Mahalo

this year has been one of the most fulfilling & motivating years of my life...

the past two months flew by, much quicker than I expected...

and between moving, saying goodbye & settling in a whole new city...

its time, my sweet friends, for a lil break here at Team Mueller...

I'm ecstatic to be HERE with the love of my life...

I'll be soaking up this place and my man for the next few weeks...

so, till my computer arrives from across the ocean & makes its way into this condo...

Mahalo! 

Hawaii Forever

here's to a fresh, new exciting & hopeful beginning...

& to a California ending that's equally as beautiful...

Matt, I'm Almost Home!

Condo Smash

Just hours after Matt got the keys to our condo there was lots of this going on...

unfortunately you can't tell from the photo's, but Matt "the Machine" has also already scraped down ALL of what was those icky popcorn ceilings :)

I hear the cockroaches are HUGE in Hawaii....

reminding myself that this is right outside :)

It's Official, We're Now Hawaiian Homeowners :)

August 31st, 2012

YEA!!!

Matt got the keys today... PTL!

I'm jealous I'm not there with him...

he says I shouldn't be...

I'll show you why he's saying that tomorrow ;)

240/365: HIS Grace

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee:  Be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Matt has been gone for two weeks now, fifteen days actually…

(but if my post weren't so far behind, and actually up to date the above sentence would read, "Matt has been gone for four weeks today, thirty days actually,")
not fun.  not one bit.

I miss him

his lightheartedness. his laughter. his strength. his confidence.  his determination.  his leadership.  his fun.  his wisdom.  his steadfastness.  his faith.

I confess there have been moments where I thought I couldn’t do all this, “shoring up the house” thing without him…

& though it’s just been me here, in this California house,

I am not alone…

Is 54:5 “For you husband is your Maker whose name is the Lord…”

HE is taking care of me.  Protecting me.  Providing for me.

HIS lovingkindness overwhelms me…

è in countless answered prayers

è in His daily words to me, so timely, so sweet

& in other ways that I did not ask for, but He sent anyways to encourage and strengthen me… for, “indeed the Lord will give what is good,” (Ps 85:12) because His love is that amazing!

è in a neighbor bringing me a fresh bag of piping hot popcorn, because our microwave is packed

è in an email... in a card...

è in garage sale breakfasts with mom, so I didn’t have to sit there alone

è in a neighbor mowing our lawn, though I told him I could do it…

è in a homemade chicken dish from a lady I’ve never met

è in a goodbye party with spin friends

è in an impromptu tea with Suzie

è in a wedding rehearsal dinner

è in chipotle bowls at the parents

è in the bank teller having my exact phone charger (out of how many cell phone models out there??? and no, I do not have an iphone, that'd be too easy) so that we could access the details from my email that would allow us to complete the wire transfer and close on our HI house on schedule

è in the fact that my mom arrives in Cali in three days (can’t wait)

è in His Word (I already said that, yes I know, but I really should type it five more times…)

Too Sexy for my Sandals ;)

these are my new sandals…

whatdoyathink?

how did I happen upon the beauties you ask?

well, it so happened that I was at the bike shop;

I ran in to pick up my bike (which is now in the sad state of being both apart and in a box, awaiting oceanic transport)…

I was standing at the counter, chatting with Matt (bike shop owner) about our upcoming move to Hawaiian bliss…

he was also helping me adjust my dad’s 1987 Schwinn bike to the appropriate settings, because it’s going to be my island bike…

said bike shop owner then tells me, “I have just the thing for you…”

after a brief moment, he’s sauntering back, carrying these “pretty” ladies…

“Matt, I cannot wear those… they look like something my grandma would wear…”

I turn to the two women standing behind me, “Don’t you agree?”

they agreed, nodding their heads in unison…

but Matt persisted, and so I tried them on, WITH my white socks, none-the-less…

& then

            ….

ooooh…

...all padded and cushy…

…….               

…hhhhhhmmmmmmm????

the super-recessed clips, made this the comfiest cycling shoe I’ve ever had the pleasure of slipping my foot into…

…oh boy…hhhhhhmmmmm….????

“AND they’re waterproof...” he tells me…

gotta have em…

you know, for Hawaii :)

& to match that 1987 Schwinn bike I’ll be riding around town…

if the islanders call me a “haole,”

I’ll show them my bike…

if that doesn’t work, I’ll show them my sandals…

& I’ll say, “You see these sandals brother… how could I possibly be from the mainland?”

Hello Weekend

it’s been a paper faxing, contract executing, ant killing, sea container booking, traffic schooling, POA notarizing, file keeping, car insurance updating, storage facility booking, social security office sitting, house doc signing, QuickBooks updating, doctor visiting, flight booking, receipt submitting, CPA phoning, health insurance applying, hotel arranging, garage sale having, dryer selling, coffee drinking, triple checking everything, kinda week… 

RUN

I've always been a visionary.

A fresh word or direction from the Lord to me is sweet, sweet, sweet…

There really isn't anything in the world like a FRESH off of the pages,

from the Holy Spirit call/vision/direction from the One who calls me HIS.

My heart melts, my eyes redirect, my ears are freshly tuned

and often my steps redirected to follow more closely the One I love.

Sometimes, that God-dreamed path involves redirection...an altering of my course.

Sometimes that alteration means letting go of old dreams

so I can more fully grasp on with both hands to a new dream...HIS dream.

And sometimes following a fresh route from the Lord

even means running as fast as I can in a new way altogether.

And if that's what it takes, then running is what I'll do...

No looking back.

Because sometimes looking back means I still have one hand on my old dream

while trying to move toward the new one at the same time...

