what I've been up to

Eric was pretty much gone over Thanksgiving weekend. They were putting in a new server at work. He got very little sleep. The kids and I didn't get to see much out of him except most of Thanksgiving Day and a little on Saturday morning. We didn't even go to church on Sunday morning because he finally crawled in bed at 6am! He needed a real 'day of rest'!

I admit I had to work on my attitude a little! You see, I had BIG plans for us for the weekend.....plans like cleaning out the garage, organizing the desk/files, and such like things. Plans to do things that I need help with. Big, strong, man help. And support. But since that was out of the question, I tackled something else entirely.

About a month ago...maybe longer...I made a trip to the fabric store and came home with quite a pile of fabric and a few patterns. So, on Friday I decided to finally take the fabric out of the bag, preshrink it, and get started sewing!

These are the results.......

2 skirts for me

A jumper for Miss G.

And a dress for me.

The sleeves gave me much grief. Let's just say I was thankful for extra fabric. That is all. Oh, and I was having a bad hair day.

Miss G and I also painted our toes for Christmas.

And right now, that's the only Christmas decor you'll find at our house!

sometimes...

Be. That's what this blog is about. Simply being who I am and who we are as a family. Being real and being transparent. Sharing this journey of life.


Sometimes being real and being transparent opens yourself up to being hurt.

Sometimes being hurt makes it hard for me to be joyful. I confess that it is my natural tendency to withdraw when I am hurting. Especially from the one or ones who caused the hurt.

Sometimes that is good. Sometimes I just need to process what happened.

Sometimes it is not so good. Sometimes it just causes bitterness.

Bitterness is not welcome in my heart. It cannot co-exist with Jesus.



Jesus tells us to love those who persecute us. To pray for them. To forgive them even when they are not repentant or don't think they did any wrong. I confess that it's a real struggle for me sometimes. It can be real hard to love back when love is/was not shown.

When my conscience is clear, it doesn't matter what anyone may say about me or to me. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though. Sometimes the hurt comes to you indirectly. When one you love is hurt, that hurt affects you as well.


I am in process. I am a process. Sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes I am amazed at how far Jesus has brought me in the process. Sometimes I am grieved at how much I've resisted the process. The process of being transformed into His likeness.



Sometimes we are hurt by those who love us. Sometimes we hurt the ones we love the most. When this happens, it causes a breech in trust. It can cause walls to form in the relationship.

Then, it is a process to rebuild the relationship that was there before the hurt. Sometimes this can take a very long time.

Sometimes after the healing has taken place and the trust regained, hurt happens again.



My Savior and Lord, Jesus, felt every hurt I will ever feel. He understands. He was rejected by many...some of them were family members. He was betrayed by one of His close friends. If I run to Him when I am hurting, He is waiting and ready to heal. It isn't always an instant healing. Sometimes it is.

But He is all about relationships.

Especially the relationship between He and His bride.



Sometimes, many times, I am just so ready to leave the hurts behind and enjoy being in His presence for eternity.

Sometimes, in the midst of the hurt, I can still enjoy His presence. Even though I can't see or feel Him, I know He is with me.


After all, His love and acceptance and approval is all the love, acceptance and approval I really need. No one can fill His place. His love is unconditional. It is everlasting.

I live to please Him alone. No one else, just Him.

And no, I don't always please Him. But I try. That is the desire of my heart.


Sometimes I think He allows hurt in our lives just to drive us into His arms.

And that is the best place to be when we hurt.


Sometimes just being transparent in the midst of hurting can be healing.


Rom 8:31-39

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

hairstyles by miss g.

I have a new in-house hairstylist.

She doesn't charge a thing.

Just love, care, food, a place to sleep, etc.

She specializes in abstract styles.

Isn't it grand?!

I'm sure she would be thrilled to practice on you if you'd like. Come on over!

You may experience a little hair pulling.

But I think with practice she will improve that part.

You also may hear things like, 'hold still your head!' or 'I'll be right back, don't you move'.


But the end result=priceless!

I LOVE YOU MISS G!

update

Well.

That's a deep subject.


