My Favorite Gift ...

This Tile was made by my youngest daughter Makinsee, she is 11 almost 12.
You see I started a tradition with my children from the first moment they started school. As they would be ready to exit the car and walk into school as kindergartners, I would say"Remember who you are" and then I would say "Who are you"? and they would smile or grin and say "A Child of God" "bye Mom"
That is how I began every day dropping them off at school or where ever they were going .It became a ritual that I have always continued. Now that Al works from home a lot he takes the kids to school and lets me sleep in. So I do not have those moments with them as often. So on Christmas morning as we were all opening gifts, I was quiet and very tired but enjoying the Christmas fun taking place. Makinsee handed me her gift and as I opened it...I broke out in tears...her sweet spirit of kindness and love towards me just knocked me off my feet...and I was already sitting!!! I wish my camera was better to really show you the tile, but I thought it was most important to share this gift on my blog since it is my family journal. Makinsee reminded me that these few words we would share meant something to her and it meant something to me.How I loved this Gift, the special reminder, As a Mother, I live for these moments and she reminded me of who I am. I hope we can all go into the 2010 New Year remembering who we are...Aloha

Missing Paris...

BON JOUR
This is a collage of our 2ND trip to Paris in November 2005. I wanted to post these photos since I just came across them and I realized I hadn't written about it. This trip included France and Belgium. The majority of our time was spent in France. We stayed at our timeshare in Paris and we rented a car. We drove everywhere!! Loved it!! The open markets are definitely a favorite. Paris is a city that I am most happy to walk almost anywhere.
Our first trip to France included the South of France , the Riviera and Northern Italy. I had my perfume made in Grasse at Galimard . It was on my Bucket List and I am still thrilled to of been able to of done it. I named my Perfume... Queenie... I can order it online and also get it in shower gel and body lotion. Really fun!! Walking along the river, dinners at street side cafes,chickens roasting at the open markets and the drippings from the chickens flowed down into a pool of potatoes happily bathing in the hot juices.The Museums , Parks ,Architecture,History just overwhelmed us with their beauty.
A dinner cruise along the river in Paris was magical, and the accordion players leaning on the bridges as you walked by watching the Artists paint.
The Crepe Carts were so fresh and always available to serve up a delicate treat sweet or savory.
Standing in line at the Eiffel Tower and listening to all of the International languages....just a few highlights of Paris ...I love Paris....don't you?

I Could Live On Bread Alone!

I made these rolls for dinner tonight.My family loves them! I have been making these for 21 years. I got the recipe from a luncheon I went to, the Hostess gave me the recipe over the phone and explained how to do it. Well the first batch was not half bad, but after many years of making the rolls it has become a no brainer!! So please try this recipe and they are the best when you have your teenage Son  or daughter around to knead the dough by hand for at least 5 minutes!!! I have been making them for years with my Kitchenaide, but they are most tender when kneaded by hand they melt in your mouth!!.So if you have a teenager around...friend or relative...get them to help you and it is a great time to spend talking and catching up! They have fun too...Bon Apetite

Sisters in Paradise for 2009

 My Mom(Kathy or Nana as she is known to us) had a surprise visit from her eldest Sister Julie from San Francisco on Christmas Sunday. We were able to get to church early and so I caught a moment of them on the church bench together. I thought it was interesting that Kathy has the exact coloring of their Mother Bernice , lovely white hair and Julie has their Father Julian's dark hair. I grabbed the shot of them and thought it would be cute to show that how the generations continue even in coloring, they love their time together and we really enjoyed visiting with them. As the evening came to a close, Aunty Julie and her husband Jim were able to catch a standby flight on United back to San Francisco. So, My eldest daughter Aubree who is 16 and ready for her license offered to be the chauffeur for the airport. I was designated to be the assistant chauffeur and we had the three Seniors in the back seat of the Cadillac. Nana on the left side Julie in the middle and Jim on the right. The ride to the airport is about 30 minutes. and as the conversation began amongst the Seniors in the back seat, I noticed that each one had a tight grip on the over head grips above the window on each door and Julie seemed to be white knuckled on the front seats where Aubree and I were very comfortable in the front seats and enjoying the ride. As a turn came up to enter the airport freeway, Aubree was going a little fast and had to adjust her speed during the turn, it became very quiet at that moment and we all exhaled and were happy to of survived the merge onto the highway with no casualties. It was actually a fun excursion and they arrived in time to catch their flight. Definitely a memorable experience for these fun seniors who all love to drive still have their licenses to drive and do!! It was great for them to allow our new driver to spread her wings on the open road at night with 3 back seat drivers and all over 70!! It was a great accomplishment and I thought she conquered it well....You Go Aubree!!!

