Christmas Morning!

Brody got a shaving kit that he was so excited about....that he just had to shave anutie's face & everyone!!. He loves every minute he get with her. And loves "his baby caroline." Brookie got ELMO...who she loves (but has never seen on TV because we have no TV) Kind of funny. It was a nice morning.

Our tree!!

Molokini Trip in Dec

We went to molokini when brandon family came into town...Oue want to be "Captain Chris"!!! HA!
Caroline and Uncle brandon....


Our sweet baby girl ready to go snorkeling


Mama & baby humpback

The family in the early morning...we got to see the sunrise!

YES!! We have a cat...KITTEN!

Yes it's true although it sounds crazy we do now own a cat! If you know us well you know how crazy this sounds. Well, there is not much I can say. A wise man (my husband) once told me pick your battles. I was out number 3-1. A family from church arrived with some kittens on a Sunday morning wanting to find them good homes. Well needless to say our kids were so excited to see baby kitties....there was a small crowd of children surrounding the box of kittens. So Brandon goes up to see what the commotion is about and then asks me...want to take one home? UH...WHAT, US?- I said. "Yeah, the kids would love it, it would stay out side and I wanted to have a outdoor "rater"cat to eat the bugs and mice." Thinking like a mother all I could think of is more work for me and I am not a huge fan of cats....."um, I don't think so honey.." Brandon talked me into it, saying "it won't be much work...it will be out doors." So we came home with a little kitten! Later that night we had to give it a bath because it got a mouse sticky trap stuck to its butt & tail. I looked at Brandon and said "bath"....while giving it a bath we had to pick of fleas! I believe that was the moment i will never forget. Brandon cracking sarcastic joke about how this cat will be "no work" as we pick off fleas, pulling sticky trap glue off its tail & giving it a bath the first night we had it home!....We both laughed so hard we cried. We needed that moment together, because it had been a stressful week getting into our new house, trying to pack, move & paint. Laughter is such a key to our marriage-and more often it is Brandon making me laugh. I love my husband!

Our New Home...

This is our new HOME!!! It is such a God dream, we still can't believe we are in! You should see our view...AMAZING!!! We look out to the west Maui mountains. Moving...i hate it! I thought moving across and ocean was hard....no moving a block down the street with not much help, prego & with two kids- even harder! Oh and yes, Brandon was speaking at main service and it was the week of thanksgiving! I don't know what we would have done with out Craig & Chris Mauck, Carlos, and Janet. They were huge blessing. One photo i do not have is our friend Adam helping us move our BBQ Down....we laughed so hard we cried. He rode our BBQ down the hill and pushed it down the street, oh and yes at 9:30pm at night or maybe it was 10pm. People were looking out the window..."what the heck"...then they saw him and either thought "weird" or new us and laughed! We are in and so excited, a bit overwhelmed at what the Lord has done for us to say the least.

^Our walk though.

^The kids in there beds the first night. Brookie in a BIG GIRL BED....oh how our baby is growing! Ps. that how she feel asleep! Funny!

Batman & Robin!!!!! Halloween

We spent most of the morning in the doctor's office for the kids and myself. Not so much fun. Brody got two shots and Brookie five! But don’t you worry because Batman was in FULL costume at the Dr. office! Brookie was a bit lethargic, but warmed up later. It turned out to be a fun night. We had a bunch of friends over for real San Diego Mexican food…then off for trick -or -treating! We also were blessed to have Brandon’s Aunt Beth and Uncle Randy here for Halloween! It was so nice to have family with us on that night….Brookie just wanted to be held for an hour or so and Aunt Beth was just the Aunt! The street in our neighborhood was the place to be…children EVERYWHERE!!! Brandon kept telling me all night that this community reminds him of his childhood neighborhood when he was growing up. (Well his parents still live in the same house, but the neighborhood has changed because most of the kids have all grown up and moved away.) He was excited that Brody and Brookie get to have a similar experience. Brookie and Brody were so stinking cute and so excited about ringing door bells…..I will post those photos as soon as possible... with Brandon’s help!

