What a Wonderful Weekend!

Here are some photos of Karyn and Lafi's wedding. They were married in the St. Louis Temple on April 11, 2009. Congratulations, Best Wishes, and Much Love!!!!!

The cute couple: Introducing Lafi and Karyn Manumaleuna!!!!!!

Okay so these pics are in a pretty random order, but here are a few of my favorite sibling pictures. For those who don't know us I will go clockwise from me (I hope you know me if you are reading this): Linda Voelkel, Karyn Manumaleuna, Jeff Hamblin, Todd Hamblin, Dave Hamblin, Paula Hamblin Rice, John Hamblin . . . and not pictured is Chris Richards.

In order from tallest to shortest: Jeff, Dave, John, Todd, Paula, Chris, Linda, Karyn.

Age order was in another pic. It would be Todd, Paula, Karyn, John, Chris, Jeff, Linda, Dave. Who raised this silly bunch of Hams anyway?!!!
And here they are: Ted and LaWana Hamblin. :) I just love the live tropical flowers at Karyn's wedding. Especially the leis. Beautiful!

My lil bridesmaids. Aren't they sweet.
It meant a lot to my girls to be a part of Karyn and Lafi's special day.

Me and my sistahs. :)Da boyz. I bet this was the first shot. "Can someone tell the guys to take off their glasses?! They look like bouncers!" :)
Huge family gathering.

The reason for our huge family gathering. :) It was such a happy day. We love you guys!!!
Some of the other bridesmaids . . . we are missing Liz. They all looked sooo pretty. These are most of Karyn's nieces.

Okay this silly shoe shot actually means a lot to a few of us. Karyn, Chris, and I went to pick up Paula from the airport late Thursday night. And we were all excited and stayed up late talking and laughing. Well we wanted to see Karyn in her dress so we had a short fashion show. She has fabulous shoes and awesome pedicure and we knew that no one would really notice it so we decided to take a picture. Well no picture was doing the fabulous shoes justice, so we adjusted lighting and tried different poses and several shots later . . . this one was our favorite. Silly, I know. But don't come between a girl and her shoes. :)

What a wonderful day! Such sweet words were spoken at their sealing. And they spent the day surrounded by many many friends and family who were there to support them and celebrate the beginning of their journey together through eternity. And not pictured, but ever present, their Heavenly Father is watching over them and guiding them along their way with an umbrella of covenants to protect and bless them.

Zoo Trip

On the last day of our spring break, we met some friends at the St. Louis Zoo. The zoo here has free admission and on top of that, the first hour the zoo is open, the carousel and Children's Zoo are also free! Is St. Louis awesome, or what?!

Holy Hippo! Anna and Janae have been swallowed alive!!! The Children's Zoo has a great playground with a slide that goes underwater through the otter pond.

Daila kinda liked looking at the bugs with her cousin Corey in the Insectarium. She HATES bugs so I was a little surprised. But I guess the little glass wall between her and the insects makes a HUGE difference. She even looked at the giant Brazillian spider. She didn't get too close to that one, but she did look at it and pretend to scream. We all laughed. I texted Ben to tell her how great she did just as we passed from the Insectarium into the butterfly house. Well . . . I had to text him right back and say, "Nevermind." You see, the butterfly house has beautiful flowers and pleasant climate . . . and thousands of butterflies fluttering around . . . absolutely free of any glass partitions. As soon as we walked in a butterfly flew up to tell Daila hello and she freaked out, ran behind my legs, and tried to cover her face, all in one very awkward motion. So apparently butterflies can be more terrifying than a giant spider . . . sort of. We made it through by putting her in the stroller with her coat over her so her body was covered and it would be easy for her to cover her face. Silly girl. :)

Daila liked brushing the goats. She knew just what to do and she liked making them pretty. She would brush for a while and then say, "Okaaay . . . that's enough!" As if the goat wanted more and didn't realize he was gorgeous. :)

Anna is brushing a goat who was standing ready on a bench. I guess this one knew it was gorgeous because she just hopped down when she was done. It looked kinda funny so I chuckled and said, "Next!" And would you believe it?! . . . Another goat just hopped right up on the bench for his turn.

Daila got to ride the Carousel twice! She loved it. But it was a bit chilly that day. (So please ignore the slightly runny nose. ) :)Daila's favorite was the snake!

