Quiet Time

I was just about to write a blog about taking a little time off from things - writing blogs, dancing, some other things. But before I wrote my blog, I read Harry's blog. He basically wrote the same thing. So yes, we're both taking some time for ourselves, it is much needed. I will likely not write anything for about a month. So I wanted to wish you all blessed holiday celebrations. Enjoy each other, your family, your friends. See you in a month or so.

Thanksgiving

I truly enjoy Thanksgiving. In fact, it might be my favorite American holiday. The part I like best is after we've all eaten a delicious turkey dinner, we go around the entire table and each person shares the things they are thankful for from the past year. It was touching this year, as some of us had some pretty rough days this past year. But we were able to give God thanks for seeing us through much pain, and helping us start over again. Some were thankful for new "friends", meaning new friends of the opposite sex. Ha. Some were thankful for good health. So when we came to Bryan, he said well, I'd say I was thankful for my "friend", but she isn't here, and I'd be thankful for good health, but I'm sick as a dog today. So by the time he was done telling all the things he could be thankful for, we were laughing pretty hard.
As always, I'm most thankful for my family. Harry, Josh and Sarah are the blessing and calling of my life. And they each bless my life in their own way, by just being who they are. And this year I was blessed to be able to take a trip to Texas to see my grandmother, my uncle and Josh and Regis. I also got to meet Regis's family. And I got to meet my Dad for an hour in the Detroit airport. I'm so thankful for the moments God gives me, and for all the joy He brings into my life. Even living on an island in dire economic conditions, there is beauty and joy and friends around. I'm very thankful for that.
Thanks to my Saipan family for once again sharing Thanksgiving with the Blalocks. Oh and Sarah, awesome cranberries this year!
Check out Harry's blog for more pictures from Thanksgiving.

Visit Paradise?

Relaxing time on Saipan sometimes means a trip to the spa for me. On the pathway down to the lower pools, there are plenty of lush green tropical plants, this one with a few little bananas.

When you reach the lower deck and walk to the railing, this is your view. Some days the water is various shades of aqua, depending on the sun and clouds overhead. You can always hear the waves crashing on the reef line from here, though.

Here are two of the lower pools. The closest one is very cold, which is nice on a hot day. And the far one is warm, with a waterfall feeding it. It's very shallow, so you can just lay reclined in it and watch the ocean.

If you get thirsty out there, you can order one of these - an iced green tea latte. Mmm - they are so good and refreshing.

This is the cafe where you order the green tea latte. You overlook the jungle gardens and the ocean. It's very nice, breezy, peaceful. Unless of course someone sits next to you and lights up a cigarette, but then you just need to relocate and you're back in healthy peaceful paradise again.

Well, you might be asking, why did Kelli write about this? I decided I needed some visual enticement to lure some of my friends out for a visit. Did it work?

Company Anniversary Party

Tuesday night was our company's anniversary party. I was volunteered to be one of the VIP registration girls. This is a picture of me and the greeters for the party. Each of the girls standing would escort the VIP's back to the party and provide lei's for them. It was fun to dress up and visit with different people. The program was nice, but since I was working the reception desk, I couldn't fit inside the party, so I watched it all outside on a big screen. But that left me close to the buffet tables for dinner time, so it worked out. I don't think I've ever seen so much meat in one place, outside of living cattle wandering on a nearby farm (in the states). There were chickens, many pigs, meat, meat and more meat of every kind. Being a vegetarian (really just a non-meat eater), it made for an interesting challenge, to put together a nice plate of food. But I managed to find some soup, a piece of fish and a nice salad, and a dinner roll. For dessert I had some fruit and cream puffs. So all in all, it was a tasty meal for me. Some of the girls from work performed a nice dance routine that was fun to watch. And I got to share my table with co-workers from Fiesta and Cathy, so the conversation was fun, too. I was really tired by the end of the day, having worked for 13 hours - 8 at work, then 5 more at the party. But it's always nice to have a chance to chat with fellow co-workers from the other companies and with friends who attend the events.

Peace

Lately many of my conversations have led to the topic of peace. It seems many people I know are struggling with peace in their lives, in one area or another. While in Texas, Sarah saw a book in Walmart she thought I would like - Beth Moore's, Breaking Free. I read the back of the book, and thought it looked like a good book so I bought it. I began reading it before I went to bed each night in Texas. I have to say, it is one of the best books that she has written, that I've read so far. She covers a number of areas in our lives that are obstacles to peace. Not just obstacles to peace, but obstacles to joy, closeness to God, and abundant living. The book has been a real blessing to me so far, and I'm only halfway through. I plan to reread it more thoroughly when I'm done, but I'm excited to read it all right away for now. Anyway, it has led me to begin the process of removing obstacles in my life - that block my peace. I'm working on other lessons I'm learning from the book, too, but I brought up this one because it seems there are quite a few others of you out there struggling with issues of peace - in various areas of your lives. This is likely not any coincidence, that I'm meeting so many with the same thoughts and topic on their minds.

