Finding JOY in the JOURNEY...: June 2012

June 16, 2012

Daddy's Birthday/Father's Day...

Happy Birthday Honey!!!!!!!! He had just woken up so excuse our PJs and crazy hair...but we wanted to give him his present FIRST THING. It is so nice to have Savannah here to celebrate. Lee said all he wanted was his baby to be there so he got his wish. But you have to have at least one present to open on your Birthday!

I missed one Birthday, Two Christmases and Two Anniversaries with my Honey, where I couldn't get him anything (all I could do was send him a card)...so I saved up and got him something VERY special that I knew he would use and treasure for a very long time...watch the video to see what it was;P

I love you so much...I hope I never have to spend one more holiday without you for a VERY LONG TIME.

June 1, 2012

Savannahs first week HOME for the Summer!

The last time Lee saw Savannah in person was February 2010. I think this picture describes how their reunion went :)

It was 630am when she arrived so it was windy and "cold" (like high 70s) when Makenna and Brynn came out to give welcome home hugs!

We have a beautiful room set up for Savannah but she wants to sleep in the living room close to the TV and to our room;) Lee spent most of his childhood sleeping in the living room too...like Father like Daughter.

We were in the L&L's drive through and SAvannah asked to jump out and pick a flower...she's so funny. And NO it's not weird camera lighting, she has purple hair!!! That's a whole different post...

Right away we were playing with our old and new BFF's at the park. We would go every night to take Kayla to get some exercise.

These girls are so funny and are just a blast to watch play together.

I just LOVE the dramatic poses and the one lone boy in the middle looking a little overwhelmed by all this girl power;)

Ellie is our new neighbor downstairs and her and Savannah hit it off right away.

Im still not sure WHY they decided to get in Kaylas crate but it was a funny picture!

Ellie also had a long board that Savannah got pretty good at riding! We might have to invest in one next year;)

We had a house bbq at Castle beach and Savannah got to hit the waves!

These two girls are like fish, they could stay in the ocean all day.

These girls had the best summer together!!!

Whitney and Ellie carrying the surfboards down to the beach...Ellie got pretty good in the short few months living here!

Our first Sunday at church...Aren't they the prettiest little girls ever???

Oma, Savannah and I had a girls day to get some shopping done. Here we are eating some yummy Korean food. Savannah actually tried and ate almost everything!

Kahuku Library had a summer reading program, so we signed Savannah up. She started reading 20 minutes a day and got up to 30 by the end of the summer. She improved greatly on her reading skills and got some cool prizes every week as a bonus!

We had a super busy first week and were getting back into the groove of having an almost 9 year old in the house. Oma and Apa were so kind to help escort Savannah here and we are so grateful to them!!! Even after 2 1/2 year of being apart, the love and connection that these two have are undeniable. And of course Aunty Mibi LOVED having hugs and kisses from my stinker butt again. I cant believe how much she has grown in the year since she lived with me! It's going to be a GREAT summer:)

Once upon a time...

Mibi grew up in Laie and attended Kahuku High and Lee grew up in Haleiwa and Mililani and attended Mililani High. Mibi went to College at BYU-Hawaii and then served a mission in the Utah Ogden Mission before meeting the man of her dreams. After school, Lee jumped into the workforce looking for his career and eventually ended up working for Mibi's family flower shop at Turtle Bay while Mibi was serving her mission...and never thought that this job would lead him to his "Angel". We met in Septmeber of 2001 after I returned home from my mission. I came back to the flower shop to manage things for my Mom and Lee had left to pursue his education. Well a few months later, Lee's education path didn't take the direction he had hoped and instead life lead him back to Turtle Bay. The first thing he did was call Mom to get his job back and of course she said YES. So, I was Lee's boss and there was an instant friendship...it felt as if we had known each other our entire lives. We kept it strictly business for a few weeks and then one night I was gong to make a Wal-Mart run after work and called him to see if he wanted to come along. His phone was busy (the days before call waiting) and I almost gave up...but after a few more tries he picked up and from that night on we were inseperable. I think we told each other our life stories that night and we both knew then that our lives would never be the same! Over the next year, we formed a deep love and respect for each other which kept us connected through a few rough patches and across the ocean as Mibi moved back to Utah. Finally after a year of being best friends, we both realized that there is no one on earth we would rather be with than each other! We were a couple for about two years when Lee proposed to me and we tied the knot at the exact place we first met...the same hotel the flower shop was located when we worked there...TURTLE BAY. And to add to our JOY, we have a beautiful daughter Savannah (Lee's biological and Mibi's spiritual daughter ) who we just ADORE! She is so smart, funny, outgoing, a jabberbox like her Dad and just the cutest thing you have ever seen!!! We also are praying that we can give her a little brother or sister sometime in the next year or two!!! Until then we have a Doberman (Kayla) and a cat (Shadow) that we spoil rotten and of course all of our Nieces and Nephew's. It has been almost 8 years of wedded bliss and although we have had our ups and downs, each experience has made us grow more in love with each other and are still each others best friend!