Keaolani's First Day of School

Today was one of those days that I will never forget - Keaolani's first day of school!

She was excited, I was nervous, and her dad didn't want to face it (her growing up, that is).  Actually we were all excited for this day!  After uniform and school supply shopping, the only thing left was to actually go to school!

Mind you, this was not only Kaykay's first day of school - so was mine.  I prepped days in advance in her meal planning and schedule.  Prepped both her lunch, snacks, and drinks the night before and ironed out her uniform and laid out everything she needed for school, including her back pack.  I set the alarm at 5:30 am and fought to go to sleep.  She had no problem sleeping as she fell asleep soon after dinner.

Woke up today and as I was getting ready, I hear a sweet voicing coming from her room, "Good morning! It's my first day of school!" Surprisingly enough getting all 3 of us ready was uneventful and fairly easy - praying this will be the case every morning!

Kk getting ready for school

 We got to school with several minutes to spare; so while waiting for everyone to arrive, Kk had some time to play around the playground.  When were first greeted by her teacher Mr. Morton, who we hear is one of the the best teachers.  Keaolani ran up to her and greeted her Hawaiian style - with a hug and a kiss.  She then received her temporary ID badge (shown around her neck below.)

In her cute uniform with her temp school ID

I'm glad I got a chance to take a picture of her coming down the slide because I was told by her dad, who teaches at the secondary school (building right next to Kaykay's building), that sliding down the slide was her favorite.  During lunch time, he sneaked a peek while her class had a break and saw her countless times going down the slide.

Her most favorite school activity, for the moment!

I did have a harder time focusing at work bec I often thought about her and wondered if she was doing okay.  I wasted my time worrying because about 4:30 pm I got a call from an excited Keaolani asking she she can go back to school - not sure if she knows for the next 19 years (Lord willing!).

Celebrating Leiali'i's Life

Yesterday would have been Leiali'i Simone's first birthday.  It melted my heart to hear from family and friends who remembered that special day with us.  I miss my daughter but am really comforted to know she is with Jesus and that some day I will see her again.  In the meantime, I have been given a special task to watch over Keaolani and in that my heart is overwhelmed with joy.  In celebration we ate at one of our favorite restaurants on the island, Kai Market and were joined by close brothers and sisters.


Hau`oli la Hana to our dear daughter..we miss you!

Visitors from the Mainland

Whew!  What a month February was; I would say one of my favorites since we moved here - reason being, February was full of visitors from the mainland - close family and friends that came to visit.  Every weekend, except for the third, was filled with laughter, sightseeing, beaches, and local grindz.  Matter-of-fact, one of the restaurants that we took almost every guest, now knows us by name.  

So let's start with the first weekend of February.. Jen Harris, a long, long time friend of mine (since we were in kindergarten) came alone to visit for the weekend.  The trip initially included her almost 2-year-old son but her husband graciously offered for her to have the weekend kid-free.  She arrived on a Thursday night and we meet her at our town's local restaurant, Zippy's.  After dinner, my husband and daughter headed home and Jenny and I stayed at Zippy's talking, laughing, crying til almost 2 am.  We headed home and talked for a couple of more hours.  That night, we only had about 2 hours of sleep.

The following morning we headed out to Boots and Kimo's for their famous banana-macadamia nut pancake.  Our next stop, Kailua beach.  The next morning, we meet up with some friends and enjoyed some Romy's Shrimp truck, North Shore style and then drove around the east shore to Lanikai and meet more friends for some fun in the sun.  The sun was out, the water was warm, the company a delight.  That evening, we enjoyed some huge organic burgers from The Counter.  Wow, I'm getting full just writing down all the eatery places we went to.  And that's only 2 days of her visit.

The next day, after church, she and our other friend from the mainland, Michelle, went shopping.  I went home and caught up with some much needed rest.  That evening, we met up at Hapa Grill, in my town and had a ladies night out.  We ended the night with an appropriate dessert - Beard Papas..We all hung out at a coffee shop until the store closed.  The very next morning, Jen left early to catch her flight home.  I don't even recall if we slept that last night.  Definitely one of the funniest weekend.

The following weekend, we were visited by our dear friends and fellow ministry leaders from CA, Erwin and Becky.  They arrived Friday afternoon.  Had dinner with the Palompos and joined us for our young adult bible study CORE.  Becky even helped us lead worship, just like old times.

The next day, we headed for the Dole Plantation for some pineapple whip and then to the North Shore for some big wave action.  For dinner, we met up with the Palompos and two of our CORE friends at Da Kitchen for some ono grindz...broke' da mout'!

After dinner, we strolled around Ala Moana mall and then ended the night with some Malasadas from Leanord's.  Sunday, after church, we headed out to Lanikai again.  This time, the weather was a bit "chill" so we just sat and chilled out.

The following day, Erwin and Becky left for a couple of days at Waikiki to celebrate their anniversary.

The last weekend, my family made a detour and stopped by for several days on their way to the PI.  This was an exciting weekend, especially for my daughter, who couldn't wait to see her Mama and Papa, her aunty Sha and uncle Peter.  The 5 days that they were here went by fast.  I was especially excited that they would be able to attend an IGC service; they were able to witness one of the reasons why we moved to the islands.  We brought them to the local places and did some sight seeing but their main reason was to spend time with us, with Keaolani.  Here are some places we took them:

Dinner with her Aunty Sha at Da Kitchen

My family at the Dole Plantation; Dad and Keaolani's favorite Pineapple Whip

In CA, her Aunty and Uncle use to bring her to the park to feed the ducks, in Hawaii...Koi fish

Dancing hula with her Uncle

Pineapple Princesses

At Pali Lookout - not so windy that day.

With Mama and Papa

Chillin' with Papa

Posing with Mama

Chillin with the turtles

In memory of Leiali'i Simone David

I've been longing to post something about Leiali'i but my heart is still mourning the lost of our beautiful daughter; today I'm able to just post a picture of her and the letter I wrote the morning of her funeral service:

Leiali'i Simone David was born on July 22, 2010 at only 24 weeks and weighed in at 1 lb 8 oz. Leiali'i, which is Hawaiian for "royal lei," is the daughter of Michael and Sarah Bessie David, sister of Keaolani Grace, and grand- daughter of George & Caridad Domingo and Oscar & Nilda David. She was born at Kaiser Vallejo and transferred to the NICU at Kaiser Walnut Creek, where she remained until her passing on August 17th.

Leiali'i is considered a miracle baby in many ways; after Bessie was diagnose and treated for Ovarian Cancer late last year, Mike and Bessie did not know if they could have any more children. One week after learning Bessie was cancer-free, they also learned they were pregnant.

Leiali'i is a confirmation of God's goodness and power. Her life displayed God's provision and her death displays His mercy and grace.

No parent should ever have to bury their child but we are reminded that God, Himself, gave His only Son to die on the cross. While Bessie was there at Leiali'i's side as she passed, Christ was abandoned and alone at the cross. However thru Christ's death, we have assurance and hope that we will see Leiali'i again. She is with our Savior and creator Christ Jesus. She no longer experiences pain or sickness, but most importantly, she will never have to experience the bitterness of this world. Though our sorrow is great, God's comfort is greater.

We praise God for blessing us with her, we praise God for giving us 3 1/2 weeks to enjoy her; to be able to hold her, and to be able to say good bye to her.

We would like to thank the staff at Kaiser Walnut Creek NICU, our family and friends, but most importantly the faithful saints that continuously brought our family before the throne of God in prayer. Your encouragements and reminders of God's Word thru emails, phone calls, and facebook lifted us, especially now as we deal with our temporary separation with our Leiali'i.