The Gift of a Letter

"What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they can speak; they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of the heart; they have all the fire of our passions."

~ Letter from HELOISE TO ABELARD

Recipe: Orange Oomph Smoothie

1 cup orange juice
1 cup strawberies
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup pineapple sherbet
1/2 cup ice
Combine all ingredients in blender, blend and enjoy!

Note: This recipe is trademarked by Jamba Juice

My Latest Reads for December

On my way home from working out, the library was still open and since I had a few minutes to spare before I headed home I decided to stop and browse. After all, I didn't have the children. Might as well take advantage of the time that I have to myself!

Well, here are the books that I borrowed:

How to Organize Just About Everything- by Peter Walsh

Creating a Beautiful Home ~ from starting fresh to freshning up- inspiring ideas to help you turn your house into a warm welcoming home- by Alexandra Stoddard

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd

Jamba Juice Power- by Kirk Perron (founder of Jamba Juice)

On my quest to greater health, I am on another journey to trying to eat healthier, drink healthier and live healthier by taking care of my body through exercising and eating better. I feel soo much better when I take care of myself.

And I quote," Becoming more active is one of the most important things you can do to ensure better health, stave off future diseases, and boost your sex appeal. When you work out, brain chemicals, such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, are increased, which in turn can boost your mood! In fact, when those "feel good" chemicals are boosted through exercise your self-esteem may heighten. You may feel more pleasure. You may feel more alert. Exercise also helps combat the effects of stress and may help you sleep better"

~ Jamba Juice Power

This is soo true......And so reading is also a great way to relax and take time out for yourself. Try it! Visit your local library :o)

Other books that I am also going through presently, that I own ,are:

Gift of a Letter- by Alexandra Stoddard

Celebrate Simply~ your guide to simpler, more meaningful holidays and special occasions- by Nancy Twigg

A Tribute to My Man

I just thought today, that a really good post would be about my man, my best friend, my knight in shining armour, that would be my husband!

This week he is on vacation and I just have to say that I am soo glad that God has put us together. I really love having him home. He has been a great big help with making sure the boys are keeping up with their responsibilities, playing with them and also making sure to give his attention to the girls as well. I think Tori is getting attached to daddy, yeah!! I think it is soo adorable...when Ash is holding her, I'll go out to reach for her and she turns around only to hold on to her daddy. More freedom for me!

With the busyness lately, during this thanksgiving, I hadn't really gotten around to really reflect on what I'm really thankful for. I'm going to have to say that I'm really thankful for my husband. I really am spoiled with someone who really loves me. He is a wonderfull daddy, very hard worker, always seems to make me laugh even when I don't feel like it, and sure knows how to make a woman feel special and last but not least he is the best looking man I've ever seen!

I love you Ash!

Generosity

Recently I had a question for Crystal Paine, author of Biblical Womanhood, regarding generosity:

Hi Crystal,

First of all, I'd like to start by saying how much I enjoy visiting your blog and website! Thank you for being such a great example to us young women. I am a SAHM homeschooling mother of 5 children and I love my job! Anyhow, to the question... I am also a frequent visitor to Mrs. Wilt's blog and awhile back I was really impressed with the way you responded to one of her posts regarding a disagreement she had with another sister in Christ. You had quickly and thoughtfully responded to her by sending a box full of goodies and it wasn't just a small box, it was a big box FULL of goodies. What a way to lift someones spirits! It wasn't so much the goodies that impressed me as much as did your hospitality and generosity. I have also listened in on your interview with Cindy Rushton and you were praising your parents' generosity and spirit of giving and what an example they were of that. Wow! I like to give gifts to others whether through my time , a new 'something', for birthdays especially.... Jesus teaches us in His word to be generous and giving..my question is how do I give in abundance within a budget. Alot of times I find myself determining a gift depending on the cost even though I would have wanted to buy something nicer- and then the joy of giving is no longer present. How is it possible to be generous and at the same time be wise stewards with our resources? Thank you Crystal for your time. Have a wonderful day in the Lord!

