Ella's new school

Ella was accepted, by lottery drawing, to a great school here in Hawaii. It's a public charter school with several different campuses. Her campus has the 3rd-6th graders with a pool and a tennis court. We are very excited about the new school and the possibility of SJ getting in next year.

Rainbow eucalyptus trees near the playground:

Honu and Seaside

Friday night we ate at the Seaside Restaurant in Hilo. My good friend Tracie works there and made sure we had a wonderful dinner. Before we went to dinner we walked around 4-mile beach where two LARGE honu(sea turtles) were hanging out at the shore.

Byron Ledge Trial

Yesterday we hiked the 2.5 mile Byron Ledge Trail in the Volcano National Park. We started on the top of the ledge, hiked to the caldera floor which used to be a huge lake of lava, then back up. Most of the hike was in what looked like a rain forest, in contrast to the flat, hot, sparse, "lava lake". I would highly recommend this hike!

I have another blog now!

Go and see:

My painting blog.

Palms of Victory, Crown of Glory

My dear friend Steve has departed from this earth. Steve loves Jesus. I love Jesus. May we meet again while waving a "palm of victory" and wearing a "crown of glory".

I've never believed so deeply how fleeting this life here on earth is. Therefore, how should we live?

Seeing ducks

Last night we stopped by Wailoa State Park. We got to see lots of ducks and little fish trying to avoid being eaten by bigger fish. It was beautiful.
Later I met some friends and had dinner at a "Very Home Style" Japanese restaurant. Everything was very yummy! I had miso soup, sticky rice, teri beef, and sashimi. I can't wait to go back and try the Udon with Ella.

Lava tree park today

We are having a great time with Mimi and Poppy here! Today we saw part of the Lava Tree State Park, then we swam at the Pahoa pool, and then ate a yummy lunch at Kaleo's in Pahoa.
It was a fun day on the Big Island!!

Here is everyone looking at the mongoose running around.

Mimi and Poppy are here!

And we are so thankful that they will be here for at least another 3 weeks!!

I really have friends here!

I went to the farmers market in Hilo today and I saw 4 people that I know.  Three of the 4 are friends, one is more of an acquaintance(he's the kids bus driver who also sells goat cheese).  This may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me.  It means that Hawaii is feeling more and more like home--which makes me happy!

Kids went snorkeling

They had fun.

Yard Pond

It has been raining here. Raining a LOT! We now have two ponds around our house, one in the front, one in the back. Thankfully our house is about 4 feet off the ground on stilts, so we don't have to worry about out house washing away. Actually the rain usually drains off fairly quickly since the lava rock, which is underneath about 6-8 inches of dirt, is very porous, but it's been rainy so hard it hasn't had time to drain. See for yourself-

Birthday Party in Paradise

This weekend Ella and Sj and I went to a birthday party. The setting was beautiful as you can see.
Come visit us and we will take you here-

Happy Lei Day!

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii
Garlands of flowers every where
All of the colors in the rainbow
Maidens with blossoms in their hair
Flowers that mean we should be happy
Throwing aside our load of care
Oh! May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii
May Day is happy day out here.

Hawaiian singer

Ukulele Band

Hula dancers

Huli Huli Chicken

The Lei we made!

Latest Still Life

I haven't painted a still life in a while, so a couple of months ago I collected some items from around the yard(mac nuts, flowers, moss, etc.) and from around the house(vases, bowls,etc.) to create some different possible paintings. Here is the first that I decided to paint:

It's 16"x20". It's for sale.

Hiking in a white out

I took Ella and Sj to the steam vents trail that Lucy and I had been to last week. We walked a little further along the trial this time. I thought they would enjoy it. But it was very cloudy(it's at 4000 feet) and a little voggy and there were lots of cliffs without guard rails which freaked St. John out. When I say "cliffs" I mean sharp 500-800 foot drop offs. Needless to say, we stayed on the trail!

Sweet Ella

I wanted to share a couple of Ella's creations that she made for ME on the iPad. I can't believe how loving and sweet she is---especially to her Mama.

ELLA Smella

to Preach

I've never thought of myself as well spoken, certainly not as any sort of preacher. And honestly, I don't like the word preach that much, it makes me think of someone who is preachy, which is not a positive assessment.
But I love this quote by St. Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." It's about the way we live, the way we treat others, whether while at the grocery or driving, or at home with our families. It also reminds me of my many years sitting in the church pews(living in the Bible Belt) listening to hundreds of sermons preached, wondering if I could ever get it right. All the theology and Bible knowledge was overwhelming and over emphasized. My point is, if I want to show God's love to others, it's not about what I say, not about how many hours I spend in a church pew, it's about how we treat others in the everyday.


This post was inspired by a blog I follow. See and be inspired here.

Challah

Lucy and I made some Challah or egg bread today. We sprinkled poppy seeds on top to make it extra pretty. Yum!

Steam Vents trail with Lucy

Lucy and I visited the Volcano National Park today and walked the short, beautiful Steam Vents trail. 

Lucy, such a trouble maker, trying to climb over the safety rails.

Steam vent, one of MANY.

Lucy trying to decide which way we should go next.

Smoke from Kileaua.

Looking over a huge cliff that goes down to the Kileaua Caldera

The cliff from a side view.