Some much needed Ohana time

Dear Readers,
  I have been a little delayed in making this post because our computer is on it's last leg, and could not hold all 700 something pictures I took in Hawaii. So, I apologize. But here is a picture post (well, I'm going to TRY to make a picture post- I always end up talking a lot!) about our trip to Hawaii.
  We had a wonderful time. It was lovely to relax, just be together as a family before school starts up again. Island time will cure whatever ails you!

Of course we had to get some ukuleles...

Dad loves this tree--I believe it is called the monkey paw

I painted my nails sparkly pink just for this picture!!

Cate was the perfect little surfer girl

Everyone always comes back with hang loose pictures from Hawaii...no, not us! We came home with 'yellow' pictures!! (hang loose is yellow in American Sign Language)

We actually got to swim with a sea turtle! Someone had spotted one, so I went under to look for him--and he was right next to us! A minute later he popped his head up to say hello. Absolutely precious.



Cate got this  American Girl book about Kanani, a girl living in Hawaii for the airplane-it was so sweet!






  When we arrived at the airport, we found waiting for us one of Miss Trish's friends, arms full of leis and goodies for us. It was such a sweet welcome to the island, and made us all feel like Miss.Trish was there with us.

We all were thrilled with the leis, but for Cate it was a dream come true! (ok, and for her sister,too!)

Our view...ahh...

We went on an accessible hike to Waimea falls. It was breath taking!  There were peacocks along the trail, beautiful flora, and a lovely creek we get to stick our feet in!  (pictured above)  The waterfall was gorgeous, and had a 'water hole' at the bottom. It was thirty feet deep and freezing cold!! Cate and I went in with some friends for a swim. The current was so strong you really couldn't touch the waterfall. It was exhilarating! I'm referring to the experience as my tropical little house experience, because in one of the Little House books there is a water hole much like this one. Of course, that one was minus the peacocks!

 We ate at a Japanese restaurant called "Beni Hana", where they cook your meal right in front of you- in fact, the table is the grill!

It was absolutely delicious and amazing to watch the chef flip and turn our shrimp! He even formed the rice into a heart.

Pearl Harbor. A must for sightseeing, but emotionally exhausting. It made all the books I've read come to life. Especially the one I was in the middle of  at the time, "Unbroken". (A must read for everyone! Absolutely incredible true story.) In the picture above, there are faces of people who were there. One is of an African- American man, Doris Miller, who worked the mess hall. On December 7, he took a gun and shot at several of the Japanese planes, having no training whatsoever in this. He was later awarded the Navy Cross, although many wanted him to have the medal of honor. He was not allowed, however, to have to medal of honor, because he was African-American. Wow, that made me mad. I often wish I lived 'back in the day', because I love old fashioned things. But I have to tell you-- if I were living back then, I would not have done too well. Because those prejudiced, racist incidents outrage me! And now, even though it still exists, at least the government doesn't do those kind of things any more. So, maybe God knew what He was doing when He put me in the 2000s. :) 

One thing I was very disappointed in was the fact that there wasn't any kind of memorial on site for the code talkers. They saved the war for us, and yet there was nothing there commemorating them! Pearl Harbor was their training base. They could have done something very cool with that. Oh, well.

Hawaiian quilting is an art of its own- and beautiful!

We had a delicious time at the Dole (whip) plantation!

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God's promise..the symbol of this beautiful state!

We had one day where the girls took lei making and hula dancing classes. It was so much fun to have girl time, and to learn two new skills! We have decided to start welcoming people to our home with home-made leis..hehe...     And then of course, there was the beach. Cate was born to surf, and had the best time. And my favorite part of the beach was swimming with the sea turtle, although just laying out and reading was fun,too. We paddle boarded at the lagoon, and that was a lot harder than it looks! It was a lot of fun, and Mom, Cate, and I both got to where we could do it standing up!  And Benjamin braved the board, as well.  

She really IS a mermaid!

