Gettting Organized With Style

With a need to always keep organized and on our toes for our next move and adventure, I thought that I would dabble in a couple of different ways of decorating, a pastime I love and would thoroughly enjoy improving over time. Recently I was flipping through a Martha Stewart magazine and came across a way to take simple jars and turn them into nice little stylish storage cubbies. In order to make them stylish, all that are needed are the following: scissors, material-of-your-choice, jars with lids, spray adhesive, and a circular measuring tool. You will find more information here. I used the colors of my bathroom towels: beige, cream, and (in the prospects of getting) seamist blue, to coordinate the material. They are fun and inexpensive ways to put a twist on little accents in a small place.

With Summer On Your Horizon

I have to stop and remind myself what the "typical" weather seasons would be like for the mainland U.S. with almost everyday here in Hawaii being sunny, blue skies, 80-degree weather. (Occasionally, it gets "cold"--in the low 70s). After living in Hawaii for almost 2 years--8 seasons of summer weather-- we have purchased various bottles of sunblock, baby and adult. Until recently, I frequently contributed to Banana Boat. Not too long ago I was introduced to virgin coconut oil's use as a sunblock and I bought a 500ml. Fijian bottle of coconut oil 2 weeks ago. I have been wearing it whenever we go out, and I put a bit on Maddy's tan little legs and arms too. After 2 weeks' use, I have hardly made a dent in the bottle, and the sun has not burnt me. I was floored, because had I been using regular sunblock, I would have been one-third of the way through by now, and I would have to reapply, since it is so easily absorbed (made with more water and is absorbed quickly into the skin, leaving it dry and sometimes-leathery). Coconut oil does just the opposite: it protects the skin and simultaneoulsy moisturizes it.

"The ideal lotion is one that is made from oil that softens the skin, but also protects it against damage, promoting healing and giving the skin a more youthful, healthy appearance. Coconut oil fits that description. Pure virgin coconut oil is the best natural ingredient for skin lotion available. It prevents destructive free-radical formation and provides protection against them. It helps to keep connective tissues strong and supple so that the skin doesn't sag and wrinkle. In some cases it may even restore damaged or diseased skin. Virgin Coconut Oil can help keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight. The oil is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause. While it is not a natural sunblock, Coconut Oil IS the perfect, natural treatment for relieving sunburn and is itself, a natural exfoliant." (http://www.volcanicearth.com/coconutoil.html)

Family Jogging

Our Life
Hawaii is a great place for out-doors people. The weather is pleasant year-round. The water temperature makes a pleasant experience for swimmers and beach goers day and night. It's also a runner's paradise. There are running trails through mountains, mountain passes, valleys, forests, parks, beaches, coasts, and more. I can't really remember when I started running. I believe that it all began when I was living in Mexico City. I used to wake up around 4:30am to jog for an hour or so. The sights weren't marvelous, but the exercise, exhilaration and ensuing health was. Since then, I used to run in the spring, summer, fall and winter in Michigan and Washington, DC. Mary and I frequently ran together in DC. We would jog around the university campus on weekdays. On the weekends, we would go for runs around the beautiful monuments and Mall area of the nation's capital. In December of 2006 I ran the Honolulu Marathon. The experience is difficult to describe. My parents gave our family the best gift this Christmas: a running stroller. With the beautiful weather, we have been able to go on family jogs around our neck of the woods--along the Ala Wai Canal, through the Manoa Valley, around the University of Hawaii campus, along Diamond Head coast, and through Waikiki. The Waikiki jog is one of my personal favorites for a moderate run. As a crow flies, we live about 1.5 miles from the beach. The Waikiki jog from our house to the beach and back again is a pleasant 6 miles. It's always fun to run under the shade of the palm trees, to watch the waves lap upon the shore, to observe tourists and visitors marveling at the beautiful sites with which we have become so familiar. I wish I could say that I run for the pure pleasure of it. Yet, the truth is that I do it to stave off a belly. Though I have to admit, it's a great past-time, a wonderful subterfuge for prayer, and a great way to have chats with Mary. Hopefully as Maddy gets older, she will enjoy running as much as her dad.

