2011: A Review of 3 Months...

I have been a neglectful blogger. I've been too busy to spend time reflecting on my life and the events that have transpired. Well as the saying goes, "better late than never." Here is a 3 month review of the events that took place so far. All I can say is time sure flies faster when you get older.
In January we celebrated a new year with new hopes, wishes, and goals. February focussed on family and love. March was focused on moving forward through the trials in life, and April has been a time of renewal and thankful for the sacrifices of Christ.

Remembering Dad

October 25th was the date of dad's memorial dinner. It was a memorable occasion, and demanded a lot of planning, prepping, and executing.I can't believe I was able to pull off a special celebration. Thanks to all those that helped me. We grilled steak, teri chicken, and hot dogs. We had guests that knew mom and dad, guests that didn't know him personally but knew of him, and guests that were his best friends. I could tell he was there because I felt his spirit and when it poured raining, I had the impression that he missed his family and friends too in this earthly life. It made me think of others before myself, I read a poem, friends sang songs, we had a harpist play "O my Father", and it sounded like we were in heaven. A big mahalo to all those that helped to make our night spectacular. My dad lives on through my memories, my family's memories, and the memories of his friends. The night ended with Hawaii Aloha and we joined hands in acceptance and love in honor of my dad.

It's Ten,Ten,Ten Today

Aloha Blogging 'Ohana! It's been 3 months of neglectful blogging. I'm glad to be back and am thankful that I'm able to catch a few minutes to myself to write my thoughts. I just finished my first quarter teaching K, being the GLC, having the title of CT which is modeling for an ST. Yes there are a lot of acronyms in my profession. At first it was so overwhelming but now that Fall Break is here I'm quite relaxed ready to go back to all the titles. Most of all I've enjoyed being a full-time mommy this break, I got to know my kids again and husband again, and I actually made dinner and ate as a family daily. My goal is to continue to balance all my hats and put the family first. I'm looking forward for the holidays and the last few months of the year.
This month particularly is one of my most memorable months the month I remember my dad here on the earth with us. I will always miss him and look forward to being reunited with him someday. The gospel brings me peace in knowing that families are forever. I will continue to remember his legacy and take care of all that he has left behind in this world. My next entry will be a celebration of his life...we have wonderful plans in the works, hope all comes to pass. Dad's favorite saying before he said goodbye to anyone was "Take Care" so I'll say to all of you, may God bless you and take care. Aloha, Christie

Summertime Fun with Friends

These past two weeks from June 29-July 6th has been filled with reuniting with friends from the past, and making new memories to carry us through the future. It started off with a visit from Jen on Monday, we drove around and I showed her my school where I teach we went to visit with Ku'u, Sina, Kanoe, (aka da K's). While we were there we ran into Ren, took pictures, saw Cheryl, Mish and Noe. Tuesday we met Kehau, Pualei, Heidi came over and felt impressed to gather a group to see Tash, that evening was a life changing event for me. We were surrounded by Tash who's battling a fight with cancer, and as I was there with my friends the spirit was so strong. There in attendance was Kim, Aim, Tamz, Heidi, Jen, Cheryl, and me. We sang "In this Very Room". We were so blessed to be in Tash's presence! Wednesday was beach day, I met Tamz and her girls, Jen, Kehau and kids. Thursday was girls night out at Banzai Sushi in Haleiwa. Yum! Friday said good bye to Jen, and made our last cruise around town.

This week saw Fireworks on the 4th with family and friends, went shopping on the 5th, and had fun at the beach followed by Matsumoto's on the 6th. Enjoying Hawai'i, I'm so blessed to be able to live here and have friends who make the time to spend with me while their here. Who knows when the next time we'll be able to see each other again. So enjoy your summertime with family and friends!

Memorial Day- Weekend

Our Memorial day started early this year, we went to Grandpa Akana's grave in Kaneohe, and Papa Akana's grave in La'ie. My mom and I have a tag along grave assistant, he's been at the grave since he was one. You'll see him in the picture when we are cleaning the grave. It was nice to see that at both graves a surprise visitor thought of honoring my grandpa and dad. We didn't take a picture of grandpa's and don't know who left the fresh rose, but at dad's we found out Uncle Norm T. placed beautiful flowers on the grave. Mahalo to all those that are thinking about my dad at this time and the legacy he left behind for his family. Now it's time for us to cheerish our small family here on this earth.

Almost half the year gone by...my first post of the year!

