
indigestion
certain cancers
anemia
dehydration
and more.

We have had:

CAT scans
X-rays
blood work of every kind
EKG's
EEG's
complete physical
urine tests
and more.

His symptoms are:

heart palpatations
shaking
difficulty breathing
neck and upper back pain
a feeling of disconnection from his body
tunnel vision
on and off "rush" feelings
fatigue

After doing some research on WebMd I have come to my OWN conclusion ( to be backed by several others sharing their experiences with me...HUGE THANKS) that it must be anxiety.

It sounds so menial.

But it's not.

I mean....how can something that sounds so.....

easily diagnosed....

be missed by 4 ER visits...5 follow up visits.....and 5 regular visits to see if anything was wrong to begin with.

I know they had to rule other things out first....but how many times did they run the SAME blood work AFTER I told them it had already been done (and kept copies to give them each time)

Now I am NO dr. by ANY means.....

but I am mad.

I need my rock back....my strenth, my other half back.

He is slowly withdrawing....

feeling like he is going crazy because all the tests show nothing wrong. He thinks no one understands, or believes him. The doctors don't seem to care one way or the other. But...

I do.

But he doesn't believe ME.

Please pray for him,

and for the dr's we are going to see to discuss the possibility of it being this.

oh, and me.

We just want answers.

I just want him back.

Is that a hint?

I am wondering if Bug is trying to tell me something.

I have decided to take some "preventative" measures to make sure that we have no "surprise" additional family members any time soon.

It's not that we don't want more (a discussion in progress)...

it's just that with the move, and new enviroment, Brad's health and sammy starting school...

the timing would be WAYYYYYY off.

Anyway....to make a long story short,

My "reminder to take pill" alarm went off at 6:25 a.m like it always does on Monday...

so I go to where I ALWAYS keep them (on top of the bar in our pen bin.....AWAY from little hands...plus it's near the kitchen ..where the water is!)

And they are GONE!

I am SOOOO sure that I put them back ( I have learned that if I don't do this....I will never find whatever it is I am looking for)...

so I look

and look

and look.

I am moving, lifting, looking under, and checking twice....all over the entire place.

nothing.

I wake Brad at this point, sure that second pair of eyes will find them.

He is smug...sure that he will find them in an obvious spot that I have over-looked.

He spends 30 minutes looking.

in the kitchen, living room, both bathrooms, kids room, our bedroom.

FINALLY he admits defeat and leaves 20 minutes late for work.

Fast forward to 3 days later.

I am doing the weekly laundry (well...I do a load EVERY day...but the sheets and such once a week)..and go to grab Bug's stuff off his bunk bed.

there they are.

sitting UNDER his pillow on the top bunk.

so much for that month.......

gee, I wonder why I didn't think to check there.

and how the heck did he get a hold of them?

come to think of it...he asked me the other day about having another "kay kay" in my belly.

please don't fret...none were missing.

The only thing missing now....my sanity!

So, if you happen to see it......

let it know it's sorely missed......and NOT to hide under the pllow in bug's room. It may take me a while to find it.

Prayer Request Please

Well, our 4th of July was spent in the ER at Straub. Brad had his heart act up again, and was sweating, shaking, and seemed to be out of it.

So I took him directly to the ER....we couldn't even make it to the Kaiser one.

They took him stright back and hooked him up to an EKG.

After about 2 min he looked over at me and said "Honey I dont feel good at all" and had this look about him..

I looked up at his monitors, and all of a sudden his heart rate when from 74 to 134 in about 20 seconds.

I was asked to leave.

I got in an "i love you" and a kiss and then had to wait for 35 AGONIZING minutes. Finally they let me back in to see him.

All his tests came back fine (the same ones Kaiser did a week ago)....so they want him to follow up with another stress test and EEG at Kaiser.

*sigh*

Please pray they figure out what is going on. No matter what it is, we can deal with it.

Its not knowing that killing us.

Any and all prayers of any kind are appreciated! (oh and some hair dye for all my new whites LOL)

MANY MANY thanks! I'll keep you updated after his appt at 3:20 today.

Aloha Oi'

Well, I think it is time we finally announced that we are moving~

Yes you read right! We are leaving this beautiful island!!

and it is HARD!

I know I had to write to the paper, and I made Hawaii sound like a drug infested wasteland....but i assure you...that is NOT.

It has just gotten out of hand recently, and unfortunetly it happened to move right into our neighborhood park.

add that to the "con" list

BUT....with that said....we are heading back to the "mainland" to North Carolina!

Thanks to my mom and step dad....they have made us an offer we can't refuse! Plus with Sammy starting school, it just seemed like the right time.

The kids and I are leaving on Aug 3rd!

But first we will be stopping in Virginia to visit my mom, step dad, my brother, friends, nieces and nephews, and our wonderful church "Grace Baptist"~

Sammy is SUPER excited that he is going to see his cousins!!!

and Brad and I are.....

well....scared, excited, nervous, depressed, anxious, happy, stressed all come to mind.

just pick one!

We fluctuate.

It is a big step we are taking, but we honestly believe it is the best thing for our family.

