Peacocks

God's Creatures are certainly beautiful. On the top of hill that we go over to pick Mak up from school is a place that has a bunch of peacocks. They kind of "hang out" on the fence rails, carports, strutting across the road. I come to a complete stop and look around for them. I've been taking the camera many times when I go "over the hill" but never see them then. But anyway, there is a white peacock and peahen there that is just beautiful. Of course, all of them are fabulous. But I've never seen white ones before. The other day they were out under the willow tree and he was just "strutting his stuff" bigtime. He had is train out and she was just ignoring (like a lady would) as he was showing off for her. Unfortunatley I didn't have a camera so I missed it.

Rod and S'te managed to get a couple of pictures and I've "picked" a couple from the web to show just how georgeous they are!!

Spring Valley Sweep

Proud Girls
Originally uploaded by Amah

In the sparring events, Brayana took 1st and Destini took 3rd. There was a little mishap when the girl that took 2nd ducked as Destini was thowing a punch - and got her nose bloodied in the process. All was well - after the nosebleed stopped she came back and took that 2nd place trophy.

Makkiah was in the morning events and brought home a 2nd in sparring and 3rd in forms. He did really great for being 6!!

Jaleel was up against a tougher crowd. This was his first tourney and he didn't know what to expect. He brought home a Competition trophy - but vows to practice harder - and with boys!!

We had a great day - to view the rest of the photos - click on this one for the slideshow.

Space Launch

6-08-2007 (021)
Originally uploaded by Amah

Keith's coworker was honored to be able to attend the June 8 space launch at Cape Canaveral. He and his father watched the shuttle lift off and the amazing sky afterwards. These are some great pictures!!

Just click on this photo to see the rest of them.

Del Mar Fair

Today is Chuckie's Birthday. His big birthday present from Janet was 2 HUGE corn dogs from the Fair. He got them!! He was very happy with them. Happy Birthday Chuckie!!

Of course, the first thing we did was to start eating. Teriyaki chicken, beef, brocolli bowl, egg rolls, and nachos all were on the table within 1/2 hour of our arrival!! While we ate, we watched this bungy jump thing!! A couple of the guys chickened out but the girls actually jumped!! Oh, to be that young and trusting again!! LOL

The first ride was this monstrosity that twirled and twisted and spun upside down!! Debbie and Janet went on it and Keith and I chose to watch and take pictures!!
Look at those faces!! They said that they probably wouldn't go on it again!! Debbie tried several other rides and we all had a blast!!




Then we all went on the Water Slide Ride and got soaked!! Debbie said it was because we had to much weight in our car ~~ can't imagine that~~ We played games, I won an itty bitty bear (about the size of my little finger!) and a red, white, and blue Bear on the Horse Race game. Keith barely missed a BIG animal on the basketball hoop thing, we also played thequarter toss, Janet took a turn at darts And we all got wet!!
And then we got some more to eat and came home to rest!!! We had a good day!!

Busy Sunday!!

We all got around on Sunday in time for some pictures before we headed off to Church. Here is Keith and I and the littlest - so far! And then all of the kids in their Sunday Smiles!!




Here is Ladaria, Tyrique, Raquel, (next row) Jaleel, Brayana, Destini (next row) Taniyah, and Makkiah. Tetee is standing on a bench. She definately isn't as tall as Kiah. And here is my baby - and she still has a month to go!!! (at least that's what the calendar says)

Then after Church, S'te took the older kids off to see a movie on base so Keith and I took Tetee and went over to Coronado Island to Coldstones Ice Cream (see the evidence?). It was a beautiful day. Keith eventually took off his South Pole shirt and enjoyed the nice breeze. We all had huge chocolate desserts and Tetee was quite the little lady. She had a blast just hangin' with the old folk. After we finished cleaning up and changed her clothes. . . we took a walk around the park to see what has changed. They took the fountain out, the ducks and pond are gone. . . but we found . . . .

Dixieland Music. She danced and watched the people that can really dance, she ran, Keith napped, she danced some more and then she met a friend that wanted to dance too!! I tried really hard to get a picture of them doing the "swing" but the shutter just wouldn't work fast enough!!

We stopped and got a "caricature" done of Tetee and I by the sidewalk artist. She was quite the Ham. As soon as I figure out how to, I will post it. I LOVE it. She was so cute!!! And of couse, no trip to the Park would be complete without a little trip into the sand. . . . She didn't like the water much - actually - she didn't like it at all - but the sand was ok.

