Went to dinner, saw some Koi fish

Last night we met some friends at the Coconut Grill for dinner. The food was good, the company was great, but the Koi fish pond stole the show.

More swimming at the ywca

Lucy LOVES the water, and today she got to swim with her Papa...

Hike on Mauna Loa trail

We took a hike on the Mauna Loa trail today, not only to see the beautiful scenery but also to escape the constant rain in Fern Forest, where we live. We were hiking at close to 7000 feet and had an excellent view of the smoking Kilauea Caldera.

We found the mouth of a lava tube:

Richardson's Beach Park

I took the kids to Richardson's Beach yesterday to meet some friends. Ella kicked around on the boogie board almost the entire time, while SJ waded in the water and played in the black sand.
Good times!

The kids are back!

Ella and St. John are back from their spring break in Birmingham. They start back to school Monday! Back to waking up at 5:45 and getting on the bus at 6:30 then home at 3:30. Thankfully only Monday-Thursday.

Honolii Paka

Mark's second favorite surf spot: Honolii Paka. And it also has a fun grassy area for the kids to play.

More yard pics

I took some more photos of what I thought was interesting in our yard. One of our banana plants which are getting BIG!
Another of a fern unfurling. And still another of our sage and zinnias blooming. And last but not least, an old pic of Lucy being her silly self.

Sunset and Prayer

I found it posted on a website and will repost it here:

Lord Christ,

You have no body on earth but ours,
No hands but ours,
No feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which your compassion must look out on the world.

Ours are the feet by which you may still go about doing good.

Ours are the hands with which You bless people now.

Bless our minds and bodies,
That we may be a blessing to others.

St. Theresa of Avila



And yet, many times I think,"oh, someone else will do it, not ME."

To the park in the rain

Even though it was raining in Fern Forest at 2700 feet where we live, I suspected it might not be raining down in Ke'eau. However, I was wrong. Lucy, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. And yes, she is wearing her tacky Elmo pj's in public.
But, as is typical of tropical weather, the rain cleared and the sun came out while we were there.

Tortoise Farm

Lucy and I went to a Tortoise Farm today. We saw around 20 turtles ranging in size, the smallest could easily fit in the palm of your hand and the largest being about 500lbs.!
Lucy was a bit apprehensive about petting them and was not happy when I put her on the back of one(as you can see in the pic below). Now I know Lucy does not want a turtle for a pet, thankfully.

Lava Tube

Lucy and I explored the Thurston Lava Tube this morning. Here are some pics:







When we got home we were both hungry from all of the exploration. I made a 6 egg(thanks chickens!) ham and cheese omelet and ate all of it, Lucy eating her fair share.

Newest funky creation from yardbird threads

First, Lucy on the lanai with Bolik and Indy.

I was inspired to make this skirt by James Brown's "Make it Funky".... well sort of.

What's Lucy doing?

Lucy and Ella "riding our horse".


Lucy and I have been going to swimming lessons which are held at the ywca in Hilo. My favorite part is that it's a warmed salt water pool--it feels like a bathtub.


Lucy is totally into wearing "pretty dresses" and she thinks this Dora nightgown is the prettiest of all. She also loves climbing things, and as you can see she succeeded in climbing this fern.

the Great Light

This week we have been consumed with events and news that have made us slow down and be thankful. I won't go into any details, but we are grieving with some friends and rejoicing with others. It's easy to simply coast through most of life, then something happens that wakes you up and you see things more clearly. That's what this week has done.

In all of life Mark and I have one thing to cling to, the Great Light of Christ.

"The people that lived in darkness
have seen a great light;
light has dawned on those
who lived in the land of death's dark
shadow."

Goals/Dreams

We all have dreams. Things we want to accomplish or experience during our short life here on earth. I keep a journal. I write in it about once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Anyway, one reason I enjoy keeping a journal is so I can look back and remember how events happened and how God taught me this or that. The other day I found an entry written in November 2009 about what some of my dreams or goals were. I thought I would share these:

1- Adopt a child from Ethiopia.

This is still a dream for us!(and if anyone wants to personally fund this dream let us know :-) !)

2- Move to Hawaii.

You know how this turned out.

3- Paint a landscape.

Hopefully later this year.

4- Finish another triathlon.

This is no longer one of my goals in life(sorry Denver).


If any of you would like to share some of your dreams, I'd love to hear them!

yardbird threads - handmade in Hawaii

Tomorrow is kind of a big day. Tomorrow is the first day I will selling my sewn creations at the farmer's market. A good friend already has a booth and wants to sell more things so he will sell for me--it worked out perfectly. Obviously the "company" name is yardbird threads, not your everyday name!