relishing the life God has given us
Celebrating Independence Day 2018 One of my favorite parts about holidays is remembering how we celebrated them in years past. Having lived in a different state for the each of the past 5 Fourth of July’s makes it fun to reminisce. (2017 CT, 2016 SC, 2015 I lived in IA but was in SD and Curtis was at OCS in RI,… Read More
Hiking to the Ehukai Pillbox & Beyond | Memorial Day 2018 The morning of Memorial Day started off a rainy one, but we didn’t let that deter us from hiking. We drove up the Windward coast through heavy showers and made it to our destination: Sunset Beach, where we would begin our hike to the Ehukai Pillbox. I had done… Read More
Sadly, our short trip to Maui and the weekend immediately following was the only time Curtis and I had together in the month of January. Over the weekend, we built a second raised bed garden and planted more squash, beans, and potatoes. We finally found a washing machine for $20 and had “loads of fun” catching up on laundry, and… Read More
2017 was filled with challenges — both ones we had been expecting for a long time, and ones that took us by surprise. It was filled with trials and uncertainty, with waiting and praying. It consisted of more big decisions, more complications, and more experiences that required us being way outside our comfort zone. It put us in circumstances where… Read More
Once in Portland, I spent Monday afternoon cleaning out our rental car and repacking all my luggage. On Tuesday, 9/26, I took Charlotte to get a bath at Petsmart so she’d be all clean and ready for our flight (I had read that if quarantine found any sort of ticks or parasites on an animal it could be held in… Read More
Moving to Hawaii, Jess and Charlie Edition • Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Smith Rock State Park, and Mt. Hood National Forest • September 23-25, 2017 I had finally made it halfway through my week alone — it seemed to be dragging by even though I was filling each day with exciting things. I was running on minimal sleep and doing my best… Read More