In His Light ( all the way from Hawaii)

Heather Kanahele

And her response:

Thanks for your encouragement and a great question. I guess I don't have any pat answer for you but I often pray that the Lord would love through me and, as He gives me ideas to bless others, I try to follow through with them. Most of the items I give to others are things I have gotten free of charge or very inexpensively. For instance, most everything I sent to Mrs. Wilt were items I had on hand that I had in my gift shelf which I had gotten free of charge. I told her this in my note so she wouldn't feel like I had gone out and spent a whole bunch of money on her. :) I often give things away to others and tell them this so they don't feel in anyway obligated. I often give gifts which take my time, but don't necessarily cost me much. These are usually more meaningful. I'm also always on the lookout for very inexpensive items which would make great gift items, if I have extra money in my grocery budget or something, I'll pick it up and save it in my gift shelf when I need a gift for later.

Crystal Paine

Biblical Womanhood

http://www.BiblicalWomanhood.com

Winter Cleaning

I started reorganizing around the house today. It wasn't quite easy as my Tori would pull things out of containers as I neatly put things in. She's in that phase where everything comes out whether in cupboards or containers or bags. Even though I was getting frustrated, she was having fun!!

I'm trying to go through the children's room. They are responsible for cleaning it up and maintaining their things, but lately it has gotten out of hand. When they're asked to clean, I'll go in there and it looks wonderful, but later I'll find that they just 'cleaned' things under their bed, on the side of their bed, in their drawers...all stuffed away!! So, today I decided to go in there and take a shot at it, needless to say that I did not finish. I swept under their bunk bed ( yes, I managed to fit under there:o))What did I find under there?: a ton of Lego's, dried cheerios, lot's of dust, dirty clothes, clean clothes, towels, videos, termite droppings, hmmm, what else... Well, that is gladly accomplished.

The boys clothes were in a nice wooden amoire until one day I decided it had to be removed. Clothes were always hanging out of it, drawers practically falling off the tracks half the time and I would find them using the bottom drawers as stools to reach the top drawers. So, I came up with the clever idea of buying a container for each boy to keeptheir clothes in, that way they can just shove all their clothes in the container and put the cover on it. Did that work? Of course not. Clothes are still left on the ground. Will I ever find a solution? I'm not so sure.. I think that it's just a part of living with boys. All I can do is keep on trying and hope that one day they will get it. Today I made sure there were'nt any surprises in their containers and got rid of the clothes they don't wear or are stoo small.

So, after all this....I ended up with going through the container with our videos in it that sits up on the shelf with the containers of their clothes. By now you can see that containers are popular around here. I love them, you know the kind you can buy fromWalmart for $5. They are perfect for putting your belongings in. I especially like the ones that you can't see through. I just label them according to whats in them. That way, everything is neatly tucked away and out of my sight. I can forget about how much stuff I like to hold on to! Tomorrow I'll try again-to finish the job.

To be continued.....

The Cold Bug

My two little girls have caught the cold bug....

Little Tori started with the runny nose and watery eyes accompanied with a fever and now Olivia has the cold, but instead started with a fever and tired, watery eyes and now has a yucky cough. It makes me nervous when one of them get sick cause then I worry about the rest of them catching it. This past summer, the flu went through our home. That was not fun! It went from one child to the next in a period of 4 weeks. It was a bad one, even daddy got it.

Here are some tips on how to nurture your loved ones back to health:

* Make sure they get lot's of fluids- water is best! (sometimes with so much to do, I forget to encourage my children to drink lot's of water when they're not sick)

* Keep the errands for another day and keep them in bed- lot's of rest is best!

* Keep them comfortable- showered and in fresh linen on their beds, fresh pair of jammies

* Disinfect traffic spots like door knobs, light switches, toilets and sinks by wiping them down daily

* Try to encourage paper towel drying when drying their hands so germs don't transfer from wet damp towels

* Give them their regular dose of vitamins and extra something like vitamin c or elderberry etc.

* Lot's of love and maybe a book or two or three or four....and read to them in bed:o)

* If they have a fever try suppositories instead of children's Tylenol (I swear by these because at times when I give my children oral meds when they are sick, they end up throwing it up) I try to let the fever ride for a little while to see if it will break on it's own because the fever is our bodies way of killing the bacteria or virus, if the fever does not subside then I resort to the meds....just a thought.