Big Brother

A few weeks ago Brooklyn got a high fever and was sick for a few day....there was this moment! She just wanted to be held and was so sleepy....so I heard Brody say to her, "Come, Sissy, I'll hold you!" as he patted the couch! So Sweet! Sissy climbed up on the couch and sat on his lap! I had to capture that wonderful moment on camera, so when they are fighting later about who gets what cup or when they are pushing each other down- I'll remember they DO love each other!

P.S. Later that week Brody got sick with a 105. temp...it was nuts!

Water babies!

Brooklyn's favorite friend (besides her big brother ) is Mikaela. Brookie calls her "Lala." She and her family live two doors down the street, so needless to say the kids play together often! People in Maui say that Aug., Sept. and sometimes Oct. are the hottest
months...and this day was HOT! Perfect for a water play date! It is fun to see something so simple be so entertaining for the kids!

The Skating Kids

These are some of our friends from down the street. Michael (Mikaela's dad) had a birthday this week. His friends built a 'small' skate ramp in his back yard as a b-day surprise. 'Small' is what they guys told his wife Ceira it would be! Let just say, it turned out NOT so small...but Michael loves it, and so did the KIDS! These pictures were taken at the b-day celebration! A HIT!!!

"Front Yard BBQ-Hawaiian style"

There is one thing I must explain about front yard BBQ's. When we first arrived in Maui Brandon and Puff noticed a 'local style' BBQ...ie: every party we saw seemed to be in the front yard! (On the main land we might call this behavior white trash...we here call it 'local style'!) Well, Uncle Puff was gone almost a month to CA and he is ALL about front yard BBQ's! So, when he returned, we had a little BBQ to welcome him home....but you all know when Brandon and Puff get their creative juices flowing there is always something to laugh at! We ended up with a BBQ pool party in the front yard!! I think we kept our 'pool' for 3 days! Ha! It was FUN!

Our New House Part 1

I am sure you have heard the amazing God story about our house. So these are photos of the house we are buying. We are excited to soon be in a home of our own again.

NANA & PAPA Came to Visit!

One day we decided to take Brandon's parents up country. Because they have been to Maui so many times, we thought we would show them some places they had not seen. Little did we know our trip to up -country would be such a long adventure! We began the day by stopping by the sugar cane museum....thinking it would be a free educational moment about Maui. Nope, our education cost $7 dollars per person to walk through three little rooms. But boy did we learn about Maui! We each walked out with a little packet of raw sugar like you get at Starbucks, hardly worth $7....pricey sugar uh? After the museum we headed on our way to up-country, but suddenly we were heard a really loud noise coming from under the car.... a flat tire! However, nothing would stop the Smiths! On the side of a country road, the boys replaced the flat with our spare and we were off once more! (I wish we had taken a photo of that!) In up-country we stopped at a cute store where we had elk buggers and hot dogs for lunch. (Brody's fav) It really is beautiful up there...another world. I think Brandon stopped the car every ten minutes and he and Laura got out to take photos. (Like mother like son...the whole photography thing runs in the family genes.) They got some great shots. I wish I had more room to post them here. We ended up going to the Lavender Farm were just Laura and I walked around the beautiful gardens, while the men stayed in the car with sleeping children. It was a nice quiet moment for us! The view was beautiful - we could see the other half of Maui. We ended the day,where else?, other then at good old Costco for new tires! There is nobody else we would have rather spent the day with, because we laugh so much when we are all together. Nana and Papa are such a joy to us! Beside, we love our adventures with them because we always end up having such funny stories to tell later!

Nap Time with Brody

One of the most specialfmoments I get to share with Brody, being a stay at home mom, is nap time. It is just us. Sissy is always asleep first, so Brody and I read, talk and just cuddle a bit before he nap. He always asks, "Mommy, can you stay with me a while...just a few minutes?" It is hard to say no to that....one day we were just cuddling and talking and I was just staring at Brody thinking...."take a mental picture, he isn't going to be this little forever!" So i jumped up and took a real photo. He is the coolest & cutest little buddy ever! I am overwhelmed how blessed I am to share these moments. Thanks, God ,and thank you, Brandon!