Ama (Grandfather in Filipino)

Ama and Auntie Sayong - brother and sister. Ama is now 90 years old, but healthy. he says he feels more weak lately.


When Ama lived in the Philippines, his wife died, leaving him to care for 2 daughters, ages 3 years old and 7 months old. His sister took one in, and his wife's sister took the other. Ama came to Maui to work for a better life - and to bring his family here. After many years, he was able to sponsor his first daughter and her 2 children to come (Joseph and Agnes). Joseph was 3 years old then, and his mom enrolled him in a Christian preschool near their home.

Ama was like a father to Joseph.

This man lived his entire life for others. As we said goodbye to him, he got tears in his eyes and said (in broken English) "I am so so happy to see my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have been so blessed by God. Next time you come, I may not be here as I am old already. But I am so happy in my heart to see you". I shed a few extra tears at 2 things: 1)That Ama lived an entirely unselfish life for the pure benefit to others and 2) that Ama thanks God for all the goodness that he has enjoyed in his 90 years.

Lil' Piece of History

When I was pregnant with Jason, living in Hawaii, I found out I had to be on strict bed rest from the third month until delivery.

So, we moved in with Joseph's grandfather, who only had 2 other people living in his house at the time.

I hung out on the couch in the living room each day, just waiting while Jason incubated.

As time went on, Joseph's Auntie and Uncle from the Philippines moved here, homesteading with the grandfather. Unbeknown to us, they were in process of bringing over their six from the Philippines to start a new life in Hawaii.

By the time Jason was born, and we moved out of the house, there were 16 people living there! It was great!

Today, they cousins are all married and having their own children.

We are missing Jordan in this picture, as he was at work.

I will post the "before" picture later - of when Jason was a baby.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

Jordan did this song for me and his gramma - beautiful arrangement and vocals, all done by him.

As he was working on it. I asked if it is amazing, and he said "Bad question to ask me! You'll have to judge for yourself. It definitely went in a direction I haven't recorded before! - with an Acapella feel and jazz harmonies!"

Thank you Jordan!
CLICK ARROW BELOW TO PLAY


Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

refrain

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Obsessions

Gotta admit, I have had many obsessions in my lifetime.

In Junior High, I was obsessed with sewing - I mean really sewing - I would not wear anything unless I sewed it. I even made my bathing suit - it was lime green with navy trim!

High School brought my obsession with giant colorful flowers - I wallpapered my bedroom with shiny contact paper that had giant shocking pink and lime green flowers on it.

College brought my obsession with mountain climbing (that's right, not studying) - I went every weekend, and worked for Echo Glenn each summer, taking juvenile delinquents to the mountains for 2 weeks at a time.

When my marriage brought 3 sons, new obsessions arose. During my pregnancies, I had to stay on bed rest for 6 months each. I kept busy with Counted Cross-stitch(too many to remember), hand made Christmas ornaments, and needlepointed pillows, and quilting. Add it up - 6 times 3 = 18 solid months of that stuff.

Because of the three boys, Dinosaurs became an obsession for a time - I made giant stuffed dino's, dino pants, dino shirts, (they even had dino high top converse)dino sheets, dino comforters. Of course, I MADE all of these.

On to Duck Ponchos - I made about 48 of them, sold them at craft fairs so I could justify making them.

In between ponchos and baskets, Susie and I made at least 257 scarfs - the kind that have loops on them.....all fabrics,etc.

Throw in some Longaberger baskets, which I sold in order to also justify owning so many - when we moved from Bellingham to Kirkland, we had TWO van loads of just baskets!

We must not forget Party Lite candles - oh wow.

DRIED FLOWERS! How can I forget that one? Oh my goodness....Susie got me into that.
We dried our own, mind you - were always on the hunt for beautiful flowers to capture forever in our silica powder.

My mind is whirling with obsessions - there are many many more.

Most recently it was the knifty knitter. I can honestly say after 38 hats, 5 baby cocoons, 12 baby hats, 24 flowers and one book bag for a piano student - I do not want to knit anymore - ever.

Obsessions - one obsession that I have had since I was 15 is God's love. This obsession is God's love for me. I have always been obsessed with the fact that He could love me - I mean, ME. I don't deserve His love, I cannot earn His love, yet He loves me.