It's been one week since I posted the Giveaway Challenge. There is one week left until it ends. So far, there's been no response. Wow. I'm kind of stunned, really. I don't know what to say....except this....which is what Jesus said.

Matthew 25:34-45

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'
And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'
Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'


Ok, here's something else I have to say. I DO understand that many of you may have other organizations that you focus most of your giving to. I DO understand that you may be drawn to give elsewhere. That's ok. Just please, I urge you to give somewhere. You will be blessed tremendously for it!


Now, seven days left. Game on!

Celebrating 2 years+ and 100 Posts with a GIVEAWAY*!!!

Do good intentions count? I HAD good intentions.

Other things got in the way.

Things like a long weekend vacation at Lake Michigan. And starting another year of school.

Well, my intentions were to have all the Kaua'i trip posts up BEFORE August 21st and this post would then fall ON August 21st. My 100th post on the 2 year anniversary of starting my blog. But now I have to settle for 2 years+2 months and 25 days.

That'll have to do.


Or don't...if you generally try to eat healthy like I generally try to do...(except for my much-too-frequent visits lately to Tim Hortons for a Cafe' Mocha and sometimes Timbits. But that's another story for another day. Or not.)




I haven't kept up on here near like I thought I would 99 posts ago. But it's still been worth it. It's our little memoir...and a way to share with family and friends the happenings of our lives. (Although Facebook seems to have a way of 'stealing' a lot of things that could end up on here...but then never do. Oh well.)

So...I wanted to do a giveaway to celebrate 100 posts...

I thought of many things I could give away......



like this....

...but, I wanted to be more creative than that.


I like to knit on cold, blustery days or even warm, sunny ones...so I thought I could knit a hat for a baby/child or a scarf for a mom.....but I wasn't sure if that would excite very many people. Although, it's time to bring out the warmer clothing and put away the flip flops... {sniff sniff}


I thought of giving away a gift certificate to....somewhere....I don't know where....just somewhere cool. and hip. somewhere everybody would like. but I didn't know where. It's really hard to please everybody.


And I thought about giving away a book. Something I've read and enjoyed. Something, hopefully, others would enjoy as well.


But you know, most of the people that read my blog....well....are very blessed. So VERY blessed. And most of us CAN afford to help those who are not so very blessed. But the question is, WILL we?

So.....allow me to introduce you to Mayan Families, whose mission is to provide assistance and opportunities to the indigenous people of Guatemala, in particular in the Lake Atitlan area, through education, community programs and construction. Following is their latest newsletter, that tells about their Christmas Tamale Food Basket drive! Please read....clear to the end!

It is Christmas Tamale Food Basket time again! Tis the Season for Giving Food!

