(no subject)
Ron is working overnights this week so I've been trying to keep the girls out of the house as much as possible so he can sleep. Yesterday me and the babies went to church int he morning. Normally, I drop both girls off at the "baby room." They have Sunday School ("Godly Play" - a Montessori-style Sunday School) for Nora's age and up but the girls haven't wanted to be separated. Well, yesterday Nora said she wanted to go to grown-up church. As I haven't been keeping up with my journal - some of you may not know that Nora has gotten to be a pill lately - LOTS of outbursts, attitude and tantrums - so I was a bit scared when she said she wanted to join me for her first time at a church service. We go to St. Andrews Episcopal, which is a beautiful old Cathedral with a lot of historical significance to the islands. A lot of tourists attend service there. It also happens to be right next door to Dog the Bounty Hunter's office - which is what made me think to go there in the first place.
Church
But . . . you can't exactly say no to a 3 year-old who WANTS to go to church, right? So we dropped Lucy off by herself (she did fine!) and Nora joined me in the Cathedral. She did a wonderful job! She spoke a little too loud, played with her stuffed dog a tad too much and flounced around, flashing her panties a bit - but that was the only trouble. She loved the singing and insisted on holding the hymnal and humming / making up words to the hymns. She knelt down on the prayer kneeler and enjoyed the job of raising it back up after confession, etc. There is so much to see in a cathedral - from the stained glass to the candles and flags and choir that she had a lot to keep her occupied. Her favorite part besides the singing was probably putting a dollar in the collection plate (a childhood favorite of mine as well - although Grandma only ever gave me a quarter). Nora came up with my quietly and solemly during the sacrament and knelt beside me at the altar. She isn't baptized so she didn't take the bread or anything, but she let the Reverend put his hand on her head and bless her - and she really looked moved. She just knew to behave up there and I was SO proud of her.
She made it through the whole service! Afterwards we went up the windy stone staircase to the bell tower to see just how the bells are rung after service. This sort of ticked the girls off because they missed the lemon iced tea and snacks that they normally get outside after church. There was nothing left but triscuits and water by the time we were finished with the bells. Being in the heart of Honolulu and being so open, St. Andrews seems to draw a lot of homeless and mentally impaired worshippers like "Albert" who always says his day is "better now that he's seen me." Those fellas swoop in on the food, let me tell you. But I'm sure they need it more than my own mini-vultures.
So, anyway, Nora's first day in Church was a success. We followed it with a trip to Ward Center where I found us all shoes for Kristi's wedding at Nordstrom shoes and spent enough money to get a free tote! Plus I got myself a pair of striped keds that I had been coveting since the last time I went shopping.
Later that night Nora and Lucy were int he bathtub together and Nora was singing "We love God" and lifting a plastic cup to Lucy's mouth like she was the priest giving hte sacrament. I know that could go either way - creepy or cute - but I was there, and I tell you, it was cute. I am thinking about having the girls Christened (baptized) when return to Virginia. I would love to do it here but there is noone take the role of Godparent, Ron's not at all interested in it and the only people in our family who would support it (Dawn and my Grandma) are in Virginia. So hopefully I'll find a place I love as much back in VA. I would never in a million years have thought that one my biggest reasons for wanting to stay in Hawaii would be my church. Just thinking about leaving- and right before Christmas - makes me really sad. Hopefully, now that I have found a place that has made me comfortable with the emotions / process of spirituality and Christianity, it might be easier to find a place that works for us.
So today we went to the Waikiki Aquarium. I packed us a lunch and we used our membership to get in for free. The fish, sharks, seals and more entertained as usual. We spent a lot of time picnicing in the grassy lawn of the aquarium, right next to Waikik Beach and the oceanfront War Memorial. The weather was perfect. The giftshop had new items for Christmas so I bought some Christmas cards and ornaments for each girl for the Christmas tree. I'm an easy person to shop for when it comes to traveling - I like magnets, Christmas ornaments and local art) We had to park kind of far away because it was a holiday and the place was crowded - so we got to walk around Waikiki / Ka'piolani park. I stopped by the ABC store (translation, souvenir shop that sells booze) where Alice and I went when she and Jason visited. I picked up some postcards I had been wanting for awhile. (I'm starting to worry I won't get a chance to go everwhere / buy things I wanted before it is time to move) I need to make a list of what we still want to do before we leave.
