What's On Her Mind

Michelle woke up yesterday morning and said, "Mom I have a picture of Hunter in my mind."

I said, "oh you're thinking about Hunter?" Hunter is a girl from church.

Michelle said, "No I just have a picture of her in my mind."

I was telling Gene about this last night and he asked her, "Do you still have a picture of Hunter in your mind?"

Michelle, closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, smiled widely and said, "Yup I still have her picture in my mind!"

Happy Birthday

To my Mama.

She would be 79 today.

Happy Birthday Mama.

Wednesday Nights

Gene works at the temple Wednesday nights so its quiet around here (not that he makes a lot of noise).

I cook whatever - or not at all - on Wednesday nights.

Gabe doesn't have rehearsals on Wednesday nights.

The two girls read or play quietly on Wednesday nights.

I like Wednesday nights.

Who's In Charge?

I asked Michelle to get me a cup of ice water.

She did and when she gave it to me she said, "Can you get your own next time?"

I replied, "No".

She said, "Are your legs broken?"

I said, "No".

She said, "Well why can't you get it yourself?"

I replied, "Because I'm the mother and you're the kid. You have to do what I say"

She said, "But I'm not the mother!"

I said, "Right that's why you gotta do what I say - like get me water!"

She looks at my water and says, "Can I have a sip?"

I said, "No. Go get your own!"

She walks off muttering to herself, "But I'm not the mother!"

He Wrote - So I Breathe - For 7 More Days at Least

Dearest Mother,

So this is my day:

Today Jacob Wakes up and turns off the alarm on the phone. except that it is not an alarm, someone is actually calling us at 6:15 in the morning. One of our investigators dialed the wrong number. So i get 15 more mins of sleep.

Now Jacob Gets out of bed for reals. And crawls to the bathroom to find a spanish elder on the pot (oh yeah, we had 2 spanish move in with us in our apartment. one doesnt ever lock the bathroom door...)

Jacob, waiting to shower, forgoes morning exercise in favor of the ever well balanced breakfast that is doughnuts and mountain dew.

Jacob goes in to the shower and lets hot water run over him for about 10 mins before actually beginning the cleansing process.

For studies Jacob and comp relate scripture people to star wars characters (after all, it is pday studies.)

Jacob then watches as the spanish missionaries take off in their full-time car taking only a moment to fantasize of the varied comforts it would offer before wrapping up in a jacket and beginning the trek to Wal Mart.

Some guy screams at us on the way to walmart from his car as he drives by, which in and of itself wouldnt have been odd except that we were in pday (normal) clothes.

We walk to email at the family history center and our zone leaders wave as they drive by in their 2010 Subaru. grrrrr.

and now i am here! but all in all, not to bad a day so far to be honest. smith and i have a lot of fun no matter what we are doing. which makes things entertaining.

hmm....as for the work, we have another baptism this saturday, then one next friday, then 2 more 2 weeks after that. once again, baptisms dont equal amount of work put in (altho in all modesty i believe we have put in great work) but they are good encouragement to keep it up. we also picked up a couple new investgators this week. yups. smith is definately my favourite comp, and i think that we are gonn serve together till he goes home (he has only got this one and next left) altho after that i only have 2 left and their are still others who i want to have a chance to serve with.

random factoid: i think that my favourite commandment to teach on the mission is Tithing. tiss awesome. kinda like buying blessings. lol, jk. but it really is my favourite commandment to teach. my fav overall would probably be repentance or faith tho.

anyways, hope you have a wonderful week, and i thank you again for being awesome. and helping me in the infinite ways that you do!

love, jake

On Tuesday's I Breathe

once I get Jacob's email.

...I'm still holding

10 Days

Til we leave for Ireland for our 35th wedding anniversary celebration. So looking forward to it!

We are going with 4 friends - Hank & Rochelle Featheran and Nadine & Willy Frost.

Why Ireland? its one of my favorite countries - mild climate, green, friendly people, no language barrier.

We are staying at this place

Knee Hi Farm - a 4 bedrooms/3 bath modern farmhouse near Mullingar in County Westmeath - about 1 hour from Dublin.

We've hired a cook to prepare our meals and a bus to take us wherever we want to go each day.

It will be a relaxing - yet fun - 8 days.

