Let the good times roll...

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) 2008 came a bit early this year but we still managed to take in a few parades! The Mobile Mystics Krewe proved to be very generous with their throws this year at their Saturday afternoon parade. Nerf footballs, stuffed seals, t-shirts, and our favorite...moon pies! I still haven't figured out if it was because we braved the rain that chilly afternoon or that we were the only ones on the West side of the street during that portion of the parade. It may have even been Lisa and her cute group of teenage friends that caused all the commotion that day. But whatever the case may be...we had a fun time, collected a few hundred more beads, and went home pretty happy! "Laissez le bon tempts rouler!” (Cajun for 'Let the Good Times Roll!')

Piano recital...

The end of the year marked Jessica's first Piano recital! Having started in July we were excited to see her perform for the very first time! Pictured is Jessica, Kenny and Lisa with their Piano teacher. Each child played three songs with one being a duet with the instructor.

A trip to Montgomery, Alabama...

The fourth graders at Kenny's school have a tradition of traveling to the State Capital in Montgomery and spending the day touring Historic sites that make up the tradition and culture of the state of Alabama. I was lucky enough to be able to go along as a chaperone and take in the sites of places I have only heard about and never seen in person. From the place where Rosa Parks got on the bus and changed history forever, to the steps of the capitol where the Confederacy came to an end. Walking down the same road Martin Luther King, Jr. led the infamous march to the capital gave each of us a new perspective on the history we have here in the South. Pictured here are Kenny and a group of his friends standing in front of the Eternal Flame monument built in honor of fallen ward heroes.

A bit of Christmas cheer...

When you least expect it the teenagers of the world can certainly surprise you! We scheduled a Christmas caroling trip to a retirement home near our church. All the youth and their parents were invited to join us! We had a tremendous turnout and the residents at the Cogburn Health Facility enjoyed a bit of Christmas in the halls of their home! Most of the residents were bed ridden. Only a few could get around by wheelchairs. So instead of them coming to us we took our show on the 'road' and caroled up and down each wing of the home until each resident had a carol sung by their doorway! I don't know if it was just the large group of youth we had with us that night or the acoustics from the hallway but I could've sworn we had a choir of angels singing with us!

Christmas with the Nikolakis's...

Seventeen years ago Jessica's teacher Ms. Nik lost her father on Christmas day due to a stroke. She was a junior in high school then and since that year Ms. Nik, her mother, Ms. Peggy and her brother, Mr. Johnny have traveled out of state on vacation for Christmas. Not being able to stay at home for the holidays because it proved to be too painful at first and then continuing the tradition because it was something they enjoyed doing. This year however Ms. Nik took in a young boy in her class named J.T. as a foster child and because of him they decided to stay at home for Christmas.

We were invited to their home early Christmas morning before we went to the homeless shelter. We opened presents and had a wonderful southern breakfast of grits, sausage and eggs! Kenny and Jessica kept J.T. company and Ms. Peggy found the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on satellite for us to listen to while we opened some presents. What more could I have asked for?

Jessica and JT are very good friends at school and Kenny loves having a younger "brother" to play with. It was a fun morning for all of us and we enjoyed being around friends who hadn't been home for a Christmas morning that was full of excitement and joy for a very long time.

Hawaiian Cast Party...

One final gathering for all the people that helped out with our Ward Christmas Luau! Food was flown in from Hawaii and more was cooked right in our own home. There were so many more people that showed up to our Christmas Luau than we had expected that most of the dancers and singers didn't have the chance to sample any of the food. What better way to thank them for their help than by throwing our own little mini Luau! Laulau (Pork wrapped in Spinach Leaves), Lomilomi salmon (Diced tomatoes and onion with raw salmon), Poi (Smashed Taro root), Kalua Pig (Roast pork with sea salt)and Kim Chee (Fermentated Spicy Cabbage) were all on the menu for our final cast party! Put a little IZ Kamakawiwaole music on and it felt like we were right back home in Hawaii! Thanks Keola, Ulu, Beverly, Hanalei, Elder Reis, Elder Tovo, Elder Enu, and Elder Sebreros our Honorary Hawaiian!

Christmas is for giving...

This year we spent Christmas day at a homeless shelter in downtown Mobile. We shared a religious service with them and distributed toys and clothes to those standing in line. The kids donated three bags of their own toys that day and I watched as the saw first hand how different some people spend their Christmas. The hardest part of the day for me was when I was helping the men find clothes that they could take with them in preparation for a chilly evening ahead and one of them said, "I just need a pair of socks, ma'am." My heart sank as I knew that there were no socks in the clothes that we had sorted for them. I replied, "I'm sorry sir. We have no socks today." Needless to say Arnold's closet got a thorough cleaning when we got home that night and all the extra socks I could find in there were sent to a new home. A more deserving home. A home where socks on a chilly night make all the difference in the world. We are so thankful for all that we have and for the friends and family that we are able to share it with! We love you. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Hawaiians at school...

