Not Again...

Another year goes by that we don't complete the advent season readings....

I always start the christmas season where I tell myself that we won't miss a night- (We do our advent readings before we go to bed- as posted in previous posts).

Oh well, we'll try again and I'm sorry for not keeping up the advent posts.

We did have a joy filled christmas day and that's what counts. My dad and my little brother are here to visit with us. They'll be staying for another week.

We plan to enjoy their company and keep busy in the yard jumping on the trampoline, playing football, playing in the water hose and whatever else the kids can come up with.

Anyhow, hope you all had a wonderful christmas spending time with loved ones!

Blessings!

Christmas Preparations

We have been a little busy here at the Kanahele Household. This is what we have been doing: By the way, originally, we did not have a tree, but to my surprise, the boys came in two days ago from their play with this tree. Before I could say anything, it was strung in lights. They cut it down from the property behind our house. This is what went on.....

Mom: "Where did you get that tree?"

Boys: "In the bushes."

Mom: "What bushes, you didn't take it from the property behind us?... Those are their plants."

Boys: "Mom, it's nature. We really wanted a christmas tree and you gotta do what you gotta do.

They tell me about their adventure; cutting it down with a saw in the meantime pausing when cars would go by and sawing again, running it home with the tree on all three of their heads and freezing when someone looked their way. I sat them down to talk to them about taking other peoples plants not to mention that there are many growing on the rim of the property, never the less the plant does not belong to us, but it now stands in our living room.

I do have to admit...it's really pretty.

Finished chocolate chip cookies ready to be packaged

Cookies are packaged now! These are red paper bags that I used. This year my wrapping theme is red paper with jute twine. I made the labels on the computer with the photo we used for our christmas card. It says "Merry Christmas, Love the Kanaheles"

Almost completed goodies. This year I have decided that I was going to bake cookies for neighbors and because I had a few ripe bananas I ended up baking a few loaves of banana bread. In the background, you see containers of colored pasta that the kids and I colored as gifts for their friends. They are non edible and for art. The container that you see pink stuff in is homemade playdough. We made three colors: pink, blue, and yellow.

Below: The labels that I made on the computer are now on! They say 'Oodles o' noodles.'

Day 19:

The Exile

Scriptures

Daniel 3:19-29; Jeremiah 1:8

Symbol

Fiery Furnace

Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

I don't know if any of you can relate, but anxiousness has been reigning in my heart lately. I guess with Christmas right around the corner, I've been worrying about many things. Creating the perfect atmosphere, wondering what meaningful things we can do or get or make for our neighbors and friends, finding just the perfect gift for loved ones, spending extra money that we really don't have to spend....these are amongst some of my worries. I did it again...I let the cares of this world get in the way of my relationship with Jesus. It's just soo backwards. Here I am to celebrate my saviours birth, yet I am getting distracted. I am weak, but I know when I am weak, He is strong. It's a good thing that we serve such a loving and forgiving God. He is truly a God of second chances. Thank You Jesus for coming as a savior to the lost. For I once was lost, but now I am found!

Day 18:

Prophecy of the New Covenant

Scriptures

Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Hebrews 9:13-15; Acts 16:31

Symbol

A heart

Day 17:

Prophecy of the Suffering Servant

Scriptures

Isaiah 53; John10:14-15

Symbol

A cross

Day 16:

Prophecy of a Gentle Shepherd

Scriptures

Isaiah 40:11; Psalm 23:1-2; John10:27

Symbol

A shepherds crook and a lamb

Day 15:

Prophecy of the Prince of Peace

Scriptures

Isaiah 9:6-7; John 14:27

Symbol

A dove and a crown

We did it!

Kanahele's and Rosario's in the making of Gingerbread Houses out of graham crackers

Olivia and her beautiful house.....when she was finished, she said, "we did it!"

Seth, he got creative with his roof as you can see

Countdown to Christmas

Things that I want to get done within the next few days in preparation for christmas:

* send out our christmas cards-today!

* buy or make a few gifts for those special people in our lives

* wrap and send out those gifts I buy or make

* bake cookies with the children for neighbors and friends

* make gingerbread houses (our yearly tradition, the kids love to do this)

* prepare my home for my dads arrival on the 22nd

* Don't forget to have fun doing everything

Advent: Day 14

Prophecy of the Lion and the Lamb Resting Together

Scriptures

Isaiah 11:6-10

Symbol

Lion and lamb together

Count Your Blessings

God blesses us in ways that we'd never expect.

A dear lady from church called yesterday to say that she would be by in an hour. Well, she came and handed me a christmas card saying "It's just a little something, Merry Christmas!", visited for a few minutes and left.