Waiting for hula class--signing the popular misconception for hang loose.:)

The amazing sand castle! Made without buckets, aren't Mommy and Cate so very talented?

And she stands!



There was a mirror in the ceiling-so this is my camera looking up at it and down at me! haha



I wonder who got a hold of my camera???

Trying out some Hawaiian instruments at the Luau!

oh we're going to the huki,huki,huki,huki huki lau!

When we took a second hula class after the luau, Mason joined in. But the CD player broke. So...I volunteered him to sing for the group! He and Mom were amazing, and the dance instructor was forever in debt. (umm...actually, that would be me! haha he'll never forgive me for that) 

Swinging on the giant Banyan tree was one of the funnest things. We walked away with blistered hands, but it was completely worth it for those few seconds of careless abandon in the wind. The best part, though, to me, was that I was on a beautiful, awe inspiring swing set- made for me by my Father.

My all time favorite king!

Our family, at our last breakfast. I love these people so much my heart could burst! Thank y'all for an amazing time.

Aloha, Hawaii. Thank you for the beautiful memories. Promise me that you'll stay yellow.

Your Blogger,

 Claire

My answer

Dear Readers,
  Hello again! We were actually in Hawaii all last week, so  I didn't get a chance to blog. We had a wonderful time, and I will definitely be blogging about it, but today I wanted to blog about the homeschool convention. We actually went there on Friday, and then woke up extremely early Saturday to get on a plane!

   So, the homeschool convention was wonderful. It always makes me want to study more and to be a better person! haha But it really does get us all ready to start school, and we usually find some wonderful books!
  For the first time, Mom, the boys, and I went together. It was so much fun to listen to the seminars together and share what we learned at lunch! AND, it was a lot of fun to just be together.

 But I really wanted to make this post to talk about more than just the homeschool convention. I'm constantly  getting  asked questions  like- "So, are you still being homeschooled?", "Do you have any friends, being homeschooled?" ,"So, do you not get to do any cool things like at a REAL highschool?"
  I really want to clarify that I love being homeschooled. And my mom loves home schooling us, so yes- we are going to keep homeschooling!

   Our family has lots of unique reasons for homeschooling, but I want to share some of the things homeschooling has done for me. 
   We all struggled in public school. It's hard for a teacher to have 40 kids in her classroom and still make sure Benjamin and Mason were well taken care of. It's hard to be the sister watching your brothers NOT be well taken care of and not blow up at the teacher.  It's hard to try to fit in with a group of girls who don't share your same beliefs. It's hard to do homework from 4:00 to 7:00 and still have family time. It was just plain hard.
  But now that we are homeschooling, we have time to do so much more than just read textbooks! We can go palpate a cow when we studied animal sciences, eat only foods the pioneers would eat when we studied them, and take a week in the middle of the school year to go to Washington, D.C. when we studied government.
  And, also, we have time for activities. So, instead of 'cool electives' at high school, I have time to learn to play violin and piano, and to be a part of community service projects, like putting on a ballet production with kids with special needs in it. And my brothers are part of an amazing theater group that is just for homeschooled kids.

There are SO many different education options, and I realize homeschooling is not for everyone. But for us, it is the perfect solution.  So, please don't jump to hasty conclusions  just  because we are homeschooled. Your Blogger,
 Claire

The orphan crisis- my heart is broken.

