Kona snow!

The coffee trees (well weeds really, that's the family they come from, crazy huh) are in full bloom and smell amazing...like gardenias :) They only last a few days, what a joy.

Brrrr!! :)

Des Moines, IA

If you haven't heard yet that's the next place this adventure is taking us. After being in Hawaii for two months, we wanted to keep taking it up a notch and Des Moines is what we came up with :)

We have greatly enjoyed traveling these past few months and have learned LOTS and grown tightly together in our marriage, though we are also excited to have a 'home base' for awhile. We're currently looking for jobs and a place to live and would appreciate your prayers! We plan to be there by mid-April and can't wait to see all you mid-westerners! :)

Living with an open hand and choosing heaven now

An adventure we've been having in Maui for sure, yesterday we found out that my pack (worn proudly by me in the picture two posts down on this blog) with everything I need for working on the farm and living in Hawaii long term was stolen and I was left to celebrate my 31st birthday with just the clothes on my back. Thankfully we were camping so we still have our tent, sleeping bags, camera and food. Nicole's stuff was untouched, so aside from the sweet rain boots we found her that were packed away in my backpack she still has everything she needs.

It's been an interesting year for me in this area. Having never had anything stolen from me prior to this year it started with my $2,000 road bike, then my 1988 Toyota 4Runner with lots off sweat equity and then all my belongings :) It has become amazingly apparent to me how tightly I can hold on to things and feel a right to claim them as my own. One minute I have something and the next it's gone. That leaves me with a choice of how i will react and my reaction largely controls how i experience this life.

I believe that heaven, and the proverbial hell, are experienced here and now, on this earth, everyday, and we have the power to choose which one we will experience moment by moment. Was any of that stuff in "my" pack mine to begin with? What is the concept of ownership? An idea we made up? Because this piece of paper has some signatures on it in certain places, and other funny words on it, it means this vehicle "belongs" to me. What about the land I'm standing on, does it really "belong" to someone because they have a piece of paper with a special seal on it that another human made up saying so? I believe native Americans were on to something when the British came over and they couldn't comprehend the idea of land "ownership." I believe that everything we have and enjoy on this Earth is on loan to us, it is with us one minute and gone the next. I want to be grateful each moment for what I am currently borrowing and when it is called back to be lent to another, graciously let it go. What freedom this has brought me...Heaven, now!

What can $10 in Maui buy you?

Paradise :)

How about both! Shortly after taking off from Sacramento, we were informed that we were going to Oahu rather than Maui due to an anti-skid warning light and a much longer runway in Oahu. I'm not sure but I think worse things have happened :) Now we would get to see three of the Hawaiian islands instead of just two. Granted spending only a few hours at the Honolulu airport hardly constitutes seeing Oahu but flying into it and seeing it from the air was pretty cool.

For most if us, a situation like this is pretty easy to accept and even enjoy, especially in me and Nicole's life where having a schedule to follow is as foreign as it gets :) I don't remember there being an upset person on the entire plane even though we were delayed three hours getting to our destination. Being that our destination was what most people consider paradise and we were diverted to another paradise I think helped the situation, but why?

What puts us in a more forgiving attitude than we usually possess?

Why is it easier to get to Maui via Oahu rather than Chicago via North Dakota? Is it really that different?

Lately I've been reading a book that is revolutionizing my life (A New Earth by Eckhard Tolle). It talks a lot about being completely immersed in the present moment. There is so little we truly have control of in life. Instead of fighting against or trying to change what already is (the present) what if we decided to fully accept it in whatever form it takes in that moment?

I don't think that being diverted to Oahu rather than North Dakota is very different at all, but our perspective of each can differ quite a bit, causing very different reactions.

Goodbye Mainland!

Well we did it, we consolidated our lives into two huge backpacks and are heading 2,500 miles across the ocean to Hawaii :)

Thank you SOOOOO much to all our amazing friends and family that have made this opportunity possible, from letting us crash at your place to storing our stuff to telling us what not to miss in the land of laid-backness. Your encouragements and prayers are treasured as we embark on the unknown and follow after our Friend who leads us moment by moment.

We love you all so very much, you are ever in or hearts and prayers :)

Aloha!!

West Coast - Part II

Nicole and I enjoyed our first trip to Naples, FL so much that we decided to go back for a fun 3-day date :) It was amazing, we found one of the best pizza places we've ever eaten at, one of the yummiest dessert places that combines italian ice and frozen custard (it really is yummy!) and spectacularly romantic sunsets!

As our time in Florida winds down Nicole really wanted to see another alligator up close, I had planned on going back to the Everglades near my parents house when we got back to the East Coast side of Florida hoping to catch a glimpse of one, but GOD was listening and had another surprise for both of us. While in Naples, we stopped at Collier-Seminole State Park for a little lunch picnic and as soon as we got out and sat on the dock we noticed an alligator chilling in the water about 100 yards away, so cool. We sat and watched for the longest time and then it started swimming our way. It was about 5 feet long and came right up to the dock, we were literally standing three feet above it, I've never seen one in the wild that close up! Though there are plenty of signs saying don't feed the wildlife I'm not sure how closely they are heeded :) The water was crystal clear and sun bright so we were able to see every movement he made under the water. It was incredible to see how they are designed and function.

The next day Nicole said it would be awesome if we saw a dolphin. I thought in the back of my head, "yea, that would be nice but there's no way, it's winter and they normally are just out in the summer, plus I didn't remember ever seeing one from the shore, only while out on boats." We enjoyed our last day in Naples together and decided to watch the sun set one last time, it was the best one yet. Two minutes after the sun went down, right in front of us about 25 yards from the shore, two dolphin fins broke the surface of the water!! GOD's love, care and concern for each and every one of us is truly more than we can comprehend and we would see it EVERYWHERE if we would take time to notice and open our minds to it.

Sunset Dolphins :) check out link below for video!

http://vimeo.com/33084191

Dinner!