Roll'n in Dough

It has become a Williams Family tradition to deliver these Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas Eve in hopes our friends and family can enjoy them on Christmas Morning! I feed those I love," it's my way"...and the funniest thing is that when we go to the door as a family to deliver them and wish  our friends a Merry Christmas, we do not SING!! and everyone thinks we come to "Christmas Carol"...We just say Merry Christmas and give the rolls . It's funny but we have fun and it is something we look forward to doing together every year. Who knows maybe we will break out in Jingle Bells this Year for a twist!! So tonight Connor was my assistant Baker and dough kneader as we were definately  knee deep in dough. Tonight we finished the first half and another 7 dozen tomorrow. I am sorry if you are to far away for me to deliver these to your door tomorrow night,I would if I could, but here is my recipe and my sincere wishes for a sweet and doughy Christmas.....Aloha

A Family Heirloom ...the gift of many colors

What do you give your Mom that has it all. I don't mean everything material, but the things that are important, she has. Now how many Holidays do you pretend slippers,lotion, or a new movie that is on DVD is the perfect fit? She can only wear so many earrings!. What  about photos of the kids or family? well she lives with us, so she has those by default. I was just not sure what I was to do for her this year to make it special. Being that she was on her Mission last Christmas and she came home to Hawaii only long enough to help me pack boxes and  to contemplate yet another move. I  really wanted this Christmas to be memorable. Her spirit was so spiritually grounded, that of a return Missionary and I sure needed that upon her arrival and loved her even more for it. Now I am going to tell you a little bit about My Mom Kathy and My Mother in Law Dottie.After my Father in Law Roger passed away October of 2006,my Mother in Law Dottie  had slipped into a Coma the day after his burial.. . Dottie woke up from her nine day Coma on a Tuesday and  she remembered me telling her that if she could get well enough to come out of the Hospital, my Mother offered to come and live with her as her care giver so she could be in her own home. My Mom was my Hero in that time of need. You see we were living in Idaho and running a restaurant and 4 kids in school, I could not be in San Francisco with Dottie, but My Mom could .And it was my Mom's idea to do so. So it was a Tuesday night and Dottie had been in the Hospice wing for people who were shutting down.No tubes,no meds, just nurses care. On the 9th day, she woke up around 6pm called for the nurse, asked what day it was, where are her sons and she wanted a diet coke and turn on Dancing With The Stars.!!! And in that order she was on the phone with us and the first thing she asked me was when is my Mother "Kathy" coming to get her out of the Hospital?. Kathy my Mom was on a plane that same week on Friday. She went to the Hospital everyday to be with Dottie, she lived at the house to take care of the daily things like mail, water the plants etc, and get it ready for Dottie's return. Dottie was home within 2 weeks of my Mom's arrival and was able to stay at home with the help of my Mom and in home Nurses that would come weekly. Dottie's stayed home for almost a month, but by Christmas, she had returned to the Hospital due to her failing health,. I know Dottie was very happy to of returned home even for that brief time.You see I promised her she would not have to go to a nursing home and with the love and care of my Mom Kathy, I was able to keep that Promise. Dottie passed away January 4th 2007 in the Hospital.  So this afternoon, Makinsee and I put together a  Quilt that is made from some of  Dottie's  silk scarves that she loved to wear . I saved only the ones that were roughly the same size and of good quality. I thought it would mean a little more to my Mom that this Quilt was made from Dottie's scarf collection and from her daughter and Granddaughter. So when you see all the different colors, they do not all match, but they are all silk and full of lovely colors. Dottie loved flowers and colors, especially Red and Vibrant Blues. Dottie's eyes were a gorgeous blue and it was a wonderful contrast to her Raven hair, she was half Swedish and half Hungarian..  Makinsee and I just finished this tonight  and  it was really good quality time with her especially to teach her the basics of sewing '1A" and I mean basic. But it is the thought right?!?!?! My Mom won't see it until Christmas morning....so shhhhh...keep our Santa secret and I hope she likes it?  
DOTTIE AND ROGER 2006  