Anna is riding a leopard. :) What a pretty young lady.

And Janae . . . Janae is riding a baribusa. Yep . . . a baribusa. When she told me she was riding a baribusa, I thought, "What the heck is a baribusa?"

This is a baribusa. Ugly, huh. So I said, "Wow, Janae! How did you know that was a baribusa?!" (My girls are getting older and its not unusual for them to come home from school smarter than me, spouting off cool, amazing, and interesting facts.) But Janae said, "It says so right there." Yeah, apparently they wrote the names of the animals at the top of the pole. See . . . they are smarter than me.

Our Voelkel Zoo Trip Bunch! Pictured here are Daila (with her back to us), Anna, Corey, Lindsey, Janae, Josh, and Holland. We had such a fun day with Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Josh, and our cousins. Daila and Corey had a blast playing together at our house. We'll have to do it again soon. :)

Daila's Diagnosis

Well the results are in . . . . Daila has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder.

What does this mean?

Sensory Processing Disorder is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five senses, the sense of movement (vestibular system), and/or the positional sense (proprioception). For those with SID, sensory information is sensed, but perceived abnormally. We all have a little sensory sensitivity; preferences on food texture, sensitivity to light, being barefoot or not, etc. But for kids with sensory processing disorder the information is processed by the brain in an unusual way that may cause distress or confusion.

This sensoryfun.com link helps explain what this means by giving examples of how our senses work together to help us interact and function in life. These examples are such basic things (like opening a door) . . . when our senses process normally, we don't even think about how our body is processing the stimuli to help us get along.

Sensory Processing Disorder is often diagnosed in conjunction with other neurological disorders like ADHD or autism, but can also be its own independent diagnosis like in Daila's case.

How did we know?

A couple of indicators:
Daila didn't crawl, she scooted. She has trouble moving across her midline at times. She didn't walk until she was 2 years old.
She still wakes up several times at night and can't self-soothe. (We sense things internally, not just externally.)
She has severe separation anxiety and is fearful of social situations.
She seemed to throw fits for no apparent reason.
She gets upset when routine changes without warning or when she doesn't understand the schedule.
She is very verbal and active at home, but not with others (and not just strangers; sometimes cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents).

And all of these things sound like a normal 3 year old when considered in isolation. But the combination of circumstances led us to believe that there was something else going on.

What now?

Daila will need to go to preschool and occupational therapy. It takes her a little longer to process information so she needs lead time. She needs to know what to expect from people in movement and behavior. She needs to be guided to know how to interact with others and disciplined with sensitivity and understanding. If a babysitter, or aunt, or cousin, just got upset with Daila and raised his/her voice without apparent warning, Daila would freak out and withdraw, avoiding further interaction with that person. She wants and needs to know what to expect and what is expected from her. Well, we all want that. :) But Daila needs it to function properly. She needs help understanding what is happening around her. When playing with her, Daila feels more comfortable if you talk through what is going to happen. Otherwise she seems to behave like a "spoiled brat". But I promise we didn't raise a spoiled brat . . . she just doesn't understand the situation because she can't process it like we do.

There are lots of different "types" of sensory processing disorder. Daila is under responsive which means she seeks certain stimuli. (Like spicy food! She loves dipping her chips in salsa and chewy thai deer jerky.) So she will LoVe playing with you, as long as she knows what to expect. If you pick her up and play a "falling" game where you lift her up and down, she will get anxious. But if you pick her up and say, "Oh, you're heavy! I think you're slipping! Oh no!" and then let her fall a little, she will be fine. In fact, she'll probably start giggling before you lower her. She also likes to hang upside down . . . just not without warning. So it's pretty easy to accomodate her, when you are aware that she is sensitive.

Now the big trick is balancing her needs with her typical 3 year old manipulation of wanting to get what she wants. :) And educating other adults on what works best for your child (who otherwise looks and acts like a normal easy going child).

One lady (a substitute for Sunbeams at church) was trying to be helpful. She didn't see me motion to Daila to come back and talk to me. She reached out and grabbed Daila's arm to keep her with her class. Daila was so upset we had to leave church early. Easily avoided if she only knew she was dealing with a sensitive child.

We are learning a lot with this experience and I can't wait to see some results . . . I hope I'm doing the right things for her. There are positives and negatives with having a "diagnosis".