I have obsessed over that love for most of my life, and I realize it is really a possession. He owns me, and I own His love. I embrace it, guard it, protect it, treasure it, it is mine - all mine. His love has become so secure and sure to me, and I love sharing it with others.

Have you obsessed over God's love enough that you truly possess it?

Such Heartache

I got a phone call from a friend needing help. Her friend had adopted a girl when the girl was age 6. The girl is now beginning her teen years, and the mom is beside herself, and wanted to know if there is any way to give the girl back.

I gasped! Imagine a mom wanting to actually un-adopt a child! Then I got more information on the situation. This adopted girl is taking all of her energy and time. The rest of the family is being put on the back burner, the oldest daughter is feeling that she is going through her senior year alone. The mom is emotionally spent, and her marriage and family are suffering.

The adopted daughter is very insistent in repeating "you are not my mom", and "you don't own me" and "you cannot tell me what to do", "this is not my family", "I don't belong here", "your values are not my values" - among other things. She doesn't want to participate in family things, would rather be my herself, insists on her own way, declares that she hates her family, etc. She is wreaking havoc with this family, when all the family wanted was to give her a home.

As I learned more about this family, I realized that she is experiencing and being pulled into the biggest manipulation trap. She is being controlled by that daughter and that daughter is controlling the entire family.

A counselor once told me two things that I carry with me, and was able to share with this mother. "You just show her what a family is, and some day it may mean something to her", and "you cannot make her love you, no matter what you do".

While this poor mom and family are at their whits end, they must keep their family together and put energy in to the ones who want it and appreciate it. They need to never ever change to fit the antics or desires of this child - but the child has the choice to become part of them and live in a loving family or leave when she can.

I debated telling them what they would not want to hear but must. Truth is, that no matter how hard they try to make this daughter a part of their family, they should anticipate being called "irresponsible, negligent, judgmental, immature, dramatic" and other things some day by this daughter.

They will be blamed for every bad choice this daughter will make. There will accusations of abuse, and the daughter will tell people lies about them, even saying that she may be afraid of coming home because she will be met with a shotgun in her face.

The parents will be blamed if the daughter fails to get her proper I.D. or documents necessary for life. These parents will be told they are under "legal obligation" to provide documents that the daughter my steal from them. They will be told that she "has a new family now". She will cease to call them mom and dad, but their names, or even worse Mr. and Mrs.

Hard facts - hard to say, hard to hear, hard to live through, but best to be prepared for.

Please keep this family in your prayers - they live in California and are really struggling.

Tiger Woods Apology

His sweet face wont' get him far now - how many people do you know who depend on their good looks and sweet words to manipulate their world? (and it WORKS until people catch on to them)

A few thoughts came to mind watching his apology. He has completely destroyed his family with his actions, and a mere apology won't change anything.

"I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply," he said.
He did NOT say that those values were forced on him, and he did not adhere to them. He owned the values as being something of benefit. He never said those core values were his moms, not his. I think everyone knows what core values are, and the fact that he acknowledges them is big. He could have said "I have my own beliefs and you have yours" - instead he is making a stand that there ARE standards to live by - Christian or not, nothing to do with religion. Interesting.....

Woods said he "believed he could get away with anything he wanted." Well, he DID get away with it for a long long time - but be sure your sins will find you out. Once one crosses the threshold of infidelity, or enter into behavior that is known to be wrong, one convinces him/herself that the rules are void - or even not applicable to themselves. They become obsessed with self - and that destroys all loving relationships. We are talking about repeated behavior here - not once in a while. That completely destroys, not merely damages, relationships. To rebuild those relationships is huge. A mere apology has nothing to do with it.

"I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and I deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me," he said. "I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules." How many times have I heard similar talk? The "I deserve" mentality can wreak havoc with reality. When one becomes consumed with pleasing oneself, others don't matter.

"I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did," Woods said. ....and he will have to live with these questions the rest of his life - those are consequences of behavior, a reality not to be bargained with.

"I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated," Woods said. "What I did was not acceptable." He was simply stating the obvious - this is not a confession, nor does it imply a turning back from those behaviors.

"It's now up to me to make amends, and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I've made," Woods said. "It's up to me to start living a life of integrity." Taking full and total responsibility - only from this point can one actually change. As long as others are to blame, there will never be change. He depends on no one else to help him change, or to be part of the change, or to even encourage him in his challenges, although he is getting help from therapy. He is not saying that what he has done has made him a stronger and better person. He knows it was horrible and no good.

