Our Weekend

I know it's almost the weekend again, but I still wanted to post about our last weekend up north with family and friends. June has been the busiest month of our year so far, so it was a very relaxing get away where we were able to leave behind work, cell phones, worries, and enjoy time with friends and family.  When we go up north, we call it the cabin, but really it's a house that Andrew's grandparents live in during the spring, summer, and fall months.  We had the privilege of bringing mine and Andrew's good friends Luke and Laura with us and their 2 month old baby girl named Audrey.  Here is a glimpse of our weekend in some snapshots:

This was my seat partner on the way up north… She was great!  Slept the whole time.

This is the lake we stay on.  Shirt Lake in Deerwood, MN.  It's so peaceful!

Taking an afternoon snooze on Kathy's shoulder.  I love those cheeks!

Photo shoot time with my favorite baby girl.

Hanging outside with Audrey.

Andrew's cousin Grace holding baby Audrey.

Getting ready for a mosquito filled walked with Emily and Kathryn.

My friend Laura, Andrew's cousins Emily and Kayla, Andrew's sister Kathryn, and me.

Here is a lovely bunch of wildflowers that I picked while on a walk.

Audrey all tuckered out from the walk.

Me, Laura, and Grace about to go extreme tubing.

Andrew and Grace watching the boys tube.

Me and Andrew catching some rays. It was a beautiful day.

 

Grace and I kayaking around the lake.

This was a very much needed fun and relaxing weekend. We were so thankful that we were able to share the weekend with Luke, Laura, Audrey, and family. It's hard for us to get up north with managing our apartment building. Turnovers are popular on weekends and we have to find coverage for our building in order to be gone. We were very thankful that everything worked out for us to go up north last weekend. We were able to start the week feeling refreshed, and well rested.

Resting In Him

Have you ever felt like just curling up in a dark closet to escape the stressors of life?  My last two weeks have made me feel like I could do just that until the month of June is over. I've been so busy, and I feel like I have been going non-stop with no breaks to just sit and relax. I haven't been sleeping well at night because my mind is constantly making mental notes of what I can cross off my to-do list, what I have to add to my to-do list, and what is already on my to-do list that still needs to get done. By the end of this week I felt like I had gotten to the end of my rope, tied a knot, and have been hanging on for dear life. I couldn't even figure out what day of the week we were on by looking at my calendar. The Lord has been quietly nudging me and telling me to rest, but I am so stubborn that I think to myself, I'll rest later once I finish my to-do list. There is always something to add to my to-do list though, and rest keeps getting put on the back burner. With every passing day the last two weeks, I have found myself getting crabbier and more irritable over littler things that normally wouldn't bother me. I have grown less patient with my husband, and we have fought more each day over stupid things that we would normally never fight about. Today I finally opened my ears to what the Lord has been telling me to do. I took a few hours and I rested and this is what I realized:

When I grow weary and cry for more energy to make it through the day, I need to trust the Lord with my many worries and responsibilities. I need to rest when He tells me to. He is my heavenly Father and He knows what I need. This is why the Lord gives us one day each week to set aside all of our work, and rest. I need to allow my body and mind to refuel while I rest so that I can be more effective in what I do. The Lord wants me to let Him be my refuge when I'm weary from life. He is the one who wants to bear all my burdens. I need to rest in Him to receive His perfect peace, which will refresh and renew my strength. The Lord longs to give rest to my soul and peace in my heart. I need to position myself completely in the Lord's care and let go of all of the things that race through my mind. Then I will find true peace. In the middle of chaos and busyness, the Lord will always be my safe place - a place of peace. 

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31

I've been so busy and consumed in my own plans the last couple of weeks that I haven't even taken much time for my Lord. This makes my heart sad to know that the Lord creates each day for me and I can't even find a minute to thank him. This coming week I am going to make sure I take a few minutes to an hour each day to just rest in the Lord and thank him for the day. I am going to say no to people so that I don't over-committ myself and cram up my schedule to the point where I burn myself out. I am going to capture each day individually and not waste my strength in the present day worrying about tomorrow. Each day is the Lord's gift to me and I want to be able to enjoy it. If I look for God in each day He gives me, I will see the world differently. I want to live each day to the fullest, and that does not mean cramming every event I can into each day. I am going to start living each day for that day.

