Time for announcements...

Well, we have some news...we are moving back to Colorado! We have been given a great business opportunity (which I will share more about after everything is finalized) that we just can't say no to! We leave this Saturday night and will be arriving in Denver on Sunday morning (21st)...just in time for an "old" friends' wedding! I (Kamma) am still working this week, through Thursday when school is out for winter break, and Michael is hurriedly trying to finish the condo remodel upstairs, all this amidst trying to get everything packed or sold or thrown away! Needless to say, with a little bug going around in the classroom and all this added stress, I have come down with a bit of a cold. I'm chuggin' the EmergenC, though, and definitely feel like I've caught it before it's too bad.

We're feeling a lot of mixed emotions right now; we feel like we've truly found a second home here. We've made some great friends, and have really settled into "island life." The mom's at the daycare gave me a handmade book today at our Christmas party and I almost lost it...beautiful pictures of them and their babies and loving sentiments to me...it's always hard to leave a place you love.

We're also wanting to do as many of the things we've loved here as we can before we go, and visit some of our favorite places. Luckily while Luke was here we got to do some of that, but we still have a couple things on our list....hopefully we'll be able to fit everything in!

Will all that's going on, I may not be posting for a bit, but come back and check, cause you never know with me! I've taken a lot of great pictures at work that last few days that I'm itching to share. Love to you all!

Who am I? Who are you?

"A Savvy Woman: she seeks wisdom and loves to grow, change and explore...she finds truth and inspiration...she remains authentic yet glows with elegance...she stops seeking perfection and takes time to be...she loves life and lives fully...she allures and draws you near to her soul..."

-a description I will aspire to become-

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family! We are so very thankful for all of you. There are so many things to be thankful for, and while I'm not going to go into listing them all right now, you all rank right up there. I found this prayer the other day on a blog site I visit, and found it appropriate to share on this day. The more I think about it, though, I probably should have waited for a day when people aren't already focused on friends and family and being grateful for all that they have. On a day-to-day basis, it's so easy to focus on all the negatives of life; what could be happening to make our lives better, and what we really want that we don't already have (even though we might not really need that particular item), and how unfair our lives seem. In reality, most of us have all that we need. In reality, each day holds many more blessings than we take the time to recognize. I remember hearing this quote a few years ago, and I think of it every time I start to wish my life was a little different or better, "If you think the grass is greener on the other side, water your own grass." So I hope you find this encouraging, and perhaps I'll share it again in a few months when we need the reminding ;)

If you want to read more about the woman who shared this prayer (I don't know if she wrote it or not) click here. She was actually a guest blogger on this site this particular day, but she has a great story and encouraging message, dug out from under a huge tragedy in her life.

Lord, thank You for another day
within this life of mine.
Give me the strength to live it well,
whatever I may find.

Bestow from Your abundance
whatever I may lack.
To use the hours wisely,
for I cannot have them back.

Lord, thank You for another day,
in which to make amends
for little slights or petty words,
inflicted on my friends.

For sometimes losing patience
with problems that I find.
For seeing faults in other lives,
but not the ones in mine.

Lord, thank You for another chance,
in which to try to be
a little more deserving
of the gifts You've given me.

For yesterday is over,
and tomorrow's far away,
and I remain committed
to the good I do today!

hugs!

I LOVE this music video, and just have to share. It's Dave Matthews Band singing "Everyday." Click on the words "music video" above (I don't know why they don't show up highlighted like they're supposed to), and then once in YouTube, click on the button below the screen for a full-screen view...

Love and hugs to you all!

ps-sorry I couldn't figure out how to put the actual YouTube screen here on the blog. Anyone have any advice or tips about how to do that??

pps-let me know what you think about the video in my comments!

Today...

"It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day...

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now

It's a beautiful day!"


Enjoy your day...
Love like there's no tomorrow!!
-Kamma

some stuff...

Since I got some sort of stomach virus ON Michael's birthday, and he got the same thing two days later, his celebration dinner had to wait. So, last night we finally got all spiffed up...

(Ooh, too sexy!!)

and began the drive to a little town called Honoka'a.

Was a beautiful drive right at sunset...

Eating fire!

We went to a little Italian pizza place called Cafe Il Mondo.
(I know, it's a terrible picture, but I took it as we were leaving
through the open window of the moving car!)

Michael had met the owners at work a couple weeks ago and decided that's where he wanted to go for his birthday. It was excellent! He got lasagna (of course) and I got a Greek pizza...fabulous! It was a BYOW(wine) kinda place, so after we sat down, Michael walked across the street to the grocery store and found one bottle of Chianti...amazing! Because they were very busy when we first arrived, we chose to sit at the "bar" instead of wait for a table. It was actually a bar over-looking the dishwashing woman, and we had such a wonderful time talking to her...Violet, a retired school cafeteria worker, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of six(!) who is doing the job part-time just to get out. She was really such a joy to talk to in between eating and drinking. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!