So after all the fun, sun, sand, and dancing ~~ we took a very tired little girl home - she was so tired ~ she put herself to bed!!!

S'te and kids arrived via a friend - the van wouldn't start, wouldn't jump start, wouldn't move at all!! She is blessed to have a friend that also has a vehicle that an entire basketball team can fit into!!!

What a wonderful Day!!

Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!

There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today;

but I did!

And because I did I'm going to celebrate!

Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments,

the many blessings, and,

yes, even the hardships

because they have served to make me stronger.

I will go through this day with my head held high and a happy heart.

I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts:

the morning dew,

the sun, the clouds,

the trees,

the flowers,

the birds.

Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice.

Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people.

I'll make someone smile.

I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know.

Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down.

I'll tell a child how special he is, and

I'll tell someone I love just how deeply

I care for them and how much they mean to me.

Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and

start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I'll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in God and his Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine.

And tonight, before I go to bed,

I'll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens.

I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and

I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.

As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow,

I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life.

And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child,

excited with expectation because

I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!

I don't know who wrote this, I received it via email and I really, really liked it so I thought I would post it. Maybe everyone else will like it too!!

Best Wishes and Lots of Love!

I know that this week-end - especially tomorrow - is Sharen's long-awaited SPECIAL DAY! I am sitting here sort of feeling sorry for myself because I'm not there but really feeling that I should be here. A bit conflicted. By now (I've been here just short of a month - S'te may be wishing that I was there by now!) I really do hope she knows that I am there in spirit and best wishes. I am so happy that she will be surrounded by family and special friends as she and Jack renew their vows. From the small amount of "chatting" and the noticable lack of any news on her Blog - I know she has been busy, busy, busy.

I cannot be there in person but I want to give my Congrats and Best Wishes to the Happy Couple and for everyone to have a great time - and email me the details ! ! ! ! !

Happy Birthday S'te

I can't believe it's been 30 years since I first held you in my arms. You were a tiny little thing. So beautiful!!!

It is amazing how times change:
I don't have a newborn picture of you on my screensaver. In fact, the hospital where you were born didn't take nursery pictures and we didn't own a camera. So we have NO newborn pictures of you. I have ultrasound pictures of the grandchildren - but I never had an ultrasound before you were born. Those were special and used only for "problems". Since you had no problems - we saw the OB every so often until the last trimester. Then we went every 2 weeks (mostly the last month) and since not many of us had more than just a guestimate of our due date - all of the dates were +/- several weeks.

We didn't know if you were a boy or a girl - it just wasn't done in those days. One of the baby shower "games" was to swing a wedding ring over the belly - if it went in circles it was one (don't remember which) and if it went like a pendulum - it was the other (obviously)!!

I cleaned house like mad - it was a Sunday and your father was trying really hard to put a new foundation under his house. I was bothering him - so he told me to go find something to do. So I took Jeremy and went to Grandma's and bothered her. I just couldn't sit still. Aunt Sharen came over to Grandma's too - she was pregnant with Brett - Grandma was having a Gin Rummy game at her house so we chatted, hovered, cleaned the kitchen, watched Jeremy at the park across the street, and Maggie Larsen laughed at me and said "won't be long now". I figured she would know - she had 6 kids herself ~~

Dinner time came and we went home to cook. I went to the bathroom and then called the hospital. I didn't cook. . . . I got your Father out from under the house, he took a bath and changed clothes, and THEN my dear husband and I took Jeremy up to Aunt Susie's to stay - Aunt Susie said "see you in an hour or two - you aren't ready". . . Stopped at the A&W Drive Inn (since I didn't cook) and he wanted to go inside and eat. Now, I wasn't really in any bad pain - it was dinnertime - but I was just uncomfortable - and my BACK HURT - so I talked him into getting his dinner to go. The options were - get it to go or take me to the hospital and come back. I really think I was getting crabby about this time. It was after 6 - I'd been trying to get him going since about 4:30 and we had to go to the next town!!

Well, we got there at 6:45. Dr. Wolfe came in and said hi. Your father walked the halls. No phone, no tv, no family, no friends. That's how it was. Only husbands allowed in the labor room. He wouldn't even call my Mom because he thought it was a false alarm. The belt for the monitor wouldn't stay on my belly :) and my BACK HURT. I slid clear down on the bed so I could put my feet on something to take the pressure off of my BACK!! Your father thought I was being silly. He told me to quit whining and "toughen up" and left me in there alone.