"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

My Hawaiian Aventure

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the beautiful state of Hawaii May 14th - May 23rd.  My dad invited Andrew and I to go with him, and two of his brothers and their families, but Andrew couldn't go though due to his teaching and coaching job.  He encouraged me to go without him so I could spend time with my dad and see my uncle and aunt (my godparents) and my cousins from Washington that I never get to see.  I bought a last minute ticket (May 11th) and packed my bags.  I was hesitant to leave Andrew for 10 days since we haven't spent more than two days apart since being married, and I was nervous to fly on my own since I am not a good flyer and it was going to be the longest flight I had ever been on.  In the end, I was glad I decided to go.  The flight wasn't terrible - it was completely worth it, and even though I missed Andrew and wished he was there, it was nice to spend time with my dad and see family I rarely ever get the chance to see.  I spent my Hawaiian adventure on the lovely island of Oahu.  Here's a look into my adventure and some of the things I experienced while I was there.

This is the condo we stayed in on the Barber's Point Naval Base.  We stayed in the left side of the condo with my dad's brother, his wife, and his brother's daughter.  My dad's brother from Washington and his family stayed on the right side of the condo.

 This is the view of our backyard while standing on our porch.  It was so beautiful!

One of the first things my dad and I did was visit Pearl Harbor.  We toured the different museums they had available, and watched some movies on what the day of the attacks was like and some interviews of elderly men that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and their experience.  We toured the USS Arizona memorial and saw the USS Bowfin.

This structure is called the Tree of Life.  It was designed by Alfred Preis and offered as a symbol of renewal to inspire contemplation in visitors to the memorial.  You can also find the Tree of Life in the shrine room on the USS Arizona memorial.

This is a display of the USS Arizona memorial to show visitors how the sunken ship still lies under the water and acts as a tomb to the many military men that lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor. They built the memorial over the ship so when you're on the memorial, you can look over the side and see the ship.  

Entering the memorial.

In the shrine room reading all the names of the lives lost on Dec 7, 1941.  You can see the Tree of Life in this photo.

In the shrine room.

Part of the sunken USS Arizona sticking out from the water.  I'm standing on the memorial here.

 This is a photo of the oil still leaking from the sunken USS Arizona.  It's still leaking, even after more than 70 years of the ship sinking.

Photo of the memorial.

This is my dad (Dave) and me standing in front of the submarine USS Bowfin.

We went to China Town in downtown Honolulu one day.  China Town was very interesting.  There were a million small trinkets and souvenirs that you could purchase.  We also walked through the market in China Town which was my favorite part.  There was fresh meat, sea food, and produce throughout the market, and everything was so colorful.  We finished the day off that day by visiting a very pretty beach called Ko'Olina Beach.

This was entering China Town.  Look at all the trinkets that lined the hall ways.

Me and my dad in China Town after he gave me a real flower lei. The real flower lei's smell heavenly… Like no flower I've ever smelt before.

Here's the market.

Fresh and colorful crabs.

A lot of meat and sea food.

I thought this was slightly disturbing...

On the streets in China Town.

Ko'Olina Beach.

This is a sunset at Ko'Olina Beach.