As she was driving off the boys were anxious to open it, so we did and to our surprise there was a $50. gift certificate to one of the local grocery stores here in Hilo.

I just want to praise God for his constant provision and also thank this special lady.

In the card she writes:

"When I first started to attend New Hope Hamakua you welcomed me with your warm hearts. I can't forget that wonderful feeling.

I want you to know how much I love you guys and to let you know you are such a warm, humble, compassionate, loving family. God Bless you all...."

Wow! What an encouraging and loving letter!

During my devotions this morning I came across this scripture:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.

Romans 10:23-25

Thank You Jesus!

Nativity

We ended up not getting a christmas tree, but here is our nativity. I bought it from Walmart last Christmas. As you can see it is a 'soft' one, perfect for little hands. Prior to this one I had bought a porcelain nativity......bad choice. It did not last but a few days in our house. Whether or not it was high up, due to the childrens curiosity they found a way to play with it. Who wouldn't want to? I don't blame them. Now they can touch as much as they want.

Day 13:

Prophecy of the Shoot from the Stump of Jesse

Scriptures

Isaiah 11:1-5; John 1:14

Symbol

A tree stump with greenery growing out of it

Day 12

Josiah Finds the Law

Scriptures

2 Kings 22:11-13; 23:1-3; Psalm 119:105

Symbol

A parchment

Day 11

King David

Scriptures

1 Samuel 17:1-9; 32-50; Psalm 23:1

Symbol

Sling shot

Day 10

Ruth and Boaz

Scriptures

Ruth 1:14-18; 2:4-18; 4:13-16

Symbol

Wheat

ADVENT READINGS: continued

Day 9:

Canaan, the Promised Land of Blessings

Scriptures

Numbers 13:1-2; 17-23; Psalm 103:2

Symbol

A cluster of Grapes

ADVENT READINGS: Late

Day 8:

Moses and the Ten Commandments

Scriptures

Exodous 20:1-20; 32:15-16; Psalm 119:11

Symbol

Ten Commandments

ADVENT

We here in the Kanahele Household were behind on our Advent readings. That also makes for being behind on the Advent postings here on my blog. I'm sorry for those who have been looking for the updated postings.

Anyhow, I will be posting only the scriptures and symbols as of tomorrow. To run a normal household, homeschool, be an attentive wife there is no way for Heather to keep up with her blog as much as she wants to, but she will try to keep up as much as possible without forsaking her responsibilities..that includes getting some sleep :o) LOL!

Olivia's Turtle

Yes, it's Olivia's turtle now, not daddy's. It once was daddy's sitting upon his dashboard in his van....not anymore.

It all started over the weekend when Olivia took daddy's turtle "friend" out of his van and brought it into the house. First, Victoria thought it was real. (No, it's not real) She was not very fond of it. And now this is where we found it today, in a cereal bowl, sitting in water. Apparently, Olivia thought it was hungry because the turtle was found munching on a piece of carrot. ( I didn't even know Olivia knew turtles eat carrots) Maybe all those zoo visits!

Thrifty Finds

Okay, I like to go to Salvation Army here in Hilo and look for treasures. Sometimes I'm lucky and sometimes I'm not. I especially like to look for vintage treasures. Olivia is also in need of some clothes and earlier today we were at Macy's, but I can't stand the idea of spending more than $5 on a shirt for a 3 year old...so, I thought I'd wait til we get to Salvation Army. So, we headed off to old faithful and here are some of the treasures I found:

A cup and a saucer x2 (one for Olivia and one for Victoria) A little pricey, I thought - $5.75, but I guess it's because they're Bavaria china

A very pretty plate ($2.)

And a very pretty bowl ($2.)

And for Olivia:

* a pair of really cute old navy jeans

* a white eyelet tank from old navy

* GAP kids pink linene skirt w/ eyelet trim, size 6 ( but worth saving for her even though she doesn't fit it now)

* a pair of really cute lavendar oshkosh shorts w/ a velco front closure

* old navy kahki colored corduroy shorts

All sooo cute! And Olivia was happy too! Instead of buying a shirt for $5 or more, I got all these clothes for $5.!!

That's not it....Thanks to Eva, she has inspired me to be earth friendly and I am making a real big effort to be conservative with our resources...one thing that I'm aiming for is to use reusable grocery bags. I already have a few muslin bags at home that the kids and I use for library books, but I thought that they would also be perfect for groceries! So, I had a great idea and thought that everytime I go to Salvation Army, I'd look for more. And guess what?! I found two today...Hooray! What a wonderful day shopping at "Old Faithful"!

