A peek into life with the Shinsatos…
As Kim mentioned in our previous post, this weekend was our mochi making marathon… Saturday at our house with the Mukai side and Sunday at Uncle Stan & Aunty Al’s house with the Uesugi gang. We weren’t able to take any pictures on Saturday (although hopefully I can get a copy of pictures from others who did), but I did get to take some on Sunday…
Every year, just before the New Year, our families get together to make mochi. Today is our Mukai family (Lance’s family) mochi making. We used to make mochi at Lance’s grandparents house in Kailua, but after they passed away, we started hosting the mochi making at our house. Lance has taken over Grandpa Mukai’s role as “mochi man”! 
Lance’s mom is in charge of steaming the mochi rice on the stove & Lance operates the mochi machine (a small, electric powered machine that spins the mochi rice into a smooth ball of mochi). Everyone else helps out by making the mochi & packaging them into boxes.
Tomorrow, we’ll be having the Uesugi (Kim’s family) mochi making at Uncle Stan’s house. Uncle Stan & Aunty Al have hosted mochi making at their house for as long as I can remember. The Uesugi family’s mochi process is very different from the Mukai family. Lance’s family makes mochi inside the house, while we make our mochi outside. Uncle Bobby, Darin, Steve, and a bunch of other guys steam the rice over a gas fire – although it used to be a wood fire. Darin or Steve carries the wooden box with the steamed mochi rice over to the mochi machine (a big funnel like machine, similar to a sausage maker). The young boys/men/kiddies, led by Uncle Stan, help to push/pound the mochi rice into the funnel, while the machine grinds the rice into a smooth pile of mochi. My dad cuts the mochi into small pieces, while the rest of us (usually the ladies) stand around a big table & make the mochi balls.
Like many families, the holidays are full of traditions for us. Christmas Eve is always at Aunty Linda/Darin & Lisa’s house . . . Christmas morning is always at my parents house, eating my dad’s omelets . . . mochi making at our house & Uncle Stan’s . . . New Year’s Eve & Aunty Al’s mandoo soup is always at Uncle Stan & Aunty Al’s house followed by ozoni soup at my parent’s house. . . New Year’s Day is always at my parent’s house. It’s so nice to be around family during the holidays, especially when we’re missing Logan so much. Although we’re so sad that he’ll never get to actually experience these traditions with us, we know that he’ll always be with us in spirit. We miss you baby!
We just visited our NSCU family tonight . . . we haven’t been by for a visit in a while, so it was nice to see everyone again. We’ve really missed seeing the NSCU staff. While we were there, we found out that two more of the babies that were in A-side with Logan are now guardian angels . . . this makes a total of four little ones from A-side who have left this world too soon. 
We know, all too well, what these families are going through . . . our hearts go out to them. We know that just like us, they are missing their babies even more during this holiday season. Four new angels will be getting their wings this Christmas. Kassie thinks that the four little ones are having a blast up there, with Logan as their ring leader! Can’t you just see it?
I got this from a friend of mine . . . thought it was an appropriate thing to share during this holiday season.
For the Garden of Daily Living . . .
Plant three rows of PEAS:
1. PEAS of mind
2. PEAS of heart
3. PEAS of soul
Plant four rows of SQUASH:
1. SQUASH gossip
2. SQUASH indifference
3. SQUASH grumbling
4. SQUASH selfishness
Plant four rows of LETTUCE:
1. LETTUCE be faithful
2. LETTUCE be kind
3. LETTUCE be patient
4. LETTUCE really love one another
No garden is without TURNIPS:
1. TURNIP for meetings
2. TURNIP for service
3. TURNIP to help one another
To conclude our garden we must have THYME:
1. THYME for each other
2. THYME for family
3. THYME for friends
Water freely with PATIENCE and cultivate with LOVE. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.
This holiday season, remember to show your loved ones how much you care. Remember one of Logan’s many lessons . . . live your life to the fullest because life is too short! Happy Holidays everyone!
It’s December 15th . . . only 10 more days until Christmas. We’re excited for Christmas, but so sad that Logan isn’t here to share it with us. Lance & I were anxiously awaiting the holidays this year because we were expecting to celebrate them with our son. But now . . .
Nowadays, we never know when a wave of sadness is going to hit us . . . they come & go whenever they please. Last night a wave hit me (or as Sunny would say, I had an “episode”). I had a very restless night & have been feeling extra blue since then. Today as I was driving home, I started thinking about how very different this Christmas will be from last Christmas. At this time last year, we had just done our IVF & were on pins-and-needles waiting to see if it was a success. We found out the good news just after Christmas and we were able to start 2008 off with high hopes.
This Christmas, we’re missing Logan. This New Year’s, we’ll be wondering if 2009 will be any better for us. It’s amazing to think that 2008 was truly the BEST & WORST year of our lives. Obviously, it was the WORST year because we lost Logan & Beamer. But 2008 was the BEST year because Logan came into our lives & chose us to be his parents. He must have known that he only had a short amount of time with us because he made sure to let his personality shine through from the very beginning! He showed us what a character he was, which made us love him even more.
As far as bad times go, I’d say we’ve definitely hit rock bottom . . . I keep telling myself that the only place to go from here is up. Right? I know that we’ll never “get over” our grief . . . the hole in our hearts will ALWAYS be there. But I have to believe that someday, the grief & the pain won’t be as raw as it is now.
In case you didn’t know, we feel blessed to have such wonderful family & friends to support us. It’s sometimes hard for us to express our feelings in person, so we’ll have to rely on our blog to do this. I think we’ve gotten pretty good at putting on a brave face when we’re around other people . . . it’s very hard, but we’ve managed somehow. You will NEVER know how much your love, support, hugs, emails, & blog comments mean to us.
So this Christmas, hug your loved ones & cherish the times you spend with them. Logan definitely taught us to make the most of our time here on Earth . . . life is too short & too precious to waste. Appreciate each other . . . show your loved ones how much you care . . . and please share some holiday cheer with our two guardian angels!
The turnout for the game was incredible… the stands were so packed that they actually opened up the North end zone, which they normally don’t do for high school games.
The game itself, however, wasn’t as great a game as I was expecting it to be… Punahou dominated the game from the get-go… They scored a touchdown and Leilehua had an injured player within the first minute. Punahou’s defense held Leilehua to their own side of the field for the majority of the game… I don’t think Leilehua crossed the 50 yard line until late in the second quarter.
Final score: Punahou 38, Leilehua 7
Congratulations to Punahou on their first Football State Championship!
Tonight is the Hawaii High School Athletic Association 2008 State Football Championships. There are 2 games tonight: the division II championship between Iolani and Radford and the divsion I championship between Leilehua and Punahou.
In case you didn’t know, Kim (and the majority of her family) is a Leilehua grad, while I’m a Punahou grad. We’re going to the game tonight with Kim’s sister (who is a Leilehua grad and the registrar at Leilehua) and her family and because I’m outnumbered, we’ll be sitting in the Leilehua section.  :O
It should be a great game… Punahou is ranked #1 trailed very closely by #2 Leilehua. Both teams have an explosive offense and run a predominantly air game… both teams have a lot of pressure to win… Punahou is ranked #1, but has not won a state championship to date, while Leilehua is the returning state champion.
May the best team win…Â Go PUNS!!! (and Mules!)
December 4th is Beamer’s birthday . . . our big guy would have been 6 years old today. We miss him so much, but we know that he & Logan are having a grand old time together . . . we’re sure that they’re getting into ALL sorts of mischief!
HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY BEAMER!! We love you!!