My goodness...she is nine. When did that happen? And look at how tall and beautiful she is! When she was born, she was so tiny--she looked liked a baby bird! When we left for Japan, I was worried that whenever we came home, she would have nothing to do with me. I used to say little prayers...Please let this little baby let me hold her! AND my prayers were answered. She loved us every single time and came to us with no hesitation! How darling was that? She is a big help to her mother and father in taking care of Ellie and Ryan. Sometimes, we forget how many times we ask her to fetch or do something. She has never complained. She gets up quickly and accomplishes the task...and always with a smile.
Ellie adores Emma. IF she could, she would sleep in the same room and same bed with Emma forever! (They remind me of some other sisters I know that are crazy about spending time with each other.) She is an avid reader, an exceptional pianist, and an excellent student--so in the words of Grandma Hallstrom...we are are humbly proud of our beautiful granddaughter! 
As grandparents, we are so thrilled that heaven sent beautiful Emma to our family. Happy Birthday, darling Emma! WE LOVE YOU!
Trying on saris in Bangalore India--('cause if I didn't live in Hong Kong, this wouldn't have happened!)
Then posing with my sari dresser!
Going to the Lo Wu Commercial Plaza in 
Sandi, the gal in the navy blouse and red necklace, introduced me to Rosie, our tailor. All of us go to her!
Rosie is a marvel and her skills have created many outfits--jackets, pants, skirts, coats, pajamas are just a few of things she has made. A custom tailored jacket and skirt, including the fabric will cost about 40 dollars US. However, the real fun begins when you go to the 5
These two pictures give you a glimpse of the fabrics available! Most yardage here goes for about $3.00 US /meter. Of course, if you really want to save money on fabric, we go to the fabric district in 
I have wanted to post about this for a long time--but not wishing to offend anyone, I kept putting if off. However, I strongly feel that a visit to Cambodia is not complete without visiting that part of history that cannot not be ignored. In 1973, Pol Pot overthrew the government of Cambodia and established a military controlled regime. (In 1973, I was a young mother just starting a new life in Hawaii...absorbed in my life, not realizing what was happening in Cambodia.) Pol Pot was brutal. He had the same convictions as Chairman Mao and believed that all who were educated or of an upper class needed to be repatriated--which he did through work camps and death squads. Almost everyone living in Cambodia today has suffered the loss of family and friends.
It is a memorial to the dead, and houses the skulls of over 8,000 people. The brutal methods of killing are irrefutable when gazing at the remains. Scattered throughout the grove, you can see mounds of dirt and holes. The mounds are the remaining mass graves that have been left in peace. The holes signify that the bodies have been removed
As you walk along the path, you are touched and horrified by the bits of cloth and bone that has worked it's way to surface. Then you realized that the path is only for today's walk--back then it was a part of the mass graves.
Their brutality was chilling. Trees were used to hang loudspeakers to muffle the cries of death. Trees were used as killing instruments on small children--they didn't want to waste their bullets. 
These groves are called 'The Killing Fields." Today, they are the caretakers of their dead, standing as a witness against man's inhumanity to man.
Today is the Bear's birthday! I am so excited to share with all of you some of the wonderful things we love about this daughter of ours.
Several years ago, Kara coined the phrase, 'YA YA,' in our family whenever something wonderful was about to, or had happened. She had everyone saying it, from little 2 year old Ellie on up! (Well, okay, not her dad!) So this Ya Ya is for you, bear--the third Ya is how the chinese would say it! (this is my tailor's sewing machine)
She loves her sisters and they are the best of friends! They get a little crazy at times when they are together, but the predominant theme is always lots of love and laughter.
Of course, we cannot forget her 'little fan club." Kara dotes on them--they are so lucky to have such a darling aunti! 
You may know that she is a budding seamstress. (See? A mother's dream really can come true.) How would it be to sew one's creations on a pink and white sewing machine AND one that Project Runway endorses? That is so Kara!
Add to that her knitting skills, her gift for writing, her decorating talents, her 'luck' in finding incredible shopping bargains and you begin to see what a multi-talented gal she is! 
Her enthusiasm for travel is becoming legendary. She has a book about a 1000 places to see before you die...which she is diligently checking off. She has been to Hong Kong, China, Japan, Bali, England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France and the list continues. YA YA for Kara!
Kara has always loved animals. We had Patches, (her cat) Twinkles, (her bunny), and a stinky little white mouse called Mickey. When we went to Thailand, we had to walk down to the baby elephant pen, so Kara could exclaim, 'Oh, look at the cute widdle babies,' and other baby talk anecdotes that had the mama elephant a little worried!
We adore her! We love her bear hugs! We love her beautiful smile! But most of all, we love that she is our daughter. Happy Birthday darling Kara! YA YA! 
In December of 2005, we had an exciting event happen right outside of our building. Right up the street from where we live is the Hong Kong Convention Center. It is a wonderful looking building that hosts many conventions throughout the year.
This particular event was the World Trade Organization Conference. Because of the sensitive nature of the talks, it was expected that there would be lots of protests during the days that they were convened. Sure enough, the protesters didn't disappoint, and the streets around Gloucester Road were cordoned off and filled with approximately 10,000 protesters--3000 of them from Korea! Because it took place in front of our building, we could neither go in or out during the 3 days that they were camped outside--AND church was cancelled for our building. Basically, we were under house arrest!
Most of the time, the protesters sat peacefully on the road!
Of course, where their are protesters, you will also have the police! Several news stories reported that there were 9,000 police on duty. I am not sure if that is accurate, but I do know that a lot of them were outside of our building.
Some police standing in the alcove of our building!