Current Affairs Commentary
There has been some recent discussion in the news about religion among the presidential hopefuls. The novelty of Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith have raised the question in the American public. Of course the MSM has joined on the bandwagon. Can a public servant slice his or her life into segments? "On the one hand, this is my private/personal life; on the other hand, this is my public/professional life." It seems nefarious and psychologically unhealthy to expect any individual to live dual lives. I can understand how official positions (policy formulated by a specific institution) can contrast with personal opinions. A person may personally oppose free trade agreements and yet, for professional reasons, broker a trade agreement. However, a human individuals, we are integrated composites. Our personalities are multifaceted and interconnected. I am a dad, a student, a husband, a researcher, a son, a friend, a Catholic, a member of the human race, etc. Every person can list any number of hats that he or she must don on a daily basis. Putting on one hat doesn't mean that a person can drop the rest of the hats. These many facets of our lives are interconnected and interdependent. Life can't be any other way. Much to secular progressives' chagrin, moral principles serve as the foundation for every opinion in the private and public sphere. There's no way around it. We elect public officials with the understanding that they won't always do what we want. We elect them with the knowledge that they will use their conscience, discretion, and moral values to make the best decision (according to their opinion). We shouldn't ask them to do anything otherwise! We can feel free to disagree with them, of course. Going back to the original question, I do believe that religion matters for public officials. I don't believe that religion should be the deciding factor for voters. Values and opinions, within a religious construct, can provide us with the best measure of a man. By the way, I am not endorsing Romney or any other candidate at this time. I am still forming my own personal opinions about the presidential candidates. I will keep you posted.

Quick Thoughts on Today's Gospel
Readings Today -- If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love
Love can be elusive at times. We look for it everywhere and find it nowhere. Atrocities around the world spring up because of this love void. The key to remaining in his love is to keep his commandments. It sounds simple enough. However, faithfully carrying out his commandments can be a doozy. His love brings true peace, the internal kind. Whenever I feel anxious or unloved, the first place I go is God; the first relationship I analyze is my relationship with God. Everything else falls into place when we live in his love and follow his commandments. It's impossible to expect perfect peace and perfect joy in a intrinsically violent and imperfect world. We can, nevertheless, anticipate and prepare ourselves for these wonders by striving to live the albeit imperfect peace and joy that God intended for us in this life.

Just Checking In, Dad

Our Life
One of Maddy's recent milestones came a couple weeks ago when she began to ascend the stairs of our home. At the beginning she would climb up the first stair or two. After a couple days, she was climbing up the first flight of stairs. By now she has mastered the art and climbs up to the second story at least 4 or 5 times a day. (Mary and I use the stairs as a good way to wear her out when she has too much energy. I attribute her fast metabolism and high energy to Mary. I have always been on the lethargic side, for better or worse.) Normally one of us has to "spot" Maddy as she makes her way to the top. When she finally reaches the second floor, she turns the corner and waits. A million small objects surround her when she enters the vestibule upstairs. She has four different rooms to choose from. Oh, joy. Books await her nimble fingers. She is just itching to climb up chairs, tables and beds. The storage closet has lots of nicknacks that attract her eye. Despite the paths she can choose from, she never fails to look behind her first to ensure that Mary or I watch and approve her next move. Isn't that like a child? Yet, it taught me something too. This was Maddy's little way of checking in. Were words to reflect her actions, they might sound something like the following. "Dad, do you see me? It's just me, your daughter checking in here. Am I okay? Did you see me just climb the stairs? Good: there you are. You do see me now. I am going into one of the bedrooms. Do you approve of my next move?" Her actions made me ask myself how frequently I check in with God, my father, throughout the day. I need to check in with God to ensure he is watching me, that he is aware of my accomplishments, that he approves of my next move. Thanks, Maddy, for my little lesson of love. I hope to learn from her and check in with God more today.