           

CATCHING THE SUNSET

IT'S ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE,


TRYING TO CATCH THE SUNSET...........


TOTALLY WORTH THE EFFORT....


I LOVE THE MEN IN MY LIFE...........


NANA LOVES HER GRANDCHILDREN


I FEEL SO BLESSED TO HAVE THESE LOVELY
WOMEN IN MY LIFE
TRAVIS CONNOR AUBREE MAKINSEE
These photos seem to capture what I could never express in words. The love I have for these wonderful people in my life is eternal. If they remember only one thing in their life about me, I really hope it is that I loved them unconditionally. Life is filled with so many distractions, sometimes I think it is easy to forget what the most important things are in our lives. When we feel love, give love,accept love unconditionally..that is all that really matters..

THE COLLECTION CONTINUES

Makinsee at 11 yrs, 2009
















Grandma Dottie at 11yrs ,1947



THE COOKIE CUTTER COLLECTION and cookies in the background.....



Makinsee and I had a great time with the Gingerbread recipe. We used it to make cookies as well as the Williams Ohana house/cottage. So as we pulled out the cookie cutters that I brought from Grandma Dottie's house, I realized that these cutters were really quite vintage and in very good condition. I researched on the net to see just where they might fit in the history of things and it seems they are from the late 40's early fifties. Dottie's Mother Eleanore Wiberg Klein was a fabulous cook. Dottie loved to cook but was ill alot of her married life, so I knew these had to of been from Grandma Eleanore, her Mom's kitchen. Therefore this makes three generations of Cookie Cutters that have survived, so in the Honor of these three women in our family who loved the culinary arts also, I salute them and commit to the continued collection for Makinsee and her kids to have. It was really good quality time with Makinsee, she is excited to bake and loves the kitchen .Good times to be had this Holiday season and of coarse the rest of our family is enjoying the holiday treats too. We think you are awesome "GG"
GREAT GRANDMA ELEANORE 1906-1995

Making SCENTS of a few things

Today I woke up feeling a little more rested than usual. I am kind of a night owl, that's a nice way of saying I don't sleep much. So, today was a day to bake some french rolls for tonight homemade BLT paninis.I thought I would share the easy recipe, it is a variation of Martha Stewart and Julia Child with my own twist on it:
HOME MADE FRENCH BREAD
1 PACKET YEAST
2 3/4 WARM WATER
1/4C SUGAR

MIX AND LET DISSOLVE
7 C FLOUR
2 TBSP POWDER MILK OR INSTANT CREAMER
4 TSP SALT
mix and blend with wet mixture in a mixer with a dough hook, or by hand.What ever process you are familiar with, knead 4-5 minutes. place soft dough ball in a greased bowl, cover with saran, let rise and double in size, punch down and cut into 4-6 mini loaves let rise 1 hr and bake @ 400 on an greased cookie sheet,4 loaves to a sheet, for 15-20 minutes, should be done when you tap the top and get a hollow sound it is done.Brush with butter and cool on wire racks. I double the recipe because my household of 3 adults and 3 teenagers and 1 preteen are hungry!
This is HOMEMADE Gingerbread Potpourri
2 C BOILING WATER
1/4 C CINNAMON
2 TBSP GINGER
1TBSP ALLSPICE
1TBSP NUTMEG
MIX TOGETHER AND ADD TO YOUR MINI CROCK,
set it by the door or somewhere it will be sure to perfume the air, it takes a few seconds to put together and it smells like hours of intense baking!! the kids came home from school and loved it. They immediately came into the kitchen to examine what smelled so good!! And so, they are ready for dinner now...it's only 2pm!! That's what happens when make scents of a few things that smell divine.