Can't wait!

What I Saw at Church Today

A lot of this

I was confused for a minute.

Then I remembered.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Update

Make that 31 adults and 2 kids going to Scotland in October! Wow!

Mossman Ohana Scotland Trip

27 adults and 2 kids have signed up and paid their deposit - awesome!

Jacob - Short but Sweet

Heya mom,

thanks for the email, ill probably copy and paste what i write to dad so that i dont miss anything going to either of you guys.

anyways, this week elder russel nelson came to talk to the mission. it was pretty cool, we even had a q&a session. he said that his testimony first came from his study of the sciences, medical specifically.

lets see, a new transfer started also. my favourite comp elder scott smith and i are serving together again for his last 2 transfers as his 'dying request.' our mission pres prayed about it and said that the spirit gave the green light, which is way cool.

hmmm....so yeah, we had a pretty good week. a lot of good work is coming up which is nice to have.

anyways, love ya and thanks again for everything that you do!

love, jake

Gabe's Video

Here's the link to the video that Gabe made as part of the Church's Strength of Youth Media 2011 DVD that has been distributed worldwide (you gotta cut and paste it)

http://broadcast.lds.org/strength-of-youth/2010-12-02-we-believe-theme-song-900k-eng.mp4

He's the 4th kid singing - the brown one with the blue shirt. You'll also hear him in various parts in the background - then there's a close up of him singing towards the end.

What Jacob Wrote

MOTHER!!!!! i love you.

anyways, let me tell you about my week and how peculiar it has been:

Monday: After extreme mouth pain, went to the dentist. He pulled one of my wisdom teeth and said call him if it still hurt and sent me on my way with a prescription for vicodin, saying i should probably stay in and rest for the next 2-3 days.

Gave a lesson at the interview meeting (2 districts attend at a time to be interviewed with the pres.) with half of my mouth numb as it was 30 mins after my 'surgery.'

Tuesday: Pday, the usual missionary sabbath.

Wednesday: AAHHH!!! still in pain today. 3 cheers for vicodin tho! allowed me to function.

Thursday: It got warmer, like 45 today! also got a call from pres about a surprise meeting for all missionaries in the ibm. the last time this happened Hollond came to talk....

Friday: Okay, this is rediculous. i am in pain unless i take a couple vicodin every 3 hours or so. went to the dentist. he gave me a root canal. he really should not have described the process to me before doing it tho. reccomended i stay in and rest for 2-3 days. we then walked 7 miles to the mission office so that the mission pres could interview an investigator for baptism.

Saturday: IDK what happened, i slept in till 11. had to do the usual paperwork till about 3, then attended a lot of meetings which were really boring. then i slept through the stake con priesthood meeting.

Sun: MORE STAKE CON! but the root canal did just what i needed =]

thanks again for everything!

anyways, that was pretty much my week. hmmm........i think there is something else i was gonna say but i cant recall at the moment so if i remember i will tell ya laters.

love, jake

Elegant Evening

Had my annual engineering excellence banquet on Sunday night. A formal affair, we had visiting dignitaries from our national organization (24 of them) attending.

Beautiful setting at Koolau Golf Club. Fancy set up and very nice menu. Jazz musicians in the background. Fantastic silent auction display that kept everyone (including me) in a good mood.

Putting together such an event takes about 5 months of coordination and hard work on the part of many people. I enjoy heading the event each year though.

However, this year was very memorable. At the end of the evening, as we were packing up...

I fell - backwards - flat onto my back!

So now my back's a mess again...

But it was an elegant evening.

Look Out World

Be afraid! Be very afraid!

On 1/12/2011 at 3:28 p.m. - the streets of Oahu became a bit more frightening.

Gabe got his license!

And like all teenagers when they first get their license he asked me, "Can I run any errands for you mother?"

That helpful attitude should last oh I'd say - 2 weeks tops.

Congratulations son!

Trying to Catch My Breath

Its been a whirlwind! Yesterday spent all day taking a friend to various medical tests in town. Today I went to help a friend dress her mother's body for funeral. Usually wear white when we do this - and I thought "oh no, I gotta go buy a white muumuu" then I remembered that I wore a white muumuu when my mom died - now where is it?