Current Affairs Commentary
With Mother's Day on the horizon, there have been quite a few recent media jabs at mothers who have exercised their human, feminine and maternal rights in choosing to stay home and raise their children (NY Times). Others have put an emphasis on the potentially selfish side of mothers on their special day (Foxnews), not that there is anything wrong with taking the day easy. However, the media chose to slam this important holiday and capitalism at the same time (CNN). A double whammy from the liberal left. It's understandable why such motherhood and capitalism undermine a leftist mentality. It may be the true that the woman who envisioned and lobbied for Mother's Day became upset with the holiday's commercialization. Commercialization can be demeaning and pervert a holiday. Commercialization also does wonders for the economy. Besides, what holiday isn't commercialized? It's inevitable. Hopefully, we can all balance the "caring and capitalism." I believe that the trivialization of holidays ought to be attributed to cultural perversion and not to capitalism itself. A market merely reflects the tastes and preferences of the public--the demand. Our preferences have driven this hulabaloo. I hope that I can make this Mother's Day a special one for Mary and truly honor her for mothering Maddy every minute of every day.

Quick Thoughts onToday's Gospel
Readings Today -- I am the vine, you are the branches
We are all a part of something larger than ourselves and the small space that we inhabit. When we plug into Christ, our lives are interconnected through him, the vine. A branch apart the vine has no meaning, no life, no future or growth. The true context of our lives is in Christ and in his Church. His life blood is running through our spiritual veins from the Eucharist, just as energy flows from the vine to the branches. The life we receive through the vine must bear fruit. There is no other option possible. All branches grow when they are attached to the vine. Finally, as a corollary, how can we perceive ourselves to be connected to the vine if we are not growing and bearing fruit in our spiritual lives, among friends and family?

What Does It Mean to Be Normal?

I have wondered if, at the end of our lives, God will show us that "normal" was the person who was blind; normal was the woman who had a strong limp because of her shorter leg; normal was the badly-burned man whose wisps of hair barely covered his scorched head; normal was the child with Down Syndrome. After reading the New York Times article "Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus," it begs the questions: What is normal? Why is there such a push to end the life of a child who may require greater effort? I just want to know why so many OBs are so adamant that moms have prenatal tests to check for any difficulties. Is it to make sure they have the prenatal care needed so as to protect and sustain the life of their unborn child and to put them in touch with the proper support resources once their children are born? That is the hope. But, for many OBs, the reasons for their promotion of amniocentesis
can easily make one wonder why, really. What is the push for testing?
I do not know what it like to make the sacrifices that so many parents do for children who have extra special needs or disabilities. But I do know that God creates each one of these children and has a plan for every one of them as well, including the parents who care for them. What a gift each one is. What joy they bring to so many other lives.
I caught myself sitting on the beach one beautiful afternoon, with Caleb to one side and our little girl to the other, just watching and admiring a family of four. The younger daughter had some type of disability and an affected way of walking. However, what spoke so much louder than the physical disabilities, was that of a pure, sacrificial, enjoyable love that the parents had for their teenage daughter. I have no doubt that their lives have been difficult in making various adjustments to meet their daughter's needs. But, how beautiful it was to watch them walk with their so-loved daughter and guide her into the ocean to enjoy life, a life that could have been ended depending on another's person's perception of "normalcy." Thank God they embraced her uniqueness, regardless of the sacrifices they would be asked to make, all for the love of their flesh and blood.

Madeleine's Nomenclature

A name is hallow. The Second Commandment forbids Christians from taking God's name in vain. St Thomas Aquinas spoke eloquently of the importance of God's name in the Summa. Muslims use 99 different names for God in the Koran. The name that God revealed to Moses in the burning bush continues to exert enormous influence over believers of many faiths.

An old adage states, to name is to control; to name is to define.

Parents-to-be often gruel over shortlists of baby names. The choice of a baby name can bring love, empathy, admiration, jealousy, anger, antipathy to family members and friends. Most people believe that there are strong names and weak names, cool names and wierd names, ordinary names and extraordinary names, classical names and trendy/seasonal names. I am sure that we have all had the experience of meeting someone who "just looks like a Matthew." We have also encountered a Helga, whose name was unbefitting. A name can be either a source of pride, a source of shame, or both. One way or another, a name defines us and provides us with unique identities.

I still remember when my younger brother was born. I am able to remember a lot about his birth and childhood because we are 15 years apart. From the moment of birth, my dad insisted that he would be called Joseph. Not Joe. Not Joey. Not anything else. Later on when Joseph reached the speaking age, he refused to identify with his name. He referred to himself as Pudo or Pludo. Since then, he has gone by Pudo, Pludo, Pudee, Joe, Little Joe, and, yes, Joseph. (I still affectionately refer to him as Pludo.)

