The long night is over...

MY COMPUTER IS BACK! Bwah Ha hAa! Now back to my plans to conquer and rule the world... ah, if only I had the TIME! My hands are always FULL. I didn't realize that going from one child to two was quite this much more... intense! :)

It's official: Four and a half weeks is the longest I have EVER gone without my computer... well, at least in the last 12 years! Let's see, while It's been away...

We came home. To Hawaii. And Mark's fish were ALL still alive (no cannibalism this time). But not the plants.

Kalea Kaura started smiling - real, gloriously refreshing, beautiful smiles for mommy, daddy and big sister...







And Naomi is on the mend from her croupe cough/cold... sort of. SO far we've managed to keep little sister healthy, but it's been pretty hard considering big sister likes to snuggle and kiss and share everything with "my sister Kalea Kaura".





Kalea pooped. A few times, in fact. Yes, I know you all wanted to know that. It's a big deal around here, doesn't happen all that often and there is a lot of cheering when it does.

I managed to take the girls to the beach yesterday morning AND make cookies in the afternoon with Omi. Feeling pretty good about my supermom powers ;) ok, really, my brother Mike drove us to the north shore while I sat in the back seat to feed the baby. He helped unload/load the girls and even sang ABC's with Omi. He's great. And the cookie mix (gluten free, dairy free and egg free to boot... I know, I'm a walking food allergy freak) was in a box... Just add 3 ingredients, mix, put on the cookie sheet and bake... And then clean up the REALLY big mess on the floor made by my lovely little assistant and take the cookies out of the oven early in order to feed the littlest one (a bottle, not a cookie) who was really hungry by then. Fwew. We're getting the hang of this. slowly. ;)





Our friend Amanda died following a terrible car accident leaving her husband and one-year old daughter behind. To her I would write,

Dear Amanda, thank you for your light, for your smile, for your friendship and for reminding me that every moment with my girls and mark is precious. To Levin and Ansley, Our hearts ache for you. We will be praying for you as you navigate your way through the difficult journey ahead. I truly believe that your family will be together again.

I am immensely grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and for the sealing ordinances in the Temple that make it possible for families to be bound, or sealed together... beyond death and throughout the eternities. (Want to learn more about LDS Temples?) If all goes well and our court date to finalize Kalea's adoption comes before Christmas, we will take her to the Temple while we are on the mainland with our family to be sealed together as a family. I'm thrilled. Having Naomi sealed to us in the Temple has been hands down my most cherished experience.

The lovely house we are renting is now FOR SALE (would you like to buy it and keep renting it to us?). We're trying to keep it clean (haha with a baby and two year old) for the realtor to show, as well as sort through and clean out clutter (man, we accumulate a lot of stuff in a year!) to get ready to move again. (this will be move 5.5 in 5 years). We've loved this house and are thankful to our landlords for the blessing they've been.



Mark has gone back to a busy busy semester teaching overload classes (to cover for two professors who moved this summer) and has taken on the dept. chair position. Busy, busy man. He's still managing to take really good care of his girls. I think he is secretly super man. Now, where would I find his super suit?

OH! and Grandma (Mark's mom) bought plane tickets to come visit us for five days!! Wahooo!



So there you have it. We're a little crazy and sleep deprived, very happy and very blessed. To those of you who have sent or done nice things for our family, THANK YOU. Very much.



Are you really still reading?? Wow. Who are you? Will you be my friend? ;) oh, we're probably already friends. Gosh im tired. ANYWAY, the next kazillion posts are not in order... Just so you know... And might be considered photo overload. You've been warned.
:) -s