Christmas Food Basket Time! IT IS THE SEASON FOR SHARING. At midnight on Christmas Eve 2005, two of our sponsored students went door to door hoping someone would give them a tamale to eat. This is the traditional meal at Christmas in Guatemala. Their single mother could not afford to buy the ingredients to make Tamales. When we found out about this we wondered how many other families could not afford to celebrate Christmas and how many other children were sad and hungry at this time of the year. It turned out there were a lot of people who could not afford to celebrate Christmas. In 2006 we started the Christmas Tamale Basket Program. We gave out 215 baskets of food. In 2007 we gave out 650 baskets. In 2008 we gave out more than 1,000. In 2009 we gave out approximately 1,600 Christmas Baskets of Food! This year has been a very, very hard year in Guatemala, natural disasters, sink holes, flooding, mud slides, volcano eruptions, rising costs of living and a severe lack of jobs due to a lack of tourism and all of the reasons listed above. Mother Teresa said "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one..." We are asking for your help to feed just one family this Holiday Season. Food prices have continued to rise again this year in 2010. This Food Crisis means that families will be forced to forego traditional foods for tortillas and beans. This continues to take its toll on children and families. There are lots of families needing help. Malnutrition is a constant challenge in Guatemala. Please consider feeding an impoverished family this Holiday Season. Many families in Guatemala do not have enough food to eat this year. Many of the families that we work with cannot afford to have the traditional meal at midnight on Christmas Eve. You can make a difference now. For $35 you can give a Christmas Tamale Basket and feed a family of 12 or more. Our Christmas basket is made of plastic and will be used afterwards by the family to stack and wash dishes, hold food etc. The food items will include: Oil, 15 lbs of Rice to make the tamales, a block of drinking chocolate (this is traditional to drink at midnight), a loaf of bread with which they eat the tamales at midnight, sugar for the tamales, coffee, usually we include raisins, grapes, apples but this year there are so many people in need of food that these luxury items will be replaced for food staples such as beans, corn or vitamin enriched cereal. To make a contribution for the Christmas Tamale baskets please go to our website http://mayanfamilies.org/DonateOnline and go the General Donation section to send a donation. If you would like to nominate a special family or a sponsored student to receive your basket please send us their name or student number by e-mail to Sharon@mayanfamilies.org If you would like to pay by check please send your donation made out to Mayan Families to: Mayan Families P.O. Box 52 Claremont, N.C. 28610 If you would like to give this gift in Honor of someone special, please send us an email to: dwight@mayanfamilies.org giving us the details and we will put them on our IN HONOR OF web page.....to have an e-mail sent to the person you are honoring - please send us their email address. Thank you for your support. ABOUT US: Mayan Families is a small non-profit group working in the Highlands of Guatemala. We are a registered 501(c)(3) Non Profit Charity of the Internal Revenue Code. Your donation is tax deductible. P.S. Please help spread the word by forwarding this e-mail to your community or posting it on your personal blog, web page and your social networks such as Facebook, You Tube, MySpace, Google Buzz, Twitter, Hi5, Blogs and any others that are appropriate. Please follow Mayan Families on Blog: http://mayanfamilies-sharon.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/mayanfamilies Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100343161838&ref=ts YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/mayanfamiliesvideo Mayan Families Connection Blog http://mayanfamiliesconnectionguatemala.blogspot.com/ MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mayan_families Mayan Families on Google BUZZ: http://www.google.com/profiles/mayanfamilies#buzz If you would like to join a Yahoo support group that assists Mayan Families please go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MayanFamiliesConnection To ensure receipt of our emails, please add dwight@mayanfamilies.org to your Address Book." To signup for our E-mail Newsletters please go to: http://www.mayanfamilies.org/EmailSignup.aspx Your help this Holiday Season makes small miracles happen! HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILIES TO YOURS. Thank you once again for supporting Mayan Families!

NOW, here is what I'd like to do for the 100 Posts Celebration Giveaway. Please follow along closely!

My desire is, that your heart was touched by reading that newsletter. Let's face it, most of us can easily afford $35 to bless a less fortunate family this Christmas. Even more, most of us can afford $70 to bless TWO families.... The question remains, are you willing to GIVE?!

So here's my challenge...will you, my dear readers--friends and family members, donate a total of 20 Christmas Tamale Baskets by November 30th? That's only 20 of you responding....or 10 of you giving 2 baskets. That's very doable, right? Shoot, let's give 100 baskets!

*Here are the rules of the Giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post between now and November 30th, and your name will be entered into the drawing once--no donation required. You must leave your name in the comment for obvious reasons! And if I do not know you personally, I will need a way to contact you.

2. If you donated 1 or more Christmas Baskets, tell me how many you donated (I trust you to be honest! If I see anything suspicious, I will verify with Mayan Families that you truly did donate.), and your name will be entered that many more times!

3. If the goal of 20 baskets donated by November 30th is met, a drawing will be held for a $100 pre-loaded Visa giftcard!!!! And if you all blow me away and donate 100 baskets total, there will be an added surprise thrown in!

4. The winner (if the goal is met) will be announced on December 1st. With the prize being delivered shortly thereafter.

5. Lastly, if for some reason you do not want to leave a public comment, you may contact me through the link on my profile, or let me know in your comment and I will not publish it.


Now obviously, if the goal is not met, there will be no Giveaway drawing for the giftcard. But see, my vision is that WE ALL be the ones to give! The links are all there and yes, Mayan Families is really legit!

What happens if no one responds, you say? Well, we will continue to do our part to support Mayan Families regardless of what happens. We're passionate about helping Mayan Families! Will you join us? Let's see what a difference we can make! After all, God blesses us so we can pass that blessing on to others....