Then you decided - it was no false alarm. I rang the nurse. The nurse said "hold on a minute!!" and ran for the Dr. (who, by the way, was stitching up a motorcycle casualty in the ER) who made it into the delivery room at 9:11 and your arrived at 9:12. Dr. Wolfe said you were beautiful, coo'd over you for (oh about) 45 seconds and returned to the ER to finish up. I was cleaned up and in my own room (there wasn't any other patients in "that wing" of the hospital that weekend. They brought you to me. It was instant, whole hearted, life expanding love, the minute I saw that tiny little face!!! Then you Father was allowed in to see us. He thought you were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen!! And of course, you were!!! Visiting hours (like there was someone else there to desturb!) were long over - so he had to go - and he went to spread the news.

Next day we needed to decide your name. In those days, they wouldn't let you out of the hospital until you had an official name. He didn't like any of the names I came up with. Not Jessica, not Betty Jean (after grandmas), not Alexsis, not nothing. He did like the Marie part. During the afternoon visiting hours he came with a card that had the letters S'te on it and said "This is her name. How do you want to pronounce it?" I tried hard to think of how it should be pronounced. I finally came up with S.T. as a pronunciation. He agreed and you've been Miss Bright or Mrs. Elmore ever since. We put S'te Marie Bright on your Birth Certificate and off he went (visitation over again). He was going to return to work on Tuesday, so Grandma came and picked me up and we went to meet your brother. HE was EXCITED. He kept touching your little fingers and running that single finger across your forehead - because you made a face when he did that. We spent several hours at Aunt Susie's before Grandma took me home - so I'd get there before your Father go home from work. Guess what - we woke him up!!!! He had "spread the word" so hard that he was just waking up.

And our life began. It has been full of ups and downs, hills and valleys. But there is no one on this earth that can doubt that I have always, will always, and never faltered in my unconditional love for you. All it took was to gaze on that little face!!!

Happy Birthday S'te. Love Mom

Keith away!!

Keith had to go back to Florida to get our car out of the "Long Term Lot". When we left it there - we planned to go back together and spend a few days "summerizing" our home, but, with Rod going out to sea, S'te and her "funny" due dates, and Kiah's surgery - we thought it might be best for me to stay here. So I did. She did take it easy for a few days:

And then here is what we did:

Cute huh?

And today we put together dressers.

Memorial Day 2007

God
Bless
You
Each And
Every

One!!!!

Thank you for our Freedom to:
Pursue Life, Liberty, and Happiness
and to
Speak Freely
Educate Ourselves
Pursue a Career
Choose our Religion
Travel Freely
Choose our Clothing
Choose our Foods

and just so many more - I cannot begin to name them.

Thank you for defending these
Precious Freedoms
even for those who do not
"believe in the cause"
but reap the benefits without a qualm.

Jeremy's Birthday

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

JEREMY!!

I love you and miss you

more than

you could ever know!!

Love MOM

My little sickie

Medicine makes me feel "Yucky"!!

Trying to rest.

" Never brushed my teeth in bed before!!"

Our Sunday Morning

The big girls are ready!!



Naner is in a dress!!!!

Kiah loves his suits!!

Rod does the Baptism's that bring 5 people to the Lord.

Hospital

Please pray for S'te as she went in for a checkup last evening - and they have admitted her to the Naval Hospital to try to stop her contractions. This is way, way to early for this precious little bundle to come into the world. Help us pray that it be God's Will that this little person stay warm and protected for AT LEAST 3 more weeks!!!

And since you will already be talking to God - please also pray for His Will to have Mak's surgery on Thursday (same hospital) come thru successfully and that the little guy has a minimum of pain and discomfort. They will basically be drilling a hole through his face to make a drainage tube for his sinus. With his already compromised respiratiory system - this is a really major surgery. And of course - he doesn't really understand just what it is.

Thank you all!!

Fun Fest

We went to Faith Community to the Fun Fest on Saturday. S'te waddled around a bit before she just found a place to sit - and sat!! Thankfully!!! Ever since Wednesday, when she started having "cramps", she has done a fair job of staying off of her feet. The kids don't really understand - but - que sera sera!!!

Anyhow, the Action Team did a short presentation, Ty, Naner, and Jay all headed for the skate park, Makk was amazed by the Fire Engine, Police Car, and of course, (as well as Dery and RQ) the CHARGERS PLAYERS!!! There were 3 of them there and we got AUTOGRAPHS and a few PICTURES !!

