Christmas = Peace on Earth (at least at our house)

Christmas Eve we really slowed things down and spent time together and with the Christmas story.  It was amazing.  We talked about giving Christ a gift and had everyone write down what "sin" they wanted to give up this year and give it to Christ.  The story that inspired this is found in the Book of Mormon, Alma 22:18.  The gospel is being taught to the King of the Lamanites and he believes and wishes to give up all his sins to know Christ.  After we wrote them down we put them in the tree.  We enjoyed a quiet evening together.

(We tried for a family pictures, but it was windy and chilly so this was my favorite.  We will try again in a few weeks)

However, the best part came the next day.  It was the most peaceful day I think we have had in years at our house.  There was no arguing, raised voices, unkind comments, disrespectful attitudes or words, etc...  We had a perfect Christmas (except we miss family).  The children showed gratitude for their gifts and of course their excitement for receiving.  I hope we will be able to enjoy more days like this again.

As usual Jason can only run one camera at a time, so all pictures are later in the day when we are just enjoying Christmas.

Jason purchased a few shotguns for himself for Christmas.  I think he is getting ready for all the hunting opportunities next year.

It was a Good Day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to Teachers!

The teacher gifts are finished and out the door.  I thought I would share what we did this year.  We made coasters using this tutorial from Shanty-2-Chic.

I love this saying and it works awesome for male teachers, if I had access to better fitting blank merchandise I would have made a shirt or a ball cap.

Merry Christmas to all the Good Teachers out there!  Thank you for teaching our children.

Our Final Installment

The final installment to our family will be.....

A BOY!!!!

We are excited and looking forward to his arrival in April.

Since its almost Thanksgiving, a Halloween Post

I just seem to be getting further behind with blogging.  I wanted to get the Halloween pictures posted before Thanksgiving, but have been trying to get 2 of my kids to dress up again.  Jayce and Grahm went Trick-or-Treating with friends and I missed getting a picture of them in the middle of the rush.

Jayce and Grahm were dressed as pirates.  Jason even took the boys to the thrift store to get some clothes that he helped turn into pirate clothes.  The boys added their own blood and their own costumes this year (yay!!).

Charlotte of course changed her mind on Halloween.  I have learned that I need to be prepared for her to change.  Originally she wanted to be a fairy, witch, sugar skull, etc... I had her convinced to use an old dance costume of mine because next year it will be too cold to wear it.  Well it was too cold and rainy here this year, so last minute she decided to be a Sugar Skull.

Tennyson was debating between a bunny and Tinker Bell.  We decided on Tinker Bell and then there was no changing her mind after that, even if it was too cold.  We had to layer her up.  I also painted an old pair of pink shoes green and make big pompoms for her toes.  She wore them until it was time to go and then they had to come off, oh well.

You can tell Tennyson was still getting over the flu.

This year we celebrated a little differently, instead of trying to do it all on Halloween we spread it out.  On Monday we had our ghoulish dinner were we name everything something disgusting.  Tuesday we carved pumpkins.  Wednesday they had a Halloween lunch and we Trick-or-Treated that night.

 
Mummies with blood, fingers and Dracula carrots, ghost cheese, monster mouth apples.

Sugared Cranberries, a tutorial

I know I haven't done a tutorial for awhile.  It is not easy to make lots of great things with 4 little ones and living in Okinawa.

Sugared Cranberries have become a fall tradition since I was introduced to them about 8 years ago by a friend of mine.  I love them and usually can eat a few bags of them each fall.  If I was living in the lower 48, I generally make these after Thanksgiving and into December.  However, living in Okinawa demands that it be done much earlier.  The cranberries just don't seem to last as long.

First you will need to gather:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
Colander
Sauce pan
Slotted spoon
Sugar
Water
Bowl
Cookie Sheet

1.  First you need to wash your cranberries and sort out any bad ones.  They are usually bad if they have soft spots/completely soft or have black/dark spots on them.

2.  Bring to a boil in your sauce pan 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  As soon as it boils turn if off and let it cool down.

3.  Once the syrup you made has cooled enough you will add the cranberries.  To check to see if the syrup has cooled enough toss in one cranberry.  If it splits or pops then it is too hot.  You want the syrup as warm as the cranberries can stand without them popping.  It is okay if a few of them pop, but you are not making cranberry sauce.

