trails of plastic grass

  aaaahhhh easter...

baskets, egg hunting,

chocolate bunnies, fancy dresses, jelly beans, 

handsome "kissing" shirts, peeps atop cupcakes, egg dying, 

cadbury minis, trails of plastic grass, too much yummy food, 

54 relatives, LOTS of pictures, silly games, more sugar...

"were you glorified LORD?" 

i have to admit...

i love to watch my kids search all over the house 

for their own basket filled with a few special goodies,

 i love to pull a bright egg out of a cup of dye,

i love to watch as they discover and organize all their treasures 

they find on their hunt,

i love to giggle at baby bunnies and their bums.

BUT i did question...

"do they get it Lord?"

"what you did on that cross?"

"all you endured?"

"for us?"

"do they understand Jesus, how you rose again?"

"how your tomb was empty?"

"how miraculous and joyous that was?"

"do they understand that YOU, God had and have a perfect plan?"

 "how all of THIS means nothing if we don't get THIS?"

i ache, as this is my hearts desire...

that YOU, JESUS, are alive and real to these kids,

that they feel YOUR presence and desire 

YOUR will for their lives.

that they will ever so slightly grasp YOUR majesty.

that they are constantly thankful for YOUR eternal gift.

and sweetly You respond...

Maeha's 2nd grade teacher, 

Mrs. Lind (who openly admits she is not 

the worlds best speller)...

"so, i had to correctly spell crucifixion and resurrection 

this week, thanks to your daughter and her journal entry

about what easter was to her."

my spirit smiles.

i LOVE how He speaks to us in this world

and He knows our desire to not be of this world.

He created me to love all these loves, 

so i am just gonna love!

xoxo

mama

iden·ti·fi·ca·tion

 noun \ī-ˌden-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən, ə-\

Definition of IDENTIFICATION

1

a : an act of identifying : the state of being identifiedb : evidence of identity

1 hour countdown...beep, beep, beep, beep.

i remember TODAY is the 1 day that our DOL is open for the month and for only 1 more hour.

it has been 5 years since my last license renewal.

plan of action...i need to greet the girls from school, situate the kids, so i can hop in the shower and get us all out the door in T-59 minutes(not quite sure what that means).  

running out the door before the office closes, i catch a glimpse of my dark circles under my eyes, wet hair, fabulous sweatshirt, and nope, no spit-up.  i am golden!

as we pull up, the kids get a quick run down of how they will behave in this small office or they will ALL be beaten appropriately afterward.  installed fear.  check! 

we walk in a straight line, who am i kidding.  kids are all over the place as i answer all the ?'s the nice man has for me behind the counter.  one of which was weight?  i give him an answer favoring on my side and HE gives me an even better answer...10 lbs less than my forgiving answer!  i love him already.  that sounds fantastic!  couldn't be happier with the way things are turning out...

i step over to take my picture, i think to myself..."all right this is me NOW for the next 5 years".  i glance around the room...sweet baby sitting big on the floor, 2 giggly girls sitting in the chairs on the side, cheering me on and one handsome little man somewhere.  i think THIS IS ME!  i give DOL man a smile, he tells me to raise my chin...score AGAIN, he was really looking out for me!  he hands me my paper i.d. and i couldn't be happier.  i look good...thanks to these 8 little eyes watching me, the grace that GOD gave me that day and every other and that gem of a DOL man!  

i KNEW this was going to be a good one, no matter how bad it could be.  these are my days that i am going to cherish and hold so dear 30 years from now.  there is too much love all around me to be overwhelmed with the constant chaos.  this is what HE has given ME to wear right now, it beats any perfect haircut or fabulous outfit or that shiny red lip gloss i love.  it's up to me to wear it well.

i did all of this is in 42 minutes.

i had to re-post this for me at my new blog spot.

sorry for all the spacing annoyances, i tried way too hard to fix it, one too many times.  

my dream

tuesday, january 25, 2011

     i called myself a maui virgin...

         after listening to people relive their love of maui, 

     their eyes would light up and they are alive again 

             simply with sweet maui memories.

        fresh off the plane, i took in a deep breath of tropical air 

                       my skin was plump again!

         for 6 days the winter scales and cracks were smooth, ahhhh.

      while waiting for our rental car i sat outside in the rain, 

                    admiring the 2 wild chickens, 

        and their 2 eggs they laid...in the flower box, 

                      breathing deep...

         when nate came back with a SURPRISE for ME!!!