Well it's about time I move forward from my last post which was Christmas 2009. Welcome 2010 a year that hasn't given me time to breath. So here it goes a quick recap up until May 2010. January I celebrated my 37th birthday, first at the mall with a pedicure and manicure,then at the movies. January Mikayla won the Leeward District Science Olympiad, Kaden was Super Citizen. February we went to Kaua'i to celebrate Grandma Kajiwara's 90th birthday, March was spring break and we celebrated my mom's 67th birthday, April was Kahana's 3rd birthday, our grade level celebrated Aunty Laverne's birthday, mom went to China and walked the Great Wall, and mom and I went to Chicago to see the big O. Mikayla's Kahuku Water Polo team won the 2010 OIA Championship game. Now it's May I got through my first Laie Elem. May day, Kaden's 9th birthday, and Kindergarten Graduation. I'm now in the process of moving rooms to B-102, the leagacy of Mrs. S. Will live on through me as she retires. So June is approaching and then hopefully things will slow down so I can go back to blogging on time.

Mele Kalikimaka 2009

Christmas came in a flash this year! Before I knew it school was over, and the Christmas rush began. Less than a week to get ready, and it was here. We picked up mom from the airport on the 22nd and had Christmas at the Kloeppels in Hawaii Kai on the 23rd. Christmas eve was fun to be home and relax. We enjoyed the evening with Amie, Joshua, and Lavinia too. Then it was getting late the children went to bed and awaited, Santas arrival. The next morning we woke up and opened our presents. That afternoon we went to our first movie on Christmas Day, just John, and I the kids wanted to stay home and play they bonded with Grandma. John and I joined the Paytons and saw Sherlock Holmes. It was mighty crowded and a sold out show we barely got in luckily our seats were saved. The show was great and so was the company. On Saturday the 26th I got a virus, a stomach flu. So did Kahana and we were very uncomfortable for about a week till new years day. I can't believe how fast time went. Christmas, New Years, and then my Birthday. New years eve we got invited to the Paytons, watched movies, played games and waited till midnight to welcome the New Year 2010. The next day we celebrated my birthday since it was a saturday. We went to get our nails done, had lunch, and saw the movie Blindside again since mom didn't see it. I was happy to see that movie, very inspriational as a mother and teacher. That just got me quickly back in the mood to start school on Monday, the 4th of January. I can't believe how short our break was and that the older I get the faster, busier my life gets. Hopefully now things will slow down a little. Let's do it again in 2010!

Thanksgiving 2009: Physical and Spritual Feast

Thanksgiving of 2009 turned out to be an exciting event. On Wednesday, John went to Hawaii Kai to pick up his parents and I was at work participating at our school turkey trot. We came home and welcomed the Kloeppels into our home. That night I was fortunate to go to a movie with the ladies, it was really fun going by ourselves. Thursday, was Thanksgiving and I had a list of food dishes to get ready, and a plane to catch in the late afternoon. It came down to the wire but I managed to accomplish the meal and at 12:00pm we had a wonderful luncheon. Good food, good company, good everything. Get to the airport by 4:50pm and catch a plane to Kona, Hawai'i at 6:00pm. I was so excited I couldn't contain my excitment!
Prior to the planning of this trip, which had been a goal of mine since January 2009 as one of my resolutions, I encountered a lot of stumbling blocks along the way. From the La'ie Hawai'i temple being closed to waiting a year to do the work, and then getting it done without any family members present. It was an attempt I had to do for my dad by myself it couldn't wait, he needed to be with an eternal family. His parents needed him. I needed the comfort to know that he had a place and parents ready to greet him with open arms. All was possible with the help of my Heavenly Father, prayer, personal revelation, and friends ready to serve. The spirit was so strong at the temple and I know that everyone was pleased with me. It made me grateful to know that I was able to do this because I was obedient to the Lord's commandments and promptings of the spirit all my life. My grandparents waited 30 years for this blessing. Just comes to show that you should use the talents and gifts you are given to one day bless the lives of others waiting for you. I learned to act upon the promptings of the spirit, and to not give into temptation.
I returned home Friday night and was very grateful and able to now focus on taking care of my immediate family. My children were happy for me. They missed me while I was gone.

On Saturday I went to a funeral. A member of our community passed away. The funeral services and message was very uplifting and the message and music was just what I needed to hear. Basically those that are called early in life have a great work to do beyond the veil, and family members left behind should talk and share experiences about their loved one that left. It's all part of the healing process. So share your memories about your loved one and talk about times you remember when they were here with you on Earth. Also don't be afraid to approach others and tell them what you remembered about their family member.