4.  Let the cranberries steep in the syrup for a few hours or over night (I usually put mine in the refrigerator after awhile and leave it until morning).

5.  Place some sugar in a bowl, 1/4 cup or less at a time.  I usually use regular granulated sugar.  You can use finer sugar or courser sugar depending on the look you like.  Use your slotted spoon and spoon a few cranberries at a time into the bowl and gently shake them around to coat them with sugar.

6.  Place the cranberries on a cookie sheet to dry (I usually leave mine for most of the day or over night) in the refrigerator.

7.  Place in a container to share with friends and family.  Keep refrigerated and enjoy!

I Can't Wait Until I'm 8 for then I'll be Baptized.

So handsome in white

Grahm turned 8 years old and made the decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We are so proud of him and his decision.  Since we live on Okinawa he had the option of being baptized in the East China Sea.

We had a small intimate service.  The only people we had in attendance were our family including Grammy and Grandaddy.  Also, Uncle Malan and President Young were there.

Charlotte gave the opening prayer and we sang When I am Baptized (page 103) without any accompaniment, Grammy Miller lead the music.  Jayce shared a talk on Baptism.  He did a great job, he used a dirty penny as an object lesson and talked about the Savior and his example and its purpose.  Grandaddy Miller shared a talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was amazing, I felt the spirit.  It was just our little group of 10 huddled around listening to the talks with the sound of the surf in the background and the sun slowly setting.

After that he was baptized by his Dad with John Malan and Jay Miller as witnesses.  After we had him wrapped up warm in a towel he was confirmed while standing there in the sand.  We closed with the song Choose the Right Way (pg. 160)  By this time it was hard to see the words and we were a little less musical sounding.  I gave the closing prayer.

It was an amazing experience and I hope everyone who was there will remember it and how they felt.  I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and to have parents who are wonderful examples to me and to my children of how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

After the service we went to Jack's Place for some Japanese Tepanyaki to celebrate.

Another Birthday!

Grahm turned 8 this year.  8 is a big deal for us and he was lucky enough to have his grandparents in town for a visit.  They helped make the celebration wonderful and last a few extra days.

He was spoiled rotten by everyone - Lego's, his own set of scriptures (a gift for when you turn 8), a camera, a rock collection, and so much more.

(I love Jayce's expression in these photos)

For the big day he wanted to eat Falafel (his mommas boy), ribs (to make daddy happy), edamame, fruit, and for his cake a giant cookie.  We were adventurous and made pumpkin chocolate chip cookie - he loved it.

Happy Birthday Grahm!  We are so proud of you.  You are one of the most thoughtful kids we know.  You will share everything you have even if it is the last one and you don't get any (you get that from your Grammy).  You are a awesome big brother to your little sisters and help me out when ever I need you to.  You are such a smarty pants, too.  We love you.

Birthdays!

In all the chaos of  family visiting, stomach flu, colds, and life we celebrated 2 birthdays.

Tennyson turned 2!  She is such a sweet girl with a large dollop of mischievousness.  We were lucky to have Grammy and Grandaddy visiting to help make the day extra special.  Only a few more birthdays and we will always have family around to help celebrate!

We enjoyed the usual toddler fare - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fruit.

After our Disney trip this summer Tennyson fell in love with Tinker Bell, so we found lots of Tinker Bell toys for her to have and a pair of PJ's.  Grammy and Grandaddy gave her some cute clothes that she desperately needed.  Her adopted aunt Lyndsey gave her a Tinker Bell and a Winnie the Pooh hair clips.

It was all followed by Raspberry Cheesecake, of course (Jason was picking!).

Tennyson keeps us on our toes.  She is the only one of 4 who ever has gotten into my jewelry box or junk drawer.  If she wants your attention she will get into things that are off limits until you start paying attention.  She is super smart and makes us laugh.  We love you Tennyson!

Murasaki Mura

Murasaki Mura is an old Okinawan Village.  It was built in 1992 as a set for a TV drama Ryukyu no Kaze - the wind of the Ryukyus.  It now is a place for tourists to visit to see an old style village and enjoy making traditional Okinawan crafts.

This is a road way.  I think they built walls around all yards.  In fact, they still do, they just are solid concrete.  It keeps things from feeling very open.

