About mid-way through May, while we were on a date, Cliff asked me if I wanted to go to Hawaii for our anniversary and to investigate a possible move there. While I was kinda shocked, I wasn't completely surprised, because Cliff loves to invest money and time into experiences that we won't forget and we have been pondering a move there for more than 10 years... since we last left really. He places a high value on family time even when it doesn't seem the most convenient timing or the most cost-effective for the budget. But we just recently became completely debt-free and found people willing to watch our kiddos for the 6 days we'd be gone, so we just planned it and went!
We planned to do some relaxing, touring of hospitals, snorkling, interviewing of locals (casually), eating out, checking out real estate and neighborhoods, training for a half marathon, and Cliff was hoping for some interviews. So basically we were on a reconnaissance mission/vacation. It was interesting.
We started in Maui. And while we loved every part of Hawaii that we've seen, we both decided within 24 hours that it was not the island we wanted to move to. Reasons included: small population, not a great place to homeschool, not many good housing options (at least not that we found), crazy high food prices, and only one state-run hospital meaning Cliff probably wouldn't be able to pick up a lot of extra shifts to save for flights back home. So instead of more research there, we just enjoyed ourselves! We ate at some fun restaurants, snorkled some gorgeous bays, laid in the sun, drove the coast, played in Lahaina, went to a Calvary Chapel church, and managed the kids back home by phone :)
All 4 kids stayed with my mom the first 2 days. We planned out Kaiah's food counts for that time and made sure she was doing ok. I actually called the day camp that Kaiah and Mason were at a few hours before we boarded the plane to make sure they understood that we were no longer the emergency contacts for those 6 hours as we would have no cell contact. Also, Kaiah had lost her glucometer the day before, so I was the neurotic mom of a diabetic trying to convey to the office staff the importance of finding this "thing" that they didn't understand.
Giving up control of this was really hard. This is the longest we've been away from Kai since her diagnosis. We did our best to enjoy ourselves, but couldn't help but worry a little... especially when we got a call from my mom that she was having a hard time poking (a very asleep) Kaiah's finger before she went to bed. My mom did a great job, but still felt the panic of wanting to care for her the way we would want her to, and not fully understanding the equipment. After a while on the phone, Kaiah woke up and just did it herself :) Crisis averted!
Anyway, when Kaiah went to stay with our friend who had a little gal the same age with Type 1 and the same insulin pump, we breathed a sign of relief and were able to relax a lot more.
The view from our room!
Maui memorial (called for a interview when we got back). He turned it down.
Trying to Skype with the kids...
Plumeria!
In Oahu we did some more research and some more relaxing. We were so blessed by a homeschool group that just happened to be meeting on one of the three days there in a park. After explaining why we were there without any kids :) they were more than willing to answer the many questions we had for them. Some were just coming to the islands, some were leaving (military). We liked all of them. They were so encouraging and had a lot of helpful information. We both felt that this was a rich time. That evening we went out to dinner with some friends that we didn't know very well. We questioned them, the waiter, and even the guy selling necklaces on the street. This guy (Jabron from Palestine) even picked some papaya for us after we voiced our opinion on the injustice of all the tropical fruit that just falls to ground and rots... :)
This was our breakfast the next morning!
They were all so helpful and answered honestly about the realities of living in HI. Vacationing is a much different picture than actually living there. After looking at the prices of a few stores, checking out homeschool opportunities, sports options, and housing options, we were pretty encouraged and have started to pray that if God wants us to move here, that he would open doors and make it obvious that we should proceed. We did a little more research, but really had some fun on the island.
Kailua Town, the city we are most interested in moving to.
Everyone here is so active! So many people exercising with their dogs every morning and night.
Beautiful sunrises.
Pali Lookout above Kailua (very windy).
Early morning boogie boarding :)
Our trip to the North Shore was probably my favorite day! We found between 15 and 25 sea turtles surfing the waves and hanging out just feet from shore!
We had a wonderful time. We did a lot of talking, relaxing, dreaming, number crunching, etc. There are a lot of people who don't want us to move. I admit I'm torn too. But this desire of Cliff's hasn't gone away all these years. I think there could be something here for is. I don't believe we are just wanting to move here to relax and live out our days in paradise. In fact, there is a lot of poverty here and many ministry opportunities available to us that we've also begun to ponder. We both want to be in God's will. We are praying for clarity and wisdom. And if the doors close, I think we are in a place of accepting that. But as long as the doors are open and stay that way, It looks like Hawaii might be part of our future. So now we wait... for a job to open up, for a hospital to desire interviewing a guy from the mainland (a much more remote possibility that one would think), and peace about a move.
I'm thankful that I'm married to guy who is growing in his love for the Lord, loves me and all my faults, who dreams big dreams, cherishes his kids and doesn't want to "settle" but lives life to the fullest. We'll see where our next adventure takes us...!
