At the beach

Dear Family and Friends
Nikki and Steve are out this evening and I am doing Pappa daycare. Its been fun and the girls while being totally full of life and energy were good and eventually settled down. Kallie just breaks your heart as she crys so loudly for a few more minutes of freedom in spite of being totally tired. She sleeps in the second bathroom where it is dark and quiet. Keanna has discovered the amazing enjoyment of a Dora the Explorer web site on my laptop and would be on it all day if we allowed. She learns quickly and knows her way around the site very well.
This morning we went to our traditional breakfast spot only to discover after walking through the beautiful open air lobby that they only serve breakfast to hotel guests now. That was almost a day breaker. We went to the Sheraton and discovered an almost as good brunch with kids eat free bonuses. The food was great and we sat just feet from the ocean. The morning was bright and beautiful.
After breakfast we headed to the beach. Nikki and Steve introduced Kallie to the ocean and she loved it. Keanna practiced her swimming and went out further with her mom and day. They rented a tiny umbrella which gave a bit of shade. The kids played until they were worn out. Once we were back to the room Kallie slept for hours and we all drifted into and out of rest.
This evening Nikki baked cookies before they went out. Keanna just eats the frosting but Kallie loved the cookie. She has this wonderful way of letting you know she wants more. She puts her fists together in front of her again and again, that is her sign that she wants to have more of what she was just eating or drinking. Tonight I ask her if she wanted more milk and I waited for a verbal comment and totally missed her beating her fists together until Keanna pointed it out. She drained another bottle of milk.
I am reminded once again that most families look pretty impressive from a distance but then you are under the roof and discover the there are magic moments and moments of discord and disagreement. Nan and I often disagreed on things and eventually as our kids grew up they would roll their eyes when we began to argue and we would end up giving it up. In life we come up with a few really precious moments, a lot of normal stuff and some periods of friction. That is the way it is, beware of a couple who say they never fight or disagree. It simply means that one is controlling and the other is giving in all the time.
Family means a lot of things, it comes down to a very challenging process of free spirited bright people finding enough common ground to make it worth while. The process evolves over the years and often the bottom lines get changed as time moves along. I have great respect for people that can hold it together over the years when we live in a time when it is so easy to drift apart and then go apart tearing little ones into, even adults in two.
I believe the Lord created families and loves for all of us to grow and mature as the years go by. This time with my family is precious, it is worth it and being in Hawaii is just icing on the cake. As I look at Keanna I see a teenager, a young person and all too soon. May God bless us all with patience and the ongoing desire to continue to mature, to keep growing up, to keep being more unselfish and more helpful to others.
This trip is going way too fast, what a great Christmas gift to get to be someone totally different, a Pappa full time.
Love to all,

Tim