Four Years Down, Eternity to Go!

This past Thursday was our fourth wedding anniversary! It has been an amazing four years and we took all the highs and lows so well together and just continue to get stronger. It's not just something to say- our wedding day was truly the best day of my life! Our families and all of those that we really love were there with us. We had SO much fun and it was just the beginning! Travis was just saying that some days it seems like it was just yesterday, and other days it seems like it has been forever! But the best part is we have FOREVER to be together!

A list of thanks!

I am one lucky girl! I have the most amazing family and friends! It's true! And I don't think I am as great to any of you as you are to me! I can't thank you enough for all of your love and support through this rough time! All of you are so sweet and amazing! I sent out alot of thank you cards this week but I don't feel like it was enough. So hopefully you will take a public thank you- sorry it's not as cute as a fun thank you card from Target.

• Thanks for the comments on our blog !
• Thanks to my immediate family who has sat on the phone with me to either hear me cry or distract me even though I know you are so busy!
• Thanks to my wonderful mom who was ready to hop on a plane!
• Thanks to Miss Jenn who called a million times, sent texts, cards (yes more than one card), and emails- everything she could!
• Thanks to her mom Andi who sent me Peeps! How sweet- literally!
• Thanks to my cousins Amber and Brooke who sent the most beautiful Willow Tree figurine.
• Thanks to Ryan Katsuno who came to the hospital!
• Thanks to those who sent flowers! They were all SO beautiful! In the picture from right to left are flowers from my mother in law, the amazing Wilton Family (Mike and Tracie you are so great!), and then finally the nicest sisters I know- the Hibbs girls. Actually none of you are Hibbs anymore. Trisha, Tara, and Tiffany- you are so thoughtful!

And the list is definitely not complete without including my husband in it. I know I have mentioned it in every post since all the craziness began, but he has been so wonderful. When he brought these gorgeous flowers home for our anniversary he out did even himself! What a guy!

So thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't say it enough! And hopefully eventually I will be able to return a portion of your love and support!

My Special New Friend!

Before I introduce my new friend, I wanted to thank you all SO MUCH for all of your really thoughtful and sincere comments on our last post! We REALLY do appreciate it and are so thankful for all of you in our lives!

You may be staring at this nasty thing and wondering if I have totally lost it for posting this on my blog. Well I have!

It's a picture of a painful, prickly little kidney stone. Without my consent, this little guys friend used to live in my right kidney. I had no idea it was crashing in there until Wednesday night when it decided it didn't want to live there anymore. When it started to leave it didn't want to go quietly and caused me SO, SO, SO much pain! I couldn't even bear it! Sorry this whole pain thing has been coming up on my blog alot this week! I used to really think that I had a high threshold for pain.

Anyway, Travis came home to a crying miserable wife on Wednesday night and called our doctor who sent us straight to the emergency room at Kapiolani. I caused quite a scene in the ER because of my new little friend. I was crying because I was in so much pain, shaking all over, and sweating so much that Travis was wiping my face down! It was NOT PRETTY! Everyone in the ER was so nice and they put me on quite a bit of morphine pretty quickly. They had to give me a catheter and the poor nurse who had to do that almost got kicked in the jugular! After the second dose of morphine started to kick in and Travis and our wonderful friend Ryan Katsuno gave me a Priesthood Blessing, I started to feel much better. I couldn't stand up straight and was more than a little fuzzy, but I wasn't in pain anymore!

After a CAT scan the doctor confirmed his suspicions of our little friend and sent us home with a bunch of drugs that could make us some serious money on the streets and a whole fancy filtration system to catch my kidney's squatter. Once the morphine wore off I took one of my prescriptions, but like the kidney stone it also didn't like my body and wouldn't stay down! After throwing up twice Trav and I finally fell asleep at 2 am. What a night! Travis and I were literally laughing at the good fortune we have had this week!