It's going to be hard to leave.......

Especially having to leave 2 of the most wonderful loving people... Popo and Papa.

Speaking of them..

They are NOT taking it well.

My dad denies that I am leaving, and Jane can't even talk about it.

It's been crazy.

I think the hardest part is knowing that they won't just be...

"right down the hall".....

Lord knows they were my saving grace on way more than one occasion when I needed a BREAK from the kids! *blushes*

As far as the kids go...

I have told/explained to Bug we are moving and going to a "new house", and he gets real excited....

excited about going to school, seeing Matthew, having a backyard...

but

he also doesn't understand just how much we are leaving behind.

He will....

he's a smart cookie~

and I pray for the strength to help him adjust.

He is VERY VERY VERY close with his Popo and Papa.....so it may take some time.

However....

finally we will be closer to more family and friends..

but

BOY will we miss it here as well!

I know whatever choices or decisions we make, we will have God to guide us, and I pray for His strength on a daily basis.

It is what keeps me going.

TTFN~ (or I'll cry) ha ha

PUBLISHED!!

How cool is that?? I was officially published in our newspaper on a letter I wrote to the editor on some issues we have been having in our parks.

I guess they liked it.....since here it is!! They even printed a picture (yikes! lol)

Here is the article....and here is the star-bulletin official link!

--> --> --> -->

Gathering Place

by: K. Brenneman

Park cleanups should sweep up criminals, too

It was nice to read that the city is trying to balance parks access and the homeless issue. It was even nicer when they started cleaning up some parks and giving them back to tax-paying residents. It was so nice to walk through Thomas Square and not be intimidated, surrounded by drug users and most important -- feel safe with your family.

Let's use Thomas Square as an example. The park was infested with tents, body waste, garbage and personal belongings for months. It was getting to the point where no honest, tax-paying law-abiding citizen would go to a park during the day and use it as it was intended. You were crazy if you tried to walk across it at night (especially after the recent stabbing).

The park was finally cleaned up, tents removed and I started to bring my children back to the park. Well, that lasted about two weeks and now it seems the criminal drug users (disguised as homeless) and their camp sites are now again calling Thomas Square Park "home." At dusk the tents go up, at dawn they take them down and start partying, pack up their piles of stuff and stake out their claim under the shady trees. That means there is no shade for park users and, God forbid you go near their campsite

Last week I called the police because I was fearful for my children playing in the park when these crack-using illegal campers were doing it in front of me and my children. The smoke from their illegal drug use and camp was drifting right at my family. I have called HPD several times for the same reason and they send an officer to sit in his marked car. They sure are going to stop illegal activity using this method -- NOT! I refuse to bring my children back to the park until these people are gone.

I know that it is not against the law to be homeless. However, it is against the law to camp, litter, defecate and urinate in public, intimidate park users and smoke crack. This has nothing to do with a family down on their luck, losing a job and not being able to afford rent. It has everything to do with criminals, bums, drug users and other undesirables who have no intention of working, finding a proper legal place to stay or having a positive effect on their community and society as a whole.

Why can't the city turn on the sprinkler system for five minutes every hour after dark to make it uncomfortable for the illegal campers? Why can't HPD send an undercover person to watch and bust them? Why can't HPD tell these people to move out of the parks at night? Most of these illegal campers are so lazy they stay close to where they camp. Maybe, if the city made it inconvenient to stay in the park and the state made it more convenient to access social services these people would wise up and seek the help they need to be honest tax-paying citizens, a positive influence on society and enjoy the parks the way they were intended?

___________________________________________________________________

P.S I know a few people are worried already about the reproccussion's (mom) that may happen if one of these "homeless" recognize me. We WILL NOT be going back to that park any time soon, and I will be on my "P"'s and "Q"'s when I do go out!! Other than that...how cool!~

McKayla's Vocabulary

The drama queen is 19 months and 3 weeks old (thanks babycenter) and here is what I can remember of her daily growing vocabulary:

She can say: (pronounciation in parenthesis)

cheese (cheeece)
ice cream (ice keem)
milk (mik)
bless you (bess oooh)
please (peees)
mommy (mama or momeeeee with her hands cupped around her mouth)
kitty (kit -e or eow)
swimming (wim)
Papa (pa.......pa)
Oh no (oh no)
all right! (aaahhhh reai)
mouse (ouse)
bath (aaaaat)
high five (eye feye)
no no no (no no no with her finger wagging at you)
up (up)
shoes (shooooooooooce)
come on (ummm aaaaaan)
bye bye (bye bye) hand opens and closes
hi (hiiiiiiiiiiii) hand waves
apple (she says this perfect)
i stuck (she says this PERFECT...which is good seeing as how she gets herself into the most precariuos positions!
no way (no waaaay)

I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

It is amazing how different the bug was in his stages.

Girls are SOOOOOO different~

She seems to be cruising through... if not ahead... of most of her stages (crawling at 8 mos, walking at 10 mos etc...)