Dear Readers,
  Ah, usually before I begin a post like this, I spend days finding more facts, more Bible verses relative to it, etc. But, as we are leaving for Hawaii on Saturday (oh.my.goodness!) , and I REALLY needed to share this, I decided to leap off of what I have.
   So, how much do you know about orphans? What about kids with special needs in the Ukraine or Guatamala? While I might be wrong, I'm guessing not much. I, for one, don't know very much on this subject.
  But what if someone told you that, around the world, orphans with special needs are crammed into  cribs all day, on lots of drugs to make them sleep, and only experience human touch when they are taken out of their cribs for changes and feeding? And, that these kids live like this for the first four years of their lives, where they are then sent off to a mental asylum, where 95% die within the first year? What would you say? Would you believe this?
  I recently read a blog post stating these things. And while I can only hope that not ALL orphanages for special needs children are like this, I know  at least one is. And for me, that is enough. The fact that even one of God's precious children has to live like this for the few years he has infuriates and sickens me.
   I know about one orphanage in China, created by the Chapman family in memory of Maria, that is home to special needs kids. I follow their blog, (Maria's Big House of Hope-- on the right) and I guess was hoping that all orphanages serving these kids were just as wonderful. But they're not.
  Now, understand that I do not know the details of every special needs orphanage around the world. But I know that when  I googled "Special needs orphanages", there were a lot of websites that came up, telling about their attempts at making better these orphanages. There was also a news website that the caption said something like "The nightmare soldiers found in an Iraqi special needs orphanage". Nightmare?

  I don't think God planned for us to need orphanages. He couldn't have wanted His precious children to feel lonely or unloved. But since we are living in a fallen world and have come to require orphanages, they should be better than this. Would you want your kid laying in a crib all day-hungry, cold, and desperate for affection-at age 3?  Then we shouldn't let others live like this.
  Jesus cared about people with special needs. The Bible also commands us to take care of the orphans.
So- what will you do? Please- find out more about this, spread the word, and most importantly, pray. Pray mightily for these little ones!
  Remember-- “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:39-41 
                                           Let's do something about this. Your Blogger,
 Claire

A life update

Dear Readers,



The Mason Kids

 Between Grammie's birthday (where she, Uncle Talley, and Aunt Sarah came for a lovely visit), watching Harry Potter at the midnight showing, and going to the Paradise Valley Retirement Community with a bunch of friends for a service project, AND finishing up 8 grade--we have had a busy few weeks! So busy I have not had a chance to blog. But here am I, and I am armed with pictures! Let me start with Uncle Talley, Aunt Sarah, and Grammie's visit.

I loved these southwestern shots!



We drove to Sedona, Flagstaff, and Williams--the whole drive hiding this pineapple birthday cake!



And then, once in Williams, we took a train ride to the Grand Canyon.

The train ride was lovely!

We had SO much fun seeing the sights with our family, and then getting to celebrate Grammie on a train--nothing could have been lovelier! We had a wonderful time.

And the Grand Canyon is breath taking! What a wonderful artist God is!



This is an original telephone pole--that is very short! It had to be short enough that a man could reach it while staying on his horse.

 

Mom with her boys- who are, actually, Professor Lupin and Harry Potter!

Hermione and Bellatrix got along a bit too well. :)

We had a very good time at Harry Potter, as well. It was a lot of fun to pull costumes together last minute, and to be with friends in the middle of the night!ha The movie was  amazing, and everyone was so excited they would just go and talk with anyone! It was pretty cool to see.

Lupin and Harry



And I obviously didn't get enough costumed fun in this week, because today I donned a poodle skirt and went with Mason and some friends to a retirement home. We put on a talent show for the residents, where Mason announced each performance, I played my recital song on violin, a group of people came and played piano, and Breana, Ariana, and I signed to "Good Morning". (from Singing in the Rain)

It was so much fun to watch the residents tap their feet, and then afterward they all told us how many memories our poodle skirts brought up. And one kind man thanked us about a hundred times! They were a joy to be around.

 And then, after the show was over and we were trying to get the residents to play games with us, (no one seemed too interested) one lady came and asked if we would play piano again. She used to teach piano, and missed hearing it. So each of us went up and played her a song, and afterward she told me she wished someone could come and play everyday! I assured her we would be back in a few months. As always, my heart broke for those people.

