Aloha Furniture

Or should I say, "Aloha, furniture." Either way, we are living on some functional pieces of plastic-covered bamboo for the next few weeks while our furniture is heading to Europe on a boat.


After two days of mounds of boxes, piles of packing paper and tape, and swarms of flies (thanks to the open front door), the moving truck, with the wooden crates labeled "Lopez" loaded on board, left.

With the arrival of the Aloha furniture, we enter into a simpler time. Less stuff = less time spent on tasks = more time spent with people. We are also aware of the true beginning of the end of our time here in Hawaii. Just 24 days left. While there are still some tasks to be completed (shipping our mini-van, shipping our unaccompanied baggage, cleaning and clearing this house, and Patrick taking care of all the final work details of leaving this post), we are looking forward to enjoying these last days with dear friends. Bittersweet.

It is so much easier to say "Aloha" to the furniture.

Au Revoir, Velo

Most men remember their first car with an unexplainable attachment. Today, I handed off my road bike of 23 years. It was my first real racing bike. I was sad to see it go. So many miles, so many memories. In order to enjoy it one last time, Isaac and I rode up Tantalus Mountain before delivering it to its newest owner. It was the first true mountain ride for me, and the fact that I made it up slower than my son is not something I am choosing to dwell upon.

It has been such a good bike, and when I purchased it back in college, it was considered a moderately high-end racing machine. Lately, it has been admired by other riders as a “classic” machine. This I have chosen to receive as a compliment rather than a critique. Many of these admirers hadn’t yet learned how to ride a bike back when this one was new. Now the steel frame makes it a sought-after novelty. It has served me well even though I left it collecting dust in the garage for far too many years.

My next bike will be the one I purchase in Europe where I am sure I will get the opportunity to trail Isaac up much larger mountains and make many more memories. In my mind I dream of climbing the famous l’Alpe d’Huez, which is nearly twice the length of Tantalus and will cause me to suffer more than twice as long. I am sure Isaac will wait for me at the top.

Anniversary on the Beach

Tonight, my bride and I will get away to a cabin on the beach to celebrate our 17th anniversary which is tomorrow. We will wake up to dawn on the seashore and reflect upon the wonderful seventeen years God has granted us together and the past three years on Oahu which are so rapidly coming to a close. Two years together as a family surrounding one year with me in Iraq.


So much has happened in that time. Micaiah has become a young lady who has continued to excel in ballet and is rapidly becoming fluent in French. Isaac is becoming a responsible young man who just rode a hundred miles on his bike last weekend, dragging me along the way. Abigail, too, is maturing on this tropical paradise, and oddly enough, it is here that she recently discovered her talent for ice skating. For Bear, the world has changed so much. He learned to walk and talk on this isle and, at this moment, is fascinated by the slug that is making its way across our back patio and begging me to read Dr. Seuss to him in Latin. Virent Ova! Viret Perna! And, of course, number five is on the way - yet another blessing from God.

The blessings and grace of my Heavenly Father are far too numerous to comprehensively list here. Yet none of these rewards are mine without first receiving the gift of Shelly. She makes all of this possible.

I have been so blessed to have a wife willing to follow me wherever my Lord has led and to take so much upon herself while I deployed to the other side of the globe. Her strength never ceases to amaze me, and the honor she has brought me never fails to humble me.

A sunset, a sunrise and some much deserved peace and relaxation seem so insufficient to express the gratitude I have for her agreeing to marry me and for God giving me the wisdom to ask her. After our short getaway, we will come home to enjoy a Sabbath feast with our children. This seems appropriate since they are the fruit of our union and so much of our married life has included them. They have seen the blessing that their mother has been to me, and I pray they have seen how much I love their mother.

Conjugate What?

While my mind seems to be in constant whirlwind of moving "to-do" lists, I am reminded each weekday morning at 8:00 that I still have a very important job ... Teacher. So we will continue to conjugate Latin verbs, classify sentences, determine the values of x, y and z, and read the classics. And may the Teacher's head not explode on any given Thursday afternoon ... or Tuesday morning ... or ever.

These are the faces that do the reminding ...

.......

.......

