Time is flying!!!

First, here are some photos from the last few days...

Second, here are some updates on us...

After working two days at the cabinet shop, Michael's old back problems came roaring back to the forefront. We decided that it wasn't worth the higher pay for him to not be able to move and sleep (!) so he's back full-time at the Kimo Bean. We believe that there is a purpose for everything, and we're feeling good about the decision. His boss at the Kimo Bean was very excited to have him back too! Our friend Jay's parents are both massage therapists here, and his dad Alain (pronounced like Ah-lawn, he's French) gave Michael a wonderful 1-hour massage and lots of helpful stretching tips for me to do on him. He's now feeling pretty much back to normal and enjoying the slow, easy pace of working at a coffee shop :)

My dad and niece Mikayla are coming out to visit for about 2 1/2 weeks, arriving next Friday, July 18th. My last day at the Hilton is next Thursday, July 17th, and then I start with Early Head Start on Monday, July 21st, so it's perfect timing! We are so excited to have guests and get to show them all of the wonderful places and things we've come to love here. It will also just be good to have some familiar faces around!! They will be here until Monday, August 4th, and then Michael's mom, dad, brother Luke, and Luke's girlfriend Jessie are coming out a couple of weeks later! We'll be pretty busy for awhile, and we're gonna have so much fun!!

Speaking of my new job, I can't hardly wait to start! I had a meeting yesterday with the lead teacher, Melanie (we hadn't even met yet!), the director Ellen, and the educational coordinator Stacy. We just talked about some specifics about times and dates, and other little details. We got to see some pictures of the children from last year (5 or 6 of whom are returning this year), and they are so cute!! I'm just excited to be around babies again, and see what other kinds of opportunities this opens up for me, both tangibly and emotionally. It will definitely be a different kind of situation than what I've done in the past, and I'm so looking forward to being a part of these young moms and dads lives and helping them as well as learning from them in the process. I know it's going to be a great experience for me.

Well, that's it for now! Hope all of you are doing well. Please write a comment or drop us an email and let us know how you're doing and what's new! We'd love to stay in two-way contact!

Day 29 of 30

In preparation of Michael's first day of work (tomorrow), we had to pick up some supplies...

Hm...thees tape measure is thee beyst!

Gotta keep my pretty eyes safe!

And then saw an awesome movie...Kung Fu Panda!

Day 26 of 30

Spent the morning at the beach...

Had lunch...

Chilled out...

Swam in there...

Watched people jump off the cliff...


And came home to this letter in the mail:

Yay!!! I got the job! Don't know yet when I start, but I'm just so excited!
It's with Early Head Start and the program is at a high school in Kona, and serves the girls at the school who have babies. They range in age from infant-toddler and there are only eight of them with one lead teacher, one caregiver (me) and two assistant teachers. Amazing ratio!! I can't wait to start and be with some beautiful Hawaiian babies :)

Day 12 of 30

"Preying" on our lanai!

**NEWSFLASH**
Michael got the job!!! We are so happy! He gave his two-weeks notice today , and his boss took it just fine (although he's still going to work one day each weekend to keep his great discounts around the Hilton property!). In case you missed it, he is going to be working in a custom cabinet shop in Kona.

Also, I had my interview with Early Head Start in Kona today. I need to do a little work on getting a registry card through a Hawaiian organization called PATCH, which shows exactly which kinds of jobs I'm certified to have within the field of childcare. They take into consideration experience and ECE education (college credits and training clock hours). I really liked the people I met and interviewed with and would love to work for them! They seemed to like me as well, so as long as I meet the requirements for the registry card, I think I've got a good chance of getting the job! I'll keep you posted!

Day 10 of 30

These are for you, Molly!!

Little turtle, swimming along...

Our Hawaiian Sea Turtles (Honu in Hawaiian) like to bask and sleep in the sun!

On a side note, Michael had an interview this morning with the owner of a custom cabinet shop in Kona...seems very promising! He should find out tomorrow afternoon. Also, I (Kamma) have an interview Thursday morning with Early Head Start in Kona, so keep me in your prayers!

These Days...

Now that I've had a few days of working, I feel ready to give my opinion on it all... Frankly, it's not that wonderful :( The job itself isn't bad. I really enjoy being around people, meeting and serving all types of people from all over. So far I've had the chance to work at two different 'outlets' within the hotel, a really nice restaurant called Kamuela Provision Company (KPC) and one of the pool bars. I've definitely preferred the pool bar (Kohala Pool...the other pool is Kona Pool) mostly because of the laid-back atmosphere and there's a lot more to do! The times I've been at KPC it's been very slow, and not many people go there just to get a drink...mostly they have reservations at the restaurant and come straight for that. Since I get paid minimum wage, a lot of my income depends on tips, so having no customers is a big problem! My main issue with the job, however, has to do with the hotel employees being a part of a union. Since I'm the newest employee, if the hotel is slow (which it is) I get less scheduled shifts and more on-call days. The last two weeks I've had three schedules shifts, and next week I only have two...not good enough for us!! I've been getting reassurance from others around that the hotel will pick up this summer, usually July and August are the busy summer months, but it's still very disappointing to us. I've continued to keep my eye out for possible jobs in the classifieds, and actually heard back about a resume I sent to Head Start (preschool/daycare) down in Kona. I will probably interview sometime the week of June 9th. I'm just trying to keep the door opened to whatever God might have in store. Michael came and visited me at the pool one day this past week before he went to work and took some pictures of me in my lovely uniform...



