no where else we'd rather be..

This weekend my bestest friend married the love of her life... in Colorado.  The only downside to living on an island is that, unless we invest in a sailboat, flying remains the only option for traveling to the mainland.  At 36 weeks pregnant the airlines and my doctor were anything but keen on giving consent for the journey.  But, here's the ingenius part: I was still able to raise my glass of sparkling cider in a toast to marriage and love.  I ate wedding cake that was, let's be honest, just not as tasty as it looked.  And I blew bubbles and thanked God for two wonderful people committed to journeying through life together.  How did I pull it off, you may ask?!  Simple.  We attended a 50th anniversary party for a sweet couple in our church!
Of course, I still had high hopes of being magically transported to Elizabeth's wedding without going into labor.  But I was incredibly thankful that these events fell on the same day.  It may seem trivial, but I needed an excuse for sparkles and a cute dress!  God realizes the most intimate details of my heart and provided the perfect evening, complete with wonderful friends, a smoothie bar and fire dancers, to take my mind off of the celebration I was missing in Colorado.  It's mind boggling to realize the countless ways that the God of the universe is in tune with ME, pregnancy hormones and all!  I adore Him.

[what an Artist!!]

On that note, HAPPY FATHERS DAY, to my Papa God- Savior of my soul, Creator of the Milky Way, Painter of each and every sunset and Designer of the aardvark!  I will never be able to fathom how great He is or how truly incredible it is that He calls me His child [John 1:12].  Just this week I read in a study how we will 'explore the nooks and crannies of His Nature for all eternity.'  He is boundless and incomprehensible.  Yet, He is everywhere I look, closer than my own skin; He is constantly wooing, teaching and encouraging me.  I would, quite literally, be lost without Him.
I've also been blessed with an amazing earthly daddy.  He taught me to dream big, embrace my quirks and always look for the best in everyone.  Most importantly, he always pointed me to Jesus; I'll never be able to thank him enough for that.  And, although we still have approximately three and a half weeks till we meet our son, Derek is already an amazing dad.  He may be unsure of things like diaper changing, but he is eager to begin the journey of raising a son.  I know Derek will be an awesome example for our little man and there is no one I would rather share this enormous blessing and responsibility with.

[basketball belly!]

Our nursery is almost fully functional.  We organized all the amazing gifts we received at our shower and revised the list of 'baby essentials'.  Then we went on a shopping spree!!  Up until the shower we did an impressive job of holding back on purchases but the time had finally arrived to finish preparing for our son.  I was ecstatic and Derek... well, he had fun for the first 20 minutes.  Then the mattress pad covers and diaper rash creams started blurring together and he had to take an intermission/snack break.  We did a decent job of sticking to the list; minus a few 'must have' toys.  I say the nursery is 'almost' fully functioning, because the Target trip (plus two doctor appointments and a thousand other errands) completely depleted our energy supply and the changing table has yet to be assembled.

[sweet husband 'sorting' the shower gifts!]

Highlight of the week: redeeming my birthday present at a resort in town, a 55 minute massage!  Derek kept asking me for gift ideas and I continued to come up blank.  I felt bad for him, but now I'm thinking I'll leave him to his own devices more often because he did GOOD!  Perfect timing, too- as the weight of this watermelon sized baby is putting a significant pull on my lower back.  I really have no complaints, however.  This pregnancy has been amazingly smooth and relatively painless; I'm extremely thankful and hope and pray that will continue throughout the upcoming labor and delivery!
This blog began as a way to describe our wild coffee farming adventures.  The posts have, obviously, gone in a very different direction this year and I want to thank all of you readers for continuing to journey with me.  Not only is there a serious lack of coffee farm action to convey at this point, but our life is moving in other directions.  Derek is busy with landscaping and we're preparing to welcome the newest, sweetest member of our family.  God continues to teach us, growing our faith and putting us in situations that make us rely on Him completely.  No matter where Jesus leads or what tales I may have to relay, however, we know He is at work and there's no where else we'd rather be.  And yes, we do love Hawaii but by 'no where else we'd rather be', I actually mean this place of trusting God.  That's where we want to reside; regardless of scenery, occupation or achievements in this world.
'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.' Proverbs 3:5-6