"As Elin pointed out to me, my apology to her will not come in the form of words. It will come from my behavior over time," Woods said. His wife made the wisest statement of all. Words mean nothing if the behavior has shown to be careless and hurtful and selfish. There is no reason to believe he has changed. The burden is on HIM to prove he has changed, not on his family to now accept him.

I think of some "apologies" I have received. What if Tiger, in the apology, said things like "but you need to know the world is diverse", "what you are doing is way worse than what I did", "you have no idea how I feel", "I had to do what I had to do", "I am glad I did it, but sorry you got hurt", "what I did has made me a better person", "I just did what normal men do". Can you imagine Tiger trying to apologize like that?

Good luck Tiger - I would not want to be in your shoes for all the gold in the world, but I wish you the best.

Goodbye was also a Hello

It is odd how saying goodbye to Uncle Wayne was also a big HELLO to many cousins I had not seen in years and years. While no one wants to have the excuse of a funeral for a family gathering, it was a blessed event.

We numbered (these are first cousins on the Chandler side, mind you) nine out of thirteen - not bad, not bad at all. From left to right, the first cousin roll call, (in maiden names): Mike Chandler, Jan Vanderhoff, Ann Hagen, Dave Chandler, Judy Vanderhoff, Dan Cain, Jane Hagen, Del Vanderhoff, JoAnn Vanderhoff. Missing cousins: Steve Cain, Earl Vanderhoff, Gail Hagen, Eric Hagen How ironic that our two very youngest cousins are the ones who lost their daddy.



What is wrong with the Vanderhoff's - can't most families just take a decent picture on command? It MUST be the "Genes"

My mom and her dear sweet sister in law, husband less now. When I said good bye to Aunt Wanda, she told me that she wants to join her husband now, and not wait. For the first time of the funeral day, tears welled up in her eyes as she said this. Bless her broken heart.I gotta add, that little lady behind these 2 is Aunt Sylvia - 98 years old! Not kidding - she dances in high heels still!

Goodbye Uncle Wayne

This picture was taken shortly after my mom's stroke. Uncle Wayne came many times from Spokane to just be with her and offer encouragement.

My uncle Wayne is my only blood uncle - my mom had one brother by birth and my dad had no brothers.

Uncle Wayne was so special to me growing up. He was a high school counselor and I am sure I utilized his expertise many times.

He and my mom were super close - we always teased both of them about their noses, although his was much much bigger than hers.

He died peacefully in his sleep and will be greatly missed.

Please pray for my mom to be comforted in this great loss to her, as well as for his wife Wanda, and his 2 sons Dave and Mike.

I Loved This Text From Jordan Today

"I'm doing pretty good! Excited to start using my new mic! Growing a lot spiritually being away from so many distractions and in beautiful nature! Getting inspired in so many areas - the people I've met are amazing and I'm in some small groups. And having Uncle and Auntie to hang with - and a job!! I'm seeing that God (He said Jah but I know he meant God) orchestrated everything in the past 5 months so He could put me in a place to see Him and His hand"

There is nothing more tender than to see your children growing closer to God, and learning to trust Him more and more.

Jordan certainly has had his share of heart aches recently, but this blesses my heart to see how God is using it.

AND Jordan is almost finished with my first requested song - "How Great Thou Art" - I asked if it is amazing, and he said "Bad question to ask me! You'll have to judge for yourself. It definitely went in a direction I haven't recorded before! - with an Acapella feel and jazz harmonies!" I cannot WAIT to hear it!

Goodbye Philippians

After nearly 2 years I think, we finished the book of Philippians in church. I am sad - it was an amazing study.

This morning was the summary.

A. Christ-Centeredness

The apostle Paul was totally and wholly enraptured with the Savior and gripped by Him. His love for the gospel was most evident in his prayers for the church and in his desire to see them embrace the gospel.

B. Single-Mindedness

We are called to unity, and sometimes our unity in Christ requires church discipline to one who undermines the gospel of Christ or is not of the same mind (as point A) As believers, though diverse and different from each other, we have the same mind of Christ.

C. Heavenly-Mindedness

We are now citizens of heaven, our future is secure, we have strength in suffering and our conduct is worthy of the gospel. We are not yet perfected, yet we press on towards the goal.