Yes, I know, beautiful ;)


Anyway, I know things will work out like they already have! We are always positive and try to stay focused on today. In fact, just today Michael got his schedule for next week and he has five scheduled shifts, where he's only been getting four for the last month or so, so yea! God is faithful and provides all we need.

That's it for now, we have quite a lot of new pictures, but I will spread them out instead of posting them all in one day, so keep on coming back for more! Love and hugs!

p.s. I'll try and take some pictures of Michael in action as a barista for you all to see! :)

Moving Day…

Last Friday (April 4th) we looked at 1 (ONE) apartment in the town of Waikoloa Village and knew that it was for us! We signed the lease, and moved in on Sunday. It is in a complex of privately owned condos called Waikoloa Villas, and ours is a ground floor one-bedroom, one-bathroom with a lanai and outdoor wet bar owned by a gentleman in Arizona who also owns a house on the island. These condos were built in 1979, and this particular one does show it’s age a bit, but it is really nice and feels great to us. We have a washer and dryer and a dishwasher, and there is a complex pool that is about a 20-foot straight-shot from our lanai. If we walk to the other side of the pool we can see the sunset over the ocean…amazing! Check out the “virtual tour” pictures if you’re interested…

On another note, Michael started working today (Tuesday), and I’m still looking and waiting on some interviews. I have another interview tomorrow with the Hilton as a beverage server, so we’ll see if it’s the one! I really need to find something soon, and would love to be in the Waikoloa Resort area (where the Hilton and Marriott are, as well as two large shopping centers) so we can carpool easily and not have to drive too far.

It feels really good to be in our own place now, although it was a little sad to leave Hilo and all of the people we have met and made friends with so far; however, we are looking forward to all of the new people we will meet here and all of the new places to explore. We found a small beach this morning and went swimming and sunning for a bit. There weren’t very many people there, and we had a fun time. We drove by another beach on our way home that we’re going to check out tomorrow morning before Michael goes to work at 1.

So, that’s it for now! We love hearing from you all, so please write a comment on here or shoot us an email and let us know how you are all doing. Love and blessings to you!

Kimo Bean

Michael got a job!!! He is now a proud employee of Kimo Bean coffee shop inside the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort, which is about 30-45 minutes north of Kona. About a week ago we decided to start looking for jobs on that side of the island. We just weren’t finding anything over here in Hilo, and looking in the newspaper, there are at least 3 times as many jobs listed on the Kona side. The Waikoloa resort area is really beautiful, and that is where Hapuna Beach is located. I also had an interview at a shop inside the Hilton that I am still waiting to hear about, and I have an interview for one of the restaurants inside the hotel tomorrow. It would be really awesome if we both worked in the same area. Check out the Hilton's website; it is quite a place! We are looking for an apartment/condo to rent in the town of Waikoloa Village, which is about 15-20 minutes drive from the resort area. So, things are really starting to look up, and we are feeling great! We just found out that the airline ATA shut down today, and that is what we flew on to get here…thank God we got one-way tickets!!!

This morning we decided to visit Rainbow Falls and Pe’epe’e Falls (pronounced peh eh peh eh, not pee pee :)) here in Hilo. They are major tourist attractions, and we had not taken the time to visit them yet! Since we are probably moving this weekend, we thought we should take the chance now. They were absolutely beautiful! I had read in one of our tour books that you needed to visit Rainbow Falls in the morning when the sun is behind you looking at the Falls, so you might actually see a rainbow in the water, and we did! At Pe’epe’e Falls, just about 1 mile up the road from Rainbow, we took the trail down to the Boiling Pots and towards the falls, and it was so much fun. We took quite a few pictures and just enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the place.

Merrie Monarch is a hula festival/competition held in Hilo each year the first week in April. It is basically like the super bowl of hula, and is what Hilo is known for. Tickets usually sell out about a year before and are pretty difficult to come by, not to mention expensive. So you can imagine our excitement when a retired couple from the church we’ve visited a couple times (Haili Church) invited us to go with them tonight! It is a single women’s competition, and should be so much fun. This particular couple, Bill and Jane, also had us (along with the pastor and his family and extended family) over to their house for Easter dinner, and we are just feeling so blessed by their kindness and generosity. If we are able to take pictures, I’ll be sure to post them as soon as I can!

Thanks again to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers…we definitely feel them! We are continuing to trust God in this adventure, and know that everything works out the way it’s supposed to when you have faith and believe! And that’s just what we’re doing! Love you all…