Baby Genius

The Latest in "The Kanahele Homeschool":

Whenever it's time to do our studies, I'm one on one with one of the boys and Victoria assumes it's time for her work to be done also. Somehow, she'll find a pen and get herself a book and she's on her way to doing her "works" as Olivia would call it.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Our Afternoon at Honoli'i

Our work for the day was done, now it was time for the long waited afternoon in the fresh air. Aaaah! The joys of life.....

Seth, Olivia and Luke

Shaka!

Victoria and Olivia hanging out on the rocks, trying to look for the turtles

Cody going out to the waves once again

Friends don't let friends drive thru.

-Jambaism no. 7

(excerpt from Jamba Juice Power)

How's that for the quote of the day?!

Teaching Seth How to Read

Mom: "Okay, Seth here is your word card for today." I hand it to him. He takes it from me and I say the word for him as he is looking at it.

"This says God. You see the sound in the middle?" ( We've just got through reviewing the short vowel sounds) "O"

Seth: Being very attentive, " I know that, O-O-O "

Mom: Pointing to the card once again, "What does this say?"

Seth: "God"

Mom: Taking out his reading primer, "Okay, here is your reading for today (opening up the page to the first story with a picture of the creation), can you read this to me?"

Seth: "This is my reading book? Wow! "

Mom: "Yes, this is your book,what does your story say today?"

Seth: "G-o-o-od." (with a short o sound)

Mom: "Good job! You read a story all by yourself!"

Seth: "I'm done?"

Mom: "Yes, okay now let's do some handwriting."(taking out his handwriting tablet) Seth, I'm going to write God for you and I want you to copy it four times."

Seth: "I can write, I can write it (taking the book away from me) He writes God suprisingly without my help four times...spelling it correctly.

Mom:"Wonderful, you can spell!"

Pointing to the word I ask him "what did you just write?"

Seth: "Jesus"

Mom: " No,(pointing to the word again) "What does this say?"

Seth: "Jesus"

(Mom, a little confused...didn't he know it up to now?)

Mom: " Seth, this says, God"

Seth: "oh" (real calmly)

Mom: " Okay you did good, we're done with your reading. Put your books away"

I just walked away, thinking that was so cute. Now, with everything that he writes and draws, he is writing God...the joys of teaching your own how to read!

I taught my two older boys how to read using How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. They learned how to read in just 20 minutes a day and not even finishing the book. My youngest son, Seth, is a different learner. He needs alot of review and enjoys doing workbooks to reinforce what he's learning. So, I decided to order the Rod and Staff full reading program for first grade. So far I like it for the most part, but there is aloot for the first grader to do (lot's of fillers) I'm still a little confused on the reading vs. phonics part of the program. It teaches reading by sight in the "reading" part of the program and phonics (sounding out) in the "phonics" part. I'm not too sure if I should teach both and spend looots of time doing both and possibly getting confused about where we are or just do away with one part of the program and just do the phonics part. I do like both parts, therefore I don't want to do way with any of them, maybe as I continue to chug along with the program I'll get a better feel with what I should do.....

ADVENT: Day 7

Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

Scriptures

Genesis 37:3-36; 50:18-21; Romans 8:28

Special Verse

"And now we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." Romans 8:28

Questions

* What happened to Jacob's family when he loved one son more than the others?

* How did Joseph's brothers feel about him? Why? What did they do?

* What did Joseph know about God and His plan that helped him to forgive his brothers?

* Have you forgiven someone who hurt you?

* Sing together "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You have the whole world and every person in Your hnads. You planned the coming of Your Son to save us, and You are watching over us as we live each day. Please help us to trust You when things don't work out the way we want them to. Take away any worry or jealousy or hate we have in our hearts today. Thank You for forgiving us over and over again. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree

A many-colored coat

ADVENT: Day 6

Jacob's Ladder

Scriptures

Genesis 28: 10-17

Special Verse "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go." Genesis 28:15

Questions

* What was Jacob's pillow for the night?

* What did Jacob see in his dream?

* What did God promise Jacob?

* Why did Jacob call the place of his dream an "awesome" place?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You that You never sleep but always stay awake watching us and protecting us. Help us to remember that You can see us anywhere we go. You watched over Jacob sleeping on his stone and the baby Jesus sleeping in Bethlehem, and You watch over us whether we're asleep or awake. Thank You, God, for being our faithful friend. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree

A Ladder

ADVENT: Day 5

Issac and the Lamb

Scriptures

Genesis 22:1-13; John 1:29

Special Verse

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Questions

* What very hard thing did God tell Abraham to do?

* What does it mean "to make a sacrifice"?

* Tell one hard thing God has asked you to do.