I still haven't caught the culprit yet in the fancy filtration system. I think he is taking his sweet time and making pit stops on his way out. Until then I have to constantly be on one of the Level 2 Narcotics that they gave me for pain. I am really hoping today is the day that he comes out! Once again Travis has been AMAZING!!!! You would think that eventually he would get sick of taking care of his pathetic wife, but he hasn't shown any signs of tiring yet! I am SO thankful for him and for all he has done! I am also thankful for friends like Ryan who stayed and hung out with Travis and even brought him McDonald's! Nothing makes Travis smile like something from the Golden Arches!

sorry, this isn't going to be a fun post

Okay if you are not in the mood for whining, then please don't continue reading. I have to whine because I am SO sad today!!!!

I am sad because on Monday I was 2 months and 3 days pregnant. As many of you probably know Travis and I have been trying to get pregnant for a very long time. We have been working with a fertility doctor for about a year after I was diagnosed with something we knew we didn't want to handle on our own. But, since last year was so crazy with my dad being sick and him passing as well as Travis's grandpa passing, the treatments were intermittent when I was in town and feeling up to it. I had a miscarriage shortly after we found out I was pregnant in May, but at the time we understood because of everything going on.

In November both Travis and I were feeling great and really ready to focus again on starting a family. Well that was the month for us! When I was in Texas I found out I was pregnant! We were so overjoyed! It kinda sucked that Trav was on the phone at the time and not there with me but it was also really fun to share it with my mom and family- including several aunts that were there for the building dedication I talked about earlier. My whole family has been in this with us the whole step of the way so they were just as excited as we were! The next day we figured out that my due date was August 22nd. That is exactly 1 year from the day my dad died and two days after Travis's Grandpa's birthday. We were amazed and knew that this was their gift from heaven to us! I also felt that my dad wanted us all to be happy on that day and not sad- especially my mom as she has been dying for Travis and I to have a baby for years.

When we got back to Hawaii I started spotting a little bit and my doctor put me on bed rest for the month of January as precautionary- hence the many blog posts. Bed rest was brutal but my wonderful husband was incredible and did everything he could to make me comfortable! Last Friday the spotting got a little worse. We went to see the doctor on Saturday and saw our little one with a little flashing heart beat for the first time and thought everything was okay.

On Sunday night it got much worse. My pain was really bad and we didn't think it looked good. I was devastated. We were talking to the doctor all night and he had us come in Monday morning. When he did the ultrasound, Lenni (what Travis calls the baby- as in lentil bean) was still there!!!! We couldn't believe it! Neither could the doctor. We knew it was a miracle and that this was one special baby! I can't express how happy and how blessed I felt! I went from tears of sadness to tears of joy. What a roller coaster!

Then Monday night the pain was unbearable and it got much much worse. I passed alot of tissue that night and it was very traumatic for both Travis and I. We knew exactly what we were seeing and I was devastated. Yesterday we went to the doctor again and he confirmed that everything was out and I didn't need a D&C. We lost the baby.

I was numb and actually I still am. I don't understand and can't believe this has happened. I can't begin to describe how much we want to start a family. We are so ready to struggle through trying to be good parents. It is so painful to not have any control over this situation. But, I do have faith in the Lord and know that He has a plan for us. He has blessed me with some peace and comfort the past two days and I know He will continue to do so. He has also blessed me with an amazing husband! Travis has been calm and reassuring through this whole weekend. His faith has been unwavering and he has done everything possible for me. He has been my rock and I am so thankful for him!!!!! He went back to work today and I miss him so much! I couldn't have asked for more in a husband! I love you Trav!

I am also so thankful for such an amazing family and wonderful friends. All of you are so supportive and I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. I am kind of hiding from the world right now but I promise I will return your phone calls and emails sometime in the not to distant future.

The Lord is in control and I do know that He loves us and will bless us one day with what we want so badly. I am thankful for the blessing that He has already provided us and hope that one day- AS SOON AS POSSIBLE- those blessings will include a baby.

Thanks for listening to the whining!

Christmas Card Obsession!

I am obsessed with Christmas Cards! I love them! My mom always loved them so I think that is where I started my obsession- and who I can blame it on. Right before we got married I didn't go home for Christmas because I needed to save my vacation for the wedding and honeymoon. So my mom mailed me all the cards and letters of those people that I knew. I read them and then gave them to my sister to do the same. Now that is an obsession.

