passport

We applied for Ian's passport this week. It was a bit of a drawn out process as you first have to have the hospital birth certificate, then the official Guam birth certificate, apply for a social security card, and then finally apply for a passport. [Insert appropriate amount of island lag time in between.]

Want to see his mug shot?

{ I laugh every time I look at this shot! I wonder if he will hate it when he's older? }

Here on Guam, you don't go to the Post Office to apply for a passport. You go to the Department of Revenue and Taxation, which is a big warehouse of a cinder block building that houses all the government agencies that deal with money, tags, licenses, passports and who knows what else.

Oh Guam with your old school posterboard signs, you make me laugh... See them up there on the left wall? :)

The lighting is not the best. An eerie grayish green glow is cast on everything. Kind of scary, isn't it? Reminds me of those stupid zombie shows.

We should get little Coconut's passport in a month or so, just in time for our trip to the mainland in May (woohoooo!).

If you could travel to any place in the world, where would you go?

Bali is sounding really good to me right now.

isaiah 52:7

Believe it or not, this is Hong Kong... the view from the Peak when you are facing away from the city!

Sometimes we all need to turn away from our busy lives and seek solitude. It is then that we can hear the still small voice of our mighty LORD.

why Guam?

1. It's pretty there.

2. David is being based out of Guam for his job with the airlines. He will upgrade to Captain (woohoo!) and be home almost every night.

No really, he is so excited to be around me!

all. the. time.

3. It's a temporary move with a short commitment of 1.5 years. We could stay longer if we would like, but this is the minimum requirement for them to pay for our move out there. It's not cheap to pack and move two vehicles and household stuff 7500 miles!

No picture for this one because... ummm... I couldn't think of anything.

4. The flying is amazing.

Exhibit 1 is David's landing in Kwajalein. Can you believe people live and work on that tiny little strip of land in the middle of the gigantic ocean?

{It's a slightly dull first minute, but it gets much much better. Just hang in there!}

{There is no Exhibit 2 because uploading to YouTube is too much work.}

5. It's a great opportunity to travel and explore that side of the world. We were blessed to visit both Palau and Hong Kong during our temporary assignment there in January and February. Just think of all the places we could go in 18 months!

I think Noah was embarrassed to be seen with me.

But y'all see why I am making that face, don't you?

6. Family time. What I am looking forward to the most is the time that we will have together as a family. No soccer, no Scouts, no running around doing "good" things... slower pace, fewer distractions, and discovering things together.

These guys are worth it.

Even if they aren't very excited about going for fear of missing their friends too much.

I think they'll change their minds about it once we get there.

If you had this opportunity, would you go? There are lots of pilot families that could go but don't. Wondering if I'm the crazy one or if they are...

what i see

Want to see what I see?

I have to warn you, some of it is pretty and some of it is messy and all of it feels like summer.

View 1: from the balcony

It is mighty pretty, isn't it?

View 2: from the entryway

It is mighty messy, isn't it?

Housekeeping has obviously not arrived yet.

Notice that we brought the necessities like Xbox 360 and laptops with us. Even with that beautiful view, we appreciate our electronics!

View 3: from the hallway

I still get a little dizzy looking down to the lobby. We are on the 13th floor. The sign on our door says we are on the 14th floor, but I don't believe them. When you are riding the glass elevator up and your floor is the one immediately after floor 12, it's not hard to do the math. My dorky boys and I make some sort of crack about it every single day. :)

View 4: where we go to take a break from our room

Stunning views of Tumon Bay from those big windows, but we're too busy playing Skip-Bo to notice. Sometimes I spice up our routine by offering a candy prize for the champion of the day.

I'm a wild and crazy mom like that.

Please notice the Japanese tourists taking a picture of their food. They always take pictures of their food, even if the food is ugly. But tourists are a post for another day.

View 5: view of Noah-boah because he makes me happy and willingly complied when I asked if I could shoot him at 1.6.

What is the view like in your neck of the woods?

PS Noah needs a haircut.

Koror, Palau

When David was little, he watched Man with the Golden Gun. James Bond chasing the bad guys in a speedboat, racing through islands of rock. He sat through the credits to see where this spectacular place might be-- Palau!

