A Great Adventure - Day 3

Tuesday, November 18

The morning dawned bright and early for me at 4:15 am.  Chris didn't even sleep at all so it was good that he had been able to doze a little on the plane.  Misha woke up around 5 am and Amy and Kristen had no problem sleeping whatsoever.  We were dressed and ready to go for the day quite early.  We had to checkin with Sun Cruises at 7:00 am.  We still had a little time to walk around downtown Manila before breakfast service started at 6:30 am.  

The breakfast was not really your usual Western fare though they did put out some toast and cereal to accomodate Westerners, but my favorite were the mixed vegetables.  They were fabulous.  My girls were extremely disappointed to learn that mangoes were NOT in season.

We caught a cab to the pier where we checked-in for our trip to Corregidor.  We were able to board shortly thereafter and then proceeded to sit and wait for an hour while watching videos and music about Corregidor and then Philippine tourism.  Finally we were off in our "fast ferry".  The trip took at least an hour and a half.  

As we arrived at the island, we found tour bus 1 and settled in on the back row for an interesting day.  Our female tour guide, Nick, spoke pretty good English and shared a lot of interesting information with us as we drove.  We stopped throughout the day at different soldiers' barracks, batteries, and guns.  The history of Corregidor was fascinating.  We had lunch at the island's hotel which had once served as barracks and had since been updated.  The food was okay.

After lunch, Chris was chatting with the tour guide and this entire row of older Filipina ladies became quickly enamored with him.  They invited him to come and sit with them.  They were a little disappointed to find out that he was married and had three children.  He directed them to look at the back of the trolley where we all did a little smile and wave.  Ah well, they were now our friends and we took pictures with them and for them.  In fact, these were the same women that I had watched all day with their 'selfie stick' taking pictures.  I haven't seen the selfie stick in the USA, but it was all the rage over in Asia.

The final stop of our tour was at the Malinta Tunnel where the US military had created an underground hospital.  We ponied up for the tour since it was conveniently not included in our original cost.  Fascinating.  Misha loved it as well as she has been studying about Anne Frank and World War II in school.  She took pictures with my G12 camera all day.  

As the tour was complete, we boarded the fast ferry again to return to Manila.  I think all five of us were asleep within minutes and stayed asleep the entire time.  I know that I could have certainly slept longer, but Chris kept pushing us to stay awake.  In fact, after leaving the pier, we started walking to the Mall of Asia.  Chris said that it was just a little ways away.  We all heard, "It's about two more blocks," a number of times.  We didn't believe him after the first mile and were completely wiped out after the second mile.  Kristen was sporting a couple of blisters.  But... we finaly made it to the mall.  We stopped for some outrageously priced Jamba Juice, a bathroom break, and then tried to find a place where Chris could get a smart card for his iPad and my iPhone.  He would then have service and wifi throughout the Philippines.  It's a brilliant idea if you are traveling overseas.  I am grateful to have a husband savvy enough to know these things.  I surely wouldn't.

We ended up eating at Pizza Hut for dinner.  My girls were all grateful for something familiar.  We hopped in a taxi back to the hotel and parted ways at the third floor.  Misha's friends were all beginning their school day, so she messaged with them for awhile; she and I were soon fast asleep.

A Great Adventure - Day 2

Monday, November 17

At some point we passed the International Dateline and said 'hello' to Monday.

As the day wore on, the windows of the Dreamliner were darkened to a cool bluish-green shade to simulate nightime even though it was light outside.  We napped off and on but nothing too serious.  I watched a lot of movies, "Guardians of the Galazy" (not as cool as my daughters made it out to be), "Saving Mr. Banks" (I liked that one), and "Girls Night Out."  Kristen and I played a game of Yahtzee on the tvs and she tried to master a strategy game.

I started working on my note-keeping.  

We were about a half hour late leaving Denver on the non-stop flight to Norita, Japan where we only had one hour to make our next flight.  Chris was a little concerned that we might not make the connection.  It didn't seem to be too much of a challenge though as our next flight to the Philippines wasn't too far from where we disembarked at the airport, and the pilots were able to make up extra time.

Our five-hour flight to Manila, Philippines seemed short compared to the 11.5 hr flight we just finished.  Chris had tried to encourage us all to stay awake in order to make the change over to Philippine time (13 hours ahead), but Amy and Misha sprawled out on one set of three seats, Kristen laid on my lap for awhile and promptly fell asleep on another row.  I moved back to Chris' set of three seats and dozed there for a bit.  We had another meal, but ate very little, and the girls not at all.