                 HE up-graded from the small, cheap, economy car 

      that i rented online.... to a 

BRIGHT YELLOW JEEP!  

          i was overjoyed (can you sense the sarcasm?) 

                    and totally expecting that from him.

  

can you blame him?

   his face was so

     worth it when 

  he came skipping

    over to SHARE 

    his surprise!

off we were to find some food, 

     not just any food...we both have a thing with food on vacation, 

                           we want to TASTE where we are.  

  i guess it’s good thing to have in common, 

               but at this particular time, it was BAD.  

      nate hadn’t had a meal all day, some silly crackers on the flight          

               and the man has a HIGH metabolism, 

                 he ALSO can throw a crazy fit when he is hungry.  

  in search of a restaurant we had read about 

    we end up on the beach

i HAVE to dip my toes in!!!  

     i take off into the water...

we find out all the restaurants on the water are closed 

                   due to the storm coming, 

so we were on our way back to the car and in our 1st and ONLY tiff.  

        “I NEED FOOD!!!” “I AM IN PARADISE, STOP RUINING IT FOR ME!”         

                 etc. etc. etc. really funny looking back, 

         i will always remember to pack the man a scooby snack, 

                  i thought i left all that at home!  

            ahhh men!  i know many can totally relate!

     on to our hotel  “the ritzy”!  AMAZING!  

i got a REALLY good deal and could not believe that THIS...

is where we got to spend our week!!!  

we were treated like royalty and “leid” upon arrival!

tru LOVED his!

then we were off to our luau to watch

            the men explode with hawaiian energy 

                while the ladies portray the  

          beauty of their island and hearts!  

we had a lot to pack in the next 5 days,

some of this...

a little of that...

 and a PINCH...ME!!!  JONI!!! 

my MOST FAVORITE mentor, friend, sister, 

          mama of 3 beautiful girls who i adore (plus one son),       

                   inspirer, soul searcher, prayer warrior,  

     story teller (my head is full of amazing visions thanks to her),        

                lover of beautiful SIMPLE life, etc. etc. etc.

                   i could write a whole page on joni 

    God let me know SOMEONE 

            was going to be there with us 

                   when i saw her waiting for us...

          it was one of those deep, spiritual, pinch me moments.  

                       i felt like i was in a dream. 

                 so we ate...at the gazebo...

                    banana, macadamia,  pineapple pancakes 

                             with coconut syrup 

            while she poured out her love of maui ALL OVER US!

              she taught me how to spot a sweet sea turtle 

                   and the awesome spray of a whale.

                      

       joni and steve     

(i have a NEW love...STEVE, 

                            he makes me            

                                  laugh, in fact...

                                    i am still laughing at some of his 

quick humor)

            took us to the...

BLOW-HOLE!

nate was in heaven!

THIS pretty much 

      somes it up.

 I LOVE JONI and now STEVE!

                              

steve...that rock, is just                              

    reminding you that

“JESUS LOVES YOU”!

sake, sushi, and the hot tub in the rain 

            all to ourselves, at “the ritzy”,   

                    lets call it a great night!

this might feel like it is going on FOREVER, 

   but it’s only day 2 1/2...

   it’s whale watching time 

so, keep your eyes peeled

                 for the breaching

WHALE!!!

                   incredible!

                         goosebumps! 

                                              pics don’t do it justice!

after everyone let us get off the boat 1ST

(tru was screaming the last 15 min) 

we were greeted ashore to everyone standing still,

quiet and in awe 

as they admired a mama whale and her babe

just off the shore 

right by our boat that we had just got off!  

the locals said that was a pretty rare sight to see so close.  

i was taken

by everyone stopping themselves 

to cherish a simple sweet moment

lunch at the infamous 

hula grill

where your toes are dipped

in sand while you enjoy 

your meal, 

tropical cocktail and 

a view of the 

ocean!

this is the great part,

where i muster up enough courage 

to swim out, 100 feet 

into the murky water (i overheard a waitress earlier that day tell a customer “snorkeling isn’t safe in this murky water(the storm) that’s when the sharks come out to play”) 

next to a sea turtle the size of ME! 

i touched it!  i had to!  

i am now in my 30‘s it is time to live life on the edge!  

then nate had to, since i touched it.  only to find out...

after posting my latest on facebook that we could give 

mr. huge sea turtle a bacteria 

deepest apologies if you now have a new bacteria.  

or two!

no, i am not pregnant AGAIN!  

i guess this is what 

4 babies 

in 7 years 

does to your body.  

totally worth it!  

sometimes.

