Day #161 - Goodnight Lily

After a week of crying and fits, Lily is finally back to a good bedtime routine. We brush her teeth, read her two books, give her her water, blankie and Elmo and lay her in her crib. Then we turn on some music and say goodnight. She is now at the point where she looks up without anxiety and smiles and blows kisses. I treasure these sweet moments. She is growing up all too fast.

Day #160 - Teaching Voice Again

I have been on a long break from teaching voice lessons. Motherhood kind of got in the way. But I have finally taken on one student (for starters) and I am enjoying it. Teaching again has reminded me that I am actually good at something. It's not like all of my bad casserols and burnt dinners. I am actually capable and confident and enjoy teaching voice. I am also looking forward to possibly expanding and teaching more as long as I can work out scheduling.

Day #159 - Sisters

I love it when Anna and Eryn play together. It is a blessing for them to have each other. Watching them reminds me of my own sister, Amy and I and how much we played together growing up. Eryn got an American Girl Doll as an early birthday present, so the two of them were setting their dolls up in all kinds of poses (shopping together, in their rooms, at a restaurant, at the spa etc.). I hope that they will be lifelong friends.

Day #154-158 - NYC

Joel and I just returned from a short trip to New York with some friends. Wow! There was so much to see and so little time. We were seriously sleep deprived and our feet were sore every day, but it was a great trip. Here are a few things I felt grateful for.

Becca - She took over the care of our children for the entire time we were gone which is no small task. We couldn't have left them in better hands. Thank you Becca!

Good Weather - In general the weather was great. We just had one bout of rain which we did not let bother us in the slightest.

A chance to see another part of the world - New York is a BIG city. I was so amazed by the sheer size of it. We were the totally classic tourists taking pictures, getting lost, carrying big backpacks and wearing white tennis shoes. It was fun to experience.

Talent - We saw two Broadway shows and were just blown away by the talent that comes together for each show. The singing, dancing, staging, acting etc. was all so wonderful. Just makes you want to experience more shows.

WTC Tour, Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty - These tours each reminded me of what a great country we live in. On our WTC Tour we were able to meet a woman who lost her husband in the twin tower attacks. She shared her story and thanked us for keeping her husband's memory alive by remembering 9/11. It was a very sweet experience speaking with her.

Here are a few photos of our trip.

Central Park

Time's Square

Nerdy tourists on the Double Decker Red Bus.

Day #153 - My Flowers (again, I know)

Joel took this photo of the blossoms on the tree in our front yard.

This is as good as it gets with the kids for an Easter picture.
Lily and Joseph had no interest in posing.

I can't help but feel gaga over my tulips this spring. I am amazed at the delight their vibrant colors and simple beauty have brought to me. The blossoms on the trees have had a similar effect. What a blessing to be surrounded by such beauty!

Day #152 - Weeds

We have been getting a lot of dandelions in our yard since Spring has come into full bloom. I don't love having the weeds in my yard, but I enjoy the opportunity to work outside. The children naturally follow me and soon we are all outside enjoying the good weather. Lily likes to bring her own "tools" and to play near me while I am working. So, while I am not asking for more weeds. I will have to be grateful for the ones I've got. :)

Day #151 - Traditions

My family growing up had a lot of wonderful traditions. One of my favorites is an Easter tradition which I have carried on with my family. Each person's Easter Basket is hidden somewhere in the house on Easter morning. So, the kids spend quite a while searching the whole house for their own basket. At some point the kids need a little encouragement, so we give them clues. My parents found all kinds of crazy places to hide ours as the years went on and we were getting older. These have made great memories for me. This year Joseph's was under a pile of clean laundry (not an unusual sight in our house). Lily's was in the toy closet. Eryn's was in her Dad's closet behind some clothes. And Anna's was the most difficult. Her's was behind the food on the top shelf in our storage room. As you can see, the look on her face shows that she was not pleased to be the last to find her basket. :)

Day #150 - Cousins

We held an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard today with all of the Kongaika cousins. Everything is more fun with cousins around. We miss those who live far away on these special days, but are grateful for those who are near.

Day #149 - Opportunities to be involved

I love the school my girls attend. There is a tradition of parent involvement there that I appreciate. When Anna went to school in Waipio, Hi, parent volunteers were encouraged to come maybe once a year outside of fieldtrips. I always wanted to be more involved. Here at Reading Elementary parents are encouraged to come in regularly to help with parties, tutoring, special programs and so on. I have been volunteering in Anna's 3rd grade class once a week this year and have really enjoyed the opportunity. I like seeing how her classroom is run as well as having a more open communication with her teacher. I am also able to gauge how Anna is doing compared to other kids her age.


Today Anna's class made Easter Trains out of candy. Each child had a parent there helping them with their project and then got to leave school a little early.

Day #148 - Family Scripture Study

We have gotten into a pretty regular routine of scripture study as a family this year. We read for about fifteen minutes every school day at about 7am. I would love to say that they are 15 minutes of heaven, but they are not. Some days I find it very difficult to get things to run smoothly. But it is such a blessing to have a daily opportunity to share my feelings about the gospel with my children. We take turns bearing a short testimony (one person per day) and I love the opportunity to testify of the truthfulness of the scriptures. Mostly it feels worth doing when I look at what we have done collectively (looking back over months of reading). This reminds me of the talk Elder Bednar gave not too long ago. He described each family prayer, each session of scripture study, each gospel discussion etc. as individual strokes in a painting. It is only after many strokes that the masterpiece is finally revealed. Hopefully our small efforts will make a positive difference in all of our lives.