Our long day of flying finallly ended as we descended in to Manila.  Definitely not my favorite airport.  We walked past the health screeners who were looking for people with a fever on their sensors.  First stop, Immigration.  We stood in line for about twenty minutes before being processed with a stamp in our passports.  

We had nothing to declare at Customs and just walked on through to Baggage Claim.  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven bags.  Yay, they all arrived.  Chris stopped for a minute to withdraw money from an ATM.  He checked on a SIM card but decided to wait and find a cheaper one.  And into the Manila sauna we walked.  Oh, the smell and the heat and the noise.  Coming from -2 degrees to 80 plus was a bit of a shock and we were sweating in no time.  No worries, it wouldn't end for the next two plus weeks.

We first stood in line for a taxi, but they were just the sedan type that were quite too small for the five of us and all of our luggage.  We were directed back toward the mini-vans where we were quickly loaded in to a van.  Our driver was friendly enough, and he and Chris chatted throughout the drive.  My husband loves to speak Tagalog with the locals.  He especially loves the surprised looks on their faces.  They always ask how he knows their language and if he married a Philipina lady.

It took a little effort to find our Best Western hotel, we rounded the block at least twice before spotting the Best Western logo tucked in between buildings.  We shuffled in to the lobby with all of our luggage in tow around 11:30 local time.  We had two rooms for the night but unfortunately, they were on different floors.  Misha and I stayed together in room 307 while Chris, Amy, and Kristen headed up to 605.  We had to get used to the routine of not flushing toilet paper and using only bottled water to brush our teeth.  I sent a quick email to my brother to let him know we made it while Misha texted with a few of her friends.  It was early Monday morning for them.

Thankful Day 17 - Quotes

I have found some profound, some funny, some crazy quotes on Pinterest and all of them speak to me in one way or another.  Here's a sampling:

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing the monkey bars.  You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."  C S Lewis

"When you feel like you're drowning in life, don't worry-your Lifeguard walks on water."

A Great Adventure - Day 1

My sleep patterns haven't fully adapted from changing back to Mountain Standard Time, so I woke at 4:17 am Sunday morning.  And as much as tried to convince myself that a little more sleep would do me good, my body wasn't cooperating.  So I was up for awhile in the very quiet stillness of the morning.

Our first flight to Japan left around noon.  We had asked Dave Bell to pick us up at the house and take us to the airport on Sunday morning at 9:45 am so we had a little time to pull everything together.   Each of us had a bag to check plus Chris was taking an extra bag.  Add that to our backpacks for carry on and we had a substantial amount of bags to keep track of.  Chris' extra bag was filled with snacks to last throughout our time away.

Dave was so kind as to drop us off at the West side Departures at the United gate.  We said a quick goodbye and thanks and headed inside.  The line wasn't huge but the check-in process took forever. Something about slow computers.  Kristen had to use a bathroom.  We first checked around the corner but realized we would have to make a trip downstairs to find bathrooms there.  We returned to the check in counter to find that we weren't much closer to being checked-in.  We headed off downstairs.

We waited downstairs for awhile but didn't see familiar faces and thought it best to return to check-in to see what was taking so long.  As we walked up, one of the employees said to use, "That's a mother and daughter combination if I have ever seen one.  She looks just like you."  We said a kind thanks and joined up with our peeps.  Slow.

Finally we were on our way and were able to use pre-check at security.  Yay, no shoe removal.  Kristen didn't actually have pre-check status, but they let her through with us anyway.  At her age, she doesn't have to take off her shoes.

We hurried downstairs to the train where we just missed the first train by seconds.  Oh well, we weren't really in a rush.  After successfully catching the next train, we exited at "B" terminal, and there we proceeded to wait even more.  The cleaning crew was taking forever.  I guess we should just be grateful for a clean airplane!

At last we were able to board and had the first two rows of seats on the right side of the plane.  Luckily we were able to watch the extra service in business with their nice reclining chairs, huge tv monitors, and nice-looking meals.  The curtain between us was out of mesh so it didn't really obscure much of the view.

I sat with Kristen and Misha on a row and Chris and Amy were behind us.  They had an extra seat between them until the last minute.  Boo.  The girls and I had a lot of legroom; Misha and Kristen thought it pretty cool that their tray table pulled up out of the arm rest and that the tv was on an arm that folded down in to the front of the arm rest.  It got a little old after awhile when you tried to juggle everything when folding the tray away or trying to pull it out.  Plus, they weren't able to move the arm rest as on other rows in order to get a little comfier when trying to sleep.

