It is with great pleasure that we celebrate ONE YEAR of living in Hawaii!! The time has gone so fast! Sometimes it's hard to believe that we have been here this long already! On the other hand, it feels like we have always lived here. We are so comfortable here and we love it so much! Of course we miss our family and friends, but it amazes me to look back over the last year and a few months and see how the Lord has blessed us! From AJ getting the call to making the decision to emptying the house to packing and flying, it is really very amazing how everything fell into place! And in such a short time!!
We couldn't have done it without the guidance of the Lord and help from our families and friends! WOW! What an amazing adventure it was! AJ and I still working; trying to sort through everything we owned; deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to get rid of, what to take with us. Finding renters (which we scored big on!), deciding to leave the dogs behind (very sad time) DECISIONS! DECISIONS! DECISIONS! We were really sick of making decisions by the time we moved! Then throw in a fabulous trip to Seattle for a wedding (Yeah Karen and Issac!) and another fabulous trip to Disney (despite the hurricaine we endured!) You'd think we'd had enough! But oh no, we, apparently, are gluttons for punishment! We then had a two day garage sale AND THEN a two day party! Again THANK GOD for family and friends!! Those two ventures NEVER would have happened without their help!!
It was so hard to leave the house, the yard and the dogs. (And yes, the people too! I just mean the moment we left the driveway!) To me, it didn't seem real. It just felt like we were going on a vacation and we would be back. It didn't really hit me what had just happened until we landed in Honolulu. I remember that all of the sudden I just started crying. I looked at AJ and said, "What have we done?" I cried and he was so good to me. He assured me that everything would be alright. Of course I knew it would be, but I realized that I hadn't really taken the time to let it really sink in what we were doing. And when it did, WOW did it hit me! I suppose I was probably a LITTLE tired too! That might have had something to do with my emotions! But now, looking back, I can honestly say that is the only time I have questioned our decision to move. Of course I still miss everyone and sometimes I cope best by not thinking about the people and events that I am missing. We are slowly building friendships and memories here, which is the healthiest thing to do in my opinion. I praise God and thank Him for guiding us and paving the way here and making everything fall into place! What a blessing!!
OK. Now that I have babbled on forever, it's time for some thoughts from AJ and Jenna.
Jenna...My favorite thing about living in Hawaii is being able to go to the beach whenever I want (except when her parents say no or she has school...etc.) and making new friends. I also feel weird living on an Island in the middle of nowhere! I like to make sandcastles and tell people all I know about turtles. Turtles can get to be 100 years old. If they have a long tail, they are a male. If they have a short tail they are a female. It's pretty easy after you get to know it! I can also tell their age. And I forgot to mention how much I love to go to Captain Cook Monument and hopefully see Spinner Dolphins on the way! Aloha!! Oh, I forgot...I really miss all of you!!!
AJ...It's hard to believe that the time has gone so fast. It's hard to realize that time is getting away because we don't really experience changes in the seasons. We're happy that we have been able to build a life here with new friends and experiences. It's not that we have forgotten our other friends, it's just that we have made more friends. It's been great!
Each of us still comment that somedays it still hits us that "we LIVE in Hawaii!!" We are not just vacationing...WE ACTUALLY LIVE HERE!!! It's an amazing adventure and a true blessing. Come visit anytime...our doors are always open and you are always welcome! Until next time...aloha!