Our dauther's name is Madeleine Jane Mary. Mary and I discussed whether to spell her name Madeleine, Madeline, Madelyn, etc. After quickly deciding on the spelling, we talked about the pronunciation. "Mad-l-in" or "Mad-l-eyn." We weren't really sure which pronunciation we preferred. Initially we chose the latter pronunciation. However, after everyone began pronouncing her name as Mad-l-in, we decided to take the easy path and cave. Neither of us were extremely opinionated on the pronunciation, fortunately. I am a big fan of the name Madeleine. Personally, I consider it timeless, classy, traditional, and yet not overused.

Affection frequently begets nicknames. The following are some of the names we have officially and unofficially given Madeleine during the short ten months of her life:

• Maddy
• Mad
  
• Madge
• Madge-pie
• Madgie
• Madgelyn
• Madlyn
• Maddy-Girl
• Maddy Geee (pronounced like Girl, while omitting the "rl")
• Baby Geee (pronounced like Girl, while omitting the "rl")
• Baby Doll
• A slew of synecdoche's--Little Lips, Little Legs, Little Toes, Little Butt, Litte Neck, Little Nose
  
• Little Stuff
• Little In'
• Beauty Girl
• Beauty Queen
• Beaut
  
• Maddy Jane
• Snugglebum
• The nosy one
• Baby Huff (Derivate of Momma Huff. During pregnancy, I affectionately called Mary "Huffy" to describe the demeanor of a pregnant woman. Since then, our Family Huff has taken off. Mary is Momma Huff. I am Poppa Huff. That makes Madeleine is Baby Huff.)
  

I am sure that I missing some of the names she has, but no more than a few. If she has this many monikers after 10 months, I wonder how many she will have by the time she is 5 years old. Sheesh. They are all signs of our love. Yes, she responds well to all her names, though I am not sure which one is her favorite. We'll have to find out later on.

The Best Days

As I look down at Maddy, snuggly sleeping in her Moby wrap, lying safely and serenly against my beating chest, I thank God that I have her and have such a simple life. I don't think my life can get much better than this: Madeleine lying against me (no need to get up and check her to see if she is safe and happy in her crib, since she is with me--her comfortable crib for 9 months straight) and a nice strong cup of coffee, made by barista Caleb. While Maddy sleeps I can pack into these minutes, which may even add up to a whole 60--a full hour-- little tasks here and there. But when she awakes, always happily with a big smile unveiling her spacey-front-teeth, I thank God again for the special moments I have with her. Right now I feel like I am in heaven, or what I would imagine it to be: the love of another is enveloping, I am loved, giving abounds, there is silence, and just being is a prayer.

In Our Home (May)

Maddy and I plucked some leaf stems from our tangerine tree and gathered pink and red ginger flowers from our yard before making small bouquets for M-ma's (the Blessed Mother's name we use for Maddy) special spot for the month of May.

Manoa Orchid Show

Yesterday we took a walk through the valley of Manoa and checked out beautiful orchids at the Orchid Show http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/7097/ . There were so many varieties, some as tiny as a Q-tip point--amazingly small. They were all so stunning. Afterwards we took a walk to the Manoa Library http://www.librarieshawaii.org/locations/oahu/manoa.htm to check out some new books and have a browse. Everywhere you look in the area of Manoa, there are beautiful mountains, sometimes a little rain, and every now and then, a beautiful Hawaiian rainbow glistening through the sunny skies.

Day 1: Welcome!

Welcome to the stump! Here we will meet and we welcome you to come and discover a bit of what we are, do, and love. The story behind our stump is this: it is our symbol for strength, rooted in the ground--our beliefs, our family, our love for one another; it is layered, which symbolizes our past, present, and future experiences, education, physical and spiritual journeys as individuals and now as a family; it is a sturdy resting spot where conversation may unfold and family and friends can enjoy watching our lives that they have helped mold and direct. Just as the roots of a tree stump branch out in various directions, so too will our conversations, paths, and topics. Our main objective is for many family members and friends to come to share information, to know us more, and to teach us something new, and to converse. Here we go!