It seemed as though there was a meal coming non-stop.  In reality, it was only two meals and a snack and then lots of water.  I have learned to drink the water whenever they bring it.  Our favorite meal was actually the snack which was a turkey sandwich on a roll with a cute little container of vanilla ice cream.  Kristen wasn't too keen on the meal choices and ate very little.  She was going to be one hungry little chica over the next two weeks if she was already being picky about airplane food!

Thankful Day 16 - Prayers

I am thankful for prayers, more specifically answers to prayers.  Last month I received a call from the transportation people in our school district informing me that Misha's temporary bus driver wasn't able to get the kids to school on time and needed to pick them up ten minutes earlier.  Normally not such a big deal, and I'm all for kids being to school on time, but the time was moving from 6:40 am to 6:30 am and more than an hour on the bus.  I thought it was just wrong to have the kids leaving for school at such an early hour to spend an hour on the bus.  However, I realized that the transportation people were doing their best to meet peoples' needs.  Not everyone was going to be happy, and in this case, I wasn't. 

I walked a half mile with Misha to the bus stop leaving the house at 6:32.  Now the transportation people's bus changes meant we would have to leave at 6:22 AM!  We walked with a flash light because it was too dark some mornings to see.  Call me overprotective or a helicopter parent, but I am NOT going to let me daughter walk to the bus stop in the dark and wait by the side of the road for any crazy to come along and grab her.

After receiving the call, I prayed throughout the day and hoped for a change, but realized that it might not happen.  So the next morning Misha and I were at the bus stop at 6:30--the prescribed ten minutes early.  The bus didn't arrive until 6:37.  I was not happy at all and planned to keep track of the pick up time for a few days before calling the transportation office back.

To my amazement, and with gratitude for an answer to prayer, I received a call back from Joe at the transportation office.  He called to inform me that they were switching Misha to another bus that would pick her up at 6:50.  Yay!  Prayers are answered.

Vacation Preparations

It always seems as though no matter how much time you spend trying to plan ahead, the last day before a trip is busy.  It was no different Saturday as we pulled together all of the final preparations:  packing, a trip to Costco for some travel prescriptions, picking up stuff from the library, loading movies and books on to electronic devices, getting cash from the bank, updating itineraries, printing itineraries, checking in, cleaning, organizing carry-ons, and just making sure that everything is accounted for.

We always seem to forget stuff, but hopefully this time we have most everything covered.  It helps that we have been to the Philippines before and have a general idea of how things should go and what we will need.  There is still a bit of worry.

Kristen kept saying yesterday, "I can't believe that tomorrow I will be in Tokyo."  We have a very brief layover there (here's hoping we make our one-hour connection).  I'm not necessarily looking forward to the long flights, but I am excited for the time away, the amazing experiences ahead, and the photo opportunities.

All of the girls have homework that should keep them busy, though my older two will have some catching up to do.  Kristen's teacher sent her home with a special travel package on Friday, "Kristen's Great Adventure."  She is to write a couple of very descriptive paragraphs from her experiences on the trip.  I will try to include them here as well.

Thankful Day 15 - O What A Beautiful Morning

There is no doubt that I love the view from my great room.

Thankful Day 14 - Neatness

Ok, let's call it what it really is--an obsessive compulsive need to have everything in its place.  But...I love it.  You know that feeling when you've spent hours cleaning and purging a child's room and then you just have to keep walking by the room because it looks so great?  I like that feeling.  I am grateful for the deep-cleaning bug which hits every so often.

Snow Removal with Max

So, I have named our four-wheeler Max. My girls are plenty happy to participate in a little snow removal when Max is involved. They did have to bundle up quite a bit, but we also experienced an arctic freeze for our first snow of the season and it was COLD. Here's Amy and Max.

Marshmallows

Kristen and her friend Sophie came in from playing in the snow.  I made them some hot chocolate and when they came running in to the kitchen, Kristen queried, "Are there marshmallows in it?  We have expectations!"

Thankful Day 13 - Marriage

I believe in marriage.  I believe in marriage between a man and a woman.  I believe it can last forever.

The last 17 plus years with Christopher have been the best.  I am grateful for the experiences, the challenges, the laughter, the tears, the heartache, the worry, the joy, the love...because I have experienced it all with him.  He is the best friend that I have ever had and the person that I love to be with the most.

Chapstick

Yesterday I was sitting at my computer looking at something (can't even remember what) with Kristen and applying blistex.  She was excitedly announcing, "I'm awesome.  I'm awesome."  I guess with the application of the blistex my head was shaking back and forth as though I were saying "no."