MAKINSEE MERRIMENT

Our 11 year old Makinsee had to have a Gingerbread house from scratch this year! We baked the gingerbread, made the Royal icing, and had all of the different candies to decorate.We did a FHE night so everyone could be a part of it! I think we have watched to much Food Network because our end product was nothing like we had imagined and we were all glad that we were not being timed or judged!! but we did have fun taking turns, the left side of the roof broke off, the right side caved in, and so on. Aubree and Al had voted to eat the house during the middle of it's construction,Nana was there to assist and oversee the project. 3 rounds of royal icing and 5 lbs of candy.Aubree announced that she would be taking off the roof for her cereal in the morning!! I think Makinsee conquered her task overall .Travis was not home to participate he went to the BYUH FHE last night, but we missed him even though we are glad he is doing the College thing. There was still fun to be had by all and Makinsee was happy.I think I had better study up for next year. Al said my ginger bread dough was to tender, causing it to cave in it's construction,the look on my face told him volumes he said"but it tastes really great!!". So goes the Williams Ohana Ginger Bread house-turned older COTTAGE...for Christmas 2009...Aloha
this is the obvious back of the Gingerbread cottage, you could tell that...right?lol..lol..lol
Travis came home and asked"is this fair game to eat?" so it must not look too bad..hahahaha
We should of added a few surf boards, but she was clearly feeling more traditional and all eatable of coarse!:))

THE VEIL IS THINNER THAN WE THINK!

I was searching for the Navy picture of Al's Dad , Roger to add to the post I did on Connor.So, when I tried to open the filing cabinet that I had very carefully packed up from Mom and Dads house in South San Francisco with their photos,family history info, collections etc. Anyway when I inserted the key that I thought would open the cabinet I did not realize that when I was turning the key , it would break off int he lock!! did I mention that my Father in law , Roger was a lock smith!lol ...lol, yes I am sure he had a laugh, but Al wasn't laughing as I demanded that he get me into this cabinet at all costs!! So, out came the drill, tools flying and it was best for me to find something else to do, while this adventure was going on .Connor was brave enough to stick it out in the garage with Al.OK, so when the cabinet was free and at my disposal, I immediately came across this photo still in it's frame. I thought it was so perfect to put out in our Hauula home. How perfect for Mom and Dad to be dressed in island attire.I felt a little Christmas Aloha from them as I put it down in front of Al's computer. We miss them alot, they died 3 months apart to the day.Dad passed away at home from a stomach aneurysm on Thursday around noon, October 4Th,2006 and Mom passed in her sleep on January 4ht about 1pm in the hospital.She said she did not want her sons to lose both of their parents in the same year. So she kept to her word as she always did.It was Feb in 2006 that we all celebrated their 50Th wedding anniversary,they were very happy and it was a very nice evening.Little did we know that was their last celebration together here as Dad was gone by that Oct.!! funny how life is sometimes, you just never know what is up ahead, but we do know that Families are forever and the Veil is much thinner than we think! the photo from left to right , Al, bro-Mike, Dottie and Roger Williams Family. 2006.Aloha...

My Bucket List!

