Sunday, March 30, 2008

A Crazy Polynesian Week

Saturday night we were in charge of the neighborhood dinner group and sat on dad's 30 year old Samoan mats. It took me more than 2 hours but I found some really fun music online that I like. This man's name was Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and I have fallen in love with his songs. He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993 with his medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", which was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and commercials.
Kamakawiwoʻole was nicknamed "The Gentle Giant" by his admirers. He was described as always cheerful and positive, and he was best known for his love of the land and of the people of Hawaiʻi.



I been thinking a lot about Jesus Christ. I am always amazed at how through the Atonement that people can change, bad men can become good, desires appetites and passions can change. It takes a long time----but Jesus Christ is powerful and he suffered for all those problems. If I didn’t believe it, I couldn’t do counseling. There are some pretty grim people out there. I had a man stand up in session this week and say, “I’ve had it, I hate this marriage, I’m done.” Then he left. The sad thing was, I don’t blame him. I just wish they would have come to me 5 years earlier so I could help them before it got that bad. I know the Lord could help them and fix them if they would just be humble and teachable. And, give the Lord time to work miracles. I also had a client get really mad assault someone in the waiting room. We had our bothers from the police dept at LDS social services. It was an exciting day.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter with the Nurses


Mark is in Utah and I am SOOOOO jealous he gets to be with the kids and grandkids at Easter. But, I had to teach a thursday night class at CCD and a Sat class at CCA so I couldn't go.

For Easter Dinner, I picked up Nagham my Lebanese daughter and her friend Two from Thailand and we went to church at the singles ward. Then Mam and Wasana and their partners came over for dinner. It was really fun. Two says she wants me to adopt her as well. They are always so greatful. Both the guys who came are certified divers and were telling me about the great diving in Thailand. These Thai women had never colored eggs or had easter.
Mam's husband was taking pictures a mile a minute. Everyone helpe with getting the food to the table. Nagham always makes me feel so good- she compliments my jewelry, and my new easter dress. I feel good about trying to give them a cultural experience, I feel even better that they kept me company on what could have been a very lonely holiday.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Cozumel!






This is the dark green Volkswagen bug we rented to drive around the island and see the beautiful beaches and big waves. We ate at a restaurant called mr. chili's where they had mr. chili doing dances on the wall with interesting stems. mr. chili's was too hot for Mark and he used all out paper napkins to try to wipe off his tongue.

I'm scuba certified! Cozumel cont.






So I've been worried about our trip to Cozumel for some time. It was a gift to Mark so he could scuba, scuba and more scuba, but after I said I'd go, and wondered if I should try to scuba, I had a nightmare about not being able to breathe under water though my regulator and about being eaten by a shark. So the first day there, all I did was snorkel and read my book at the beach.
Mark had two fantastic dives, and I decided to be brave and talked the Scuba company into letting me finish up my PADI certification. This is my trainer Santos. He is a Mayan and is really good at finding the best sights in the ocean. On our open water dive I saw a huge nurse shark and Santos had me 2 feet away from the cave of this large, large beast. (nurse sharks will bat you with their tails but not bite.......usually) The water was crystal clear and the coral was teaming with life. We saw some amazing fish and some langosta (big lobsters) chasing each other trying to mate.

Monday, March 03, 2008

My Birthday!


Hey, It's not so bad to be 52 when you are happy. Everyone of my kids called or wrote and wished my happy b-day! Mark took me to lunch on 3/1 and it was 72 degrees. We sat outside and there was an incredible view of the snow capped mountains. He bought me this new wedding ring and a new lap top. Pretty good haul huh? I love being a grandma, a wife,a psychology professor and mostly, a therapist. I have such a full life.