thelen's on the move

it seems like i was just blogging about our big move to hawaii. yet, it also seems like so much has happened since then. coen is pretty much an adult now, and we created another human that is almost 3! we have been on the big island for about 5 years, and it has been quite an adventure! i personally have had highs and lows while living in the middle of the pacific. i feel overwhelmed when i think about the relationships i have here. so many loving and sweet souls that really filled the void of leaving everything i knew behind. yet a constant pull in my heart to be closer to all the people we love on the mainland. God has blessed us beyond measure. all the doubts i had about living in Hawaii He banished, and provided more than i could have hoped. while i would go through seasons of being done and ready to leave, the reality now is that this really did become our home. we will for always carry parts of this season with us as we continue on. i am most grateful for each and every person i have met thru this season. i try to think about what if we didn't come to Hawaii, and i just can't imagine not knowing and meeting all the people i have. each person is so unique and so different and has in some way shaped the type of person i am today. i am thankful that i had a chance to widen my circle of relationships and stretch myself beyond my own comfort level. i am humbled that God trusted us with this adventure.

and so it goes, we are thankful to announce that we are relocating back to washington state in the upcoming year. hopping back across the pond, but we will always have sand in our pockets.

this picture is from when we told coen about the move.

he exclaimed, "life is so much better!"



iselle

coen went to one day of kindergarten and then all hawaii county schools shut down in preparation of hurricane iselle. there was all this exciting build up for school to start, and then in a creepy way everything was just quiet. i was not any bit worried about the storm. i thought it was all media build up. then my husband came home with loads of water, canned food, and a satellite phone from work.  my husband doesn't get worried about anything, let alone willingly go to the grocery store! so i started to be a tiny bit concerned. i ran out and bought a french press and some ground coffee, just in case we were without power. it all ended up being fine. we used the french press because, why not? but we only lost power for a few hours in the middle of the night. don't get me wrong, this was a very big storm, and i am glad we were as prepared as we were. we were also very lucky, other parts of the island got a much harder hit. it ended up giving us a few more family days before we jumped into the routine of "real school".

 



first, how cute is she?

it was so nice and sunny leading up to the storm.

 i guess it is as they say, the calm before the storm.

(but who are "they"?)

 



 

fish pancakes!

 

target had this pallet out at the entry of the store. storm staples.

we took a drive as the rain started to scope out how hilo was prepping for iselle. 

 

 

then we headed home to bunker down, tighten the hatches, and boogie board in the rain.



 

oh, and do play dough.

 

annnnnd, report the weather.

 

and and, just as the windows started rattling, wes fell asleep.

 the morning brought sunshine, chirping birds and a steamy french press.

 

the kids wanted to get outside and inspect the damage. we found loads of avocados that had been blown from our trees. we even found mangoes! except we don't have a mango tree! and wes took down an 80 pound bunch of bananas. it was quite the bounty.

 

this is normally a small trickle of a river.

but it swallowed whole trees for breakfast.



 

flooded soccer fields.

 rainbow falls.

 

honolii beach park.

this is typically a big grassy lawn, loads of debris washed up.



 

 

 

before christmas happenings.

as you all know, we took a big surprise trip to the mainland for christmas. we didn't leave till a couple days before christmas, so we had a lot going on while we were secretly packing for the trip. here are the highlights.

 

 



one night when i went to check on c before i went to bed, he must have been doing some bible reading. love.

 

i sorted the laundry, turned my back for 2 seconds and look what the monster Herself had done! 

big kid nutcracker date! coen kepts saying, "those ballet girls are just beautiful." 

beaching before we freeze!

c fell asleep beachside. NOT like him. turns out he had strep throat. POOR boy. he recovered just in time to preform in his school play and head off to the mainland. 

the original playgroup gang came over for a book exchange. 

so proud of this little donkey! he sounded out and wrote this note for his teacher ALL by himself :) 

a new look

it was time for the blog to get a fresh new look. i love how it turned out, and i hope you will enjoy the new icons along the right side that will link you up with some of our favorite sites.

let me introduce them to you...

want to know more about the volcano, or wes' job? check out the hawaiian volcano observatory's website. volcanoes are really pretty neat. (and wes is too!)

the big island is pretty darn big compared to the other islands. but it is also the most diverse. there is so much to do and see. want to visit or know more about the island of hawaii? well, here you go.

oh pinterest. (enough said.)

 

okay, i am really excited about this. my good friend heather gave me a cookbook as a baby shower gift. it sat on my counter for several months, as we adjusted to our new family member. about a month ago i pulled it out, and it has pretty much stayed open ever since. coen has inhaled every single recipe i have made from this book. many of which are stuffed with things like kale, bok choy, edemame, and even tofu! the best part is that we love the food too. if you have kids, you MUST have this book. if you don't, you should still probably have it. the weelicious website is great too, and now you can get to it very easily from my blog.

 

{a very merry} week in review: 8

we spent our first christmas together as a family in our own home. it was very low key, and although we missed our families terribly, it was really nice to not be traveling around with two small children.  i just have to say that i think i enjoy playing santa as much (if not more) as i liked believing in santa as a kid. i could hardly wait for coen to go to bed so wes and i could get everything put together and perfect for christmas morning, while munching on cookies, of course!

 
as we were walking downstairs to see what the jolly man left i was thinking about how next year, marin will be shuffling beside coen. i may have shed a tear over how happy that made my heart.  

he was so good about opening gifts. really sat and played with each thing. we strung it out all morning, while sipping coffee and eating warm cinnamon rolls. santa delivered "an aircraft carrier with metal jets" just like he asked for. score!

santa didn't forget about our littlest, he brought her this adorable rag doll. 

it was a very wonderful hawaiian christmas, indeed.

last week we had our playgroup over for a christmas celebration with the kiddos. everyone brought a wrapped book to exchange. my dear friend emily has a baby girl, geneva that is only a couple months older than marin. she also has a 3 year old, lucy whom coen really adores. to top it off she was one of my nurses in the hostpital when marin was born! what a special lady!

 

if i think about it too hard i think the idea of sitting on a old man's lap at the mall is creepy. i kind of wish that there weren't mall santa's, and that the identity of the jolly man himself was more of a legend. but coen really wanted to go see santa, and his eye seriously light up with magic when he did. and i decided that i have to let it go, and remember that to coen it is all very real and very special. 

soooooo, we loaded up and went to the mall and it was all very cute. after the visit we headed to hallmark to pick out a new ornament for each kid, a fun new tradition to conitue through the years.

 

 

 

 cute little cupcake!

and good old hallmark didn't let us down, they thankfully had an airplane ornament for our little pilot.

we hope that wherever you are this holiday season, you enjoy the many blessings around you. as i reflected on how much i missed my family and friends i was reminded that no matter where we are or who we are with, we have a savior to celebrate. hallelujah!