Kanoe’s Whatevers!

I have a thought that comes to me every time I am pregnant. . . "those we love leave this life to make room for the lives of our children." 

When I was pregnant with Kanalu my dear Uncle Tommy passed away and during that time I prayed that my child could only be so blessed with the love of his 'ohana and talents in music that my Uncle possessed. 

A year and a half later I was pregnant with Kolu and during my pregnancy I was able to go to Hawaii and meet my Grandparents there for a family reunion.  Kanalu got to meet my Grandpa Baptiste and loved stealing his cane.  I'm grateful to have those little memories because a couple months later after we found out that Kolu was a boy my Grandpa passed away and then right before Kolu was born my favorite Uncle "Mac" Arthur Pacheco passed away.  In my heart I hoped that Kolu would be blessed with my grandpa's patience and my Uncle Mac's sense of humor.

Then while I was pregnant with  Keiko my favorite Aunty Chiyoko passed away and therefore I felt the need to give Keiko a Japanese name.  Aunty Chiyoko always had something to do. . . she used to make ceramics. . . I still have a few of the things she has made me. . . she was a volunteer police officer. . . she danced hula and was very involved in her community.  She also was such funny lady. . . I think humor runs in the Fuchigami family. . . there is always something to make fun of!  I pray that Keiko has the same love of life that Aunty Chiyoko had.

So now I'm pregnant again and yes there has been yet another passing in my family and in Piko's family too.  Piko's Aunty Haunani Kaili passed away this month as well as my Uncle Bryan Baptiste.  I got to know Aunty Haunani during our Niau family reunion in Vegas when I was pregnant with Keiko.  She is such a graceful woman and loves her hawaiian hertiage. . . she has a beautiful oli voice and dances hula so lovingly.  She also has a great devotion to family history work.  I wish I had more time to spend with her getting to know her and discovering her other talents.  Within a week of Aunty Haunani's passing my Uncle Bryan passed away.  He was the mayor of Kaua'i.  He was such a people person.  He would go to everyone's parties on Kauai to say hi and get a bite to eat of course.  I got to spend some time with him when I was pregnant with Kolu. . . he treated us to lunch at this little Portuguese bakery/restaurant across from the county building.  I'm taking Piko there in two weeks for some Pocho sweet bread and Pocho bean soup. So naturally I pray that our little Lynea is blessed with Aunty Haunani's grace, love for her culture and ancestors and with Uncle Bryan's love for the people she lives amongst. 

As tradition since 2004 my little 'ohana has gone to Iosepa, Utah for a little bit of camping (we really don't ruff it we borrow my in-law's fifth wheel camper), a little bit of Hawaiian food, a little bit of Polynesian entertainment, a lot of spiritual reflection, and a whole lot of fun!

We experienced a small miracle one of the days that we were camping.  The weather forecast said that it would be a stormy weekend so I went a bought the boys raincoats and rain boots.  I wanted to be prepared for all weather cuz you never know what's going to happen at Iosepa.  On the Friday before Memorial Day there was a huge nasty storm rolling toward us.  So I put all of our out door things away and made ready for the storm then went into the camper to take a nap.  When I woke up there was sunshine beating on my face.  I thought I was dreaming.  I got up and went outside and that giant storm was totally gone. . . it disappeared.  My boys were running around with some friends they made and Piko was helping up at the main kitchen area.  The wind was blowing still and it was cold but there was no rain.  I felt greatly blessed.

 We missed some of our favorite friends that didn't make it to Iosepa this year.  I must say that Saturday's entertainment was really good. . . especially because it didn't storm during the show.  It was nice to eat Kalua pig outta an imu. . . I'm so tired of crock pot Kalua pig.  I never want to eat crock pot kalua pig again!!! 

This year the boys did a better job at helping clean the cemetery.   Our cousins buried their daughter who was stillborn in the cemetery last September and during that weekend they put her headstone on her grave.  If I ever die here on the mainland I'd wish to be buried at Iosepa. . . it's the closest place to Hawaii for me.

This year like every other year we spend at Iosepa was perfect.  I can't wait to go back next year. . . maybe we'll go back sooner for our own little camp out!

On the Tuesday after Iosepa we went to the Dr and what did we see. . . three little lines staring at me.  If any of you know what to look for on an ultrasound you know what those little lines mean. . . It's a girl and we're naming her. . . Lynea Ku'uleianuenue.  To be honest I really wanted to name this baby after me but it didn't really feel right and even when I'd seen her on the ultrasound Lynea didn't seem right then but I kept having crazy dreams about her and that I really needed to name her soon.  So I racked my brain over and over for weeks and then I asked Kanalu what he thought of a couple names that I picked and he really liked Lynea. . . pronounced lin-nay-ah, which I'm happy with because it close to my first name Lynne and feeds my ego.  Ok so her Hawaiian name is super important to me.  I promised Heavenly Father that I'd have one more child if He would give me a girl when I was pregnant with Keiko.  So Lynea is my child of promise. . . therefore her name Ku'uleianuenue means my rainbow lei literally which I interpret as . . . Lei means adornment or to Hawaiians figuratively child for when you put your child on your shoulders their legs wrap around your neck like a lei. . . the rainbow was Noah's symbol of promise from God that He would never flood the earth again; so for me every time I see a rainbow it reminds me that God always fulfills His promises; for Hawaiians figuratively it means royalty.  Therefore for me Ku'uleianuenue means My Child of Promise. 

All four of our children have very special names and I pray that as we teach them about what their names mean and why we gave them those names their lifes' actions will magnify thier names.

The first Saturday in May was the best starter of that month.  I got to go to a Scentsy party at my friend Jen's house while Piko took the kids to Kanalu's school carnival.  I made sure Piko took pics so I wouldn't miss a thing. 

If you have never heard of Scentsy you must find a way to smell it.  Scentsy has these cute wax warmers and bars of scented wax.  When we moved into our home last year our realtor gave us a Scentsy warmer and "sticky cinnamon bun" Scentsy bar.  I totally fell in love.  The previous owners of our home were smokers. . . we couldn't tell when we looked at the house because it was freshly painted and the carpet was ripped out and now has hard wood floors.  We found out after we started the furnice this winter and got a big wiff of cigarette smell.  We gotta get our vents cleaned for sure before next winter.  I thankful for that great house warming gift because those sweet smelling Scentsy bars are the best.  I've tried other scented wax bars and they just don't hold the smell for more than an hour or two.  One little piece of a Scentsy bar lasts for several weeks.  I love it.  I bought six different scents at Jen's party. . . there was a special if you buy six you get 'em for the price of five.  Go check out scentsy.com to find a distributor near you!!!

So while I was enjoying smelling yummy scents Piko was taking pics of the boys playing at the school carmival.  Here are the shots he got.

That was quite a great morning and then in the afternoon we went to our cousin Mahea's house and helped them a little bit with cleaning their back yard.  Aunty Wilma. . . Mahea's mom. . . made the yummiest hamburger patties. . . she had terriyaki sause, green onion, and oatmeal in the ground beef.  After it was cooked it tasted so good in between a bun with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and bacon.