                                       

       this is when nate was

    getting annoyed at my                               

  picture taking...but there                          

    was just sooo much beauty                                             

      EVERYWHERE!                                          

            it must’ve been time to feed him again!

doesn't he look THRILLED!  

i thought his flower was a perfect match for his 

JEEP!

front street lahaina, we were in search of the perfect dinner, 

when a sign promising us fish tacos lured me in.  

in the middle of a sweet alley we feasted on,

$3 fish AND pork tacos. fyi...

this cute little taco stand opened the day tru was born, 

9/3/2010

    here was the BONUS that night...

free entertainment!

       guy was hilarious

              with his birds.

                                                   

                       fascinating.

road to HANA.  i didn’t think it was THAT scary!  

      the scenery was breathtaking.         

            the thought of her history was fascinating.  

                i DID dream of living there 

                    off the land 

                        with the land.

    through the bamboo forest, past the creepy

                    photographer and weirdo model, to           

           the... 

  

WATER FALL!

       

where we picnic’d and i admired these 

     

                                        squishy little feet...

AGAIN, nate was in heaven

   hiking over and through 

        all the terrain.

   along the road to hana we stopped at the black sand beach...

ridiculously gorgeous!

   

       this whole trip i was in awe of my Creator, Father, my God!  

             the colors are so vivid, the texture is so rich,

                    and the smells are heavenly.  

                          praise was constant in my spirit.

our last stop before hana we met a NW guy from hood river, 

         he ensured us he would make us a quality coffee drink.

                                he did.  

            we sipped on that, munched on mango bread, 

                    and pure vanilla dried coconut.

                        finally made it to hana.  

          we quickly ventured back down, just short 2 hours. 

                    back to paia.  funny little town.

                           reefer is the scent. 

                   the old man with his cheesy grin, 

               knew everyone and opened conversation with

           “life is sweet”, while nodding his head at us.

                             high as a kite.  

         he certainly enjoyed his meal, we felt it was lacking.

    our last FULL day...

         what to do, what to do...

                THIS.

       with an out of this world, 

      only in my dreams pina colada in hand!  followed by a nap.  

                          dinner at the pineapple grill.

                                 outside please.

                       wasabi pea pistachio encrusted ahi  

                         over coconut scented rice 

                            with wild mushrooms.

                      famous pineapple upside down cake 

                     topped with a macadamia nut ice cream 

                          and a caramelized rum sauce.

                                    delish. 

                             

                 drinks with joni and steve at the hula grill 

            to re-cap our weeks and scheme of ways to move here.

               breathing in all the salty air that we possibly could. 

                      hopeful for a moment 

                          that we might 

                             never have to leave.

              homecoming came and it literally felt like 

                 i was JUST here in my home.

                      on mama duty.

                    thank goodness for those memories 

                       when i need to escape my beautiful reality 

                                and dream!  

hopefully you got a little color 

             just from the intense radiation 

                  that beams with the thought of maui.  

          hopefully you feel like you got a little taste 

                      of our trip to maui.                  

             hopefully this didn’t make you too hungry.

                  hopefully i will never have another      

                          blog entry this long!

         

     *all this was made possible by...

                      the AMAZING grandma lew!  

        THANK YOU to the moon and back!  I LOVE YOU mamasita!

                  (thank goodness at the time, you didn’t quite 

                     know what you were signing up for)

                   

                       the 3 kids that were left behind, 

                       someday you might understand why.

                    I LOVE YOU maeha moo, aj, and emry boy!

        

                       the SAVE THE DAY grandma pit!

              thank you for calming my mom and picking up the 

                       pieces while she was sick.

                          I LOVE YOU cheryl!

                      

                      the INCREDIBLE and LOVING babe-alicious!

                    thank you for coming along on my maui trip

                    it wouldn’t have been the same without you.

                      “it’s always better when were together”

                            I love you nate piturachsatit!