People who are Simply Wonderful

So many of you who read my blog know that my parents are missionaries. My parents have been with Wycliffe for most of my life. But before they were missionaries they served at First Presbytrian Church of Honolulu. They meet people in this church that they have stayed friends with ever since. One person is Linda Jacobs. I used to call her Aunty Lala. She has known me my whole life. Linda has and continues to be such a huge support to my family. Her heart is sincere, kind, and selfless. She has cared for us in ways that people just don't have to. Linda met and married Steve quite a few years ago. Steve and Linda..... Steve and Linda. They are just the kind of people one should have in one's life. They really care and hear your heart. Sometimes they would come to Hawaii for Steve's work, and they would always want to get together with me and catch up on life. I don't know if you follow but see Steve and Linda are my parents friends who.... well love and care for me as well. My Hanai Tutu, was Linda's mom.. I loved my Tutu Cluadine, she was so beautiful inside and out. She loved me like her own grandaughter growing up.

It is thanks to people like Linda and Steve and many more of my parents supporters that I have had the life I have had. Thank you for faithfully believing in my parents and loving our family that way you do.

The story of Christmas. Linda and Steve basically made Christmas possible for our family. God just put my family on their hearts to bless. Then due to someone knowing of a house available to have house sitters in California, Christmas with my family happened. I heard the details a few days after being with my mom & dad. And hearing the story of people and their generous hearts made my heart melt and tears filled my eyes.

Thank you Linda & Steve for all your love and support we are so blessed and lucky to have you in our lives. Thank you also for being faithful readers of my attempt to have a "Blog"

I love you both so very much

My 2010 & My 2011 Words for myself

January -

• Got bronchitis
• Took Sex & Sexuality Class with Sharon Hersh
• Finished Group Counseling Class

February-

• Ran 5k "Lady Track Shack"
  
  
  
• Hard Rock Hotel night with friends
  
  
• Started in the Clinic
• a dinner worth celebrating big things

March-

• Got several new Ct's
• Busy with school taking three Biblical Classes

April-

• Did my case presentation
• Helped with Review weekend for applicants to Counseling program
• My Grandma turned 90!

May-

• Process group's ended
• Couples Counseling Handbook done!
• Girls weekend @ Wood's house
• Porch Night where I feel over in the chair & broke it
• Helped out with Graduation
  
  
• Oviedo 5K

June-

• Healing Metaphor's Class
• 1st Time to got LIVE
• Joel & Kate's Wedding
• Beach/Picnic birthday celebration for EP
• Painting at the house

July-

• Moved into new house
• My Grandma died
• Went to Texas lydia, laura, jesse's wedding festivities
• Mom and Dad come to Florida and help me get settled
• My kitties get their claws removed
• Start wounded heart group with EP
  

August-

• Radical Grace with Steve Brown
• Miranda Bachlorette weekend
• Josh & Miranda's wedding
• My Cousin gives birth to her 2nd boy

September-

• Life shifts a little bit harder
  
• Work every weekend on Our cultural presentation
• Started taking level 2 Belly Dancing
• Surfing with CW for her Birthday

October-

• Went and visited my cousin in IN
• Maid of Honor for Stephanie & Jim's wedding in Chicago
• Started another wounded Heart group with MB
• Made amazing Carmel, chocolate cover apples
• Went to a pumpkin patch with girls
• Saw a snippet of a "Tractor Pull"
• Had a spooky dinner eye balls in tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
• Passed out candy to kids on Halloween night, loved it

November-

• Class Retreat
• Class Thanksgiving feast!
• Went to the hugest antique fair with CW (got my first cast-iron skillets!)
• Turkey Trot with EP
• Stayed at the Marriott for Thanksgiving
• South Carolina for the weekend

December-

• Mom and Dad surprise us with the news they will be with us for Christmas
• Clinical Review
• Ate Korean food in FL
• My Birthday and Class Christmas party at Tracy's
• California for Christmas
• South Carolina with Pennocks
• New Year's Eve back at the House with EP

2011 Words for Myself

- Vision

- Love

- Kindness

- Care

- Grieve

- Desire

- Honesty

- Hope

- Sadness

Christmas and things I want to remember

December 18 - enjoying listening to my classmates sing Christmas carols. It gave me chicken skin. We actually sounded really good.