Yes It is true!! I have a bucket list that I have compiled and actually written out in black and white.Am I going to publish it on my blog?, well I haven't decided? I have however decided to share in this post that as of this week I have started to write a book that I hope to have published through DESERET BOOK Co.. OK, this goal of writing and publishing a book is on my Bucket list. I am really excited about it. I am trying to do a lot of research about writing a book as I write, so that hopefully it will be something worthy of publishing. My criteria is as follows. I am writing about what I know to be true in my life. So it is a non-fictional story of my journey in searching for my Hawaiian Heritage.My Father was half Hawaiian and half Dutch, born on the island of Oahu. His Father divorced his Hawaiian Mother after they survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942. My Father was around 9 years old when he last saw his mother and the islands of Hawaii. My Father's journey in life without his Mother and Hawaiian Heritage present in his life, set me on my journey to uncover his past, the Mother he never knew and his lineage from the land of his Mother and my Kapuna(Grandmother). I too was missing my Heritage, I had to know who and where my Father came from. I am the link for my Hawaiian ancestors to my posterity. This opportunity is an honor...The name of my book is...
A Daughter Of Hawaii. That is all I can share for now.... All my Aloha

AHOY....CONNOR

Connor is so FUNNY!! OK,I send Connor and Makinsee out to the garage to get the Christmas lights out for decorating and the next thing I know, he is into Grandpa Rogers Navy Uniforms from the Korean War!! Connor absolutely loves these uniforms and is thrilled that they fit him perfectly.The scary part is that Connor is only 14 and Roger was 18 when he wore these.Wow Roger was very thin or Connor is a moose or both! Anyway, we all had a good giggle and Connor liked them so much he had me wash the white sets(3).So there I was washing Navy uniforms that are 50 years old or so?.I told Connor that he is not to get any crazy ideas about the military until he has finished school at least . Boys??... give them a uniform and they go nuts!!! loved it though, I'm sure Roger had to be around for this one. I know he loved Connors enthusiam. We sure miss Mom and Dad.Fun to keep their memories alive, especially through the kids. Connor will not be setting sail anytime soon...but we love his humor! funny kid! Anchors away.....

Awesome Sunday in Paradise...

Today, on the way home from church, my son Travis said "Why does the ocean always look better on Sunday"? I thought maybe because we take the time to look and appreciate it rather than knowing every other day of the week we can be in it and on Sunday we observe it.Hmmm??
On Sundays I try to make comfort foods and delicious desserts for the kids to look forward to. It is a day to worship and spend quality family time together. Today we had Kalua Pork and cabbage, rice, potato,caramelized onion and bacon casserole. Cherry cheese pie and Rocky Road fudge pie. Everyone loved it and had a second round after their naps from breaking our fast! We love to watch AFV & Extreme Home makeovers together..it never fails, when it gets teary..one of the kids always checks to see if I am balling too!! Every time like clock work they love to tease me..I think it chokes them up too, they just like to turn the attention to me..that's OK, I love the show and it always feels good to think about the community and people who are in need. So we closed the evening with FHE and we discussed our upcoming Christmas plans. It was great to hear every ones thoughts and desires. I am looking forward to it. I had the kids take all the boxes to the garage, re arranged a few things and so there is plenty of room for a tree, they want to put the lights up after school tomorrow! So, Christmas in Hauula is ON!! Williams style...this will be the last Christmas that we will be all together for the next 2 years while Travis is on his Mission. It seems to make things all the sweeter. As excited as we are for him to set out on this awesome journey in his life, it impacts each one of our family members as well as our Family unit as a whole.Our Ohana is very grateful to have this time together in Paradise..Aloha nui loa

It was TOUGH Day!

This is the ocean out in front of my home the first picture is looking to the left of my home and the second is looking to the right towards Laie . I found out today that we are not closing escrow in Idaho until the end of December!! so it is Christmas in boxes...but a friend of mine reminded me to be creative and that it could always be worse, and then a friend said bust out and make some christmas cookies!! it was tempting but i am still trying to get some weight off..so as I walked out to this spot on the shore..I was taken back by the overall beauty of the day..truly it was lovely. I put my feet in the water..so warm and clear. Yes it could always get tougher..I was glad to be soothed by the weather and the warm sand that clung to my feet as I headed back to my house full of boxes..oh well!! we will get through it....we always do..PS tomorrow is Travis's 19Th Birthday! wow..I love you my Son!