"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last week I got to catch up with a good friend for a nice tall glass of iced tea. As hot as it was outside and as tasty as the tea was, the weather and beverage slipped my mind as I sat enveloped in conversation with my friend Jenn. It is strange when you have such a good friend who almost knows what you are going to say before you say it; that happened while we were talking. She said something and I must have been nodding with the look of "I know what you mean" on my face. She saw this and just said, "You know exactly what I mean, don't you?" It is awesome to have good friends. I have been blessed.

Saturday of Papa's Day Weekend

The Start of a Great Weekend

This weekend is Father's Day. Ours began on Thursday. On the fifth day of the this week, I handed Caleb a written agenda (all-tentative, of course) of our plans for the weekend. We are on a roll. This morning we woke up and went to 6:30am Mass at Sacred Heart for the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (We were very blessed to go to Mass yesterday and make a family consecration to the Sacred Heart on His feast yesterday). So far, this weekend has been delightful. Caleb, Maddy, and I came home to enjoy a light breakfast of smoothies and coffee. Before we got to the breakfast part, though, Maddy needed a change, and so today she was able to start sporting her new onesie from Mimi, who bought this for Caleb's Father's Day. I brought Maddy out to the kitchen looking like this:
After Maddy went down for her morning nap we got to talk to family members and do more apartment searches and make additional connections with realtors. When Maddy woke up we enjoyed a walk to UH to enjoy a bit of frisbee. It was wonderful, and Maddy was a very good girl, who loved watching the frisbee go back and forth (mostly) between Mom and Dad...She only got nicked in the head once with our 175g, white, whirling frisbee. After that, we headed home for a delicious lunch of salad sandwiches on toasted wheat bread with melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Caleb and Maddy are now keeping with the Spanish theme of Maddy's onesie and taking a siesta together. Tomorrow we are off to Mass at St. Augustine's by the Sea for Mass, then to my favorite coffee shop in Honolulu, located next to what I call the most beautiful hotel. I fell in love with the cafe and hotel my first time in Honolulu. They are both delightful, and tomorrow we will admire them for the last time. Afterwards, we plan to take a dip in the ocean and check out the markets before heading home to pack up our last goods to be shipped. In the evening we will enjoy creamy chicken over brown rice with garlic and pepper green beans, and some berry cinnamon ice cream pie in a graham cracker crust for Caleb's special day. These are the plans; we better get going!

An Amazing Dad

Who said that guys can't multitask? Caleb has been doing that for...ever since I met him. If I sat down and wrote down everything that he accomplishes during the day, I would be neglecting all that I should do, because that's how much time it would take. Today Caleb defended his dissertation proposal; it was supported and given the OK by his committee members. He is on a clear path to the writing of his dissertation. Wow. If that was all that he did today I would sit back and say, "Phew, glad you made it through the day." (I'll still say that, but there is more that he did). He is so organized that he also managed to find time to design and print up individual tags for each of our bins that will be shipped out in the next week. He met with his advisor, printed color copies of his power point presentation for each of his committee members. He even sqeezed in some necessary shopping at ROSS in hopes of finding some new running shoes (no luck, though). He accompanied me to pick up a roll of film that finally got developed from my 35mm camera after a tw0-year hiatus, entombed in the camera. Caleb picked up the last of the plastic bins to store our goods for shipment. If that was not enough, he cleaned the dishes up after dinner and just put Maddy in bed. She was snuggling into him as we sat on the couch as a family to watch Mrs. Miniver. He will anything and everything for us and others. He will sacrifice his time or figuring out another time to schedule his activities so family time is uninterrupted. On this weekend of Father's Day, I want to tell you thank you, Caleb. I love you.

Any relation?

Take a look at the top teeth. Do you see any resemblance? Sister and British brother...maybe?

All Boxed-In

It has been quite a while since we last posted anything, due to packing. I suppose I could have just packed the computer and pulled it out when we arrive to our final destination (since I have not written a thing for a couple of weeks), but I'll try and keep us up-to-date in the happenings around here. About a week and a half ago we began the packing process and made a lot of progress. We had our inspector here and she thoroughly checks everything, unpacks, and unfolds things I guess to make sure that they were packed and folded correctly the first time. What has been the best discovery throughout our packing process is that Maddy is learning to walk, so she goes from bin to bin, sidestepping--like a new baby, two-step dance. She freestands. She makes us say, "Did you just see that!?" The other day she was freestanding, and it looked like she had been doing it for ages, because she was unaware of that fact that she was doing what she was doing, and we had to take a second look, because it looked so natural. Change. What is it? It seems to come on so gradually, and yet it is something that we oftentimes pray for, and then fight or regret when it happens. Life is all about change. If nothing ever changed in our day-to-day life, that is, if we never bettered ourselves, appreciated the alterations, would we take everything for granted and never enjoy the now? I was thinking about this the other day when I was hanging a load of laundry out beneath the brilliant rays of sunshine here in Honolulu. I took in a breath of the whirling winds and glanced and the gorgeous greenery and steroid-sized leaves that dangle and dance all around us. If we were not moving, would I appreciate this island the way that I am right now? Maybe not, because I would be staying here and I would probably become so accustomed to the loveliness around me that I possibly would never think that it could be taken away. The same with Maddy: if change never occured, I would most likely never grasp on to and appreciate for that moment the little silly things she does as a 10 month-27-day-old baby, before our little 11month-old stares us in the eyes. Some people can see a move as a sad affair, an end. But, I rather see it as a chance to grow, to slough off the old and be bathed in the new--growth--while appreciating the past, looking forward to tomorrow, and making the most of today.

All the Animals in the Zoo are Jumping Up and Down for You!

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

what about you, you, you? We're going to the zoo! Caleb was singing this little family song to Maddy before we went to the zoo yesterday. I'm sure she'll hear it many more times in her lifetime. We had a great time at the zoo, where we spent about 5 hours. We ate our packed lunch in the refreshment area before meandering about the beautiful, tropical-safari grounds of the Honolulu Zoo. Shortly after eating, Maddy was ready for her nap, so into the frontpack she went. She gets so excited when Caleb pulls it out, because she knows what is to come: time with Dad. A couple of exciting highlights: seeing a hyena very close-up and seeing a peacock spread its feathers completely... and block our path. We scurried around it and made it to where we wanted to go. What a beautiful bird. All in all, it was a great, long day with about a 10 mile walk to, through, and from the zoo. Ahh, the weekend has arrived.

Lions and Tigers and Nene, Oh My!

Lions and tigers and nene, oh my! We're off to see more animals today at the zoo. This time we are heading there with friends. Twice in one week's time! Usually we have ideas of things to do with these particular friends, but this time my friend suggested something: the zoo. Ha, what are the chances of going back a second time in a week? We love it, though. It is fun to be outside and mobile, and Maddy loves that aspect too. She also loves the people and animal-watching aspects of an excursion, so I am sure there will be lots more of that on her agenda. We will give you a run-down on today's events when we return today. Have a super weekend.