Thankfully, Patrick was able to shoot 2010-2011 School Photos before the winds started increasing, and the stacks of books attest to the following:

Germany will have to wait a while longer ... Homer, Twain, and Bunyan (among others) wait for no one.

Ahhh ... Sweet Release

Purge: to cleanse or rid of impurities, foreign matter, or undesirable elements

This is the word that quickly came to mind when Patrick shared the news that we HAVE ORDERS!! Although I have yet to set my own eyes upon a copy of these orders, I am still making lists of all the areas of this house that will have a complete purging ... and soon.

*I envision post-it notes with labels of "KEEP," "SELL," and "TRASH IMMEDIATELY" on most everything ... inanimate.

*I fantasize about the mounds of unused, unwanted, and unnecessary toys and stuff that will finally be released from the bonds of this family with the help of this loving mother's commitment to purge.

*I contemplate the pros and cons of Craig's List versus Yard Sale when it comes to selling the big items that must be "purged" so that all the books may travel to Germany.

*I imagine the day when Maintenance will make their final visit to fix whatever is ailing this lovely house we've called home for the past two years.

*I dream of the day when the HHG (Household Goods) will be neatly and clearly separated from the UB (Unaccompanied Baggage) and awaiting the arrival of the TSP (Transportation Service Provider).

After the purging ... when simplicity reigns ... then we will (or at least we "should") rest and revel in the relationships that God has blessed us with here in Hawaii until it's time to say "Aloha."

Some Old, Some New

Just ten days ago Mimi left Hawaii for the last time.

The children and I took a two-week break from school in order to throw ourselves wholeheartedly into sharing this island paradise with my mom one last time. While we revisited a few beaches and sites like

Pearl Harbor,

we did manage to show Mimi a few new-to-her places.

The Bishop Museum

While the Live Lava Flow demonstration was a big hit with all, the big whale hanging from the ceiling was a close second according to Bear.

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden

Micaiah had a tough time keeping up with Mimi's demands to photograph this plant or that tree, and "Be sure to take a picture of the sign so I'll know what the name of that flower is."

Shark's Cove

One of our favorite haunts quickly found a place in Mimi's heart. Wading through the crystal-clear water ... standing quietly like a statue while fish of different shapes and hues darted under rocks and around feet ... reveling in the beauty of another Hawaiian morning, is it any wonder why this spot is in the top five??

The View from Trinity Presbyterian Church, Kailua

We'll miss our family at Trinity.

The next photo sums up Mimi's visit better than any blog post I could write. While everyone gave 100% attempting to make this last Hawaiian adventure the most memorable, Bear would not be outdone...

Next adventure for Mimi ... Germany!!

His Rewards in His Time

If I have learned anything from God over the past few years it is that He works on His own time. It has also become apparent that this great drama He authors is often times a lighthearted comedy in which we are the unwitting foil.

We are pregnant. There, I just spit out the news we have been holding back for what seems like ages. Of course, Shelly is the pregnant one who is having all kinds of wild things happen to her body yet again, but, the entire family is pregnant with anticipation of meeting our newest housemate. The comedic story line comes from our planning a move to Europe just three months prior to the babe's coming out party; it is not that we are approaching the age of Abraham and Sarah.

It seems that every time we make a major life change of jobs or locations, God has seen fit to bless us with a child (Not sarcastic). So we should have seen this coming. Of course, that is always the case in the traditional comedy -- everyone but the stooge sees the obvious.

And thus, God has decided to give us the full European experience. Not just living in Germany, visiting castles and retracing Luther's steps, but the experience of a life beginning in the shadow of all that history. While I am hopeful that we will be strong enough to resist the temptation to name the child Wolfgang or Hilda, we will embrace another opportunity to trust in God's providence and relax in His sovereignty. We are still very excited about the prospects of experiencing all that the history of Europe has to teach us. But, we have once again been reminded that the true joy of being a family comes from trusting in God and seeing Him work faithfully through the lives of the members of the household. Europe is exciting, but it pales in comparison to being anywhere with my family. The fact that God has prepared a path for all of us to experience the old world together, and furthermore, to reward us with another child is yet one more example of His unfathomable love.

As the Psalmist wrote, "Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord, The fruit of the womb a reward."