David fulfilled his childhood dream of visiting these emerald islands and crystal clear water.

And we got to go too! Eeeeeeeeee!!!

{All of these photos were taken with David's Droid phone or with a cheapy underwater camera that we rented (cheap as in quality but not in price. Oi!).}

The water was inky with deep blues and bright turquoise, yet clear to the bottom. I can't even explain how that is possible.

Can you see why they call them the Rock Islands?

So many shades of blue and green...

Our first stop was a cove that the locals call the Milky Way.

We couldn't snorkel here as the water was too cloudy blue to see. David dove down to the bottom and brought up a handful of white limestone mud to smear over our face and body. (Kicking myself for not having a picture of my mud smeared boys!). The mud is supposed to be very good for your skin and is even sold in spas.

It was bluer than the fake blue of a swimming pool!

The Big Drop-off on the southern corner of Palau was our next stop. This vertical reef wall is popular for both snorkeling and diving.

We opted to snorkel. :) I am so proud of my boys! They weren't scared a bit!

The Big Drop-off is as close to diving as you can get with its bright coral and colorful fish. The pictures just don't do it justice! Picture the gray coral down there as vibrant yellow and red.

The water over the top of the wall ranges from 10-20 feet deep. But the side of the wall? The water turns midnight as the depth of the floor drops 1000 feet!

The day just got better and better...

We had lunch and then swam a short distance from shore to snorkel with black tipped SHARKS!

These guys look far away, but they were literally right below us!

The only advice our guide gave us was to not reach our hands out to the sharks. Uhhh... okaaaay, I guess I can resist that urge.

We still can't decide what was the most exciting adventure in Palau.

Was it the brilliant colors of the Big Drop-off?

Swimming with sharks?

OR swimming with these guys?

Oh man, Jellyfish Lake was SO COOL!

I love this shot of Austin holding one in his hand. (Ack, where is Noah? He loved the jellyfish too.)

Don't worry, these guys don't sting!

CLOUDS of them.

They follow the sun through the lake, constantly brushing up against you. The boys showed NO FEAR.

Me? It made me jump as if a big roach had run across my hand! But when the water is that thick with jellyfish, you just can't avoid it.

So I held one in my hand and realized that it wasn't so bad, quite fun actually! They feel like Jello. :)

Even in the rain, Palau was the most beautiful place I have ever been. I kept thinking WOW, when God created the piney woods of East Texas, He also made this place!

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
-Isaiah 40:28

His understanding and ways are so much greater than my ways. And His creativity and imagination render me speechless.

It sounds so cliche but words and pictures could never do justice the breathtaking splendor of Palau. What a gift and blessing to behold it with my own eyes, to etch the landscape into my memory!

chamorro village market (FOOD!)

When this is what you have stashed in your hotel room for the week...

Being greeted by the sight and smell of this brings much happiness!

Goodbye week of $9 burgers and $15 pasta. Hellooo $1 BBQ pork on a stick!!!

It was seriously the BEST food I have had in forever and worth waiting in the rain to catch the Chamorro Village Wednesday Night Market shuttle.

With the rainy weather and crazy large crowd, I didn't get many pictures and didn't hang around for any music or dancing or whatever else they do there. We ate our pork, washed it down with some fresh coconut (milk? water? juice?), and shopped a few vendor tables.

Sweets for the boys.

And sweets for me!

I had never had Cassava Pudding Cake before... coconut, sugar, milk, tapioca (yucca, cassava, too tired to look it up). Interesting texture, eaten at room temperature (at least I did), and only slightly sweet. I'm saving half to have with my coffee for breakfast. :-)

We also ventured out to visit the dentist for Noah's loose crown today. Hooray for finding a pediatric dentist that accepts our dental insurance(!!!) and for no work needing to be done!!! (Is it terrible to have ended the day with cotton candy like we did?)

While I have had more Korean food here than I ever get to eat in Houston, I miss cooking at home.

If you spent two months on an island, what food would YOU miss the most?

routine and i called it home today

I referred to our hotel room as HOME today. As in, "Hey boys, when we get home we need to call daddy on the computer."

Maybe it was from the high of finding Starbucks ground coffee at Kmart?

A girl can get a little tired of the Nescafe 3-in-1 instant coffee granules after a few days.

