Roller Slides

The long trek up (this is Taryn, Owen's BFF :) )

Owen on the long trek up

Daddy and Alison trekking up


Daddy and Alison going down. (Jeff almost lost her at the end. My heart stopped as I saw her fly in the air but he caught her. It must be those cat like reflexes)




The Roller Slide

The parks in Okinawa are fabulous! Lots to climb on, zip lines and the most fun of all, roller slides. We had been warned by friends to bring cardboard because the roller slides have a tendency to leave a "burning" sensation on your behind. This probably isn't the safest thing for children but they sure did have a blast.

God's Beauty

For those of you who may never have the chance to see the sun set over the East China Sea.

Mom Update

The phone rang at 5:50am last Thursday. Jeff was ready to leave for the gym and I heard him talking. I listened intently, was that the hospital?. No, he seems to know this person. Was it Brent and Heather? I came downstairs and saw him writing on a piece of paper, the numbers 804 instantly let me know it was my mom. Something was wrong with my mom. My heart starting racing and I read more of Jeff's scribbling, blood clots in lungs. What? How could that be, what did that mean? He handed the phone to me and I could hear how frightened my dad was and also how strong he was being. He just wanted to let us know and he was on his way back to the hospital. It seems my mom was having shortness of breath since Sun/Mon but couldn't get into the doctor until Wednesday. He sent her for a CT and it revealed blood clots in the lungs so she was immediately admitted to the hospital. After several more phone calls and finally reaching my mom in her room I found out that they did find a bigger clot in her leg and that it could all be a result of some medication she takes but there is no way to know for sure. She will be in the hospital for several days while they get her medication into a therapeutic range but she seems to be doing well. Jeff has assured me that she will be just fine and her doctor seems to think so too. I'm glad they agree. :)

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post about this. Some of you already know this information and I want to thank you for your prayers. Both Mom and Dad seem to be doing much better now that the initial shock has worn off. I think they were both expecting her to have some kind of pneumonia or something. We are thankful for God's protection and are praying for a quick recovery.

Home Again

We are home from our 10 day adventure in Oahu. We had a great time. Getting there seemed like quite the battle but it was worth it. Hawaii is every bit as beautiful as I remembered it. Not to mention the fact that it is indeed part of the USA. That added tremendously to it's beauty for me. We enjoyed yummy food, a luau, sitting by the pool, playing on the beach, some walks through Waikiki, and the Arizona Memorial. Owen said his favorite part was "seeing the ship that was sunk in WW II." It was amazing to see. I learned I need to read more about WW II, one because I want to know more, but also to be able to answer Owen's questions. That kid sure is inquisitive.

It was fun to watch the kids play together and have so much fun. They are certainly beach lovers. My favorite quote was from Owen praying one night. Owen: "Dear God thank you for today, thank you for the rain, and thank you that Alison, (silence as he thinks of what to say) thank you that Alison growed new teeth" Alison: "yes" Owen: "In Jesus name, Amen". As Jeff tried to add a few more things to the prayer list Owen said "Daddy I already prayed". So that was it, we were thankful for new teeth.

So today we are back to school, back to work, and back to house work. We're moving a little slow but I think we are all refreshed and thankful for the break.

Making Their Own Fun

I was doing laundry the other day and Alison decided to climb in the basket. She started rocking the chair while sitting in the basket and saying "wee" which made Owen want to join in. They kept rocking and it seemed like they made their own roller coaster. I of course told them it wasn't safe to be rocking in a basket on the chair and made them get down, but not before I photographed the event.