the details

hi all. 

i miss you. 

the other day i mentioned to michael that i haven't spent much time with my friends- the ones that live in the computer- and that i miss them. miss you. 

you know how when you don't talk with someone for a while, you don't always know where to begin? do you pick up where you left off, fill them in on what's been happening, or both?  

do you ever let doubt seep in and think, 'oh they don't really care to know the details of my life anyway?' 

i've been thinking that...

but then i realize i care about the details of your lives.  really.  i like you that much.  i want to know that you had beautiful family photos taken, and that you were a bridesmaid in a beautiful wedding at a library!  i want to see the people you love that you visited in oklahoma, and i want to know what is stirring in your heart.  i want to see what you wore wednesday because you are adorable. and  you, well i just need to hang out with you here in blogville for a bit {real life would be better}.  i want to learn from you all 40 things you have learned in your 40 yrs of life!  from you i really need to be encouraged to do Christmas on purpose this year too.  you, well you i just need to see because you are too far away and i miss you terribly.  as for you and you , i have noticed you haven't been around for a while either. it's okay, but come back soon.  and no i didn't forget you, you, or you. i am so fond of all of you.

knowing how i feel about you got me thinking maybe just maybe you want to know what's been going on with me too. 

well, here ya go...

i had a birthday {the same day as her}.  i am 30-old now {which by the way is one year younger than 30-oldest}.   my husband took the day off.  he made me this for breakfast.

{photo taken in instag.ram}
s'more french toast! i created it when we went camping this summer {it redeem camping}- french toast filled with marshmallows and chocolate, drizzled in maple syrup, and sprinkled with powdered sugar-  INSANELY GOOD!  {birthdays are guilt free eating days. i wish it was my birthday right now}.

after breakfast we ran away from all of our responsibilities and traveled a couple hours north to knight's ferry to take family photos on the historical knight's ferry bridge.

you might remember that michael and i celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in september.

this bridge is where he asked me to marry him {*swoon*}

i wanted to have  a 15yr photo of us there now.

a  snapshot of how our life has changed since those moments on knight's ferry bridge when he was on bended knee asking if i would be his.

i'm glad i said yes.

so glad.

{and yes, noah is my oldest. yes, emilie (14.5 months younger) has surpassed him in height. all noah wants for Christmas is a growth spurt} 
 
after michael took the photos {which was comical; set timer, run back, pose, repeat}

we went to oakdale- "the happiest place on earth"- and had dinner at one of my favorite childhood restaurants, farrarese's. 

it was good to run away together, the 5 of us.  to ditch the house remodel, the packing to move, the home-school, the work, the 3 side jobs.  it was necessary to remember Who we live for and all He has given us in each other.

we have a tradition on birthdays to give blessings {which reminds me i have needed to post about this and do a give-away for some time.  remind me.}  with the weight of our responsibilities and my weighed down attitude accompanying it i wondered if my family would have words of affirmation to speak into my life.  they did.  emilie wrote hers in a letter. wanna see!?! okay.

she loves me and sees me and reminds me of who i am even when i forget. *love*

in move-in news this last week outlet covers and vent covers went up.  woohoo!  bedroom doors were hung {is that right, do you hang the doors?} 2 days ago. exciting times.
jessica is hosting her pintertest kitchen tomorrow {holla!}  my kitchen is currently the epitome of a pinterTEST.   as soon as i am done with this post and the kids are done with school, i am heading to home depot {for the trillionth time this month} to purchase my 3rd gallon of gray paint for the kitchen. {white cabinets on top, gray on the bottom... idea from pinterest.  pinterest may be the death of my husband}.

as for other details- like most of you- i too am gearing up for the Christmas season.  this year however is going to be grace-Christmas, because i am going to need a lot of it {i usually do, i just don't recognize it}!  i'm going to practice {in excess} being okay with things not being the way i desperately want them to be in my o.c.d./perfectionist head.   the usual advent planning and intentional heartfelt gifts are likely not going to happen this year. that is okay. it's okay because Jesus is more than enough for us this Christmas {every Christmas. every day}. 
God already planned the most magnificent advent {coming, expecting}, and gave the hands-down most heartfelt gift 2000+ years ago in Jesus.   grace- Christmas is going to cause me to let go of trying to out do Him {like i could} and instead embrace and enjoy the Savior, Immanuel God with us.

