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.