"I'm not awesome?"  She asked rather deflatedly.

"What?  Why do you say that?"  I asked.

"Because you're shaking your head."

I didn't realize my head moved when applying lip balm.

Winter Wonderland

It has been so cold this week.  Frigid.  Gelid.  We worked on our landscaping last Saturday in 70* temperatures.  It was lovely. Monday morning I walked to the bus stop with Misha and it was 60*.  And it just went downhill from there.  The temperature was something in the teens by the end of the day and then single and minus digits over the next couple of days.  Brrr.

But, the lake and river were beautiful.

Thankful Day 12 - Lake

I never aspired to live on a lake.  Our family does not have a boat.  I have never water-skied, yet I love living by a lake...and a river.  You just can't beat the view.   I love looking at the lake each morning as the sun rises, as the water glistens from the sun throughout the day, and the beautiful glow on the water in the evening as the sun sets.

I love that my kids will take off on a hot summer day and head down to the water to play.  Or paddle the kayaks.  Or hunt for the perfect tree-house tree. Those are the moments when I think, "That's why we live here."

Thankful Day 11 - Kayaks

Chris and I hefted the kayaks from the lake over to the river a couple of weeks ago.  It was the end of a long day of working in the yard.  When he said, "Let's go kayak, " I didn't realize that he meant on the river and not the lake.  We had to climb through brush as tall as Christopher and over a fallen down barbed-wire fence to get to the small "beach" area where we launched.

I am glad he suggested the idea.  It was a peaceful, meandering ride down the St. Vrain River.  Except for when I sideswiped the left bank.  Aghghg, watch out for those branches!  Whew.  Ok, back to the peaceful paddling.  We reached a good place to stop, climbed out of our kayaks, carried them across the road to the lake, and set back in the water again.  Kayaks are good.

Thankful Day 10 - Just Because...

I am grateful for friends who do wonderful things just because.  They take meals to friends, watch each others' children, sew, listen, serve, make phone calls, and all just because they are good people. 

Thankful Day 9 - Internet

I love the internet and technology and the information that is available at the tap of my fingertips.  I love that I can reach out to friends from high school or church or connect with my family over many miles.  I remember what it was like to grow up without the internet and having to use Encyclopedias or to actually visit the library for research. 

The internet today is indispensable in building a house, planning vacations, learning about illnesses, understanding my girls' math...the list could go on and on.

Thankful Day 8 - Hands

One of my favorite moments in a day is when Chris and I turn out the lights to sleep.  We both settle in to our pillows and pull up our blankets.  Almost always he reaches his hand across the bed, and we fall asleep holding hands.  I love that his hands are strong and masculine, yet gentle and loving.

Thankful Day 7 - Goosebumps

An odd choice, I know.  But I am grateful for goosebumps as a physical manifestation of the excitement of something beautiful that I see or hear, or a simple touch that brings a shiver to my spine, even a spiritual moment that testifies beyond what I already know.

Thankful Day 6 - Forgiveness

I have made mistakes in my life.  I am pretty sure I'll make more.  I am grateful for the atonement which offers forgiveness and hope and a fresh start.

Thankful Day 5 - Employment

I remember way back when I was pregnant with Amy, Chris was offered a full-time job at Novel in Utah.  He was attending school at the time, and a baby and a full-time job simply meant that graduation would take just a little longer.  That was a significant sacrifice because my husband was ready to be done, and he didn't enjoy living in Utah.  Since that time, Chris has had steady employment that has helped along the way with moves, homes, added children, travel, and fun.

Thankful Day 4 - Daughters

My girls.  Life would be dull and lonely without them.  Each of them is as different as can be; each has different interests, likes, and dislikes; and each one of them is cherished. 

Thankful Day 3 - Chocolate

An interesting thing about me and chocolate, we weren't friends until the last couple of years.  It's not that I crave it, but I actually like it now.

Thankful Day 2 - Blogging

I could never have imagined so many years ago that journaling would become such a habit for me nor that the rewards could be any greater.  I have journaled off and on since I was a young teen, but once I began having children, I wanted a more consistent record of our lives together.  Journaling turned in to blogging, and blogging became fabulous because it also allowed me to attach pictures.

A couple of years ago, I took the early days of my journaling and transferred it onto my blog and attached as many pictures as I could.  The result?  My husband compiled two amazing books chronicling our lives.  What a treasure.  I love to find my girls curled up reading about our escapades, mishaps, and travels or to have Kristen ask, "Do you remember when...?" and realize she was simply too young to even remember.