Now that I am older and get my own Christmas cards, I have drawn my husband into the sickness. We have fallen into this little routine. He is the one that gets the mail when he comes home from work and I can tell he has a little skip in his step when he has cards mixed in with bills and ridiculous junk mail. I then proceed to open the cards and read every single piece possible. I then show him the picture and give him the play by play while he settles in from work~ which means changing from slacks and an Aloha shirt to board shorts and a t shirt. After all the cards are opened I tape them on the back of our front door so we can gawk at our collection. I love it! I love the pictures, the update letters on every ones lives, the holiday greetings, and just that our friends and family thought of us! Its seriously one of my favorite things about the season!

We took down all of our other Christmas stuff right after New Years but the cards stayed up. But last weekend it was time. Because it is so humid they were all starting to curl and bend. So down came this years collection of cards.

Now I can't wait for next year when the cards begin to come again! Isn't Trav lucky that I look forward to Christmas cards more than presents? But he is not so lucky that I just told the whole world that there is times he has a skip in his step! :) He may just kill me for that one!

He has arrived~ FINALLY!!!

Introducing.....

Tyson Brady (insert Hawaiian name later) Lee Kikuchi

This is our new born nephew that was born yesterday. This is Travis's brother Brandon and his wife Kim's first little one. He was born last night at 10:07 after a VERY quick delivery. Poor Kim has been dilated to a 7 for a week!!! We have been thinking he was coming any day since the week before Christmas but Tyson was just in there hanging out! They checked into Queens hospital yesterday at about 4 pm and they started inducing her. They broke her water at a little before 8 pm right before Trav and I got to the hospital to visit and bring Brandon dinner. We were there for an hour and Kim only started feeling the contractions the last 20 mins. We left at 9 and an hour later our nephew was born!!

He is 8 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long. He has his dads lips, his moms nose, and Kim's dad's eyes. He has barely cried and already has skipped a feeding because he absolutely refused to be woken up to eat- now that sounds JUST like his daddy!! He is adorable and we are so happy everyone is healthy!

Uncle Travis fell in love immediately! He wants to take him surfing or golfing as soon as possible!

Uncle Travis, Baby Tyson, and Daddy Brandon. At 3 am this morning when I came back to bed after making a little bathroom break (sorry if that was TMI) Travis woke up for a second and said "my brother is a dad!" and then went right back to sleep while I chattered on.

We are so happy to welcome Tyson to the family! Congrats Bran & Kim!!!!

Here is the link to the hospital web site for a couple more cute pics:

http://www.our365.com/WebNursery/WebNursery/Baby/BabyPage.aspx?birthid=2&babyid=0

Almost Pathetic!

Okay so I made a pretty sad attempt today and redesigning Kikuchi Korner. It was so sad because it took me almost 2 hours to figure out that it should have taken me 10 mins! See, I told you that I am a technological idiot in my first post! By the way I have also been informed by my very gracious sister that I not only am a terrible speller (I do call her alot when I am scrapbooking to spell words for me), BUT I apparently have a serious problem with run on sentences! And I'm pretty sure that last sentence was TOTALLY grammatically correct- right Lisa?

Okay so I like the new design so-so, but I don't love it. Travis really wants the Hawaiian Islands in the back ground but I couldn't find anything even close to that. I just need something a little more fun then what I've got. So now all of you fabulous bloggers have to help!. What are the sites you like to use for your templates? Miss Leo, Miss Shari, and Miss Meredith I hope you read this soon because your templates are so cute! And of course I love the rest of yours too! And if you are reading this and DON'T have a blog, then get to it! If I can do it~ trust me ~ you can too!!! How was the grammar on that one?

Bring in 2008!

We are so excited for 2008 to finally be here!!!!!

We had an incredibly hard 2007 and we are ready for a new year! This year we both changed jobs, both watched our fathers suffer and then pass away (Trav's Grandpa was his father), continued to struggle with trying to start a family, Travis had a visit to the hospital with the flu, and we had other unfortunate and very hard learning experiences through out the year. But together we are bouncing back and looking forward to the new year!