Wonderful Time

Keith has had to work the last few days (like all day meetings!!) so I've just been having fun!!! S'te and I have been shopping several times - buying strange things like - wood waterseal, doorknobs, just miscellaneous stuff - I spent $23 at the DOLLAR STORE!!

So yesterday, I attempted to put some of the waterseal on the fence - nada - not something I can do. I got a bit of it done (used a gallon) but I couldn't get it on uniformly so - someone else will get the honors for the rest of it. Now they have a rather blotchy looking fence to live with until the weather evens it out~~~

Then on to the evening entertainment. S'te and Keith both had evening meetings and I went to every.single.open-house for my kids (that I knew of anyway). They didn't really have them all that often in the itty bitty town that we were in. Anyhow, I revisited the nostalgia - went again and it was really great. The open house was for 4 of the kids that attend the same school. After wandering around the auditorium and finding and oohing and aahhing over the special artwork that each one had the honor of being posted we went out to the Quad. They had Pizza, bottled water, coffee, and juice all set up - so that when you had stood in line for long enough and said "yes, there are 9 of us" (Papa didn't go! S'te didn't go! just me and the kids!) they handed us a whole pizza in the box. We gathered plates, napkins, etc - found a seat for us - the weather was perfect - and devoured this pizza. Then one of the girls went back thru the -much shorter- line and got another box. I think everyone got filled up. I was served a very hot cup of coffee and watched the kids play until they opened the individual rooms so that we can go look at all the special projects, reports, additional artwork, etc that our precious little ones have worked their little fingers to the bone on. . .


The 3rd grade room was first as it was the closest - imagine the look on my face when I go into the room trailed by 7 children, 1 over my shoulder and look at our special one's desk 3rd one in from the door and see:

MY DAUGHTER SET ME UP FOR THIS!!

The teacher hurried over and described in detail the excellent craftmanship that went into these works of art. Especially the brown one because no one thought the "nose" would make it thru the firing process. . . I had every parent around me staring at the items I was holding in my hands. . and said student was as proud as could possibly be. It seems that they have been studying masks and totems in class and this was his interpretation of what they must've looked like. The teacher also seemed very proud of this artwork also. Now to be fair - it did take a few minutes to focus. . . but. . .
With this information - and from the right angle, they do look a little more like a mask and a totem pole than they did at first. This was definately our highlight of the evening - we then met the class lizzard and. . .
We then went on to the 4th grade room and looked at all of the things that she had prepared for her open house. She worked hard too. There were poems, pictures, State Reports, all kinds of stuff. Her state was Montana - sure wish she had picked a state that we'd gathered our paraphanilia from during our Novice RV Trip!! Then on to the 5th grade room. We met the Rat named Peanut (the class mascot), looked at Rhode Island, saw her desk, more artwork, the different boards and all the work they had been doing all year.

And then on to the kinder room. Now remember, we've been at this for 2 hours now!! The baby was trying real hard to sleep on my shoulder, we've had to put the backpack on the kinder kid to contain him, the 3rd and 4th graders are bored now that they've shown their stuff. . .

So we get to the last room. He too has worked hard on paintings, drawings, a farm report complete with illustration. He showed us where he sits for story time, his desk, his computer that he does his flash cards on. . .

It's for sure different than when I went to school!!!

We got home, did chores, had bedtime story and prayers - and they ALL went right to bed and right to sleep!!

Then S'te got home and saw the only artwork that was sent home and we had a good hard laugh about me and 8 children carrying the mask and totem throughout the school for the evening. . .

So - I had fun - and you know the rest of the story. . .. . :) and if I missed any part of it - I'm sorry - I'm still laughing!!!!

Beautiful

View the slideshow

Today was a fun day. After the kids got back from school and reading club we had all the hair and nail paraphanelia out. They girls (including Tetee) all took turns working on my and Ladaria's hair. We had some wild styles!! I have more mouse and hairspray and "leave in conditioner" in my hair right now than I've had in years put together!! We had lots of fun while Mom rested. Rod is underway and she has been having those wonderful charley horses at night - so she was exhausted. We all also practiced walking like her - to her dismay :)

The older girls are now sporting white tipped nails but I just had to take the "pretty" yellow off of mine - they just got all scrateched up - even before they dried.

Then it was dinner and off to bed!! All is well here and we are having lots of fun. Am so blessed by being able to be here - It's so hard to even describe how happy I am to be here with everyone.

Only a week until Kiah's surgery. We pray nightly for a good outcome. The little guy has already had so many medical problems!!

So it's off to say my prayers - for me and all the others that are in need>