Boy! December just rained Hawaiians here in Mobile! Jessica had her class Christmas party the week before school got out and sure enough the theme was "Hawaiian Christmas". Although the food ended up being more untraditional with ChikFilA nuggets and Pineapples from a can...the entertainment was strickly local! Elders Reis, Tovo, Enu and Sebreros serenaded the group and even got a few parents dancing! Our school will never be the same again! Mele Kalikimaka!

Hawaiian Christmas luau...

Nothing like a bit of Hawaii here in the deep south! 40 lbs of cooked Korean rice, one 250 lb wild boar cooked underground in an IMU, 1 gallon of Korean kim chee, 4 sheets of Coconut haupia, 6 pans of Pani popo, 15 bowls of macaroni and potato salad, 100 dinner rolls, 250 shell leis, and 462 guests! Who could ask for a better turnout than that?

Mystery reader for the day...

Arnold paid a special visit to Jessica's 2nd grade class last month and played the part of mystery reader. We checked in at the front office and the Asst. Principal Mrs. Whinston called down to the class with the intercom to let Jessica's class know that the mystery reader was on his way down! You could hear the screams and giggles! Jessica's teacher had all the kids put their heads down on the desk and when she turned on the lights they looked up to see Arnold sitting in the 'reading' chair with one of our favorite books! The Icky Sticky frog!

Jessica's Thanksgiving program...

Jessica participated in her first ever Thanksgiving Day Program at school. With a packed gymnasium with many, many proud parents the program went off without a hitch and the students all did wonderfully! I, having had the job of being in charge of everything that day from refreshments, to seating, to costumes, forgot my camera so this is the only picture I have from a friend who forwarded it to me via email. Great job Jessica! We are so proud of you!

Wishes sometimes do come true...

For about five years now Kenny has tried every year in September to get us to buy him a snake for his birthday. We were able to get by a few years in Utah when our neighbors (The Bielstein's) would bring us the garden snakes they would find while weeding their amazing garden, but since moving to Alabama we haven't been so 'lucky'! Then one day someone at work mentioned to Arnold that their teenage son had outgrown his snake and was looking for someone to take it off his hands. Great! Just what I needed. So the Saturday before Kenny's birthday we drove down to Pascagoula, MS and picked up a three year old California King Snake for Kenny's tenth birthday. Kenny couldn't stop smiling. He also couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe he's really mine!" Two months, four frozen dead rats, and many, many hugs later....we now can officially say we have a new addition to our family. His name is Taz and he's a snake. Future visitor's beware...

Small miracles...

On any given day after the kids are sent off to school I would follow a normal routine of cleaning the house, organizing my files, paying some bills and watching a little tv while folding some laundry. On this particular day however our satellite went out for no apparent reason. A little annoyed but not particularly devastated I went about my day until the phone rang. One of our Stake Presidency members was on the line asking if Arnold were home. I immediately thought....hmmmm I wonder if its for a new calling in our Ward? Odd that the Bishop didn't call. And then after relaying that Arnold was at work that day President Emertson proceeded to ask if I had watched any tv that morning. Another odd question and then I remembered how the satelitte had gone out and I had turned it off hours ago. He then asked me to call Arnold and to make sure that he was okay. Pres. Emertson had gotten a call from someone who worked across from the Pascagoula refinery telling him that they were all being evacuated because of a fire in one of the plants. My heart dropped and the tears began to flow. I thanked Pres. Emertson and hung up the phone. I knew I couldn't call. I knew there would be 1000 other wives probably phoning in for the same reason. So I waited and waited some more. Until finally a call came from Arnold's supervisor's wife, Christine. She said that her husband, Johnny, had called her and talked for only a few seconds. Basically his message to her was....There's been a fire...I'm okay....call Lisa and tell her Arnold is okay too. I could finally breath! Three hours later Arnold came home and the hug I got from him as he walked through the door was a little tighter, his smile a little brighter, his "I love you" a little sweeter and our dinner together that night as a family a little more divine.

A first for everything...

In July after we got back from our long summer trip Lisa and I went to Troy State University for three days to attend Lisa's first Five Stake Youth Conference! Mobile Alabama stake joins each year with Panama City Florida, Ft. Walton Beach Florida, Tallahassee Florida, and Pensacola Florida stakes for our annual Youth Conference. There are over 500 youth involved with the three day conference and the Young Men and Young Women (ages 14 to 18 years) stay in the dorms, eat in the cafeteria, attend workshops, participate in service projects and have nightly dinner/dances!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some may say this day is all about the fried turkey, the sweet potato casserole, the homemade rolls or grandma's pumpkin pie. But we think there's nothing better than spending Thanksgiving with our family! (Even if its a few days early!) Arnold's brother, Aaron and his family spent a week with us this month and before they left we made sure to celebrate by having a Thanksgiving dinner together. Who could've asked for anything more? We're certainly grateful for our family! We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!