I guess there are alot of things happening on the island right now to disrupt peace, so I can relate, to be sure. But I found that it's not just my island friends that I'm hearing from, it's a fair number of statesiders too. So what is causing all the unrest? Well, it's a number of things, I guess. Some of you are just plain exhausted, working so much, keeping so busy. Those in the states who hear about my life on island, envy the peaceful, laid back life out here. Those on island envy the convenience, competence, fresh food, good conversation of the states. Maybe envy isn't the right word, it's more like each side is getting really tired of the things that wear down their peace and wholeness. So what did I learn so far from listening to friends and reading, and listening to God? Well, all of us are in dire need of refreshing. We need to find a way of rest and rebuilding, relaxing and, well, refreshing. Our bodies and our spirits need it. We can press on and on, but will eventually reach a level of discontent that moves us to make changes. I posted the picture above because it just says 'peaceful' to me - I'm with my son, the scenery is beautiful, the river is peaceful. So I guess I'm on another bit of a journey, this one is to discover more deeply the meaning and importance of peace in my life. I might keep you posted on the journey's progress. But if you see me around island, feel free to share your journey - I've heard from a few so far.

Home

At the beginning of our trip to Texas, we bought ourselves a bouquet of fall flowers. This is a picture of them two weeks later - still looking great. We truly enjoyed waking up to our colorful flowers every day.

Now that I'm home, I'm enjoying the rainy Saturday. It's such a quiet, peaceful sound. Very soothing. I had a good girl cry this morning, over nothing and over everything (yep, that is scary to guys, I know), but walking out into the kitchen and listening to the rain, and praying brought comfort. I'm thankful for God's presence and comfort - when I cry my heart out, and when I laugh out loud, and when I'm dancing or working or just being a wife and mom. I treasure all of the moments given to me, and reflecting on them sometimes brings tears, and sometimes makes me smile. But I'm just plain thankful - I guess is what I'm trying to say, without much success. So I'm looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, as it is custom in our house to share our blessings with each other during or after the meal. It's always a great time for me - I love hearing how God has blessed other lives during the year and hearing all the things they are thankful for.

Guess I'm rambling a bit today, trying to collect and process a few things. So I'll just post some more pictures from the trip. Again, I'm very thankful for the trip. I got to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, my daughter, my grandmother and uncle, and my Dad who drove down to the Detroit airport to catch an hour of visiting time with me.

Thanks family - it was great.

Josh and Sarah on weird face Phase 10 nights.

Sarah and Kelli enjoying soup in a bread bowl.

Josh and Regis having lunch at McAlister's.

Kelli coloring in Kate's coloring book at the lake house.

Brief visit with Dad at the Detroit airport. Flying over Russia.

Lake House Visit

I had the pleasure of spending some time over the weekend at a lake house owned by some of Regis's relatives. After many days in the city, it was a refreshing get-away. I got to enjoy things I haven't experienced in a long time. Cool, crisp morning air, lake water, the fresh smell of trees and lush grass. I laughed a lot at the dogs, all jumping in the lake and playing together. And I just enjoyed stretching out in the sun on the deck and chatting with Britney, Steve (who was shelling pecans from his yard), Josh and Regis. Steve's aunt, MaryLou, was in the house and joined us later.

This next picture is some hammock time, you can see the lake house in the background. f

Lake house, notice the Texas star and the wild flowers on the side. Everything was very pretty.

Dogs and Josh enjoying a swim.

On our way home, we had breakfast at Blue Bonnet Cafe. Notice our big plates of Texas breakfast.

More Texas Time

Josh and Regis at Red Lobster.

Josh, Regis, Teddie, John, Kelli, Sarah out to dinner in Austin. It was nice to meet Regis's parents.

This picture is for Harry. No, we didn't get to see it.

These guys were at Riverwalk playing the wooden flutes. Very nice.

A common site on our trip. Ben, Ty and Sarah - all on the same chair. The dogs have been fun. We took them to Petsmart and the dog park today. They had a great time.

Texas Trip

I am enjoying my vacation in Texas very much. I flew over to meet up with my grandmother, as I haven't seen her for many years. It was just so good to finally see her again. We talked about a lot of family history, and shared some recent events in our lives also. She was able to update me on many family members that I have not seen for years. In this picture, we are at Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. It was much easier for my uncle Jerry and Nani (my grandmother) to ride down the river to see everything, rather than walking the very long distance around the river. I'm here sitting next to Jerry, with Nani across from us. Nani and Jerry stayed for a day at Josh's house, and we all stayed up late talking and laughing together. It was very nice for me. That was my first day in Texas. After that, Josh, Regis, Sarah and I hung around together and visited a number of places.

Here's Josh, Regis and me at Riverwalk. We were just on our way down the path to check out the shops.

Some Riverwalk scenery.

Here's the girls. Regis (daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and granddaughter in law), Sarah (daughter, sister-in-law, great-granddaughter), Nani (grandmother, great-grandmother), Kelli (mother-in-law, mother, granddaughter). We bought ourselves a bouquet of fall flowers.

New haircuts for the girls.

Crab at RED LOBSTER for Kelli.
I'll post more pictures of the trip later. I wanted to take pictures of Whole Foods in Austin, but they wouldn't let me. It was beyond belief, especially to those of us who have lived on Saipan for very long. Yes, I'm eating plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. YUM.