Dec 21- The sound of my family's Christmas music playing in the house. The Christmas music I grew up listening to. There is something comforting, relieving about hearing my parents voices downstairs. I love being their daughter, I love been cooked for, planned for, and that my arrival was anticipated with great joy and excitement. I hope I can do all of this for my family someday. I know that these are the things in life that I love and I hate that they are things that don't last.

Dec 22- made Christmas Bread "Yulakaka" with my dad. It is a family recipe that has been passed down from my Dad's side. I got to document each step with my Dad so that I can know how to make it on my own, and I am glad I can say that I made Christmas Bread with my Dad.

Dec 23- Today my whole family is under one roof, and the house is full of the voices and sounds of the people in my life that I LOVE dearly. I hear my niece talking, and playing with her toys. She can speak in full sentences, it's crazy and amazing. Today me and Sofie jumped on the Trampoline and we counted and sang "No more monkey's jumping on the bed". This evening me and Sofie made gingerbread cookies, frosted them, and put sprinkles on them. She was so funny she would frost them and then lick the frosting off. The evening ended with watching Elf as a whole family. Sofie danced to the opening music it was too cute for words. We have not all been together just our family in 4 years. My cup runneth over...

Dec 24- today is Christmas Eve. this morning I made omelette's for everyone in the family. We got to watch "Santa Claus". We made Katie's grandmother cookies. Then we went to Josh and Emily's. Then went Josh and Katie's church Christmas Eve service. It was quite neat to hear the readings and the songs that were sung, what an interesting perspective to tell the story in narrative form, surprisingly not cheesy. Then to the Peter's for some good wine, and food. To finish the evening we had some yummy special egg nog.

Dec 25 It's Christmas morning and my whole family is together. We ate our traditional breakfast with an extra twist of mimosas. It was so fun to watch sofie open her gifts and just enjoy them all so much. Then after presents and stockings were opened we chilled. I played cards Santa Christmas cards with mom and dad, it was really fun.

Dec 26- Had a slow day. Had a good conversation with my mom. Love sharing our souls with each other over important things that matter.

Dec 27- Enjoyed a family debrief of where we are in life. Another slow day. Then tonight we went to my favorite place "Yogurt land" it was a neat night to just be out and about as a family. I loved watching Sofie hold her mom and dad hands as she stood in the middle. She is so funny that munchkin.

Dec 28- Family outing to the Beach. What a neat walk by the sea. I am really going to be on the Pacific and Atlantic this trip. We saw a incredible amount of birds. It was quite amazing. Hard to say goodbye. Enjoyed the time with my family and time to slow down.

Dec 29- Arrive in South Carolina and chill with the Pennock family. Great walk on the beach with Elizabeth. Yummy dinner and great family conversation about "Do people change"?

Dec 30- Went into town and saw Charleston, it was so neat. The most gorgeous old, quaint, houses I have seen in America. Worked on a puzzle. Went for another stroll on the beach.

Dec 31- Left SC, road tripped it with EP, had some great reflection conversations on the year and great anticipations of the year ahead. Watched "Where the Wild Things Are" drank some prosecco, and watched the ball drop. Happy NEW Year.

Birthday

So I know that it's been almost a week since my Birthday (my Birthday is on December 18) but because this is my blog I am going to still write a little bit about it. So usually my Birthday has always been a special day, most of my life I feel like something magical happens on a birthday that feels different than any other day of the year. It's a day devoted to celebrating your life beginning on earth, it's not about anything else that has happened like a holiday, it's your day to be recognized for being alive. Then when I 26 something happened. Something shifted in me. I started to begin to really dislike my birthday. December is a super busy month for most people including me. It is the month youspend more money than you have, attend more parties than you have, and drink, eat, finish school and be busy busy busy. So 26 I just got plain tired. I didn't want to go out, I didn't want to spend money, I didn't want to do anything extra. And honestly I have felt like this ever since. I often notice that the day before or even the day of my birthday I just get depressed. I am afraid that I won't know how I am really going to feel about the day, if I will want to celebrate big or low key. Last year my parents were with me and I was feeling likenotwanting to do much, so we stayed home and just order pizza and watched a movie.
So this year the day before my birthday I was telling Elizabeth I am not sure what I wanted to really do the next day. I warned her that I might be sad. That week had been a little crazy with a 3 day intensive class and clinic, and being up late the night before, so I was tired. While lying in bed that night I just let myself cry and feel the sadness that right now in life my birthday feels like one more thing to add to the already crazy month of December.I woke up the next morning afraid still of how I would feel but was somehow (through some self-talk) able to be present in my world and really was able to enjoymy birthday. And thanks to good friends it really was a great day. Me andElizabeth went for a quick walk before it started to rain. Ate break fast at Briar Patch with Miranda and Elizabeth, went to April's shower, attended our class Christmas party and they even had a birthday cake for me! and then went to see "the tourist" with Elizabeth. It actually was not to shabby of a day.