Not to mention the child WON'T touch baby food!
She never really has.
She nursed, and then it was straight to solids.
The only thing "baby" I can get her to eat are the Yo- Baby yogurts. Other than that it is rice...refried beans, rice soup, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, applesauce, peanut butter and jelly, and LOTS of cheese.... to name a few! :)

In addition to being a great eater...she is also great at throwing tantrums

.
I don't think I stood a chance when I told my mom I was having a little girl and she said (and I quote)

"ohhh Kristi...if she is HALF the rugrat you were....you are in for a treat"

and

"I hope she is just like her mom so you can see what I went through"

and then goes on to tell me how I stuck a grape up my nose and they didnt know...so it was there for like 3 days....and they couldn't find out what smelled so bad on me. took me to a dr....and sure as anything....out comes the grape.

I just wanted to see if it would fit.

See?


SIDE NOTE: THIS IS TOTALLY OFF THE SUBJECT......but people like THIS make me sick. How is this possible??

Sammy, Sammy Sammy...

giggles..

*rolls her eyes"

*shakes her head*

*rolls her eyes again*

I wanted to share this with Becca... to give her an "idea" at what she is in store with with Drew.

No one bothered to warn me....

Hey Becca.....

from one mommy to another..I hope you enjoy.

HERE IS THE STORY:

Yesterday we decided to head on down to the pool since it was such a beautiful day out.

Brad was working of course, and it was just the kids and I.

So I start getting the bag ready with towels, diapers, sun screen....

you know....everything BUT the kitchen sink (and you STILL manage to forget something)

Anyway....I tell Sam to run and get ready while Kayla is distracted with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (her FAV show) and I am trying NOT to forget anything...

So off we both go....

I am so busy with everything.... it isn't until I am mentally going over everything and look up to see if Sam is ready...

he isn't.

he is dancing.

not only is he dancing....

he is bum naked!

O.k O.k.....no big deal....

but then I take note of the WAY he is dancing..

he is singing the end song for the MMC show, and doing this little booty dance....swinging his little "man part" around.

I do a double take.

Yup....he is singing and "swinging" it in a circle.

*insert me trying so hard not to laugh*

"What are you DOING sam"

he looks up grinning...

I expect him to say "dancin mom"..

where I would follow with a "your supposed to be getting your swim suit on"

HOWEVER...

he grins and rotates his hips even faster....

"I'm waggin' my tail mom"...

"like pluto...

see....mom.....WATCH me."

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

To my honey for father's day!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And then for my dad (Papa)....I put this together! The kids sure are lucky they have people that love them soooo darn much! Thanks dad!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

AND OF COURSE A HUGE HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO THOSE WE AREN'T NEAR....CODY..JOSH..MY CUZ JIMMY LEE..TONY...ALAN...OCTAVIO...AND EVERYONE ELSE!

I thank God for you everyday!

50th STATE FAIR

Last weekend we went to the 50th State Fair at the stadium.

The kids had a blast!!!

I had soooo much fun watching them. NOT so much fun on the rides. When did I turn into a ol' fuddy duddy?

Oh yeah.....since having these 2 beautiful children wreaked havoc on my body! *snorts* It's much easier to blame it on the kids.

Anyway

Here are some pictures AND video of our fun time.

"hi guys.....we are getting ready to go down a biiiiiig slide!"



And then we have the video.....this thing was FAST! But all Kayla kept saying was "again"


"Say hi Sammy....mommy is petrified." Sammy kept saying to me "it's o.k mommy...see? everything is o.k" (yeah, tell that to my stomach)



Popo and Kayla in the helicopter. They BOTH were having a blast! :)



"lunch time....look at this girl eat!"




My future Nascar driver.....move over Gordon....da' brenn na MAN is on the track..





Here is video of him in action....go sammy go!







Hey I think I rode these boats when I was here as a kid! LOL The very same ones! *safety check please*




Here is a video of Kayla and Popo on the merry-go-round...




"Wave your hands in the air" he rode this over and over.




And the last, is a video of Brad and Sammy on the merry go round....at the end you can catch Popo and Kayla too.



Other than that, everything else is crazy here, Sammy is fighting an illness (type A flu?) and has been running a temp for 3 days of 102.8. No other symptoms other than very tired and complaints of pain in his leg. (?) Yesterday he started feeling better and his temp broke....he is eating and drinking normally (well maybe not normal...but close enough) and has finally gotten off the couch and asked to visit Popo and Papa.
So they took the kids for a few hours yesterday, and Brad and I got some MUCH needed mommy/daddy time at the..

WATERPARK! LOL (we both felt SO guilty...but needed to get out) It was lots of fun...HUGE THANKS PAPA AND POPO!~

And we have a few other things going on as well I won't bore you with.

Today is a state holiday (Kamehameha *ka-meh-ha-meh-ha* Day)......so I'm not sure what we will be doing. Probably laying low until Sam's 100% .

Hope everyone is well and healthy. We miss you soooo much, and sure do appreciate you keeping in touch!~ PLEASE continue to do so!!

TTFN!

Daddy Day Care

Below is just ONE of the reasons I try hard NOT to leave the kids home alone with daddy for very long. I just had to run a few errands. You really have to watch it to the end to TRULY appreciate what I came home to! *sigh* MEN!





Have a great weekend!~