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Until we can get better quality video, this will have to appease all those interested in seeing Ephraim's performance of Joseph in "Savior of the World". In the first clip, he's singing about the house he's building for himself and Mary. In the second clip, Mary has just told him she's expecting a child and he's distraught because they're not married yet, and the angel hasn't confirmed to him that everything will be fine.







Ella was selected to lead her class in singing the months of the year at her school's Christmas program. The line they gave her was "K-4, how many months of the year?" She figured out that it should be, "K-4, how many months of the year are there?" So that's what she said. She didn't seem nervous at all to be in front of the hundreds of people there. Notice that with Samoan accents they say, "Aukus" for August.


Isaac has also been getting into the dramatic mood. He's catching us totally off guard lately with the phrases he picks up. Right before this video he'd gotten frustrated with something and threw himself to the ground quoting some dialog from "Meet the Robinsons". It cracks us up!



We think he's got a great future to look forward to.

Fillmore Christmas Newsletter

For anyone interested, here's the 2008 Fillmore Family Christmas newsletter hot off the electronic press. My sister Jan put it together and did a great job! I know it's long, but when you've got dozens of people to feature, it'll take 4 pages. Check us out on page 3.

Joseph

Ephraim is a superstar!

I went shopping today and saw him on TV at two different places.

I know it's not hard to get recognized on this small island, but I'm so proud of Ephraim.

Why?

Our stake ambitiously set out to do The Savior of the World for the annual Christmas program. It's a production shown at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City involving professional singers, actors, crew, and orchestra. Although our stake director Tagi Schwenke faced obstacles at every turn with limited time, talent, and resources, she perservered trusting that her faith and effort would be blessed.

Ephraim played Joseph. He had lots of lines to memorize and several solos to polish. The cast spent HOURS practicing--for the last few weeks they basically lived at the church.

The play was finally ready...let's say "scheduled"... on December 4 and 5. All the wards pitched in to create the right mood with scenes of the Savior's life staged along the entrance: the stable, Jesus teaching the in temple, and learning in a carpenter's shop.

Our local TV station filmed the first performance, which was great for me because Isaac and I spent some frustrating time out in the hall during Ephraim's key parts. Some of our friends came to watch, which was the main goal of the production. The second night went well too, although nasty weather discouraged some folks from attending.

I felt proud of Ephraim for many reasons. First, I knew he really didn't want to be doing the play at all. When Tagi first approached him about the part he was convinced he'd be out of town, sick, or both. But as he humbled himself and thought about the good he could do, he conceded, and worked really hard improving his own part and helping the other (knuckleheads) get their parts too.

I was also proud because it was out of his comfort zone to try to act. You who know him well know he's NOT an actor. I had to chuckle at some of his lines and strained smiles--he's cute for even trying!

And finally I was proud because he sang beautifully. (If I can, I'll post some video.) He's really a talented singer thanks to Temple family training. I only wished that Ma Temple were there to watch and hear him. She would've loved it. Our bishop said to me, "So, was it the voice that did it for you? 'Cause I was falling in love with him out there!"

In a lot of ways Ephraim is like Joseph. Facial hair, rough hands, and a big nose... just kidding. I mean he's kind, humble, and obedient to the Lord. And married to a woman most fair above all other women--.

You know, when Ephraim first came off his mission in 1998, after he gave his homecoming talk in church Pa Temple commented that he was "good PR for the Temple family". Good things happen to Ephraim Temple, and I always feel that I'm just lucky to be along for the ride.

Hike to Big Guns

We accompanied the young men and women on a walk up to see the large historic cannons that remain as relics of World War II in American Samoa. The cannons were never used for battle, so Ephraim shared a spiritual thought with us about having our defense in place, whether we need it or not, by staying close to the Lord.

The youth are so great about watching out for our kids. It's a cool Samoan thing.


Can you count the toads on this pile? Icky!


And we crossed the street afterwards to cool off and enjoy the sailboats.

Ella's Swimmeet

Last Saturday Ella participated in her first swimmeet! She's in the beginner class of our parent-run swim program. Despite the bad weather, everyone did really well.


Ella was a little nervous since she's never been in a race before. She did two races: 20 yard kickboard, and 20 yard doggy paddle with a noodle. Her first race didn't go so great because she inhaled some water, started crying, and needed help to finish. Her later comment was, "I forgot something with the kickboard: kicking!" She pulled herself along the rope to the end. It was very cute. But she didn't give up! And she finished 2nd.



Her second race was great! She doggy paddled like a pro and got a blue ribbon.

Yay swimmers!!

First School Photo

So they thought to put a flower in her hair, brush her sweaty bangs, and give her a kukui lei. But no one told her to SMILE ??!!

She definitely has a heap of Melinda with accents of Ephraim. Cute girl, huh?

Smeagol Bus

We thought this bus was entertaining. Although I'd be too creeped out to actually ride it.

Ouch

Isaac is famous for hurting himself. In our playgroup the other moms were surprised if he DIDN'T have a huge bump on his head every week. This is one of his latests.

He rolled off the bed at night onto the floor and cut his lip. This was taken at breakfast the next morning. Poor little guy. What can I do to help him not hurt himself so much?

