Cherries On Top!

Gypsy, wanderer, traveler; a part of me, deep within, always resonates with those terms. It's the excitement of a new adventure, a blank page and fresh sights to experience that awaken this part of my soul. Derek says I've been this way since he met me and it seems to be a common trend within my family. None of these terms are 100% accurate, though. I truly cherish friendships formed and, especially now with babies in the mix, definitely appreciate a solid 'root system'. I become restless but don't want to wander endlessly. I long to roam the wide, open spaces and yet desperately need a place to call home. I'm a walking conundrum! 

Thankfully, Derek's Mom found a more fitting term: sojourner, one who stays for a little while and then returns to the homeland. And the 'homeland' may not always be Colorado. In fact, I'm fairly certain our home base will change many times throughout the years. But our little family adventured far and wide, partaking fully of an excellent life in Hawaii, and it seems incredibly fitting that God is now bringing us full circle. We begin a new season of life and the first pages are staged in the tiny, mountain town where Derek and I both grew up. We are sojourners! 

We took six days to travel from California to Colorado, via Washington because our incredible friend from Hawaii let us ship boxes and furniture on her shipping container headed to the mainland! (Did I mention about God going above and beyond anything we could imagine?!) It was an excellent road trip. Owen and Kai were outstanding travel buddies and Derek exhibited amazing restraint in letting me take turns behind the wheel of truck and fully loaded trailer. There was a hedge of protection around us as we journeyed and we know God went before us! 
To break up the 45+ hours of driving we took more than a few pit stops to marvel at the WONDER of God's creation! We drove along the coast, wound our way through endless vineyards and ventured over mountain passes. We visited the Redwoods in all their magnificence and explored a sliver of Seattle. In Yellowstone we watched buffalo meander down the road, walked rickety wooden bridges over steaming sulfur lakes and, of course, OLD FAITHFUL! 

Even if we hadn't stopped at a single jaw-dropping sight, the sheer extravagance of road tripping through the Northwest in FALL would have been enough to qualify this trip as epic. The wide open spaces and off-road exploration was a gift straight from my Papa and I am so thankful! The transition from Hawaii to Colorado could have been completely overwhelming but Jesus arranged the details so well, giving us time to process and prepare.

Now, after a month off from 'real-life', we are ready to regain at least a little bit of normalcy. Derek is hard at work as we speak. God is such a Provider. I was able to arrange with insurance and a new obstetrician on day one here and Baby Pearl and I have already had our first check up. Thank you, Jesus! We shipped Derek's truck over and planned on waiting a few months to purchase a second vehicle, but in another God-is-so-beyond-us turn of events, we have been given a car! Hallelujah! 

Our trip was not without incident and much laughter. Mr. Owen, fresh out of potty training academy, had to develop a unique skill set for relieving his bladder on the side of the freeway. He also gave us a scare by squatting in what we thought was a patch of poison ivy. (Thankfully, California only has poison OAK.) Seriously, though, morale stayed very high; not many tears were shed by toddler or pregnant lady. And Derek's back held up remarkably well, thanks to a back roller that was given us mid-trip! There was an entire bottle of chocolate milk spilled in a certain someone's car seat; thankfully, this only happened 45 minutes from our final destination and that was as gnarly as things got! (Okay, I did get us extremely lost at one point and had to relinquish navigation duties to the 'other woman' on Derek's GPS, but that's water under the bridge..)

The ways that God met us each step of the way (and continually meets us) is so humbling. Whether it be a 'big deal' or a minuscule detail, He is intimately involved. We were unsure of when/where to purchase a trailer to load our furniture and boxes on. Derek made a few calls as we drove and we checked out the Home Depot and Lowe's of Portland. Our hope was to get this detail squared away before arriving in Washington. The options were slim, however, so we kept heading north. In the end, we found a place specializing in the beefy, quality trailer Derek originally wanted and it was literally 10 minutes from our friend's house where our things had been dropped off! TEN MINUTES. Cherry on top of an already unbelievable gift. 
On our second to last day of driving we were shooting for a random town that was simply a decent amount of miles away for us to tackle. As we drew closer, the billboards informed us that this town boasted the local hot springs attraction! After a full day of driving in the rain, that bubbly water sounded positively glorious. But, of course, we knew it was probably unrealistic. We wouldn't arrive until 7:30p.m and needed to unpack most of our suitcases in the hotel room to allow everything to air dry. God did it again, though. 
As Derek came out of the very first hotel we stopped at, his smile told me 'this is going to be good!' Not only had they given him a discount for no apparent reason (besides his rugged good looks and charming demeanor, of course!) but they just happened to have their own personal hot springs! Another cherry on top and as the boys swam, and I soaked my lower half, I knew that this too was a gift from our incredibly good and faithful Father.

