A Month Already!!

Wow...it's been over a month since my last post...here's a short update on the Buller family.

Ben got braces at the end of June and is coping with them ALOT better than his mother expected. The first few days were full of complaints about pain and oral abrasions but we're smooth sailing now!! He barely even realizes he has them anymore. Flossing has become a bit more difficult though and with Ben's very sensitive gag reflex...it's not pretty. We are not gonna push this too much for everyone's sake! Ben's been tolerating the new medication really well after the initial incident and we're slowing increasing his dose at manageable levels. He gained 3 pounds in one month which isn't bad considering the reviews I had read and of course, the age he is at. His appetite still hasn't increased at all. An ultrasound ruled out any stomach lumps and bumps. He has commented that he feels his hand washing compulsions are returning though. For far he seems to be able to control that to a degree. Monday is our next appointment and we'll have to discuss that then. Ben meets 3x/week with an aide provide through Nursefinders to help with his anxiety/ OCD, social and fine motor skills. Thursdays (today) they meet at the Waimea Boys and Girls Club to work on socialization.

Aly is enjoying summer break...although she and Ben are feeling the tedium and boredom of not being able to travel during the summer months. There are not many options here besides beaching...and while Mom and Dad could spend several days a week at the beach...the kids would like a little variety. Christian Sports Camp started up this week, with the theme, "The Great Comeback" and Aly is loving the Bible lessons and songs, interspersed with Soccer lessons by real coaches. She memorized John 14:1-3 and received a sports pin for the effort. The Uncharted Water team comes from the mainland to provide quality coaching with Bible based teaching and life skills. The children can choose to sign up for Basketball, Cheerleading or Soccer.

Ed is working very hard and feeling the pressure of regular church team leading life but coping admirably. He constantly impresses me with what he is capable of and how God is using him. Unable to take time off during the summer, he is (and we all are) looking forward to a vacation to San Diego in October. A glitch in the immigration paperwork means that tickets purchased last November (for a work visa renewal trip to Canada in March 2009) were postponed indefinitely. They expire a year from purchase however, and so thankfully, we are needing to take a vacation! At this time, our visa renewals are in process, but we are not allowed to leave the country. So a trip to the U.S. mainland it is!!

I am going a little squirrelly...missing friends and family. I try to keep myself busy by oil painting and volunteering at the church. I am the webmaster for our new church website... http://www.kalaheomc.org/ Check it out. I know you'll laugh and guffaw when I say that it is hard to live in Hawaii and not be employed. But it truly is...after 3 years I can say that boredom does set in and take its toll. Our computer died slowly after about 8 years of faithfulness and so now I am trying to keep you posted on an antiquated desktop that runs veeeeeeerrry slowly. Hard to upload or download anything (thus no photos) otherwise the whole thing will just shut down.

My garden is trying to survive...the cucumbers were doing so nicely and then a huge swarm of aphids came and destroyed them all. I HAD SO MANY CUCUMBERS ON THEM!! Boo Hoo! My 8 beefsteak tomato plants are as big as the 6 ft. fence but the blooms dropped off and I have very few tomatoes. The green onions, and mini bell peppers are doing really well and I can't decide WHAT my carrots are doing. I still have 3 lemons on my tree...why do they take SO long to ripen? Can somebody give me any advice on how to deal with dropping blooms, aphids and leafhoppers?

We are eagerly awaiting my niece Kailey's arrival on Monday and hope for a great month with her. It will be nice to have family visit again!

Sayonara...A Hui Hou