Kaua'i * Day 11 * 6.24.2010

Can it be? Already?! Time to pack up....and head back to CA to our children and other family members for a few days....then home.

We got up around 7am to finish packing. Made a quick trip to the post office for a box to mail things directly home. Oh, and a stop by Starbucks for coffee and a scone...Mmmm.

Don't know why, but I always seem to forget to get pictures of our room till the end of the trip! This is from the entry...facing kitchen and living room area. And a wee bit of the sliding glass doors to our lanai.


Bathroom and laundry was directly to the left... We sure went through those pool towels :0)

Bedroom....entrance from bathroom or living room... I was anxious about leaving our extremely comfortable bed at home, but this one was just a cozy! The curtains are closed, but there was a sliding door leading to our lanai from the bedroom as well.

Full kitchen (very nice to have) from the living room. Please excuse our mess!

So that is pretty much what our living space was for 10+ days! Our small home away from home.

After checking out at 11am, we drove down to Nawiliwili Harbor, just south of the airport. We did a little shopping, got dirt shirts for Eric and I, then drove out a small back road (Waapa Rd) from the Harbor. There was a huge cruise ship docked that morning. I've never been that close to one...it was monstrous!

This building was close by the Harbor...the palm trees, so very unique! We'd never seen any like THAT before!

Then we took Hulemalu Road out past Menehune Fishpond. There was a little turnout by the road, so we pulled off, got out and enjoyed the view. Didn't stay long though....something must have been dead in the underbrush!

From there we went back up north of the airport and drove back in the Kauai Coast Resort property to the beach. It wasn't that great of a beach...steep and lots of shells/rocks. But we walked for awhile anyway. It was here that I was trying to get a picture of my feet in the sand with a little bit of water...... Let's just say that it's really not smart to be standing at the edge of waves and looking down! It wasn't long before a big wave came and soaked me up to my knees!

Banyan trees lined the Resort drive...


So did Moreton Bay Fig Trees....the root systems are so cool!

It was still several hours until we had to be at the airport, so we headed back to 'our' resort. And hung out in 'our' hammock for awhile......almost fell asleep....

...and watched the crashing waves some more.....

...and I watched my hubby watching the crashing waves....

....and we walked down the beach to another resort property and back. Found this huge piece of driftwood. We found the same one in pics on Google Maps!

Such beauty....

Trying to mimic the driftwood....and soak up that last bit of tropical sunshine....and most of all, praising our Father for such an amazing trip!

Eric found some crab legs...the color doesn't quite show up, but they were very purple.

Pink Hibiscus....back at the resort from our walk....

After our walk along the beach, we grabbed two lounge chairs and drug them close to the beach.....I chose the sun, Eric chose shade :0) This time we DID fall asleep! For about a half hour.... Doesn't a nap by the ocean sound lovely?! It was. It is.
I woke up a little after 4pm and got Eric up. Then we left to go pick up our box of pineapples.

Since it was about time for dinner, where did we choose to eat? One last stop at Wahooo!!! Because it was almost 5pm, it was 'dinner menu' time, rather than the lunch menu we'd ordered from before....so no, I didn't get the same sandwich!

I ordered Ono that had garlic butter, lemon and capers...also a unique rice dish and steamed carrots and asparagus. It was incredible!

Eric ordered Ribs with vegetables and mashed potatoes. Doesn't it look fun to squoosh mashed potatoes onto a plate with a big, fancy decorator tip?! I think it would be!

Dinner was SO good, but it was a lot of food! I know the plates don't look very full, but they were huge! After finishing our meal, we walked around town a little. But after you've been in a few stores, you've pretty much been in all of them!

Time was passing quickly, so we filled the car up at the gas station and headed back to return the car. Unloading our luggage and boarding the shuttle to the airport really made it hit home....it was time to leave. It was all so much fun!...busy...yet relaxing. God is so good!


Fresh leis in the airport....so many unique ones! Beautiful and fragrant!


