Getting Ready for Christmas

Merry Christmas!!! Isn't he cute! I thought I would start with this pic of Jarod with his photogenic self. Our card this year is a photo card and we were trying to get some good pictures of the kids. So these two (this one and the one below) are some that hit the cutting room floor.
I love the fact that the both really fit their Christmas outfits that Mom and Dad brought with them to NC two years ago. Thank you very much, Grandma Ella and Grandpa David for the gorgeous island Christmas clothes. They get such great comments on them when they wear them out and about (say "out and about" like a Canadian "oot and aboot"). We wish that we could all be together for another Christmas. Next we have Dianna doing her best Vana White impersonation. She is B-E-A-utiful. The LORD has blessed us with some sweet and cute children. Dianna wore her ofu to school last Friday for Christmas pictures. Pretty!!

Next, we have a picture of the two munchkins posing in front of the Tupua Christmas tree. We have gone with a silver and black theme with our tree this year. We have some Disney ornaments on the tree as well, of course. They are too cute. I just love them.

Here is our Nativity Scene that sits in our entry way from the front door. The shelf that is sits on faces the living room. We love this set because it is different from any other we have seen. The design and lines are smooth and sleek. Also, if you click on the picture you may see there is writing on each of people figures. They have the different names for Christ. The whole set is being framed by Disney snowglobes with pictures of the children.

This video is a praise. Do you remember that video of Jarod starting to ride his bike on his own? Well, this video was taken on Thanksgiving Day. Praise the LORD for HIS goodness and HIS blessings - big and small.


We love you all so much and cannot wait to see you all again. We are looking forward to getting to Arkansas for Christmas. We are very excited for Grandma Ella and Grandpa David to see their two other grandbabies and show them off to island. In case I don't see you, "Good afternoon, good evening, and good night." Love you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from our cute little indian.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! We are so blessed and thankful for our wonderful and beautiful family. The LORD is so good to all of us and has given us so much to be thankful and grateful for. Praise the LORD for this country of ours that, for all of its problems, is the greatest country on the planet. Thank you LORD for the freedoms we enjoy and are able to share with our families. We are so privileged to have our family visiting from Palatka. Mom and Dad Bailey and Grandma Gregory arrived safely yesterday afternoon and will be with us until tomorrow sometime. It is a short visit but we will enjoy every minute of it. We hope you all have a safe Thanksgiving and know that we love you all and miss you. We wish we could all be together.
Mommy and Dianna taking a break from Thanksgiving preparations to be cute.

A Christmas photo opportunity! Too cute.
An "island" Christmas picture in the Panhandle. Love You!

New Accomplishments, Memories, Bragging, and....Hurricanes?!?

Dianna just received a gold ribbon for completing another section in her Master Clubs book. She is blessed with such a brilliant mind (just like her mom). You can see her vest has more patches on it than it did the first time we tok a piture of her in it. the ribbon is not meant to be worn on the vest, but she wanted to have it on for the picture; also, there is one more badge that is not shown-it will go on her left side just under the blue badge. She is now learning her eighth verse for this year in club. Praise the LORD for her diligence. This picture was taken last year at Disney. I just love it how they take of care of each other. Jarod had just fallen or hit his head on the dining room table or something of that boyish nature, but Dianna took him and laid him down and was rubbing his head while they watched the Disney Channel. So cute. I just love them so much.

This was taken this afternoon after supper. The children are enjoying some lollipops while watching a Veggie Tales cartoon. I enjoyed seeing them relaxing together on the couch in their spots. The spots were assigned in order to maintain some semblence of order; so Jarod sits on the far end, Ayden in the middle, and Dianna in the foreground. Dianna claimed her spot just as soon as we moved into the house, and it turns out to be the best spot in the living room to watch tv from. I love this picture because Dianna is snapping. She asked her Mama how to snap, and Barbie told her how to hold her fingers and what to do. That was last week. She kept at it everyday and now she snaps her fingers. Incredible. Willing to put in the time and the effort to accomplish her goal. Her snap is not a loud one, but definitely there to be heard. What a girl!

I love this last picture for two reasons. First: Dianna is snapping again. Great. And Second: Jarod just looks awsome showing off is physique. You can see his abs and his stomach tapering off to his waist; all whilst hoisting the tub of toys above his head. I absolutely love these kids.

Well, that is all for now. "Oh. Pardon me, I just have one more thing to say." (That was a little Peter Faulk for you - Princess Bride or Columbo, either one.) We are currently under a hurricane warning or watch (I am not sure which). The hurricane (Ida) has since been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still expected to make landfall somewhere around midnight tonight, so really Nov. 10. We are in the center of the projected cone, but it could go either east or west. Please keep us in prayer. I am not expecting much other than a lot of rain and some wind. The Academy is closed until Thursday. So Barbie and the children will be home tomorrow and Wednesday. We will keep you all posted as the weather comes and goes. I or Barbie will post tomorrow. We will open Skype up tomorrow if anyone wants a live weather report from the panhandle. In case I don't see you, "Good morning,good afternoon, good evening, and good night." Alofa tele.

Hello, there. I know it has been a little bit since last we posted, but we are all well again. We have all been sick off and on, but praise the LORD for HIS goodness and HIS healing hand. We have had a great week. The children have been learning so much at school and we are so proud of them. We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. This week, Barbie and the children have Veteran's Day off; that will be a good break to rest and for Barbie to get some school work done. I was looking at some pictures on the computer and found some pictures from a vacation two summers ago. These first two pictures are from that Disney trip (what a great time we had, but I like seeing how much the kids have changed). The picture with Donald was taken at EPCOT in the World Showcase, and the next one was taken at Disney's Studios.

This next pisctur is of Dianna earlier this year just relaxing in the kitchen. She is just so cute. I love her so much. You can see my beautiful wife in the background.
This next picture is from just a couple of weeks ago. The singles were doing a scavenger hunt, and our house was the last stop. The teams had to do either a round of Ring around the Rosie or Duck, Duck, Goose or a combination of both. The children had a fantastic time playing with the singles from the church.

The following picture was taken between the hour of 10pm and 11pm on the night of the seventh of November. He was playing out of his room and just fell asleep in the hallway. He is so cute. He goes 90 miles an hour right up until the moment he falls asleep.
We will talk to you all later. Have a great week. We love you all so very much.