But that's not the way I want to respond to the One I love.

No...I want to run toward the way everlasting, seeking first His kingdom.

225/365: home

my baby left for Hawaii this morning...

he told me later, that when he stepped off the plane, "it felt like he was home..."

a surreal, "indescribable feeling" really...

I ache to be there with him now...

we've been married for almost seven years now;

I thought it would be easier to kiss him goodbye and send him off after all this time

nope

WAY harder...

he's apart of me in a way I never really expected...

I cannot wait to be home with him!

cannot wait...

the speeding ticket I received this morning did not help matters....

...

219-222/365: Sis & Harper in Cali

My baby sister is amazing.  Simply amazing.

She was actually the very first person to encourage me to go on this crazy Hawaiian adventure…

She made me believe we could do it.

She was the one who pointed out how silly and superficial my objections were...
She speaks wisdom into my life.

She pushes me to be better.

She’s currently a wife, a mom, a friend, working 2 jobs and in the process of moving her own family…

yet still decides to drive across the desert with her 11month old daughter,

just to help (toddler-less) me box up our house…  

Her service blessed my socks off.

when she wasn’t ruthlessly forcing me to throw out half my closet…

or informing me that my garage sale prices were much too high…

or taking her car to the shop…

we stole this little gem away for a few (almost) 1yr old pictures…

full picture post up tomorrow…

217/365: Uncle Marks Surprise 60th :)

216/365: Family Vacation in Carlsbad, Day5

Matt said that he was only having vacation donuts on 1 of our 5 vacation days…

he lied…

because every morning we did this…

a great last day at the beach today…

 all four of us, together, boogieing our way through the ocean…

offshore winds,

good vibes,

in the water amongst forever friends

catching that final ride in all together now,

the one with that “last wave of the day feel to it…”

leaving with chapped lips,

& lip balm that taste like salt water

thankful for these days with each other,

for this time away with our beloved parents…

215/365: Family Vacation in Carlsbad, Day3

 bright & sunny @ the beach today…

all the more perfect with a cool light breeze blowing offshore,

flocks of birds squawking overhead…

jr. lifeguards to entertain…

excellent waves for boarding…

& snacks… 

snacks follow us everywhere on vacation….

snacks & food that is...

tonight we traveled to Mission Beach for a lip-smacking dinner @ Phil’s BBQ,

go there,

you will want to take Phil to prom…

for reals~ you’ll luv it

214/365: Family Vacation in Carlsbad, Day2

back @ the beach for another day of sun, sand & surf…

another day of sun-basking, cat-napping & I-should-do-this-more-often-fun reads…

Mueller-style vacation indeed :)

before we were about to take ourselves off for the evening, I went to dip my toes in the ocean…

which ensued my playfully kicking up the water, splashing at Matt…

which led the both of us to some superb boogie boarding,

the Pacific unusually warm…

enjoying the quietness of a slow swell day,

not epic, but perfect

213/365: Family Vacation in Carlsbad, Day1

Matt & I were about three days late to family vacation this year… :(

muchly due to the incessant packing required, for our ever-approaching move to paradise…

quickly tossing our bags inside the house, 

the boy & I practically ran down to the beach…

luvin Ponto on this grainy, last-of-July morning—

the kind of morning that has so much texture and mood,

that you don’t need anything other than a beach towel for napping…

which suited us quite nicely

we slept the afternoon away…

family vacations, for us; a kind of worry free realm of escapism…

we spontaneously decided to try a new dinner locale,

@ Le Papagayos… (how fun is the name?)

where the boy & I caught a cozy spot out on the patio, under strands of twinkling lights…

enjoying the lovely, rustic “locals” vibe,

the yummy fish tacos, superb mussels and tasty sangria,

& each other :)

197/365: A Hui Hou Hawaii

a hui hou Hawaii = “good-bye, until we meet again” Hawaii

we will be back soon...

because we were meant to live walking distance from a warm, sunny beach ;)

A little self-disclosure:  I dislike living in cold weather.  I do not care for brown trees and dead grass.  Dressing in layers is not my thing.  I would trade playing in the snow for swimming in a pool any day.  I would also trade hot chocolate for and iced latte… snow boots for flip-flops… cuddling under a blanket for playing under the sun.  Really anything you can name about winter – I can give you a summer counterpart I prefer…

Oh, one last thing... we cannot wait to live in Hawaii!!!

196/365: ♥ a day on Waikiki w/ my love ♥

where a whole lotta nothin, feels a whole lotta good...

195/365: Remember

Deut. 8:2 “and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way…”

Deut. 8:11 “beware that you do not forget the Lord your God…”

Deut. 8:19 “if you, by any means, forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish

I want to remember.

To obey.  To fear God, not man.  To depend.  To pray.  And then to pray more.  That it is His loving-kindness that satisfies.  To lean on Him.  That He is God, I am not.  His faithfulness.  For what is life without the pleasure of being in Your will?  That He provides what is good for me.  To love Him; to set all my affections on Him.

my heart is at rest.  I trust You. 

whatever Your decision is

I am good

because I have You

may I wait for Your answers with joy

I am eager, to see what You will do

thank you for this time away

undistracted

You knew what my heart needed

You

Later that afternoon, while at the beach, the news came in…. the sellers had accepted our offer :)

Unbelievable…

Lord help my unbelief… I’ve watched you work every step of the way… yet it still seems too good to be true… You’ve brought us this far, yet it is hard to believe that you are giving us THIS land… this GOOD, land…

Hawaii!?!  Seriously? 

Thank you.  Wow.  Thank you.

Oh, and did I mention, the place is a 3bed/2bath + storage condo?