Although, I must say, I was thinking that I liked going to nursing homes where they couldn't leave, because then they seemed to enjoy the performance a lot more, since they were unable to go out and about and these people were. But Mom reminded me that these people WERE in a nursing home, and regardless of whether they could run errands or not, they still were alone and we still were able to bring them joy. And that made me think of a scripture passage.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." -Hebrews 13:2

Isn't that a thrilling thought?  So, I came to the conclusion that whether you are stuck in an Alzheimer's home, young with lots of kids, or in the middle of 5 grade- you still need God. And we are called to lead them ALL to God! I feel so thankful for the oppurtunity to show this group of people God's love this morning.

(And at the same time, I made some pretty amazing friends! :) ) Your Blogger,

 Claire

Oh oh oh! I forgot to give you some exciting news!! Another neat thing that's been going on is that we got our roles for the "Cinderella" ballet. Mason will be narrator and Duke, Benjamin will be Gus Gus (the sweet,fat little mouse), Uncle Len will be the evil stepmother, and I will be Cinderella! Isn't that SO exciting??!! Just be praying that the parents of kids at United Cerebral Palsy will get their kids involved--God has some amazing things planned for this, we just have to get these kids in! Thank you so much!

A letter

 Dear Ones, (yes, those who read my blog ARE in my list of dear ones! :) )
   It is storming right now... I just changed my blog background, and it makes me smile. A lot!....  Mom  and Dad are on a trip to celebrate 20 years of being together. Oh, my heart is so happy for them! I love to read Mom's posts and know what bliss they are in. But I miss them. A lot. 
  So, I feel the need to write, as I always do when I feel anything! The storm makes me feel cozy, the blog background makes me feel blissful, and missing my parents makes me feel, well, like something is missing in this little life we call ours for the time being. (oh, so dramatic! I'm reading a 'Left Behind' book, and poeticness/end of the world truths seem to flow out of the book and straight onto the keyboard. Bear with me!) Wow that was a lot of rambling! I guess all those things I haven't been able to talk to Mom about all week got dumped on here. Aren't you all lucky?! What would I (and all of you!) ever do without her?
   That question has seriously popped into my head a lot recently, with us starting high school next year and all. I actually googled a bunch of stuff yesterday looking for college! Well, if typing in anything to do with Deafness/disablities on Mississippi State's page can be called 'googling'! Seriously, y'all, MSU has got to get some kind of new program in the next four years! I desperately want to go there, but the only thing I could find on their page was a story of how a correspondence class was teaching people to help the Blind live independently. That is wonderful, and I am glad we are doing that, but my whole point is that I DO NOT want a correspondence class! I want to be in Starkville, on campus, with my brothers! (God willing...)

  Well. That feels better. So if any of y'all hear about any new programs or anything at MSU--let me know. Ah, well, it's all in God's hands! Wow, that storm is blowing!

   Do y'all like my blog's new look? I really reeeaally want to learn how to quilt, so trnasforming my blog into a quilt seemed like the perfect idea! I aim for it to be a cozy, Christ-centered corner of the internet, where you can wrap yourself up in the love of Christ and all your fellow believers'!  And for anyone who has yet to find Jesus, I pray that He will use what I write here to lead you to the Bright Morning Star. (I recently read this name for Christ, and absolutely love it. He IS the Bright Star leading you out of your dark tunnel, calling you to Him, warm and bright with love. What a perfect name for our Savior!)
   Thank you for listening to my letter. I needed to write one today! With Love,
                                                                                                     Claire