Throughout the book of Philippians, we are told again and again to rejoice in all things - this may be the greatest lesson I have learned - in ALL things. In fact, at the Thanksgiving table, my family could all thank God for how our family is now - without reservation.

Such freedom comes with great thanks.

3 Generations

I love us - three generations of females, two by birth and one by choice.

MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC!

SO for Christmas, Jordan is giving me: recordings and arrangements of my choice! I get 5 of them

hahah he said between 3-5 (well DUH I choose 5)

VERY tough decision!

I am thinking:

How Great Thou Art
Holy, Holy, Holy
Rock of Ages
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
The Old Rugged Cross...

YES I think that is great!

Mama

I just love it when Julianne calls me "mama". It is endearing and reaches my heart each time she says it.

Silly as a name is, it truly conveys a deeper truth. When the boys say "mom", it also touches me - it means something.

We take for granted what this simple word can mean - to us and to the person saying it. It shows a certain knowledge of something, that is personal and intimate.

I have no relatives who call me "JoAnn" or "Mrs. Tolentino" - that would be a strike in the face - instead, endearing terms are for those who you have a special relationship with.

I don't know why I got on this tangent - it is just because Julianne just called me "Mama" and my heart warmed a few degrees.

Today, please call your mom's and say hello - using "mom", "mama", or whatever you use. It will warm their hearts.

Trust and Obey

At my mom's church Sunday we sang this old hymn. We both realized that words like this are timeless - unchanged truth - untainted by culture, relativism, or what man may try to do with the Bible.

Is life easy? Any fool knows the answer to that - regardless of your religious persuasion. The fool dismisses the Bible as being the infallible rule of God. A believer knows that the words contained in the Scriptures are the Words of God, and that "all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness". People who dismiss this truth want nothing to do with the Author of Scripture.

Most people apart from God know what trust is - but obey...NO WAY...don't even go there. This great hymn reminds us that the two VERBS are inseparable.

Take a few moments to meditate on this great song.

Trust and Obey
by John H. Sammis and Marc Hedlin - Copyright ©

When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

chorus:
Trust and obey,
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear,
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
(chorus)

But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
(chorus)

Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear only trust and obey.
(chorus)

Hats - to Flowers - to Cocoons!

Really now - this yarn needs to be used up. Kate O'Connell, who just had her second baby, sent me a picture of what she wants me to knit for her new baby Ruby.

Oh my goodness! These things are adorable, practical, and the sky is the limit to the creativity one can embark on.

SO, of course, I rely on my one-handed mom to be my mentor for knitting. I spent the weekend there, and we made 3 sets! I love these! I made one for Ruby, one for Olivia D'Haiti, and my mom made one for her new great grand baby Ali Jacobson....AND I just found out that my niece Dolly is pregnant with #4! Oh babies, babies, babies! What a blessing from God!

Done with Hats

We are moving on - well I am. Susie is still making hats, on account of her future move to Alaska. For me, hats are just not very useful in Seattle. However, we have been frequenting JoAnn Fabrics - like way way way too much. We roll and bounce from one creative idea to another, playing off of each other's brilliant ideas. We decided that we are TWO BIG CUBES ROLLING DOWN A HILL. Think about that. Think hard. Have you ever seen a cube roll?




So after making about 30 hats,I am pretty much finished with hats. BUT I have all of this yarn that needs to be used. Of COURSE, we will now make yarn flowers! Oh! We can put BEADS on them too! We need more beads! Wait! We need that sparkly yarn!!!







Now don't the centers just SCREAM for sparkling beads?



















































Oh my goodness...anyone want a flower pin for your hat?

Change Change Changlings

Happy New Year! Change seems to be the theme so far.

Change - NOT brought on by myself. Change out of my control. Change, I know I can trust God.

In 2009, I went from a household of 7 people and two dogs to 3 people and no dogs.

Two sons are now homeowners, one son is moving from one state to another.

Husbands job is moving to Pennsylvania!

Change - out of my control - excited to see what God is going to do. The only hope for the future is the fact that I KNOW He is sovereign.

I remember younger years when most change was brought on by my choices - change like those are understandable.

I pray that these changes will bring honor to God.

New Years Eve 2009

Good conversation...
Food....
Catch Phrase, of course

I love little munchkins - the future of tomorrow - all gathered in my basement, squished in like tiny sproutlings

The countdown to the atomic clock was too much
So we tried to distract the wait


Fun time - I love these people!