Thankful Day 1-An Attitude of Gratitude

I often think of the sisters Corrie and Betsie ten Boom from the book “The Hiding Place.”  This book is an account of their capture and subsequent incarceration in Nazi concentration camps.  They survived many horrific circumstances often because of their attitude of gratitude and reliance on the Savior.  As an example:

"The move to permanent quarters came the second week in October. We were marched, ten abreast, along the wide cinder avenue...Several times the column halted while numbers were read out--names were never used at Ravensbruck. At last Betsie's and mine were called...We stepped out of line with a dozen or so others and stared at the long gray front of Barracks 28.

"Betsie and I followed a prisoner-guide through the door at the right. Because of the broken windows, the vast room was in semi-twilight. Our noses told us, first, that the place was filthy: somewhere, plumbing had backed up, the bedding was soiled and rancid.

"Then as our eyes adjusted to the gloom we saw that there were no individual beds at all, but great square tiers stacked three high, and wedged side by side and end to end with only an occasional narrow aisle slicing through.

"We followed our guide single file--the aisle was not wide enough for two--fighting back the claustrophobia of these platforms rising everywhere above us...At last she pointed to a second tier in the center of a large block.

"To reach it, we had to stand on the bottom level, haul ourselves up, and then crawl across three other straw-covered platforms to reach the one that we would share with--how many?

"The deck above us was too close to let us sit up. We lay back, struggling against the nausea that swept over us from the reeking straw...Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg.

"'Fleas!' I cried. 'Betsie, the place is swarming with them!'

"We scrambled across the intervening platforms, heads low to avoid another bump, dropped down to the aisle and hedged our way to a patch of light.

"'Here! And here another one!' I wailed. 'Betsie, how can we live in such a place!'

"'Show us. Show us how.' It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.

"'Corrie!' she said excitedly. 'He's given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!'

"I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. 'It was in First Thessalonians,' I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen.

"In the feeble light I turned the pages. 'Here it is: "Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all...'" It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.

"'Go on,' said Betsie. 'That wasn't all.'

"'Oh yes:'..."Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.'"

"'That's it, Corrie! That's His answer. "Give thanks in all circumstances!" That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!' I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.

"'Such as?' I said.

"'Such as being assigned here together.'

"I bit my lip. 'Oh yes, Lord Jesus!'

"'Such as what you're holding in your hands.' I looked down at the Bible.

"'Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all these women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.'

"'Yes,' said Betsie, 'Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!' She looked at me expectantly. 'Corrie!' she prodded.

"'Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed suffocating crowds.'

"'Thank You,' Betsie went on serenely, 'for the fleas and for--'

"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'

"'Give thanks in all circumstances,' she quoted. It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.

"And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong."

 Over the following weeks, Corrie and Betsie began leading nightly Bible services with the women in their barracks. More and more women gathered each evening to pray and hear God’s Word, and surprisingly, these secret meetings were never discovered by the guards. Although Ravensbruck was closely guarded everywhere else, Corrie and Betsie were greatly puzzled about why no one ever came in to inspect their barracks. One day, Betsie discovered the answer…

Her eyes were twinkling.

“You’re looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,” I told her.

“You know we’ve never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,” she said. “Well–I’ve found out.”

That afternoon, she said, there’d been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they’d asked the supervisor to come and settle it.

“But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?”

Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: “Because of the fleas! That’s what she said, ‘That place is crawling with fleas!'”

My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie’s bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for.

[The Hiding Place, pp. 197-199, 209]

Do we express gratitude for the unpleasant things?  Are we grateful for the “fleas” in our life? 

Gordon B. Hinckley has said “Gratitude is the beginning of civility, of decency and goodness, of a recognition that we cannot afford to be arrogant.  We should walk with the knowledge that we need help every step of the way.  The absence of gratitude indicates a lack of appreciation and an ignorance that comes of an attitude of self-sufficiency.  It expresses itself in ugly egotism and, frequently, in malicious conduct.

Many selfish…and miserable people in this world walk without gratitude.  Perhaps these people do not fully realize all they have to be thankful for.”

In the Book of Mormon, Alma 7:23 provides a pattern for our thanksgiving:

"And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."

"Adversity compels us to go to our knees; does gratitude for adversity do that as well?”
Bonnie Parkin

“Life can be both bitter and sweet.  It is up to us whether we want to reflect the voices of gloom or gladness.”  Marvin J Ashton