At the back of my closet I found it! Still fit - thanks to weight loss 2010! But - small yellow age stains on it...oh no! Then I remembered something about lemon juice and the sun.

So I doused it in lemon juice and hung it on the line. 2 hours later - voila! White as snow!

Got to the mortuary by 2:00 then raced home to meet Hannah's bus at 3:45.

Tonight I'm going to a community council meeting with a friend - she'll owe me big time for this.

Tomorrow - taking the Monday friend back to hospital then racing back to Kaneohe for the funeral and then to Laie for burial and then racing to pick up Gabe to take him for his driver's license test (beware!!!) by 3:00.

The rest of the week isn't much better - huge engineering banquet on Sunday that I'm in charge of - then next week I'm on the speakers circuit - giving FASD workshops - and preparing for a tradeshow the following week.

Bonkers!!!

But am grateful for:

1. Back and leg improving!!
2. Supportive husband (he's da best!)
3. Kids are being so great (no dramas!)
4. Susan's a huge help
5. Gabe's busy with rehearsals (so he's not in my hair!)

But one bad thing - I was late emailing Jacob today =(

2010 at its BEST

Highlights of the year -

Anniversary (34th) in Sonoma in February!

Gabe's performance in "13"

Michelle's Soccer Award from King Intermediate After School All-Stars

Steve & Azeema's wedding

Church History Tour

Puerto Rico Trip

Gabe's dance concerts (2 of them)

Grandma's visit to Hawaii

Getting back in contact with some dear friends - Michelle Stagge & Malia Robinson

But the absolute # 1 highlight was my Mossman Ohana Reunion held in November. I love my Mossman family - TOGETHER FOREVER.

Accomplishments 2010

Before setting goals for 2011 I decided to see just what I have accomplished in 2010...hmmmm...can I think of 5 things?

I gave up eating red meat (except In-n-Out Burger when I'm on the mainland)

I lost some weight!

I converted to a MAC (and I'll never look back)

I reversed into a parking space TWICE (that is a big deal for me)

I have conquered my fear of heights (thanks to a hot air balloon ride)

Its the little things ya know.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou from Home

Got home just before midnight - starting the New Year where I want to be. Here's hoping each of you is where you want to be and with those you love.

Happy New Year!

Something's Changed.

Its the closest to empty nest that we'll ever get.

Susan staying with friends in town.

Jacob on his mission in Idaho.

Gabe traveling this week in New York.

That leaves Thelma and Louise aka Hannah and Michelle.

It is quiet.

Thank goodness for ipads and ipods.

Glee!

Michelle loves Glee - the t.v. show.
Since we don't have tv we just download the episodes to her ipod.

If you don't know the show -
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Michelle loves singing all the songs from Glee -
but her favorites are
Poker Face,
Bad Romance
and
My Life Would Suck Without You.

I told her she has to stop singing
Like a Virgin
and
Papa Don't Preach.
Somehow the "like a virgin - touched for the very first time"
and
"Daddy please don't we're going to get married"
lines don't sound good coming from her mouth.


She says her sister Susan is Sue Sylvester
(cause of the hair not the name)

This is Sue Sylvester

She says Gene is Mr. Schuester
(again cause of the hair)

This is Mr. Schuester

She likes Mercedes - but spells her name Peresaides
(pretty good when you consider Michelle has a severe hearing loss)

This is Peresaides/Mercedes

She calls herself Rachel Berry - who she sometimes says is
the greatest singer in the world
and other times says is
the most beautiful singer in the world.

This is Rachel Berry

She says I am Rachel Berry's mom.

This is Rachel's mom (my twin)

Sometimes she calls herself Quin Fabray
(no doubt because Quin had a baby)

This is Quin.

She says her boyfriend is Finn Hudson.

This is Finn.

But she (Michelle) got in a HUGE fight with Hannah yesterday because Hannah said she (Hannah) was Santana and her (Hannah's) boyfriend is Puck.

This is Puck and Santana.

Michelle has no tolerance for people invading her fantasy world.

Of course if you don't watch the show then
you have NO idea what I am talking about...
GET WITH THE PROGRAM! (pun intended)

Kindness of Strangers

Got this email this morning from a wonderful stranger -

Hi Sister Wright!

