I am not consumed.

Alarm is set for 4:15am. And upon reflection, I'm thinking I probably shouldn't have had Starbucks coffee at 6:30 this evening.

Tomorrow at 5:30am, I will arrive at the hospital to have surgery. Again. There is no longer a beating heart in the baby I carry in my womb. Another baby that I can only imagine my dad in heaven is opening his arms to receive and welcome. I don't even know if heaven works that way, but that thought brings me peace, and tears.

Do I think this is God's plan for me, for us? Nope. But I do believe Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." According to this truth, God causes everything - the hardest trials of our lives, our saddest moments - to work together for the good of those who love him. Do I see the big picture? Of course not. Do I know what this means for our future? No. Do I need to understand why? I'd like to, but no I don't.

I persevere. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." -James 1:2-4

We are sad, and we are mourning the loss of another life we loved. But somehow, in some way, all of this will be used for good. I don't know how, when, or why us, but I have hope. And faith.

We are not consumed.

this moment

This moment.

I am loving this moment. There's nothing about it that makes it particularly spectacular. I'm sipping my morning coffee - vanilla mac nut flavored, a small treat for myself when Rob is traveling. Christian is sitting close to me with "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" on the television, shouting "Yeahs!" right on cue.  It's cloudy outside with rain on it's way, and cool inside... after a very hot few days with no winds to circulate the air inside our small home, I am grateful. We're snuggled under our "Christmas blanket" we keep next to the couch for mornings like this. (Thanks Rachelle, we live for the Christmas blanket you bequeathed us.)

Christian let me sleep in. And by sleep in I mean I laid in bed awake for an extra 30 minutes this morning since I've been awake since about 5:30am. (Thanks Baxter and loud moped riding down the street.) But I love the stillness of those early morning moments. It's mostly dark outside, the birds are waking up and it's starting to sound like we live in the middle of the jungle. It's peaceful, and I can be still with my thoughts, reflecting on the past few days, the past few weeks. I pray, and reflect. And give thanks for my friends and family, far and near. And wishing my mom lived "more near" than far. But Rob lands in just a few hours, and I could not possibly be happier about that either.

I am thankful for this moment.

first day of spring!

Admittedly, there really isn't anything distinctive in any of our "changes" of seasons. It's still chillier at night, and maybe rainier than our summer days, but you won't hear one complaint from me. Nope, not a peep. For fear of disownment by my east coast family and friends. Condolences on your never ending winter. I mean it.

Today Christian and I ventured down to the park... that he goes to everyday and thus feels he is King of. But I'm so happy that we did because we ran into some friends, and that's just always a bonus.

After I tried to wear him out good and tired, we headed to the new-ish HE>i store in town. For the longest time the only one was located in Haleiwa alllllllllll the way on the North Shore (approximately 40 miles, if you're curious), that I've been to maybe once. Because 40 miles. So I was happy to pick up a few things for the family at it's new location. Here's a little bit of info on the company, since it is a Hawaii company, and when we moved here I would see stickers all the time on people's car but had no clue what it meant. Christian HAD TO wear his shirt out of the store. Had to.

I'm sure after his nap today we'll do something SUPER fun like go to Costco, and maybe Island Brew. Or maybe not. I can't plan that far ahead.

Happy first day of spring!

happy st. patrick's day!

Way back in 2009, when Rob and I were on a mission to travel the world... or see as many places as we could on our days off with our flight benefits and hotel points, we decided to go to Ireland. I guess more specifically, Dublin. We did manage to venture a teeny bit outside of Dublin north to Malahide and then south to Dalkey. We tried to make time to go to Cork, but no luck. Heh.

We did all the typical touristy stuff: Jameson Distillery, Guinness Brewery, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College, and I'm sure more things that I can't remember and my really crappy camera didn't document.

But here's "a little" of what it did.

We'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day doing what we normally do on Mondays. Music class, naps, maybe the beach later. 

Gone are the days of...

And red hair.

But of course, we wouldn't change a thing.

Have a wonderful day celebrating!

aloha friday

Friday friday! 

To say this week has been an emotional whirlwind would be a huge understatement. But, I have found peace in scripture and through prayer and friends and family. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

This verse has come up in my daily life multiple times the past few weeks (at BSF, through a friend's random text and then email, posted on Facebook, in my Jesus Calling devotion, etc.). It just keeps coming up so I know God is preparing me for something. 

Look who's on his way home! Hallelujah! We are always so happy on these days.

This weekend we have a few fun things going on - a 1st birthday party, beach pizza under the full moon, and there's a little carnival that's been setup in Hawaii Kai we're hoping to check out. I don't think Christian will let us "forget."

