TRUE THANKSGIVING.

It has been humbling and and so very inspiring to live amongst a small portion of our nation's military over the past six months here in Hawaii. Talk about sacrifice. Talk about service.

Our ward is filled with men, women and children who are giving each day for the price of our freedom. I am moved each Sunday as I watch many of the sisters in our ward sit with their children alone as they endure separation on our behalf.

On the very first Sunday in our new ward we noticed a row filled with seven. One sister and six little kids under about the age of twelve. It was hard to miss this sister and we guessed immediately that her husband must be deployed. Soon we got to know her and learned that indeed her husband was deployed to Afghanistan. Each week she has been present, often even early to our 9 a.m. meetings and I have been inspired by her strength and stamina as she has endured this trial.

Well last night, this happy video showed up on my Facebook page. Her husband was home, just in time for Thanksgiving. I cried as I watched her soldier surprise their six children last evening, and  I couldn't have felt stronger feelings of thanksgiving for them, for the safe arrival of their Dad and for the safety and security of my own little family.

Happy Thanksgiving Mamas. May we enjoy the blessing of just being together on this Thanksgiving holiday.

CD REVIEW: POPCORN BOPPING.

Back before my hiatus I got this fun CD in the mail from Deseret Book. It stayed in its package for a while as our car was on a boat headed to the islands and we were in transition. A few days after our car landed, I remembered the CD tucked away in our luggage, and brought it out for our car rides around Oahu. It was a pleasant surprise!

It is described as Primary songs remade as sing-along and dance-along songs. I've gotta say, I was quite surprised to hear the beat of Popcorn Popping for the first time as we ascended the Pali Highway. To be honest, I really like this CD. It has provided hours of entertainment in the car and has kept our family smiling and bopping in our daily drives. My almost two year-old even adds her, "pop, pop, pop." to the singing.

I have been curious however because some of the songs do have an interesting beat and sound. I took a look at the reviews on Deseretbook.com and noticed that people were either giving it one or five stars. You either love it, or you hate it. Personally, I love most of the songs.

If you're interested in this fun CD, maybe as a stocking stuffer, take a listen to the music samples under the reviews at Deseretbook.com and see for yourself. You might love it. I'd love to hear your thoughts or opinion.

Aloha Dear Mamas.

And just like that, it's been almost six months since I took my hiatus from Mamas Who Know.

When  I decided to take a leave of absence from Mamas Who Know, back in May, I had not intended for this much time to pass before I returned to the land of blogging. But, we were up to our necks in our move and blogging needed to be set aside for that time.

With our arrival to Hawaii came lots of surprises that took my time and mostly, lots of energy. One of the most significant was learning that I am expecting our number three little girl in February of next year. For the first eight weeks here in Hawaii, my goal was that of surviving life in a hotel and finding restaurant food that did not sound or taste repulsive. I am oh so happy to report that we are out of the hotel and I can eat normally again. At almost twenty-seven weeks, I am definitely feeling pregnant and am happy to be so.

Over the months I have received a few "miss you" e-mails or comments from readers and those have boosted my spirits and have encouraged me. I have been reminded that there are many, many, of us trying each day to become the best at our job as mothers. I sure appreciate the support you've shown me as I've tried to do so.

Mamas Who Know was born when my husband was headed out on ten weeks of interviews last summer in search of a residency program and job. With the extra time each evening, Mamas Who Know became my hobby and friend in his absence. Now, we have landed, and our life feels different. With a new job, his days almost always begin at 4 a.m. The sun rises at 5:30 here in Hawaii and I haven't learned to sleep much later. At around 9:30 p.m. each night we gather ourselves together and crawl into bed. It is a much different schedule than we are used to, and I am still trying to figure it out.

Regardless of our life changes, I can't deny that my life has been blessed in many ways from this little blog. When I announced that we were moving to Hawaii, a fellow mama and island resident sent me an e-mail inviting me to ask her any questions I might have about the move and area. We exchanged e-mails last spring and when I got here, I e-mailed again. This time, when we were in the thick of hotel living she invited me and our girls to a backyard play-date at her house. She also invited a few other moms and kids for us to meet. That Sunday we ate dinner at their house and immediately we had friends.

Even my non-affiliated with the blog husband, has mentioned how grateful he is for that connection on my behalf and on that of our girls. They are our pre-school friends, our dance friends, our field trip friends and our beach friends. It may have been just the reason that I felt prompted to pursue this small endeavor.

Aside from that little miracle, I have also loved getting to know each of you from the land of blogging. I am thankful for your comments, suggestions, ideas and encouragement. I feel and always will feel,  that we are a powerful group of women called upon to raise up righteous children. I have loved pondering the words that Elder Andersen quoted about our time as mothers in general conference saying, "it is what God gave you time for."

During my hiatus I've had plenty of time to think and ponder about this here blog and its future. On many occasions I have felt the urge to jump back in and share my discoveries and insights about becoming a deliberate mother. Other times, as we are adjusting to a new life, it has been so far from my radar. Truthfully, I haven't known how to handle this little space at times. The last thing I want to be known for is being a quitter, and to leave my blog hanging with a title called "Absent" seemed to be giving up.

The truth is, I still have much to share. I find things constantly that I think would fit perfectly here. I don't however,  have as much time for it as I did last Spring and that has been my hesitation to continue. I kind of like to do things consistently and really, who likes to read a blog that only posts very occasionally? Not me.

But really, I feel like I should keep on.

So with that, fellow mamas, I guess we're back in action here at Mamas Who Know. Maybe not as consistently, and as regularly as I'd like, but back none the less. Feel free to stop in, more than every few months.

Aloha!

ABSENT.

As you can tell, I've been away from my desk.

We're on step three of about a twenty step process that will get our little foursome across the ocean and to Hawaii in the next four weeks. It has included a long road trip out to Utah, and will include a trip to both coasts in the next two weeks, along with a long awaited graduation from medical school and a whole lot of other fun stuff along the way.

And, in being realistic, I am going to wager that my posts here at Mamas Who Know will be few and far between during the next few weeks. Hopefully you won't forget about us and will come back for a visit when the dust settles a bit.

Until then, wish us luck on our journey.

Happy spring, dear mamas!

Erin

CELEBRATING MOTHERHOOD: DAY 3.

Quote taken from here.

CELEBRATING MOTHERHOOD: DAY 2.

Lots of great mama quotes in this lesson.

CELEBRATING MOTHERHOOD: DAY 1.

Good morning mamas. As you read this, we are hopefully on the road (crossing my fingers), headed on our month-long journey, before we fly to Honolulu at the beginning of June.

Our first stop is St. George, UT, where we'll cheer Jimmy on in his first ever Ironman triathlon this coming Saturday. We are all excited, as it is the culmination of a whole lot of training over the last six months.

With motherhood on my mind, and our family on the road, I've gathered up a few of my favorite mama quotes to share with y'all this week. I hope you enjoy them as we draw near to Mother's Day this coming Sunday.

Have a wonderful week mamas, and thank you, as always for reading and contributing to Mamas Who Know.

Quote taken from here.