One of the days I stayed back at the condo beach by myself to just have a relaxing day in the sun.  While I was in the water that day, I kept seeing a dark shadow floating.  I thought it either looked like a dead body or a shark, so I avoided the water the rest of the day.  Little did I know, it was Kermit a Hawaiian Monk seal coming to rest on our beach.  Kermit is critically endangered, there are only about 1,000 Hawaiian Monk seals left on the Hawaiian islands.  Because of this, you have to report when you see them and volunteers that track the seals come out and put up signs warning people to stay 150 yards away.  Kermit is 16 years old and weighs about 500 pounds.  He is one of the biggest males that they track.  They track the seals by bleached out birth marks the seals have, or by injuries the seals get from fish hooks, shark attacks, or dog bites.  While he's on the beach, he spends his time resting and digesting his food. Kermit usually swims back and forth from the island of Oahu to the island of Kauai.  That is about a 21 hour swim one way for him.  

The signs they put out.

 Kermit.

One of my favorite things we did while I was in Hawaii was visit Haunama Bay and Waikiki Beach.  Haunama Bay is one of the best spots on the island of Oahu to go snorkeling.  I wasn't very good at snorkeling.  It made me feel claustrophobic with my nose covered, and I hated hearing myself breath.  I did go for a little bit with my dad since we were there.  I saw four fish, and that was good enough for me!  My dad was out with my uncle and aunt for about an hour and a half.  He said he saw schools of fish and different coral and sea urchins.  He said it was awesome.  Waikiki Beach was fun to go to to say I've been there.  It's one of the most popular tourist beaches on Oahu.  We ate lunch at Duke's restaurant on Waikiki beach and that was good!

Haunama Bay… This picture doesn't even do it justice!  It was so beautiful!  The stuff that looks like rock is coral reef.  My dad went out snorkeling beyond the reef… I didn't even make it to the reef.

This is a diagram of how Haunama Bay looks to help give you guys a better idea.

Down in the bay soaking up the sun while my dad, aunt, and uncle were out snorkeling.

It was amazing!

This is me giving the "hang loose" sign that is very popular in Hawaii.

My dad and me on our way back up to the parking lot

This is Waikiki Beach with Diamondhead Volcano in the background.

Waikiki Beach was almost too picture perfect.  It almost felt fake.  It was beautiful.

On my last day in Hawaii we went to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium, then toured the USS Missouri.  The swap meet is basically like a ginormous flea market.  There are hundreds of booths set up around the Aloha Stadium where you can buy anything from jewelry, clothes, trinkets, macadamia nuts, fruit, etc.  We also toured the USS Missouri or the "Mighty Mo".  The USS Missouri is the ship where the surrender of the Empire of Japan ended World War II.  We got to see the exact spot where they signed the documents of surrender. 

This is Aloha Stadium where the NFL plays the Pro Bowl every year.  This is where the swap meet was.

The "Mighty Mo"

Posing for a shot before touring the "Mighty Mo"

On the USS Missouri.

This is the spot where Japan surrendered and ended World War II. 

One of the many lunch lines on the ship.  Over 240 gallons of milk, 500 gallons of coffee, 210 dozen eggs, 200 pounds of bread, 500 pounds of vegetables and 1,000 pounds of meat products make 5,000 crew rations every day!

This is where most of the crew slept.  They are called "coffin racks" because they're often located in small, cramped, crowed living spaces spread throughout the ship.  I would get so claustrophobic! 

Before I wrap up this extremely long post, I have to share some of my favorite beach shots and nature shots from my trip.

This is cement bunker on our condo's beach on Barber's Point Naval Base.

I loved the sound of the crashing waves outside of our condo.

The water was such a beautiful color.

Some beautiful trees at the Punch Bowl Cemetery.

This is the Hawaiian Cardinal.  The little guy came right up to me.

This is a banyan tree, one of the most beautiful trees in Hawaii I thought.  

This is the same tree that's pictured above.  It is way bigger than it looks here. This one is over 100 years old.

This is Kailua Beach

This is a rainbow we saw as my dad was driving me to the airport.  It was the only time it rained while I was there and I think it was because Hawaii was sad that I had to leave.

Overall, I had a fantastic time in Hawaii seeing the different sights, learning many things, and enjoying multiple beaches.  I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to go and spend time with my dad, and see family that I hadn't seen in years.  Next time I will bring my husband though because it wasn't the same without him!