This morning, after sleeping in a bit, we decided to watch our latest netflix movie, "Into the Wild." If any of you have seen it, you know the overload of emotions the end of the movie brought. Wow. Half-way through we were both thinking to ourselves how inspiring it was, and I even wrote down a couple quotes that really stuck out to me. At the end, however, I found myself crying and talking about all these different things the movie had brought up in me, most of which didn't even have to do with the idea or plot of the movie at all! It was very interesting and thought-provoking, and still inspiring. I definitely recommend seeing it, but consider yourself forewarned.


After the movie, we decided to drive up to Waimea before Michael had to go to work (at 1:30). We actually went because I thought there was this pumpkin patch/festival thing going on. After we got up there, however, we discovered it's not until tomorrow, but we decided to hang around for a bit anyway. We just walked around and found some beautiful things that I just happened to capture on film!

Perfectly-shaped tree with these beautiful red flower/leaves...

The flower parts up-close...

Crazy thistle-looking blossom...

My cute husband with the thistle-looking blossom... :)

Back home, this is right outside our condo building...
I guess it's Hawaii's version of changing leaves!

Speaking of changing leaves, the weather has definitely been changing over the past week or so. Certainly not cold, but a little cooler for sure, windy and grey mornings. It's been pretty grey all day today, I'm actually wearing one of the long-sleeved shirts I brought over with us for the first time since we've been here! It's interesting to see how the season is actually changing some.

One more thing, just to tell you how wonderful a husband I have...two days ago (Oct 23) Michael cooked an amazing dinner for me, and pretty much had it ready when I got home from work...Homemade meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, and for dessert, brownies! He knew it would be a hard day for me; the 7th anniversary of my mom's death; so he made me some of my favorite comfort foods! I feel so blessed to have found such a caring, compassionate person to share my life with. I know I wrote a mushy love-note last week on his birthday, but I'm just bursting at the seams, and I'm not ashamed to admit to the world that I am in love with my husband!! <3

We hope you all are well and enjoying your lives on a daily basis. Would love to hear from you!

Michael

Happy Birthday, my husband, my love, my best friend...

You are my perfect life partner. You complete all my insufficiencies, exceed my dreams, capture my heart again and again...

I'm filled to overflowing with blessings and love, feeling beyond grateful for this day, the day He chose to bring you into this world to eventually bring you into my life...

I love you, forever and then some...

Yours,
Kamma

random photos

Found this cool picture of Michael's dad, Robert, at our
favorite beach when they were here in August.

One shot/angle of my classroom...

Back part of the classroom...naptime!

saturday

Well, yesterday was one of the best days we've had here. Between breakfast at Denny's, exploring a new little town/community up mauka (mountain) from Kona, and experiencing Ironman, it was pretty amazing. All I can say right now, though, is that through a mistake made this morning on my behalf, ALL of our awesome pictures (I mean, we got some great shots) are gone. Lost. Nowhere to be found.

pictures

The last of our home-grown tomatoes...
so pretty and red.

The tomatoes with some other pickins' from around our condo property
(check out how huge that lime is!!)

Our new cute little toilet! The old one was having...uh...problems...

"If you want to make God laugh, make plans..."

This was the key line from a great movie we watched the other night, "Bella." I can't really explain what the movie was about, except how it made me feel...no matter how messed up our world or our lives may seem at times, there is still hope and love and the possibility of life and redemption. I would recommend it to any movie-goer, but keep in mind that it is not a smash, bang, action-packed type of movie, and be ready for a bit of introspection. And bring some tissues...

This morning after arriving to work and discovering we only had three children today, two of which left early (!) I picked up a book on our shelf of child-related books I'd been wanting to read, and within the first couple of pages read some things that reverberated so well with what I'd already been thinking about, I just had to write it down and share...

(From: "I Love You Rituals" by Becky A. Bailey)

"I have noticed a growing undercurrent of change. Viewed from a small perspective, this change could appear disruptive or negative; yet from a bigger picture, its beauty is unfolding. From a microscopic view we see increases in juvenile delinquency, suicide, rebellion, depression, apathy, and drug addictions. In young children, we see enormous increases in hyperactivity, impulsiveness, power struggles, demanding behavior, and willful fits of displeasure when they do not get what they want. In young adults, brilliance and genius are budding, yet a moral compass is missing. Busy, frantic parents chase dreams and miss moments with each other and with their children. Others work to make ends meet and spend little time with each other: Material goods seduce us more than kindness. News headlines offer tragedy after tragedy, so that denial becomes a defense against hopelessness. But under all these struggles, all these cries for help, is a rumble, a wave building in the ocean of life, ready to crest and carry us all forward. This rumble is our intense, true desire for connection with each other: We long to belong. We strive to offer and receive unconditional love. This desire to be loved and loveable unites us all. "

Isn't that awesome?! And so true! There was a lot more I could have shared, but I didn't want to lose you too quickly, so I'll save it for another time :) It's so easy to look at circumstances, from being stuck in traffic, to a life-claiming accident, and try to blame someone else, saying that they caused this thing to happen, burrowing ourselves deeper and deeper into a negative way of being; when in reality people don't have the authority to determine what happens in our lives unless we give them that authority. We need to live for a greater positive purpose, heading closer and closer to true Love.