So here it goes the last year of my 20's. May it be a good one...

The Beginning of the End

Wow what just happened?.... did I just register for my last semester at RTS? ... Hummm not sure what to think right now. This seems like a big deal. That felt normal and yet I found myself taking my time, since really who knows the next if ever time I will register for a class again. So this journey of Grad School in Seminary is taking it's final turn. I only have 5 months left here at this place.

The reality of life after here is starting to really sink in. I think of the Cards I have in my hand to play. Where should I go? What kind of counseling job should I look into? Where? When? After sitting in Chuck's class this week, there has been a desire to wonder if I should stay near to this "Womb"... Would it be a good idea to play the stay in Florida card and get supervision from probably the best Supervisor's anyone could ask for? Should I play the go to San Francisco card and sit under Chuck's guidance and leading? Should I play the go to Texas card and probably be able to afford to live alone? Texas is a known place with some known people and that is a pretty big card.

Thank you, to You. Thanks for taking time to read this blog as I have and continued to go through this thing. I hope to have moments where I just stop and enjoy this place, parts of me want this to go by, and many other parts of me want the next 5 months to be slow and long.

So the beginning of the End of this chapter of my life happens.

Feels like Christmas

It's been a long last three days. I just took our Systematic Theology and Counseling class With Chuck DeGroat, he is simply put... an amazing proff. But it feels like Christmas because last year the Fall Semester ended with a 3 day class with him. I have gone to do the yearly Christmas shopping and there is a hustle and bustle that is quite noticeable.

Last night me and my roomie/friend Elizabeth went for a cool night walk it was so cold that our faces got a little red. The town I live in does this Christmas tradition where the Fire Fighters put Santa on their Fire Truck and go through the neighborhood and throw candy. So last night we got to see Santa, it was fun. Then walked home and drank hot coco and swirled it with a candy cane.

Finals Finished

Well I did it! I just turned in my last two papers for my final Fall Semester! gosh that feels good to say. I actually still have one more class to finish. It will be for three days December 13-15 and I am hoping that Chuck doesn't assign too much.

It's so crazy to think I only have one more semester left here WOW. I still have moments where I actually can't believe this is really happening. I am really in Seminary, I am really in Graduate School. I am really FOR REAL seeing clients and providing counseling services to individuals.

Though I am glad to be done, this day, this day has had a rough start. Last night I was up late for a good reason. I was skyping with my dear Hanai Grandma Lila and got to interview her for a class assignment. It was fun to see her face and talk story with her, but it made me miss her and made me miss Hawaii. So I had some trouble falling asleep. Then the morning... I got to school and realized that I had left my cell phone at home, I wore my house shoe out instead of putting on the shoes i had intended to wear, I left my special Starbucks cup, I left my lipstick I wanted to wear, I left my sunglasses, I left this book I wanted to look at, I left my watch. Then I had a moment where I thought I lost this paper I had wrote yesterday that was due today, but luckily I had a classmate help me find it! thank God. So it's kind of been one of those "No good, Terribly, Horrible, Very Bad Day's". But it did bring me much joy to turn those papers in.

Other Life Hap's, Tomorrow is our Clinical Review. This is where you sit before every supervisor at RTS and they give you 15 min feed back. While they keep telling us it's no big deal and not to worry, something about having lots of very important people looking at you, listening to you, watching you answer questions makes me kind of nervous. Maybe I will try to blog about that sometime after tomorrow.