Kolu & Aga....where to begin?

We both grew up in and around Laie, Hawaii. At one time or another we both lived on Maui, Hawaii...but somehow, the footpaths of our lives remained parrallel and did not overlap. Perhaps it is the five years that separated us at birth. hhmmmm....

It was not until February of 1992 that our paths would cross. Where? In Redondo Beach California. Why? We were both missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Kolu was serving in the Japanese program at the time and I was a greenie just entering the field and being assigned to my trainer, Elisa Heiliger! We were both in the same zone and at our first zone meeting, I introduced myself and my homeland to be Laie, Hawaii. Puzzled, Elder Elkington wondered which Laie ~ as he did not know who I was, nor I who he was. And that's where we met :)

We both returned home from our missions in the Fall of 1993. We remained friends and dated for almost 5 years before being married on February 15, 1999. At the time of our marriage, Kolu was living in Kirkland, WA with highschool mate, Itula Mili which is what carried our roots from Hawaii to Washington State. While we will always consider Hawaii to be home, we also consider Fairwood (Renton) Washington our home.

On February 4, 2001 John A. Elkington IV (Wani) blessed our lives with his early arrival weighing in at a mere 5 lbs 13 oz. He was a little guy with a big voice. Throughout the years, Wani has kept his big voice but is no longer considered a little guy. We were blessed at the time to have had a string of family members stagger their visits to help us out with childcare. Their help arrived in this order: Alofa (Mom) & Lila (Sis in law) Magalei, Debbie (Mom) Elkington, Ara Elkington (now Manumaleuna), Kapu Elkington (now Iosua), Tawna Elkington (now Manning) and the year rounded out with "my daughter", Florence "BAYBEE" Moors (now Peters). Baybee spent the longest period of consecutive time with Wani and has a special place in her heart for him. I think, it's much like the one I have in my heart for her!

Four years later on March 14, 2005, Fa'amamata Hohepa Elkington (Fa'a) blessed our lives with his early arrival weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz. (just days before the marriage of his Uncle Saka & Auntie Dom) Due to Fa'as' arrival, I had to miss Saka and Doms' wedding, but it turned out to be a good decision. When we returned to the doctor one week later for a regular check up, we had to admit Fa'a to the hospital because of Jaundice. His billie count was off the charts at 28 (I guess below 10 is somewhat normal). We took him in and it took a few days for his count to come down. It was very scary when he was first admitted. He was asleep and I had not fed him so when they went to find a vein to poke his IV in, it was very difficult due to his being a little dehydrated and it took several tries. I was in tears as they poked and prodded my new born. He lay under the lights with only a diaper on and some gauze eye patches that they had put on him. It was an awful 5 days ~ I was HAPPY to leave!!! Today, Fa'a is a strong and healthy 3 year old that rules the roost!