I did want to mention that on Monday I went to a Moms' Night Out where we learned about treating Diastasis Recti with the Tupler Technique. It was so interesting and informational! Moms, you know what I'm talking about. After we have a baby and sport that lovely "I'm 3 months pregnant forever" pooch. Oh, but yeah, ANYONE can have this. Yep, dudes too. Even Joseph Pilates. 

See that gap between his abs? That. Luckily it can be fixed through certain exercises, avoiding certain exercises (crunches!!), splinting, and basically retraining your subconscious on how you carry yourself throughout the day. And in case you're curious, this video shows you how to check yourself. 

That's all I got. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Aloha!

beer > wine

This reformed wino will happily choose one of Rob's homebrews over my formerly cherished glass of wine any day of the week. And now that also applies when on the (very) rare occasion that we dine out, at Kona Brewing Co., naturally. Give me a good beer. And I am in no way saying I know anything about beer, except I know what I like, and am slowly learning more via Rob's big brain.

I can't tell you too much about the beer brewing process in your home, but I can tell you that having mild OCD is an absolute must. It is such a meticulous process. But the end result is worth it, at least for me since I'm the one reaping the rewards.

According to Rob, this is the very "basic" process to making your very own delicious beer with my wifely observations added. Where does he get his supplies you ask? There's a homebrew store over by the airport that he gets most all his grains/hops/etc. from.

Crush grains.
Steep grains at 150 degrees fahrenheit. 
Boil water. Our stove will not get the big ol' pot he uses that hot. So MacGyver wraps a beach towel around the pot to get it hot enough to boil. Said towel has now been relegated to only beer brewing and Rob surfing since it has a huge burnt hole in it. However, here we're trying foil.
Add malt extract.
Add hops. 
Boil 60 minutes, adding additional hops at set times. Smells delicious!
Quickly chill below 70F. Our freezer is FULL of frozen gatorade bottles for this purpose. Curses!
Aerate with O2 very well, add yeast and liquid in bucket. 
Seal for approximately 3 weeks. 
Clean bottles. He sterilizes them in the oven. Smells weird. 
Add small amount of sugar to "flat beer" and mix in bottling bucket. 
Bottle beer. 
Curse a little when beer overflows out of bottle. My observations.
Wait 1-2 weeks for yeast to eat sugar and carbonate beer. 
Put in fridge and...
DRINK COLD! 

He also adds that different varieties require adding other things at the end of the boil, like lemon or orange peel, coriander, rosemary, etc. and some had stuff added just prior to bottling like vanilla and coffee.

IPAs all have additional hops added for a week in the bucket prior to bottling called "dry hopping."

Also, not a fan of IPAs.

Some of Rob's very delicious homebrews include:
Amber Ale
Coconut Porter (yummm)
Coffee Coconut Porter (double yummm)
Stone Ruination
Vanilla Stout
Wheat beer (personal fave)
Stone 2
Lemon Rose Wheat
Saison (This is a Belgian farmhouse ale... Rob has told me this 100x so I'll most likely never, ever forget.)
IPA
Berry Saison
Honey Hefeweizen (more yummm)
Belgian IPA (Saison IPA)
Holiday Ale
Honey Wheat (I love wheat beers)
Belgian Triple

It's a long process to make delicious beer, but Rob does it. And he does it way-more-than-well. The other day I heard our landlord telling Rob that one particular beer we gave him was the "best beer [he'd] ever had." True story.

If you're wondering how he got started, or where to even begin with such a hobby, buy a beer brewing starter kit. A friend of Rob's from Colorado visited sometime a year or so ago and brews his own beer. Rob picked his brain and was interested, but sometimes getting started can be a little overwhelming. I ended up seeing a Groupon for a brewing starter kit through Midwest Supplies, which he purchased.

I have so much admiration for my husband. He's one of those guys that is just so frustratingly good at everything he does. He is a God-loving family man, surfer, beer brewer, and so much more. His passion for his hobbies is contagious, hence my surfing and beer-loving self. He taught me to surf oh so many years ago, and now he's converted me to beer. What in the world.

Not surprisingly, while in Richmond, our new favorite hangout is Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. If you live in RVA, then please, GO THERE. They still have things going on during these (your) freezing cold Winter months. Last year when we went during the Summer they had a gaggle of food trucks. Every Thursday (more during the Summer). Everyone had their blankets set out, kids running around. It was so much fun for everyone. They also frequently have live music.

And continuing on this beer themed post, there's a movie on Netflix called Drinking Buddies. I loved it! It's an independent with Olivia Wilde (gorgeous), Jake Johnson (New Girl), Anna Kendrick (duh), and Ron Livingston (Office Space guy). I read that there was no actual script; all improv. Anyway, it's about two people that work in a brewery that are "just friends."

And also for throwback fun, that time we visited the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. (PS- do you know how delicious Guinness is straight from the source??)

Cheers!!