That evening my husband and I were able to go on a date to see a movie. The movie was inspiring, uplifting, and taught me to that one person can make a huge difference in someones life. Now it's on to Christmas and remembering to LOVE our family, friends, and the world we live in. So that was my crazy, emotional, busy, whirlwind of a Thanksgiving break.

Hauoli Halloween

Halloween 2009 proved to have some scary changes. Not only was the crowd not there in Laie but the treats were different too. All signs of the economic times. We mangaged to keep one tradition alive and that was trick or treating with Auntie Amie, Joshua and Lavania. Prior to that evening we went to Kaden's soccer game and shopping with mom. No time to buy and carve a pumpking this year, or even pick one from the patch. However, all in all we made our own fun, with great company, food, and a movie. We look forward to next year and hope it will be filled with a little less change. Now it's on to Thanksgiving...

Our 1st Memorial: Remembering Our Dad/Papa

On Wednesday, October 28, 2009 our family remembered Dad/Papa. We served his favorite foods and we invited close friends and neighbors that helped us last year through this difficult time. We watched a video that was made at his funeral, and we shared stories. It was a start of a new year for us. We made it through all the first without our family patriarch. It was a roller coaster year and we just hope that we will have a better year ahead. We love our dad and papa and we will continue to prolong his legacy here in La'ie and in our family. Mahalo to all those who shared this night with us.

Enjoying La'ie's Festivities

It has been a busy and fun weekend. I didn't even have to leave La'ie to find thrills, excitment, and socialization. On Friday, we went to the 2nd Annual Haunted Lagoon which took place at our very on PCC in La'ie. It has opened since the beginning of October but took me this long to build up the courage to go. However, it helps when you have a good friend to go with. So we arrived early, and then waited in line. It was top notch entertainment with excitment, thrills, and chills. Then on Saturday, we went to the college to attend the Foodfest. The weather was perfect, tradewinds were back, and the company was awesome enjoying eating dinner outside. Who could have asked for a better weekend? I'm glad I was able to enjoy the festivities of La'ie without getting in a car to go to town.

A Relaxing Break

Well I've come to the end of my Fall Break with the kids. It was so nice sleeping in, making breakfast, and doing housework. Normally I wouldn't say that I enjoyed doing housework but when I work all day it's just piles up. When I stay home it gets done. So I was glad I had more control over the housework instead of it controlling me. It made me realize though how much time is taken away from the home. There are so many distractions now in this world that it puts added pressure put on me to be too many places at once. I must continue to have a balanced life, get organized, and most importantly say to myself you have to give this up today to do that. So back to work I go tomorrow and I look forward to doing the best I can do and appreciate the breaks that are to come such as Fridays I'm off, and Winter Break.

Fall Approaching

So the seasons are hard to feel temperature wise in Hawai'i. The temperature is pretty much the same all day. I can tell when Fall approaches due to the scheduled football games. Most convinently going to Kahuku High School football games. Not only is my 15 year old daughter interested in going to the games, but her mother is interested in going too and spending time watching her interact with her peers. I have been blessed with a wonderful friend who likes to go along with me to these games and we have children close to the same age. (Mahalo Amie!)We deffinitely have fun together and get some good laughs too.
Therefore because Amie has done such a good job being a weekly Kahuku High School sports reporter she has inspired me to write about going to see Football. Pictures will come next time. Mikayla, Kaden, and Kahana sure enjoy seeing the crowd, players and eating the grindz and the Kahuku Football Games. I sometimes feel like a celebrity when children I've taught both at Kahuku and Laie come together to take a moment to say "hi" to me.
Kahuku football if you live Laie, you gotta love it! Go Big Red! (I'm still a warrior though don't worry Kamehameha fans) I love you both! Imua!