Through it all we learned SO much including how to really pray, how thankful we are for the family and friends that we have that support us and our decisions, how blessed we are to know the gospel, to have the sealing power of the Temple, and most of all how blessed we are to have each other! I now know that we really can make through anything as long as we have each other. And I am SO thankful for the wonderful friendship and marriage we have and for our constant support, love, and fun that we have in bad years like 2007 and in good years- like 2008 will be!

Happy New Year ~ Times Three!!!!!

This year we celebrated New Years 3 different times!

Our first celebration was in Texas a little early on the 29th. We had dinner and popped fireworks with my sister's family, my mom, and our friend Jenn.

Last night we celebrated twice ~ double the fun! First we went to Grandma's house. We had dinner and popped some fireworks with Grandma, mom, Uncle Jack, Auntie Mona, Jacquie, Maddie, Brandon, and (a very ready to deliver our new nephew) Kim.

When Travis is with Uncle Jack and Brandon he gets a little too much encouragement! :)

At about 9 we went over to Kaneohe for our third and final celebration. We went to bring in the New Year with our good friends the Katsunos, Bagoyos, Kanaheles, Warners, Hibbs, and family. It was so nice of them to invite us and we had such a blast! Travis found 4 other boys just as excited as he was to pop fireworks and they had TONS to pop! This is just a small sample of the fireworks they did~ it was crazy! All the neighbors were doing fireworks too so there was alot of entertainment on the Windward side! We had a blast!

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Okay I know it's a little late but we do hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We did have a really great time in Texas again this year but missed our family that couldn't be there with us. We also thought alot about my dad and Travis's grandpa as this was our first Christmas without both of them- but we know they were very close! Here are just a few highlights.....

Somehow my best friend Jenn's dad knew how to get a hold of Santa Clause and asked him to come over to my mom's house on Christmas Eve to visit my nieces! It was very exciting especially when Santa made me, my sister, and my mom sit on his lap and tell him what we truly wanted for Christmas. But, the best part of the visit was my niece Makell thinking she sealed the deal in asking Santa Clause for the second time for a 4 wheeler! She is eight and lives in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. It just so happens that Santa called back later that night to tell Makell's mom that 4 Wheelers might be too dangerous!

My brother-in-law Todd and Travis making what is now referred to as “Pakka Breakfast.” My nieces and nephew called my dad Pakka and he used to make a big breakfast every Christmas morning. Travis also went on to make an AMAZING Christmas dinner of Prime Rib! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Master Chef!

I really didn't ask for anything for Christmas and didn't really need anything but my amazing husband got me this: a blue topaz ring that matches my wedding ring. It is to wear on my right hand and represent my dad- beautiful! Miss Jenn Cook also totally surprised me by giving me a HP Photo printer to feed my scrapbook obsession. Way too nice!

Everybody LOVES Uncle Travis!

Ginn Center

Okay so I am finally home and have time to post our Christmas photos~ so I will have quite a few posts today as we watch the Sugar Bowl!

The first and most amazing post is about the dedication of Ginn Center. Before my dad died in August from cancer, the company he worked at for 34 years announced that they were going to do something that they had never done before and name a building after my dad. The following was the worldwide announcement of this decision the day before my dad died:

"Baker Petrolite Vice President HR Evan Ginn has been battling a serious illness for some time and has recently decided to discontinue further medical treatment so he could return to his home. In honor of Evan's significant contributions to Baker Petrolite and, in particular, the establishment of the Sugar Land headquarters facility, the Baker Petrolite Leadership Team has recently changed the official name of the facility to the “Ginn Center.” The tribute will ensure that Evan's decency, humility, work ethic, commitment and good nature are remembered throughout the working environment.”

The final dedication was done on December 12th and everyone in my family but Travis was there (knowing how much he loved to work, my dad was probably so happy Travis was still at work). Two of his sisters, one of my moms sisters, and countless friends and his co-workers were there to remember my dad. To say the very least it was an incredible honor for our family! It is so amazing to know that not only did my dad mold my own life and that of my family, but touched so many other lives as well!