Loving Like Jesus

 My Dear Readers,
    I think it is too easy to feel alone in this world. Do you agree? But if we all agree that this world has too many nooks for people to fall into and be forgotten about- then why do those nooks exist?
  I don't know the answer, and really that is why I'm asking. I have an idea,though. It may be because we are all human, and none of us is perfect. Oh, how I hate my many imperfections. And we all have them. Don't trick yourself into thinking we will have perfect peace on this world. Until Jesus comes, there is no way this can happen. Because we are HUMAN. And humans sin. However, aren't humans also made in God's image? So, what does this mean? It means we strive to be like Jesus. It means every ounce of our energy goes into being like our God. It means we catch people before they walk out the door, unnoticed, and into that dark corner of aloneness. It means we don't put people down. We raise them up. There is a song by Casting Crowns that I really like. It is called "Does anybody hear her", and it is about this woman who is searching for hope. And one of my favorite lines is "Does anybody even  know she's going down today under the shadow of our steeple  with all the lost and lonely people? Searching for the HOPE that's tucked away in YOU and ME."
   We shine with the hope of Jesus. And all I want to do is share it with people. But a problem us humans have is in the next verse-
    "If judgment looms under every steeple, with lofty glances from lofty people who can't see past her scarlet letter, and we haven't even met her."  
   Maybe that is one of the reasons why there are not more Christians in the world today.Because we are choosing whose hearts we break for, and are judging the rest.  Maybe that is why too many people feel unloved and unwanted, lost in a dark corner of the world. But it's not true.
We are ALL loved by the Creator of the world, who created us as His most precious creation. So we should never feel alone. 
   If you want to show people that they ARE TRULY loved by the Wonderful Shepherd, show them your love. Love them unconditionally, and then, God will plant a seed. Then they will realize that they are loved.  And you can show them they're not alone. That is loving like Jesus.
None of us are ever alone, so keep holding on to God!  Love,
  Claire
P.S. this is labeled under 'links for mission oppurtunities'. There are not really any links in here, but I wanted this post to give you all the ministry oppurtunity to love like Jesus. To go love those who feel unloved. So, please go out and do it! I believe God has called us all to this.

The little moments

Dear Readers,
  Lots of little things have happened in this past week that I would like to share with you all. Nothing big or major, this really isn't too profound of a post, I just was feeling thankful for all the moments last week and wanted to share.  So. Let me start with book club and move on from there.
   It was wonderful. Mom and I were in book club when I was in public school, so we found a couple of neat things to do at book club. Since our book was about a girl with Congenital Heart Defect who gets a heart transplant, and her quest to meet her donor's family, I found a video on the author's website of a heart transplant recipient meeting her donor's parents. It was touching and everyone had tears in their eyes.
   Next, I took some facts on transplants off my friend's blog and shared those with the group. (remember my post about "My life as a Chronically Ill Teen"? That's her.)  I thought that was perfect because it really gave the other members an idea of what the real statistics are (this was a fictional book).
    And then we talked about the book! It had a few questions at the back of the book that we based our discussion off of, and everyone had really good things to say and a great perspective. However, since our discussion centered on death, (the book was written from two perspectives- Amelia, the girl who receives the heart transplant, and how she now feels with a new heart in her (she felt athletic and, where she couldn't even climb the stairs before, she now feels like she could run up them.) and Eagan's perspective from a place kind of in between death and life (which was weird). So, everyone opted for a more cheerful option next time. (I tend to gravitate to sad books.) So now we are reading "Love, Ruby Lavender". It takes place in my Mom's birthplace, Mississippi, so of course will be good! I'll share more about it after our next meeting. But, the meeting was a lot of fun, and I loved talking with Mom about the book as we read it.

  Well, the rest of the week was also  good. Thankfully, Uncle Len finally came home, and the end of the year party for sign language was wonderful. I love having that group as friends. We also got to see a few new movies this weekend, which was good. It's always fun just to 'be'  as a family.
  And today Mason left for CIY! It will be in Durango, Colorado. We'll miss him.
Cate has Vacation Bible School all week. She is very excited about that! I have such fond memories of Rochester VBS, I'm sure she'll have wonderful Phoenix ones! 
   And, that's about it! I did want to share with you all a picture of the shorts I made in sewing class. It was an adventure! I'll give you a few details--I was the last one done, had to get the seam ripper out twice, and even after it was all over was not brave enough to try them on. They do, however, fit, and are not as bad as I thought! 
  Well, I hope I haven't  bored you with the little doings going on around here! I hope y'all are all enjoying the little moments summer has to offer. It's the book club meetings, friends, and family movie nights that makes summer so special, I think. All those blessings wrapped up in little packages. I'm praying God sends some your way this summer! Your Blogger,
 Claire                                                   



"From the fullness of His Grace we have all  received one blessing after another"
John 1:16

  Remember to praise God for the blessings that come your way, dear ones! They're all from Him.