A Summer of Change

Well our summer break is winding down and this has diffinitely been a summer of change. We all knew it had to come that life would not just be the same as past years but time crept up on us quickly. It was time for the Akana/Kloeppel families to accelerate themselves into high gear. On June 1 we rented our parents house to BYUH faculty, we were fortunate that dad built us a home with mom in mind. Mom got to move in with us and we have enjoyed every minute of it. She has done so much to help out with the children. Craig and his family were able to stay with us and they then ventured to St. George. It was difficult seeing them go but I'm very proud of them they were blessed with opportunities that they wouldn't have gotten if they stayed here. Our favorite friends and neighbors from Utah the Lloyds came to visit us. This was deffinitely the most memorable highlight of my summer. We just picked up where we left off and enjoyed spending time together. We got to relax with them and enjoyed Hawai'i. Going to Waimea Bay, Macky's Shrimp Truck, Celebrating Mikayla's 15th birthday and going to PCC to say the least... The time sure went by fast. We look forward to our next reunion together. I also taught preschool and got my skills tuned up so I'll be ready to teach Kindergarten this fall. Afterall that is my forte. Toward the end of the month of July I moved from 6th grade to Kindergarten, and am part of a new team which have embraced me as their colleauge. So far so good and Fall is yet approaching...getting ready for the Football games and Holidays. Yeah!

2009 Choir Trip to Washington D.C. and New York

Last week Sunday Me and my mom were able to go on tour with the Ko'olauloa Childrens Choir. We ha two different flights we were on the first flight with Mrs. Wagner. I had most of my friends on my flight I was so happy. We left at 12:00 pm from Mrs. Wagner's house to go to the airport. On the way there everyone was so tired they were sleeping in the back of the bus. We were so bored once we got to the airport, we all couldn't believe that we were going to Washington D.C. and New York. Once we got on the plane we were going from Hawaii to Chicago a nine hour flight I think. Then we basically had to run to our next plane because we almost missed it. It was a good thing that Mrs. Wagner made sure that everyone was on the next flight. That flight was only two hours long, thank goodness.

Right when we got off of the plane we went to go get breakfast at the mall near by the airport. We meet our tour guide Becky, she was so awesome and cool. Then after we went to the mall we went to the Smithsonian. We were able to see four out of eighteen museums. We went to the Air and Space, Hirsch Art Museum, National History, and National American history Museum. After we went to the Capital to have a tour we took some pictures next to King Kamehameha. We weren't able to finish our tour because of two reasons one was that we had to go sing to Senator Akaka and the other was that there was some kind of incident that had just happened in the tour. It was so cool because we got to go through the secret passage way to get to the Senators building. Our tour guide even walked us to the Senate building himself. We were able to meet,sing and take pictures with senetor Akaka and the acoustics in the building was amazing. We sounded so good. After we sang to Senator Akaka we went to our hotel. We were so tired we went to bed as soon as we got there.

On Tuesday for breakfast we sang to a southern Flordia choir. They probly had twice the amount of singers in there group then we did. They were also a all boys choir. We sang our Aloha Chant feeling all proud after we sang it and then they did a African song that made us look really bad. We all felt really stupid and wanted to leave as soon as we could because we were so embaressed. Then we were off to Pennsylvaina were we haven't embaressed ourselves yet. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, an old fashion ice cream and soda parlor, we clibmed up the "Rocky" stairs(where rocky was filmed), Benjaman Franklins grave, Betsy Ross`s house, an alley that has been there since the 1800,and other cool and neat places. Then we went to back to our hotel in New Jersey.

On Wednesday we went to go see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building. Then we went to this cool resterant called MARS 2112. Everyone who was working there was dressed up as aliens from Mars. It was so cool.

On Thursday we got to meet the other choirs who we were going to be singing with on Saturday. That was also the first day that we got to spend with our director. She was so fun and exciting. She made sure that we sang the music to our fullest. Then went to go sing at St. Pauls Chapel. For the rest of the day we had free time which was really nice.

On Friday we had rehearsal again in the morning. Then later on we went a braodway play. We went to go see as a choir The Lion King. It was so cool and amazing all the bright colors and all of the costumes. I loved it, I just wish that we could have seen another Broadway play while we were in New York.

On Saturday we had rehearsal our last rehearsal until we sang at Carnagie. When we went to Carnagie for another short practice we were all shocked we could not believe that there were 2,700 seats in there. We then went back to the hotel and got to go to bed I was so happy. Then before we knew it we were singing in Carnagie, we got a standing ovation, and a hana Hou. We were all very happy and excited. Once we got back to the room we were all screaming and hugging people we were all so proud of ourselves. Then we got to go on a Cruise and dance. Me and my friends were so tired after the concert that we just chilled on the seventh floor of the ship. I was planning on not going to sleep because the crusie finished at two and then we had to wake up to go and catch our flight at four.

On Sunday I was so happy to be home finally I was glad that we got to go to Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and everywhere else we went to. But man when we came home we were so tired that I just crashed.