And then when we Skyped with David tonight, he said that he couldn't wait to get home and be with us. :) I suppose that home really can be anywhere, so long as it is where we are all together.

(Well, almost all of us anyway... the absence of Christian has really been on my mind a lot today. *sigh*)

We have already established a routine here in Guam. It is as far from complicated as you can get!

6:30 AM - wake up (without an alarm clock!), eat cereal or oatmeal, brush teeth
7:00 AM - walk on the beach and swim
8:30 AM - snack (swimming makes you hungry)
9:00 AM - a little school (or not)
Noon - Go out for lunch (eating out gets old old old fast fast fast)
2:00 PM - beach and pool
3:30 PM - read or play a game in the room (Chess, Monopoly, Uno or Skip-Bo bc that's all we brought)
5:00 PM - supper (eat out again. expensive and blech. or eat Easy Mac or PBJ's in the room- yay!)
6:00 PM - sunset on beach, pool/hot tub
7:00 PM - back to room, computer time
9:00 PM - read in bed and go to sleep

While I don't miss all the busyness of going and doing we had at home (soccer, Scouts, guitar, stuff!), I do miss cooking and sewing and my king size bed! I know that will all be waiting for me when we get back to Texas.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the togetherness, sunsets, Skip-bo tournaments, morning walks, and not having to share my boys with anyone else! :)

Do you like your routine? Has the snow or cold in your neck of the woods allowed you to slow the pace a bit or does it just drive you crazy a la The Shining?

a good day 1

We arrived in balmy Guam late the other night, wool coats in hand, after having traveled over 8500 miles.

We went straight to bed, woke up before sunrise and started the day off like any good tourist-- with breakfast at McD's! I split a Big Breakfast with Austin, but quickly regretted not ordering one of these platters instead.

SPAM! Eggs! Rice! I'm sure many of y'all are gagging about now, but I really do like it. Just add some soy sauce to the eggs and a little butter to the rice. The SPAM is good if you just pan fry it in a skillet for a bit. YUM.

I am pleased to report that we spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun, sand and water. The camera just doesn't do the clear blue water and fine white sand justice.

I think Noah had the most fun.

(How does this boy have such dreamy eyes?)

He spent much of the time exploring and finding treasure!

Poor David, however, spent much of the time in our room with fever and general miserableness, so I don't really have pictures of him having any fun (yet).

He started a 5 day trip today and will be back in... ummm, 5 days. His trip includes a 2 day layover in Fiji. Yup, FIJI.

IS THAT NOT WEIRD?! We are on the other side of the world! And it is (very very) warm and sunny! In January! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

We brought our school books with us. We procrastinated the book learning all day today, thinking we would just work after supper. But when you swim, walk, swim, play, hunt for treasure, and swim all day, you are in no mood for school when the sun goes down. The boys were zonked out by 7pm! Talk about crazy. I guess we'll get up before sunrise again tomorrow.

Is it bad that I keep having to look up the date online?

Oh, I did have one picture of me from the day, just to prove that I was indeed here.

Can you see me?

Now y'all know what I'm up to. What are YOU up to?

3 weeks, 2 states and why I bought a swimsuit today

Last week was Oregon.

Lunch with Leanne

Birthday Party

My brother Stephen & big sis Coco

Nephew Caden.

Susan's house.

Yup, we have a lot in common... A shared love for JoTotes, photography and being half-Korean!

We are home in Texas this week.

In case you are feeling behind this Christmas, here are a few bah-humbug slacker-mom things to help you feel better about yourself:

1. I did not send out Christmas cards. (again)

2. We do not have a Christmas tree up. (again)

3. Zero Christmas lights up. (again)

4. Zero Christmas music playing. (still trying to recover from last year's overload. nonstop Christmas music from Thanksgiving to Christmas makes me not want to listen to the radio. ever.)

In my defense, I do have a very small nativity set up. What I like about it is that there are no wise men at the manger! That drives me nuts to see. Jesus was a CHILD, not baby, when the wise men arrived. (I love this little video about the nativity.)

It is the week of Christmas and I still have done none of the above. But guess what I DID do today?