Mi Madre y yo in Mexico- Time to serve

Dear Readers,

We are home from Mexico. from Mexico... It was such a spur of the moment blessing, I'm still shocked by it! So, if I am, y'all surely will have a hard time grasping it. So let me set the stage for you-

Mom and I hopped on board the week before they left for Ensenada. They needed a photographer, and that is Mom's hobby. (She is AMAZING- just check out her blog, The Blessing Counter, and you'll see what I mean! )

So, we prayed the whole time we were at Disneyland, and the next weekend were on our way! Mom and I. Driving to Ensenada, Mexico. With hours of Scrabble ahead of us. Ahh....It was really, truly a breath of fresh air for my soul.

So, once we crossed the border, we stopped at a little taco place for lunch. Yum. We also drank Mexican Frescas! The lady who served us was so sweet- she helped us order in espanol! I was hooked since then and still haven't stopped speaking in spanish!

 So, we stayed at Rancho De Refugio, which was breathtaking. And the owners of the ranch, who entered their mission field age 60+, were so sweet! Mom and I thought it was a beautiful example of how, just because the present time is not your season to go into the mission field, God may have one planned for you when you expect to be lounging in an RV! Retirement shouldn't exist for us Christians. We should serve the Lord until the day we die!
     We also got to listen to a couple who were missionaries to Papua New Guinea. They took a tribe who just two years before had practiced cannibalism, and was currently allowing girls ages 8 and up to be "community property", and taught them about the Lord. They were there for six years, however, before they could begin preaching. Talk about patience! They were such a beautiful example to us in so many ways, and their stories were uplifting and made all of us want to head out to the barrios!

  Well, the next day we did get to go to the barrios. That was ALL I had wanted to do. All weekend. I just wanted to be with the kids. And when we woke up, it was frigid, the wind was howling, and the fog felt like rain. NO!!!  I threatened to walk to the barrios if no one would drive. My head almost combusted when someone said we might just be 'hanging out' all day. I was not in Mexico to 'hang out'!!! Thankfully, God knew why were there, and the men said as soon as they pulled the hammer out (they were fixing the roof of the police department) the sun came out. Praise the Lord! God is so good.

We brought bookmarks, and this little boy wanted his picture with every one!

This bebe was precious!

We painted their faces, and after a while the kids wanted to paint our faces!

This is mi amiga Lorena. She is learning english, and I'm learning spanish! What a perfect pair.
She painted a big and beautiful flower on my cheek!

This man pulled his son to him and asked me to take their picture.
My heart breaks.

The children would call out "Hermana-un foto!" to my mom, asking their 'sister' for a picture. They called me 'nina', for girl, and we would take turns- I would take their picture, show it to them, and tell them they were bonita. (beautiful) Then, I let some little girls borrow my camera. They took a picture of me and, showing it to me, said "bonita!" Oh.     I truly love these children!  It was so hard to leave them. But God is doing amazing things in Mexico! At Rancho De Refugio, they are building a school for the children in these pictures. Many have never been to school before.   But this school is huge, beautiful, and will be a wonderful environment for them to grow in Jesus.

Well- thank you for reading all of this! Mexico is one of my loves, and I'm SO passionate about these missions that of course they deserve a couple hundred pages of words!! I encourage all of you to be ready- you never know when God will open up a season in your life! Whether it is for a short hop over the border or 3 weeks in Africa, or 21 years in Papua New Guinea's unreached tribes- you can make a difference for the Lord! But meanwhile, continue to serve Him in every aspect of your life- from the grocery store to the church pew! Your Blogger,

 Claire