February 2012
February 10, 2012
February 03, 2012
Project Life: Week 2
Week 2 included a visit to Cattleman's Steakhouse - a hayride and lots of interaction with animals (though I accidentally deleted the photos), taking down the Christmas decorations and replacing it wtih Valentine decorations, a Single Soldier Retreat for Roland in Ruidoso (and some snowboarding too thanks to a nice snowfall right before he left). Whenever Roland's gone Nathan is the proclaimed (in his words) "man of the house" whose duties are "to protect everyone". And the week ended with the start of our Florida trip.
January 09, 2012
Project Life: Week 1
With the blogging downfall last year I never got to finish my "Year of Ali and Nathan" posts. I finished the project and have started a weekly version of Project Life for 2012.
Some photos from our past week which included: Backyard landscaping, trip to the zoo, Disneyworld planning, ear infection, the start of Project Life, dinner for our realtor, nightly bubble baths, haircuts for the kids, work, work and more work, yummy crockpot marinara sauce, church, new Eric Carle books, Marvel Super Hero Squad video game.
December 31, 2011
December 27, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Yep, my poor blog has been severly negelected. But for good reason. Our Christmas newsletter should explain more.
Aloha…or should I say howdy…or even hola!
If you haven’t already heard our family has made the big move to the Lone Star State, specifically Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. In October, Roland joined the Active Duty Army (prior to this he was a Reservist) and was assigned as the Chaplain to the Special Troops Battalion of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. While many military bases are being closed and consolidated, Fort Bliss is huge and expanding even more, hence the year-long wait for on-base housing. Because of that we are first time homeowners, purchasing a beautiful 4-bedroom home in northeast El Paso.
Roland’s unit has been assigned as the Army’s premier training unit, testing out a lot of the new equipment before it is used in war. The good thing is that it looks like he will not deploy during his time here (crossing our fingers ‘cause we’re learning that nothing the Army says is set in stone). He truly loves his ministry with the soldiers.
I continue to work from home with various clients in the wedding industry back in Hawaii. And Nathan (3 years old) and Alison (1 year old), or Ali as we call her, are doing well – the transition has been tough on all of us, but they’re adjusting nicely and love the new house. Both are attending a local Christian preschool/daycare nearby.
We’re adjusting to desert life – warmer during the day and cold at night. And everything is dry – not much green, other than our neighbor’s artificial lawn :) Our first week here a storm brought in a few inches of snow, which closed down the whole city. Nathan went outside, threw one snowball and came back in saying “it’s too cold outside”. And we definitely have local kids who are used to going barefoot - they keep trying to take their shoes and socks off.
We truly miss our family and friends back home in Hawaii, but believe that God has called us here to El Paso for a reason, and are excited to see what He has in store for us. As Nathan puts it “we’re missionaries to soldiers”.
We are looking forward to doing some traveling while we’re here on the mainland – already have a trip to Disneyworld planned for early next year, and our families have been talking about joining us for an RV adventure. If you’re ever in our neck of the woods, please let us know – we’d love to see you. And note our new address.
Although the holidays are often busy, filled with different events and activities, we pause to remember the true meaning of Christmas, and encourage you to show love to all those around you. With that being said, thank you for your love and support of our family.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Roland, Elana, Nathan & Ali
September 29, 2011
School Pictures
A few weeks ago Nathan's class took school pictures, and yesterday we got them back. I happened be there while they were taking photos, and photographers were wonderful - taking several as to avoid that big "cheese" smile he's been accustomed to.
Then I remembered I had put together the first installement in his "School of Life" Album, so of course I had to dig it out, and create a layout for this year (though we missed photos last year as he was home with me). My how big my boy has grown!
September 12, 2011
Day 295
After school one of Nathan's special treats is a popsicle.
Ali gets one too, but she just chews on the wrapper :)
September 08, 2011
Maui Through Instagram
Just wanted to share a quick, simple layout that I threw together using Cathy Zielske's freebie template, which you can download here. I love the Instagram app and because I took more photos with my camera phone than my DSLR I figured this was the perfect way to document some of the highlights of our trip to Maui.
Journaling reads: We weren’t expecting to go back to Maui anytime soon so it was a nice treat when Roland’s office went for a site visit (especially as we just found out we’d be moving to Texas). We love, love, love the Grand Wailea - leis upon arrival, the fountains, loud waterfalls, lounging in the pool and going down waterslides, the amazing buffets, cold water when the valet brings the car, trips to Kahalui to get Guri Guri, pressing elevator buttons, throwing coins in the mermaid fountain. We had an amazing trip!
Day 294
A trip to Bayfest (a local festival held at the Kaneohe Marine Corp Base)
wouldn't be complete without weapons, tanks and deep fried twinkies???
Day 293
This little one I have to watch like a hawk - her favorite activity
now is climbing up everything and anything she can reach.