My name is Starla Jeppson and I live in Boise, Idaho. My husband is the ward mission leader and we made breakfast for our missionaries this morning and they are having their meeting right now with him, going over the members of our ward. Your son was just transferred into our area at the last transfers, but I thought you would like to hear that he is warm, fed, and doing the Lord's work over here! :D He seems like a very nice elder...we look forward to working with him more here in our ward.
We also have a son out serving a mission, he is in Nicaragua, and I know I would LOVE to get a picture of him, so I am including the two pictures I took this morning. I took the first one, then told them both to smile! :D His message to you is: "You are awesome...to you from me. TTYL!"

Have a wonderful Christmas phone call!

A fellow missionary mom,
Starla

And here's the photo

I am totally going to do this when missionaries come over to our house!

Means so much to their families (moms especially)

Rain and More Rain

It has been raining for 3 days straight - heavy, heavy rain. I am grateful for a roof that doesn't leak, walls and windows that protect us from the wet and wind. I am grateful that the electricity hasn't gone out - although it went out 3 times at Ala Moana Shopping Center I hear.

Its nice snuggle weather.

30 days

Today marks 30 days since I got my back/leg injury. It has been a challenging and rewarding 30 days.

I was forced to slow down and rest - that has been a great blessing. I feel quite relaxed despite the pain - and I have yet to get bored.

My family has been so supportive and helpful to me.

I learned that the bed we have is too soft - so the last week I moved to the couch. I think Santa will bring a very firm futon bed for Christmas.

I am doing so much better and am pleased with my recovery. My aim now is to continue gaining strength and hopefully have feeling return to my left leg from my hip down.

I am planning a trip to Utah next week for a wedding - I'll be driving up from Las Vegas with my cousin - will probably have to stop a bunch of times and stretch but I think I can do it.

Wish me well.

Next Up!

Exciting news - Gabe got the lead role in Castle Performing Arts Center's spring production of the musical Brigadoon! The part is the role of Tommy Albright (played on the silver screen by Gene Kelly).

Gabe is thrilled since he said its always been a dream of his to get a Gene Kelly role. To him Gene Kelly is the total package - actor, singer, dancer.

He's been taking voice lessons to extend his singing range - and it seems to have paid off. He's gotta take tap dancing now but he feels pretty confident that that will go well - he is a good dancer.

Show runs every weekend from March 25-April 10.

So guess who'll be 3rd row center seat for all 9 performances? Anyone care to join me?

Where's George?

I got one of those dollar bills that has "wheresgeorge.com" stamped on it. And if you go to that website you can track where the bill has been.

I was very excited to get it - I had gotten one before and accidentally spent it before I could go online to track its history.

So I checked online and found that this particular dollar bill originally entered into the where's george program on March 23, 2010 and in those 239 days it has traveled....wait for it...a total of 7.3 miles!!! All the way from Honolulu.

Talk about disappointing!

Funniest Thing Ever!

Susan was going to the store so I asked her to buy me a can of Orange Crush.

As she walked out of the door with Hannah she said, "Hannah, help me remember to buy mom a can of orange crush."

I don't know which is funnier - Susan asking Hannah to remember OR Susan actually thinking Hannah can remember.

You gotta know both girls to appreciate the humor.

Tis the Season

The tree is up - thanks to Gabe and Michelle. And I was such a good mom I only rearranged like 6 ornaments.

Of course pine needles are everywhere...

There was a storm that passed through here last night - thunder and lightning all night long...

Got an adorable Christmas card from our nephew Cody and his cute family in Utah and an equally cute one from cousin Lisa and her family...

And with only 15 days left until Christmas I'm just starting to think about shopping. Hoping to do most of it online this year. My leg/back isn't really up to mall shopping yet...

Can't Believe It!

Am doing sooooooo much better today - could it be the pain meds?

I am doing just what the physical therapist told me to do - certain stretches every half hour. I can sit for 20 minutes with a towel rolled at the small of my back!

Still numb but all in all doing so much better!

And...yesterday I got a text on my phone from a lady in Idaho who had just had lunch with Jacob and his companion - and she sent me this picture!

His hair is longer than I've ever seen it!

On the Mend

Had my first physical therapy session today and it went well! Got lots of recommendations etc. I'll have this beat in no time!

My immediate goal is to be able to drive 5 miles without pain. I can do this.