Bought a swimsuit. Because I'm all about logical. *snort*

I had mentioned it on Facebook, but forgot that I haven't told my non-wastebook friends that we are going to GUAM! We will try to fly out there around January 1st and will be there for all of January and February. I never would have thought that I would spend 2 months on an island anywhere in the world, let alone the South Pacific!

A few temporary duty assignments became available with Continental (er, United) and we decided to take advantage of the opportunity. :) David is excited about flying in a different part of the world and the boys and I are excited to come along for the ride. This is one of those times that I am so thankful to homeschool! We wouldn't be able to take off for such a long time and on such short notice if our boys were in regular school.

It sounds silly to say, but David and I aren't even beach people. We much prefer the mountains and water that doesn't have salt in it.

Regardless, there is much to look forward to while in Guam:

1. It is an island in the South Pacific. Even a non-beachy person can appreciate the new landscape and culture that is far removed from Texas.

2. Everyone looks like ME. What a fun change for David to be the one to stick out!

3. Korean food available at the food court in the mall.

4. Fried rice with your Grand Slam at Denny's.

5. No cooking for 2 months. (this could be good and bad)

{I am all about the food, aren't I?}

6. No busy-ness. Goodbye guitar lessons, Boy Scouts, soccer and all the other "good" activities that force us to leave the house every single day of the week!

7. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 70s.

8. No house, business, cars, pets or anything else to maintain and take care of. It's all about relationships! :)

In all honesty, I do realize what a tremendous blessing this is. It is a DREAM to be able to live on an island for a couple of months. The normal commitment for being based out of Guam is 2 YEARS. So this short stint isn't available very often.

If you don't hear from me for a while, I'll be packing and flying. I am thankful that we will have internet service while we are over there. But if y'all need to text or call me, DON'T... at least not yet. We do plan on purchasing a pay-as-you-go cell phone when we get there and we can still Skype, email, google chat and Facebook! (Don't y'all just love technology?)

PS Rosetta Stone winner announced!

And now a few questions for y'all.

If given the opportunity, would you go to Guam?

Any advice for surviving 2 months in a single hotel room with kids?

Do you think not being able to cook for 2 months is a good thing or a bad thing?

Anyone reading this from Guam?

My friends are flat

I am leaving the house for Relevant in a mere 5.5 hours.

And I haven't even started packing yet.

While my clothes aren't packed, my friends are all packed and ready to go!

These were my original roomies-- Amy, Karin and Amy.

The Amies really are two people, although some people think they are one person with a split personality. Beautiful Karin in the middle up there looks like a pretend friend that I cut out of a magazine. She really is that gorgeous, y'all!

What do y'all think of their outfits? Stylish, no?

I am SUPER sad that I won't get to hang out with these wonderful ladies this weekend. *sniff, sniff*

However, God has blessed by giving me 3 new roomies-- Stephanie, Faith and Natalie.

The funny (and cool) thing is that none of us have ever met each other. I hadn't even known them at all until this afternoon when they said they would have room for me! I know, I know... it's a crazy thing to do. (Boy, am I glad this is a CHRISTIAN Conference!)

I am looking forward to building a friendship with these thoughtful women, as well catching up with old friends and friends that I've known online for years but have yet to meet in person (until TOMORROW! woohoooo!).

Okay, I'm off. Leaving now in 5 hours...

empire state building

When I was visiting my sister in NYC this summer, I snapped this picture of the Empire State Building.

Did you notice?

*This post is for my friend Ruthanne, who is in the Big Apple with her husband. They got stuck in the revolving door together at their hotel. Most people "accidentally" get stuck in places that don't have glass walls. Leave it to Ruthanne to be bold and daring!

**I would normally be hooking up with Darcy's Sweet Shot Tuesday today, but Darcy is doing something even more fantastic for the whole month of October-- 31 Days to a Better Photo! Be sure to check it out!

***Did you notice? Yes, he's nekkid. No, he's not real. Just a statue.

****Sorry, Ruthanne. I thought that guy would still be there, but apparently the "exhibit" only ran until mid-August. On the way to B&H, I ran across another statue... It wasn't on the ledge of a building but set right in the middle of a sidewalk. Unfortunately, he was sans clothing as well. Talk about GROSS. I had to tell Austin to look the other way.