Merry, Merry!

MAUI, part 1 of 2 {or maybe 3}

aloha friends!

i learned in maui that the meaning for "aloha" is "to share the sacred breath."   at one time the hawaiians would greet each other by standing forehead to forehead, sharing their breath.

wretched morning breath aside, i think this is an intimate and lovely display of hospitality.  it causes me to think of man's beginning, when God breathed life into adam's lungs~ that breath all mankind now shares.  how would our relationships differ if we greeted each other recognizing the Sacred Breath we share {only after you've run a toothbrush over your pearly whites, of course}?  just a thought.

maui was mauivelous! 
what a dream this was for michael and i, to be able to enjoy 9 days, sans kids, on a beautiful hawaiian island.
i am grateful for my little side job, in which every {spare} penny earned for a year went into an envelope designated for maui.  after almost 15 yrs of michael "bringing home the bacon" it was a treat for me to be able to give him an extravagant gift {he deserved it}.
we are also grateful to michael's parents, who gifted us with their timeshare in maui {mahalo, dennis & cindy}!

alright! enough chitchat, wanna see some pix?!?

 view from our room in kahana

kayak/snorkeling expedition at makena beach, 

where we saw giant sea turtles, tropical fish, touched an octupus, AND

where i was BRUTALLY ATTACKED... by our kayak.

{i had an awesome bruised lip for the remainder of the trip}. 
 i think you should know i am not adventurous. 
i dislike water-play {especially the ocean},  
i'm terrified of sharks {i blame steven spielberg}, and i DO NOT like to get my hair wet...
but what i dislike more is not living an adventure.
i had to talk myself into every adventure we took on this trip. i'm glad i did. 

shopping, eating, a movie, 
and taking in the sites in downtown lahaina.

yes, that is a REAL PARROT on the man's bike. 

the banyan tree in lahaina. 

this is one tree with 12 major trunks! 

amazing.

God's creativity has no bounds.

snorkeling at kaanapali beach

snorkeling at honolua bay 
{actually michael snorkeled, i found a cozy seat and read The Help. so good}

hawaiian/polynesian luau...

where yes i did go on stage an learn to hula!

i've wanted to learn to hula at a luau since 1970-something when
i watched the brady bunch  family learn to hula at a luau in hawaii!

we met the sweetest "just maui'd" fellow blogger and her new husband at the luau too!

pop over to her blog, say hi, and tell her denise sent you!

A hui hou! {until we meet again}

fall

i’m sitting on a plane somewhere over the pacific ocean 

between maui~ our honeymooniversary

and cali~ back-to-life-back-to-reality.

the laptop sits blank page before me. 

i'm ready to type i-don’t-know-what, but get words on a page.  

i place the earphones in my sun-kissed ears,
select i-tunes, 

"denise’s reflective songs" list,
and shuffle.  

the song begins.

i smile, think of course.  

it is our song,
our anthem,
“fly” by sara groves. 

it is fitting. 

michael sits beside me, eyes closed.
i inhale and exhale the lyrics... my life.

i  replay it again and again.

"speak in a summer tone

pause in the afterglow

tenderly whisper my name

tell me once again 
why i am your bride

so i can fly

so i can fly..."

i increase with love for him with each word. 

i have increased with love for him so much over the past 9 days  
i think i might burst!

i asked him earlier this week,
“do you think when we go away together we intend to fall in love again?”

with certainty he replied, “ABSOLUTELY.” 

it is unspoken, 

but we both know we are leaving the weight of the world

and

stealing what is rightfully ours

~the other.

living every moment solely to replenish US. 

 we intentionally release our grips on the ordinary,

and fall
into the
EXTRAORDINARY

gift
we are to each other.  

and here on the plane

with maui behind us 

and reality ahead of us,

i look at him

and think,

i miss him already. 

and i'm counting the days until we can steal away and fall for each other again.