Missing Carrie

I hate cancer.

I was going to stop there and publish the post.... my creative way of making you think. I love poetry like that. Just a line or two that makes you really contemplate for a moment. "Now why would the author say that and just that?" But I don't think many of you would understand my attempt at "creativity". So I will explain:

My best friend, Carrie, died at 14 from a brain tumor.

My dad battled cancer and "won" only to have to continue chemo to battle the effects of the "cure".

My niece (also 14 coincidentally) has just begun a nasty fight with brain cancer.

I hate cancer.

Now if my mom ever saw this I would be reprimanded so I will expound a bit more:

Carrie was a messenger of strength. She was (is) a very special and strong spirit daughter of our Heavenly Father whose mission on this earth was linked to her experience with cancer. How can you hate the thing that leads so many people to personal growth and spiritual closeness with God? My privilege to know and associate with such an honorable and noble woman will forever be a part of who I am.

My dad is enjoying a full life, surrounded by family, a loving and supportive wife, 27 grandchildren (and counting)--oh! that wasn't an announcement for anyone and mostly not for me, by the way--and he still finds joy in everything he sees. He is still able to work at the temple and has found a perfect part time job managing some sort of lab that has flexible enough hours that he can stay home when he goes through one of his episodes.

My niece has just begun her fight, but I can already see the similarities between her and my other two close encounters with cancer. She is a strong spirit and a fighter. She will win, physically or not, she will win because cancer won't take her attitude, her faith, her hope, her family (whom she is sealed to for eternity). And if it can't take your spirit, then what's to fear? How can it ever really win? If it can't change who you are, then it doesn't change anything. Circumstances change, life around us changes, appearances change, but who we are doesn't change. She will always be a noble daughter of God. She had a purpose before she came to earth, she has a purpose here and now, and she will have a purpose when she returns to Him. Perhaps the mission changes, perhaps we change as we grow stronger in character, but who we are cannot be "beaten" by such an earthly, fleating thing as cancer.

But . . . I still hate cancer. I hate it because it forces me to see people I care about suffer while I stand by unable to do anything about the physical pain. I will find some way to overcome this feeling of hatrid so that cancer won't beat me emotionally (vicariously)--I don't want to give it that power. I will find my own way of beating cancer . . . for Grandma Carol, for Sue Houston, for Llewelyn Hendricks, for my niece, for my dad, for Carrie. For anyone who sees cancer up close, we all have a battle to fight.

Now I actually began composing this post several weeks ago and debated on whether or not I should really post it. (I've learned to NOT post things that are too personal . . . the hard way.) So what made me go against my new rule? A recent ovarian cancer diagnosis in another family member. A young 20-something, mom of two toddlers. Grrr . . . .

I hate cancer.

Brag Board

I don't want to blog about my life right now because report cards are due in less than two weeks and I'm stressing myself out so bad that I had a nightmare about school stuff last night. (It really isn't that bad if you look at it in the proper perspective, but I'd rather just avoid it for now and brag about my budding artists.)

This is Janae's African Textile print from her art class at school. I think we'll frame this one when it comes home. Her clown painting is a bit outdated and keeps falling from its spot in the playroom. I love the colors and textures in this one though. Janae has always had a creative streak in her. I remember a specific experience with her painting as a toddler. She blends colors well and arranges them in visually pleasing ways.

I can't remember the title of Anna's art piece, but it is another recent favorite of mine. She always has to use her favorite color (green) and she approaches art in a more organized way than Janae. What I like most about Anna's creations is the reflection of her personality. I can "feel" whether or not she enjoyed herself while creating her pieces. Maybe its a mom thing, but I think it's just a best friend thing.

Feb 7th and 66 Degrees in St. Louis

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather

My Lil Photographer

Well she looks innocent enough . . . right?! :)

I was playing around online when a couple of thoughts hit me all at once: 1. Daila is playing awfully quietly. 2. Last time I saw her, I had given her the digital camera to look at a picture of herself. 3. Where's the digital camera?

Well this is what she was doing when I checked on her:

Just playing with her dolly. And this is what I found on the digital camera:

Now just imagine about 75 more pictures just like that. Yep . . . 75!!!! :)

I guess looks can be deceiving.