Thanksgiving 2008

We had Thanksgiving with the Pili's this year and enjoyed all the traditional dishes, even down to the cranberries.

Well, we enjoyed almost all the dishes, turns out Ella doesn't care for pumpkin pie.

But Isaac sure does.

It's nice to think about what we're thankful for, and at the top of the list is YOU, our family and friends both near and far. We love you!

So Po'

If only we had money to afford a real bunk bed for our kids. Oh well, this takes up less space. And doubles as a bathtub.

Tuesday's To-Do

It's always interesting for me to find my old to-do lists. Here's mine from yesterday.

• Drop off Ella at school (1/2 mile down the road)
  
• Call Maima (my friend who cleans our house--I had to tell her not to come today because Isaac is sick.)
• Stop by Barb's house (I had to pick up fabric for costumes I volunteered to sew for our stake Christmas play)
• Bug Bomb the house (never got around to that one because I wasn't out of the house for the required 3 hours, thus our cockroach population has one more day to increase)
• Get mail from Leone (our mailbox is about 10 minutes down the pothole road. We check it once a week because it's "so far away", and mail only flies in twice a week. Yesterday was a good mail day-- I got a letter from Sis. Fillmore in California, from Evie in Oregon, and the swimsuits for Ella I'd ordered from Lands' End, since there are surprisingly no swimsuits on island. Yay!)
• Get Ike's medical card at hospital in Faga'alu (so he can see the doctor. He has a cough. And skin fungus.)
• Pick up Ella
• Swim lessons at 2:30 (Cancelled because several kids have dengue fever. Yikes!)
• Return videos (to CTR video across the street--we watched Evan Almighty and Peter Pan.)
• Eph's play practice at 6 (He's Joseph in the stake Christmas play and has practice every night but Sun and Mon.)

And the rest of my day was spent sewing Roman soldier costumes that maybe look Roman, but not like soldiers. At least they're easy.

So what's on YOUR to-do list?

Ella's Bugs

Remember my run-in with little hair bugs in Fiji?



Well, now it's Ella's turn. I guess it just goes along with sending little kids to school on an island. I'm sure learning a lot about lice!

Palota (Vote)

We really didn't get much of the media flood over the election down here in American Samoa, thankfully.

We're still waiting to hear who our next governor and lt. governor will be. The two top candidates are having a "run-off" Nov. 18. I don't think there's any real running involved. Now if it were a dance-off, I would be very interested! Whoever can siva samoa the longest is definitely the most qualified candidate.

As for our U.S. President, we're pleased with Mr. Obama's victory, and look forward to what the future holds. Although next time I'm voting for my brother in law Ken Craig for president. First, because then I could be indirectly famous and get invited to Washington for Christmas parties. Second, because President Craig would not let our bills turn into play money, with bright purple digits and oversized portraits. And finally, I want to be there when he gets Bono in D.C. for a personal concert. Find out why you should vote for Ken here.

Halloween Week

Can you guess what they were?

After a big school carnival, a big church carnival, and a library party, we (I) were ready to be done with Halloween by the time it actually arrived. On Friday we went to the pool, went out to dinner with friends, and then hid in our house watching Incredibles with all the lights off. So Halloween humbug, huh.

Trick or treaters are by far the scariest part of Halloween in American Samoa. They travel in packs. They paint their faces black. They have no costumes, just ratty clothes. They crowd your door, belt out the Trick or Treat song, and then start grabbing for candy. This year we sure tricked them, enjoying our candy ourselves in peace...in the dark.

Hope you all had fun, too.

Amanave

Are you sick of this yet? Too many beach photos? You're thinking, "Yeah, so the Temples went to the beach again...great." Well, this one was pretty great. Besides, we're just trying to get SOMEBODY to come visit us, for Pete's sake!
Amanave is a village on the southwest of the island just before the road bends north. It's a park-and-hike deal to get where the kids and I played.

Ephraim hiked further along the coastline in hopes of discovering the legendary Palagi Beach. Did it really exist? Was there really a beach so exclusive, so beautiful, and so remote that white people can run free in bikinis and not feel shameful? And would the conditions be right that passage would be possible, or would Ephraim be carried out with the raging surf?

I'll just tell you. Yes.

So there were many little island just off the shoreline like this:


This is taken from the little island looking back to shore.



After a 15 minute jog along the coast, he discovered this: Palagi Beach.
And this:
Too bad it's a bit too exclusive and remote for us to really enjoy frequently.

Past nice, sandy beaches, the coast heads northward and you can see Poloa, the next village.

The only bare-skinned white person we saw frolicking on the beach:

Any Way You Say It

I can't stand cutsy names for pregnancy like "preg-o", "preggers", etc. I prefer just saying "pregnant", although it sounds clinical. "Expecting" is more discreet, but can be confusing. And does anyone really use "in a family way" anymore?

Well, any way you say it, we're going to have a baby next April. Yay!

Pua Trees

The closest surfspot is called Pua Trees. It's along the seawall where the main road skirts bays and cliffs winding towards "town", Pago Pago. (This village is called Nuuuli. Any guesses how to pronounce that? Like New-ooly.)