Our plane left a little early...due to a head wind, they wanted to get an early start. The flight crew was so funny! They kept trying to get everyone boarded and seated as quickly as possible. Some of the things we heard: "Vacation is OVERrrrrr, your inbox is full!"......"Please put your tushie in the cushie so we can pushie!"....."You're getting sleeeeepyyyy, verrrryyyy sleeepppyyyyy...." Everyone was cracking up! Since it was an overnight flight, we tried to get to sleep as soon as possible. I'll have to say, I never sleep well on the airplane, but that was the first time I did!

So thankful for safe flights back to San Francisco! Eric's parents picked us up the next morning, but the children were at Darrell and Cyndi's. We picked them up on the way back.

They were glad to see us! And we were glad to see them again!


Back at Mom and Dad's we unpacked the pineapples....Yum!

And unpacked the goodies for the children! They were so excited!

Red Dirt Shirts...

Shark tooth necklaces and playing cards for the boys, a shell necklace (matching mine) and hair clips for Miss G.

And an ukulele for all of us!


Praising God for a wonderful and safe trip! So many memories!

Hope you've enjoyed this little 'travelogue' to Kaua'i as much as I've enjoyed sharing it with you!

And that is that......the end of our 11th day in Kaua'i.

Kaua'i * Day 10 * 6.23.2010

Well......we went to bed after our Zodiac trip with good intentions. Intentions to head up the Canyon to hike the Nu'alolo Trail (out on the cliffs above Nu'alolo Kai)--all pending on not being too sore come morning. Wrong. We WERE quite sore and tired! It was hard to give up that hike, but we knew there was no way....exhaustion from the previous days adventure won out. We weren't up to another strenuous hike. So we just spent the morning hanging out at the resort. Cut into our last pineapple--YUM! Then we decided to head out around 1pm.

First stop was at Chucky's to order pineapples to pick up the next day and take home with us. (cool fact: boxes of pineapples can be checked as baggage, with no charge, from any of the islands to the mainland!). Next was a stop to pick up Red Dirt Shirts for the kids. Then we headed back up Canyon Drive. This time we didn't miss our turn, so we actually got to see some different things for half the drive.

On the horizon you can see Ni'ihau, the forbidden island.

Lush riverbed with a farm/house (right corner)....they live a long ways from town (Waimea)! It must be quite a drive to get there.

Tiny bird nest....

Love birds....achy love birds. You shoulda heard us groaning every time we got in and out of the car!

Eric checking out this cool stream. We decided we could have made our own Red Dirt Shirts here.

More of beautiful Waimea Canyon...no words needed.






And one last view of Kalalau Valley...it was cloudier than our previous visit.

On the way back down the mountain we took a narrow road that went out on the top of a ridge. It actually led to the Military Missile Range. We hiked up from the road and found this beautiful lookout.
One lone, scraggly pine...

Inland from the tree....this side of the island is ridges separated by deep canyons, one after another....so unique. And beautiful.

Not-so-scraggly guy beside the scraggly pine! {whistle, whistle!}

...And toward the ocean...kinda hard to tell where water and sky meet!

Shadow fun on the way back to the car! (oh my! REALLY flattering there! Yikes!) It was a neat drive, but I'm not that into windy roads. I was ready to get back down to 'normal' roads again!

We made our way back down Canyon Drive, and after a few more stops finally ended up at Caffe' Coco. It was around 8pm, certainly time for dinner! We shared a Morroccan Ahi meal and had a banana spice cake with coffee for dessert. It was delectable!

The eating area was all outside...we were serenaded by a live jazz band. The guy in the middle was playing the keyboard with one hand and the trumpet with the other! Amazing talent! Their songs had a nice beat/rhythm to them and we *almost* put our dance lessons to use....a little swing or cha-cha to round out the evening. But since there wasn't a dance floor, we weren't brave enough to do it!

One last stop at a store up the road in Kapa'a, then we were back to our room around 9:30pm. One last dip in the spa, followed by snuggle time in the hammock......ahhh, sweet memories.... Such a blessing to enjoy this time together. To strengthen an already strong marriage. To experience God's beautiful creation. To refresh. Relax. Reconnect. To remember....why we fell in love....why we are so right for each other. And to celebrate! 11 years.

And all too soon, Day 10 on Kaua'i came to a close.