Aloha!

Aloha, Everyone,

It is now 4:22 PM in sunny Hawaii.  As I sit here in my classroom at Lehua Elementary School in Pearl City, I can't help but think about all the papers I have to grade and log down in my grade book.  The end of the quarter draws nigh, and I have yet to master the art of being an efficient grader.  I'm great at teaching, but it's the grading that needs work.

Well, as you may have guessed, I'm not on Guam anymore.  My family and I moved her a little over 2 years ago, and we are loving it.  I love teaching here, and I enjoy our new home and neighborhood in decently manicured Mililani Town.  It's quite a bit more expensive in this overpriced piece of paradise, but we have adapted and overcome with the Lord's help.  I love that there are more things to do, especially for the kids.  They are in different school clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities like dance and cross country.

I got back on Blogger to see if this would be a good platform for my class newsletter/newspaper.  I'm still exploring again, so I'll let you know in a couple of weeks.

Mahalo,
Mel

When the home is happy, that happiness spills out everywhere you go.

Well, it's been a while since I blogged.  The start of the school year got us back to being busy, but not as busy as it would have been had my wife gone back to work.  Wow, what a difference her staying home makes.  She is less stressed, therefore I and the kids are less stressed.  This is the first time that my wife has not worked as a teacher since we were married.  I must say, life is great.  I don't know how we all held it together when she was working.  I don't even want to imagine her going back to work anymore.  She's enjoying her time at home, and I'm enjoying my time everywhere.  When we got married, we became one.  When she's worried, I'm worried for her.  When she's frustrated, I recieve some of that frustration.  We are emotionally connected.  I never realized how connected we are. Now, I don't feel those worries and frustrations.  I feel more at peace because my wife is more a peace.

We may not have the same disposable income that we used to have, but I don't really feel it.  Having money is not the same as having peace and harmony in the home.  It's true.  When the home is happy, that happiness spills out everywhere you go.

Family Fun

Yesterday we had a get together with Grace's family.  I'm not too fond of big parties, so yesterday's small gathering was a welcomed event.  I had a goal to finish the see-saw and the ping-pong table before then.  I was able to complete both, and we put them to good use last night.  I really enjoyed our get together.  We didn't have an agenda.  We just went with the flow. The kids played in the trampoline, or challenged each other in ping pong.  At times they played on the Wii. We even had a kickball game; girls vs. boys.  The boys won, of course, but just by one point.  I was afraid for some of our man'amko (elderly) aunts who went  all out.  Auntie Ping almost slipped, and I was afraid she might break her hip, but everyone survived without any injuries. 

When it began to rain, we all crowded inside our little place.  We had to move the furniture around a bit so that we could get some Zumba sessions going.  Grace's cousin, Bonnie, downloaded a video for us to try.  If Cherry (Grace's sis) were here, she would've just popped her I-phone on some speakers, and we would have had a class, but she's off in sunny HI doing her own Zumba and yoga classes.  As I watched the video, I and the other husbands just couldn't bring ourselves to shake our shoulders and hips in such a feminine fashion.  We resorted to just making fun of the ladies. 

All in all, I realize how important it is to enjoy  the company of family and friends.  The associations that we have with the people that we love can really increase the quality of life where ever we may be. 

Family Time

My family arrived from the Philippines yesterday.  I'm so grateful to have them back. They were there for a month longer than I was.  I spent some time yesterday cleaning the windows and the front side of the house.  It feels  good to have cleaned the house in and out.  But, as it always is when you have kids, it doesn't stay that way for long.  Most of the mess is Sammy's of course, but we need to keep reminding the others to put their things away.  I'm going to turn over a new leaf as a father.  I'm actually going to stay on top of them to stay organized and neat.  In the time that I was here by myself I had some time to think about the things I could do to improve as a father, husband, and member of my church.  I realized that in order to change, it's best to make small changes each time, until eventually, all the little changes add up to a big change.  I've gotten better at organizing my time, getting meals cooked up, and keeping the house clean.  These are skills that I've always felt I've needed, and little by little I'm getting to a point where I might just be a little more proficient.

I'm grateful to have this opportunity to be with my family as a father and a husband.  I know I still have a long way to go, but we have a short time on this earth.  We need to make the most out of it while we can.

Actual face time, and not Facebook time

It's 12:45 am on Friday.  I just got back from Dad's house.  As I was driving by I saw Dad and Aunty Letty sitting in the front porch, so I made a u-turn to visit with them.  I was surprised that they were still awake at 10:00 pm.  Earlier, I had been at the Young Women's Girls Camp closing ceremony at Sirena Beach.  It was a beautiful time, listening to President Clark's talk and then the girls' testimonies.  When they were all done, I stayed back with two of the young men from our ward to help clean up.  They helped me load tables and other camping equipment in the back of my truck to take back to Church.  They worked hard, so I treated them to a McDonald's dinner. 

As we talked, I made mention about how all of us now are so hyper-connected via the internet, especially Facebook.  Alot of people would rather chitchat on Facebook, rather than see people in person.  This brings me back to my present thought. As I sat with my Dad and Aunty, I was grateful that I had an opportunity to actually get some face time with them.  We didn't realize how time flew as we talked about Mom, the possible garage, how Dr. S. almost killed my Aunt by prescribing the wrong meds, creating low-cost studio apartments using shipping containers, and other topics.  Before we knew it, it was already past midnight.  And here I am,  writing about actual face time, and not facebook time.  Now don't get me wrong, Facebook is a great tool to stay in touch with people who are far away, but more often than not, we need to get more face time with the special people who are just around the corner.

Aching body

Wow, I never thought I'd be grateful for an aching neck and shoulders, but I am.  It lets me know that the workout was challenging.  My neck feels like I have whiplash.  We were doing neck exercises at muay thai class. 

On another note, I'd like to finish cleaning all the windows, washing the curtains, and cleaning the house.  Gotta go.  Grace and the the kids will be here on Saturday, and I want the house to be spic and span.

Muay Thai

It's 10:14 pm.  I got back from my 2nd day of muay thai kickboxing class a little earlier.  It was one awesome workout.  It was a sparring day, so we put on the gloves and shin pads and went at it.  Of course we didn't go with 100% contact, but boy it was something else.  I was hit in the head a few times, but they were just taps.  I can imagine really getting hit hard.  By the end of class, I was exhausted, but ecstatic.  I like how physically demanding it is because it's a good stress reliever.

Speaking of stress relievers, I was able to go fishing last night and this morning while I did my watch at Girls Camp at Sirena Beach on Base .  I hooked a good-sized snapper last night, but since I didn't feel like cleaning it up and I didn't have a place to keep it chilled, I showed it to the girls and then let it go.  It reminded me of those fishing channels that show the pro fishermen catching big fish and then letting them go.  I always thought, "Why are you letting it go?!"  This morning I caught a couple of nice ones, and I fried them up as soon as I got home.  Too many bones, though.

Well, I look forward to an aching body tomorrow, but it's a Wednesday, so it's also a workout day. I have to remind myself that I'm doing this for strong bones! Okay, that's enough motivation for one night.