Deciding to leave Hawaii was very difficult but God continues to make it abundantly clear that this is right where He wants us. I'm amazed by Him daily. Not to mention, being surrounded by family is such a sweet, sweet blessing! Owen has handled the changes and transitioning like a champion and I know that a huge factor in that is the LOVE poured out on him every step of the way. 

We are sojourners... in search of adventure, ready for whatever God has next and thankful for arms open wide as we venture back to 'the homeland' for a bit. Our journey is so ridiculously blessed and we give God all the glory. We will never truly stop wandering until we meet Him face to face and I can guarantee that spending eternity with the Author of our faith will redefine the 'cherry on top'!

Lamentations 3:22-23 'The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.' 

What is this?!

Two weeks ago we hugged our favorites one last time and boarded a plane, leaving behind tropical paradise and life as we know it. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Owen expressed the overwhelming emotion we were all wrestling with by asking, 'What is this place??' While not contiguous, the Big Island is, indeed, part of the United States. And yet nothing makes the differences between here and there seem quite so stark as the navigation of traffic in downtown LA. Thank goodness, that was not our final destination.

We have been 'vacationing' in Central California for 14 wonderful days. In the midst of transition and change and goodbyes that made our hearts hurt, God knew that we were in desperate need of rest and relaxation. Hugging my Mom and Dad was high on the 'really really want' list. But needing to wait in CA. until our truck arrived actually made this time mandatory and an absolute balm for my weary heart. Berry picking, bike riding, the best sleep we've had in months, a surprise Baby shower, marshmallows around the bonfire.. it's been bliss.

Watching Owen bond with his grandparents and wreak havoc with his cousins has been priceless. (He thought 'cousins' was a single person until they all walked in the door and I don't think he's stopped playing and laughing since that moment..) In the midst of chaos, I've been blessed with a pedicure date with my Mom, exploration of the magical place that is my parent's backyard and deeper digging into Bible questions with my favorite scholar, Dad! Derek was able to go surfing with my brother and golfing with the cousins. The only moment of displeasure was when Owen had to put on a pair of jeans -for the first time in his entire life! He proceeded to walk around bowlegged, as if there was spikes in them, begging for answers: 'Mom, what IS this?!'

There are numerous unknowns and variables in our life right now and on many different levels our only option is to take it one day at a time. Our truck was supposed to arrive two days ago but, alas, it did not and we have had two extra days of vacation! I would like to map out all the details of our road trip to Colorado but it's hard to do that without knowing when we will begin the drive. I would love to set up an appointment with an OB on the other end but that depends largely on when we arrive. Etc. etc. etc.
Our sweet son often voices the very questions that Derek and I are wrestling with. What is happening, where are we going and why is everything different? We are confident that God is leading us forward into a new chapter and He has already worked out so many of the details in miraculous ways. But that doesn't mean we don't have our moments of wondering, 'What is this?!?' And I am reminded of other curious wanderers who asked these same questions.. Exodus 16:15 'When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.'

The Israelites were hungry and so God provided food. Beautiful simplicity. They weren't ready for the whole plan and they certainly weren't prepared to conquer the Promised Land. God says something along the lines of, 'Chill out. Let's deal with breakfast first.' They could only gather what they needed for the day in front of them, any extra would spoil before they woke up the next morning. [Exodus 16:4] God is offering 'manna' to us as well but sometimes we fail to recognize it for the heavenly bread that it is. My desperate need for a plan can be cause for missing the beauty in Him simply asking me to walk forward one step at a time while He goes before me making a way. Jesus is saying 'Here's the bread you need for today, daughter, enjoy it! We'll deal with tomorrow when it arrives!'

And so we continue to hold our hands open and trust the Orchestrator of this crazy, ridiculous, wonderful, exciting journey! Nothing that we have is truly ours anyway. Paul says to the Corinthian church, 'What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?' 1 Corinthians 4:7 It's all from Him and it's all for Him. He knew exactly how much time we needed here in California. And now as we prepare to embark on an epic road trip, I have no doubt that He is already at work on our behalf! What a gracious Father we have! Instead of asking 'What is it?!' I will bend down to gather these sweet, crunchy flakes of manna; 'the bread the LORD has given you to eat'. And while looking forward to all that is to come, I will focus on giving thanks for the heavenly bread I have been given for today.