The kids are posing with various Shisa made by local artists.

They let the kids practice their Kanji.  These brushes are made from that nut type thing sitting on the table.  It is local, but since everything is in Japanese we don't always come away with all of the information.

In this one area you could make your own Kaleidoscope if you wanted.  They had a large Kaleidoscope set up so you could see how it worked.  The kids thought it was pretty cool.

Grahm wanted to make a glass.  Ryukyu glass is unique to this area and is pretty cool.  We have a few glass ornaments for our Christmas tree.  They walked Grahm through the whole process while I am on pins and needles worrying about how hot in the glass is.

Charlotte and Jayce decided to make their own Shisas.  Jayce wanted to make it from clay and Charlotte wanted to paint a finished one.  While they were busy creating them Tennyson and Grahm explored the garden and blew giant bubbles.  Charlotte picked out her colors and with minimal help from Mom painted her Shisa.  Some how we didn't get a picture of Jayce working on his.  Hopefully I can get a picture before we get around to painting it.

Sorry!

I am sorry I have been missing.  Life has been overwhelmingly busy lately.  My parents came to visit for 2 weeks (more to come) and I have been frantically trying to get our Super Saturday project ready for tomorrow.  Lucky for me I have been feeling much better for the last month, yeah!!  I will be posting all of our recent adventures soon.

Thanks!  Micah

Drawing by Charlotte, Can you Guess?

Under the Weather

Today I was feeling a bit out of it, so I was resigned to spending the day on the couch.  Please, do not feel sorry for me.  I was well taken care of.  As I lay on the couch Charlotte brushed my hair and sang songs for me (most of which are her own creation).  Tennyson cared for me by bringing me an assortment of wooden and plastic foods for me to nibble on.  I am one lucky girl.

10,000 Eisa Dancer Parade in Naha

I think she was the youngest drummer there.

Eisa is a traditional dance with a long history. It originates from a folk song that used to be sung several hundred years ago. The dance style was passed down by groups of young people who would pay respect to their ancestors each summer by marching through their neighborhoods while playing taiko drums.

The unique rhythms and movements of eisa are accompanied by the beating of drums and a beautiful, lively dance that involves the whole body. Recently some people have started using rock and pop music instead of just traditional music to create popular new styles of dance known as "creative eisa." Source  

At the Dental Corps Birthday Ball the Eisa performers danced to Who Let the Dogs Out.   It was fun to see them dance to a non-traditional song.

We attended the 10,000 Eisa Dancers Parade in Naha this year.  I love seeing all the colors and different ages of the dancers.  When all the drummers are drumming in sync and you can feel it as you stand there on the street.  It is amazing.  

Here are several groups walking to their places along the route.

Here are a few shots of a group performing.  They jump and twirl, it is very cool.

Of course our blond brood creates quite a stir wherever we go.  They were more than happy to pose with our kids.  The young men in stripes saw me taking pictures of the kids and just jumped in.  They are laying on Jayce's lap, he thought it was pretty funny.  The last pictures shows 5 photographers wanting pictures of our kids.

The Navy Dental Corps 100th Birthday Ball

This year the Dental Birthday Ball was formal due to it being the 100th Birthday.  It was the best Birthday Ball I have been to yet.

The food was delicious.  The H'orderves, so yummy - the best bruschetta I have had in awhile.  After mingling for awhile we sat down to enjoy our 5 course meal.  I had vichyssoise for the first time.  I like cold potato soup.  Jason didn't enjoy it, but enjoyed the fact that it would have been even more uncomfortable in his jacket with hot soup.

The committee did a fantastic job of decorating and providing entertainment.  The tooth ice sculpture was a nice touch.  The entertainment was Eisa Dancers (more to come on that).  If you remember the opening ceremony from the Beijing Olympics with all the drummers.  It is like that, but a smaller scale.  It is so cool to feel those drums and watch them dance.

Part of the formalities of a Military Ball include toasts after the meal.  There are nine toasts, Jason was asked to do the toast for Family Members.  This is the only toast that you provide the one to two sentences yourself, the others are scripted.  He was fantastic and looked smashing in his Dress Whites.

Here are some pictures of Jason and co-workers, and one with a friend and I.  

Trying to get a good picture at this was like pulling teeth, hehehee.