Church
But . . . you can't exactly say no to a 3 year-old who WANTS to go to church, right? So we dropped Lucy off by herself (she did fine!) and Nora joined me in the Cathedral. She did a wonderful job! She spoke a little too loud, played with her stuffed dog a tad too much and flounced around, flashing her panties a bit - but that was the only trouble. She loved the singing and insisted on holding the hymnal and humming / making up words to the hymns. She knelt down on the prayer kneeler and enjoyed the job of raising it back up after confession, etc. There is so much to see in a cathedral - from the stained glass to the candles and flags and choir that she had a lot to keep her occupied. Her favorite part besides the singing was probably putting a dollar in the collection plate (a childhood favorite of mine as well - although Grandma only ever gave me a quarter). Nora came up with my quietly and solemly during the sacrament and knelt beside me at the altar. She isn't baptized so she didn't take the bread or anything, but she let the Reverend put his hand on her head and bless her - and she really looked moved. She just knew to behave up there and I was SO proud of her.
She made it through the whole service! Afterwards we went up the windy stone staircase to the bell tower to see just how the bells are rung after service. This sort of ticked the girls off because they missed the lemon iced tea and snacks that they normally get outside after church. There was nothing left but triscuits and water by the time we were finished with the bells. Being in the heart of Honolulu and being so open, St. Andrews seems to draw a lot of homeless and mentally impaired worshippers like "Albert" who always says his day is "better now that he's seen me." Those fellas swoop in on the food, let me tell you. But I'm sure they need it more than my own mini-vultures.
So, anyway, Nora's first day in Church was a success. We followed it with a trip to Ward Center where I found us all shoes for Kristi's wedding at Nordstrom shoes and spent enough money to get a free tote! Plus I got myself a pair of striped keds that I had been coveting since the last time I went shopping.
Later that night Nora and Lucy were int he bathtub together and Nora was singing "We love God" and lifting a plastic cup to Lucy's mouth like she was the priest giving hte sacrament. I know that could go either way - creepy or cute - but I was there, and I tell you, it was cute. I am thinking about having the girls Christened (baptized) when return to Virginia. I would love to do it here but there is noone take the role of Godparent, Ron's not at all interested in it and the only people in our family who would support it (Dawn and my Grandma) are in Virginia. So hopefully I'll find a place I love as much back in VA. I would never in a million years have thought that one my biggest reasons for wanting to stay in Hawaii would be my church. Just thinking about leaving- and right before Christmas - makes me really sad. Hopefully, now that I have found a place that has made me comfortable with the emotions / process of spirituality and Christianity, it might be easier to find a place that works for us.
So today we went to the Waikiki Aquarium. I packed us a lunch and we used our membership to get in for free. The fish, sharks, seals and more entertained as usual. We spent a lot of time picnicing in the grassy lawn of the aquarium, right next to Waikik Beach and the oceanfront War Memorial. The weather was perfect. The giftshop had new items for Christmas so I bought some Christmas cards and ornaments for each girl for the Christmas tree. I'm an easy person to shop for when it comes to traveling - I like magnets, Christmas ornaments and local art) We had to park kind of far away because it was a holiday and the place was crowded - so we got to walk around Waikiki / Ka'piolani park. I stopped by the ABC store (translation, souvenir shop that sells booze) where Alice and I went when she and Jason visited. I picked up some postcards I had been wanting for awhile. (I'm starting to worry I won't get a chance to go everwhere / buy things I wanted before it is time to move) I need to make a list of what we still want to do before we leave.