* Who is the sacrifice for your sins?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for obeying Your Father and doing this very hard thing for me. Thank You, God, for giving Your only Son. Please help me to obey You when You ask me to do a hard thing. We love You, Lamb of God, who takes away our sins. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree

A lamb

ADVENT: Day 4

The Call to Abram

Scriptures

Genesis 12: 1-7

Special Verse

" And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:3

Questions

* Why did Abram leave his home?

* What were God's promises to Abram?

* How did Abram respond to God's commands and promises?

Prayer

Dear Lord, give us faith like Abraham had. Help us to obey your commands, whether they seem hard or easy. Let us follow your Son, Jesus, who was completely obedient to you. Thank You for already giving us the perfect blessing in the long-promised Jesus. Show us ways to bless others. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Advent Tree

A tent

ADVENT: Day 3

Inside the Ark

Scriptures

Genesis 6:5-8; 7:17-23; Romans 6:23

Special Verse

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6 :23

Questions

* Why did God send the flood?

* Was anyone saved besides those on the ark?

* What does everyone deserve?

* What is God's gift?

Prayer

Lord, You are faithful to your promises. You love us so much that You offer eternal life to us as a free gift throught the greatest gift, Christ Jesus, our Lord. Help us remember your precious gift during this Christmas season. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree

Noah's ark, or rainbow

ADVENT: Day 2 (Late)

The First Sin

Scriptures

Genesis 3:1-10, 23; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 5:8

Special Verse

"We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." Isaiah 53:6

Questions

* Did Adam and Eve obey God? Why not?

* What is sin?

* Are you sinful? How do you know?

* How did God show His love in spite of our sin?

Prayer

Holy God, we sin against you everyday. Please forgive us through Your Son, Jesus, who came to earth to die for us. Help us obey and follow You. Help us to forgive others as You forgive us. Thank You for forgiving us and washing us clean. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree

Apple and Snake

1st Day of Advent

Today would mark the first day of advent. Advent is the time or days leading up to the very day we celebrate Christmas as Christ's birth. Each year our family makes a real effort to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It is soo easy to get distracted and busy ourselves at this time of the year when we start getting anxious about buying or making the perfect gift for everyone and trying to live up to our expectations of what our homes should look like with all the decorations.

One tradition that we like to to instill is incorporating the 'Jesse Advent Tree' activity into each day leading up to December 25. In the bible Isaiah prophesies the birth of Jesus, our Messiah..."A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1 And again Isaiah says," The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him." Romans 15:12
There are many variations to this activity and this year I chose to cut out a big tree so there are enough branches to fit the symbols we will be taping to the tree. I will glue the tree to a bigger piece of paper as a background and each night after dinner the children will take turns reading the scripture and taping the corresponding symbol to a branch, such as a rainbow or the coat of many colors (that I will have drawn in advance for them),for that day. I will post a picture of our creation in a few day's!

If you would like to join us, or would like to make your own variation of the Jesse Tree, feel free to follow the scripture's and symbols that I will be posting for each day.

DAY 1: December 1st:

Scriptures

Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1-5

Special Verse

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:1

Questions

* What did God create? (Name some things God created.)

* Who was with God in the beginning?

* Who is the light of men and our light? (Talk about traditions and decorations that symbolize God's creations and Jesus, our light.)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are so great and good. You made the world and everything around us. Thank You for showering Your love to us in creation and in Jesus, our perfect light! As we see Christmas lights this season, may we be reminded of the true and perfect light which lit up the world that first Christmas. Amen.

Symbol for Jesse Tree Ornament

Rising sun on horizon with rays of light

Is it that time?

My husband is nearing the end of his vacation. I always get sad at about this time. I may be over reacting, but I really do love my husbands company. I guess, he spoils me and it's a nice break from having to do everything on my own.

We really didn't do anything special like go to the beach or go on a camping trip, but like Ash was saying, one of the best things he likes to do is just to hang out at home witht the family. Normally, I tend to want to go, go, go, and he wants to do nothing but stay at home. (He's a Fed Ex courier, so he's always on the go) So, I don't blame him. But this week was really special; hanging out at home.

We didn't go shopping only to find ourselves having to say "no" to the children about buying this and that or finding ourselves running after the babies. We didn't go anywhere out to eat, all homemade meals, so we stayed within our budget not having to fork out any money that we don't have to spend anyway.

Instead, we layed around, read books, sang songs together, played the guitar and ukulele's, cleaned the yard togehther, daddy is now the "new" barber (he did an awesome job at cutting Luke's hair yesterday, better job than I do), played on the computer, watched videos that we rented at the library ( we now know lots about the ancient civilizations), played leggo's, and not to mention, wrote on the blog. Everybody was happy! It was GOOD!