* And most of all, mommy's prayer, that they'll get better soon

Christmas Already?

I could barely believe my eyes on Friday when I entered the Walmart parking lot to see Christmas trees for sale! It seems the years go by faster and faster.
The weather here in Hawaii is always quite the same staying within the temperatures of low sixties during the night hours, and daily, the average temperature is in the mid eighties with some humidity. With no really apparent weather change at times it seems as if there is no season change. When you think of Christmas don't you think of cold weather, snow, hot cocoa, sweaters and cozy pajamas? Not here... Nevertheless, it is still 'Christmas Time'.
Over the past few years our family has veered away from the whole christmas tree and a whole lot of presents' under the tree thing and we chose to focus on the true meaning of Christmas which is celebrating the birth of Jesus. We've purchased a 'soft' nativity to display (I've tried porcelain, but only lasted a few days with house full of children!) We've celebrated advent in years past by making a Jesse Tree with scripture reading that coincide with the story of Jesus' birth. The children enjoy our traditions and they have left wonderful memories on the heart of our children. This year for the joy of it I think we will add a pretty christmas tree to our celebration. I always look forward to this time of year!

Busy Again!

I know that I haven't been consistent at posting regularly, but I have a good excuse....

We here at the Kanahele Household have been very busy lately with our business.

What kind of business, you might ask? Well, my husband creates beautiful Hawaiian heirloom jewelry and we just participated in a Christmas craft fair. Our very first craft fair that is, and it was a BIG one! The 20th annual Egstravaganza Christmas fair that they hold the week before thanksgiving here in Hilo.

My husband and I had lots of preparation to do as far as completing our sample line, prices, tweaking our presentation as it would look like at our booth, and much more. Not to mention having our five busy children in our schedule, daily. We didn't get much school done in the books, but there was much more to learn in other things like helping and watching out for one another and holding up the home while mom and dad were busy. I thank God for my ten year old. He was an awesome help! He may have not spent much time learning book stuff this week, but he learned responsibility and how to be a servant even when he didn't feel like it. I think he will be a wonderful husband one day.

Anyhow, I know this is loooong, but you might be thinking how the craft fair went... It was really fun! We walked away with many laughs and memories of nervousness and many learned things. Not very many sales, but wonderful exposure. Now a little more people know about us and were happy to find out about us. Our family looks forward to many more wonderful experiences and the blessings of selling our art whether it be at a craft fair, through word of mouth or possibly one day opening up our own store front!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble! Gobble!

On our menu:

Turkey-of course

gravy

stuffing

brown rice

mashed potaoes

fresh cranberry sauce

candied yams

green bean casserole

homemade rolls

corn on the cob

ambrosia fruit salad

and for dessert, a pumpkin crunch w/ cool whip

Okay, now what was on your menu?

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Blessings Every Day: NOVEMEBR 1

When my daughter Olivia celebrated her first birthday she was given a really cute children's devotional book that goes through the whole year; a really simple book with just the cutest illustrations. I totally adore the book. I try to read it to the girls every morning when we're still lying in bed. And at times on my own, when I need to hear a simple word from the Lord, I'll turn to the appropriate page for the day and every single time it's just what I needed to hear.... so I thought I'd share todays devotion. Be blessed!

The Power to Please

For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13
When you think about obeying God, you might feel like there are just too many rules. Maybe you think you can't possibly be as good as God wants you to be. But God doesn't expect you to be good and obedient all by yourself. First God puts deep in your heart a strong desire to do what pleases Him. And then He gives you all the power you need to love and obey Him. With His great help, you can't lose!

God is working deep within me, Giving me all the power I need!

By the way the author is: Carla Barnhill

New Months Resolutions

The first of the month is always one of my favorite days because what I tried to do and didn't quite get done in the month before, well I see it as a chance to start fresh and try again. Maybe perhaps I'll reach my goals....like trying to sew my little girl a dress, or reading that book, or starting that garden, or doing school everyday! There are soo many things that I want to accomplish. Today is the day that I will try all over again. Ready?get set, go!