One more great week down, 9 more to go!

We've been decorating our little Chrsitmas tree and getting in the Christmas mood. It's definitely odd here without it being cold pretty much ever and not having our typical Christmas decor, family nights, work & homegroup Christmas parties and such. What we miss in our normal life back home, we're making up for by extra time together as a family. The 5 of us and Christina took off to a drive up through the middle of the island to the North Shore to check out the surfers. The waves were bigger than we'd seen them yet, but we're still waiting for the really big ones! We checked out a few more beach parks on the way back down the Windward coast where Christina dropped off Derek & I and took off to play wiht the kids. Then Derek & I took a 3 mile hike up through Sacred Falls State Park. A few years ago there were flash floods and rock falls that they deemed too dangerous to keep the park open, but all it takes is walking around the gates and you're in. These quieter closed sections of Hawaii are fun because they are more local secrets. We still saw a dozen or so people on the paths but it was for the most part very quiet. The hike took us along and over a stream and up into the spectacular Ko'Olau Mountain Range. After crossing the river a few more times, we found ourselves in the valley with tall cliffs up both sides of the river and then turning the corner to see the amazing Sacred Falls in front of us. What a spectacular hike and the views were again amazing. After getting back with the kids, we all went to the nearby Kualoa Ranch where some of my favorite show "Lost" was filmed and the kids got a chance to do quick little rides on the horses, which of course, they loved. It was so fun to watch their reactions to being on the big horse. :)

The wonderful and busy month of November!

Thanksgiving weekend. While being away from home and family during a holiday is not ideal, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Since we've always been with family, I've never had the opportunity to cook the entire meal in my kitchen (and a tiny one here too!) With Christina's help (and a bit from the girls too!), we accomplished a great meal and have been enjoying lots of leftovers ever since! Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving either without the Macy's day parade and I was so happy to see that it was on here at the right time too! After our big meal, we took our pies down to the pool deck and were able to share them with some neighbors and some of our security guards too. Black Friday shopping is tradition to me too and this year I had no babysitter, so the kids joined in with me at the mall... that made for an exciting day- nope probably won't try that again either! :) We picked out a tiny 3-4 foot tree for our apartment and are working on decorating it island theme too! After taking our kids out to see the movie "Tangled", we explored Moanalua Gardens and came across some of the most amazing trees we've ever seen. The trees here have been some of the most surprising and amazing things we've experienced. We love them! Our last bit of exploring for this weekend came in going to the far reaches of the Leeward (West) side of the island. There used to be a road that wound up and around the top tip of the island to the North Shore but the waves every year are so big that they destroy the road and in the end they never rebuilt it. So, we drove till the road ended and set ourselves up at a quieter beach park at Kaena Point State Park. Once again, the mountain backdrop was amazing. I just never get sick of being with my family and looking at these amazing island mountains!

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November 21st. A few fun things before I talk about the pictures. 1- The girls were eating apples at the table and I had cut up both Granny & Red Delicious apples for them. They remarked how the green ones were sour and when I told them they were called "Granny" they both immediately decided that the red ones must be called "Poppop" apples. I love how a Granny doesn't work without a Poppop and how when they are so far away they can find ways to remember and miss their Great Grandparents.

2- The sunsets recently have been amazing! The whole time we've been here, the sun would set directly behind the buildings across the street. This week we noticed that the sun has started setting in between the buildings so now we get to enjoy the sunset from our apartment! We are pretty dumb when it comes to things like this apparently cause we were dumbfounded that that was able to change! :) We count it as another of God's blessings though.

3- Another evidence of God's grace. Across the street from us every Friday is a music and hula show and fireworks. We've seen it lots of times and the kids know that at the end of every show they give away a dozen or so flower leis to people in the audience. Ella got one on her birthday cause I told them it was her day, but Mia had desperately wanted one for weeks. She kept hoping that she would get one and we tried to help her guard her emotions so as to not dissolve into hysterics if she didn't get one. They passed them out and she was looked over again. She was quietly crying and Derek was talking to her and started praying with her that God would provide her with a lei one day and that she would trust that He was good and loved her. Just as he finished, a lady walked over to Mia and asked her if she wanted her lei that she had been given. She had been on the other side of the courtyard and we were sure couldn't have heard our conversation and we were able to thank her kindly and rejoice with our little surprised Mia at God's grace in providing this for her.

Now on to the pictures! These are some random pictures of our times around from the past few days. We've had a chance to explore a few cool places near by. First, we took the kids out to a nearby resort. They have sting rays and turtles and dolphins in pools on the property and we enjoyed exploring the beautiful grounds and watching the animals. Second, we went to Punchbowl Volcanic Crater where the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is. Being at the top of a volcano has its benefits when it comes to views, but the grounds were beautiful too, not to mention the somberness that comes in viewing the graves of all those who served to keep our country free.

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November 13th. Our dear Christina was so joyfully willing to serve and watch the kids for us so we could have a night away. What a wonderful and relaxing time. Derek & I drove out along one of the most beautiful drives in O'ahu to the Windward (East) side of the island. We stayed in a cute little inn on a peninsula. How relaxing to be away from the kids for just a few hours! We woke up early and went to the park down the road to watch an amazing sunrise then went back to have breakfast and take a 3 hour nap. Now that is starting a get away right! We checked out and took a quick kayak trip into the sea to see the beautiful coast from the ocean. Afterwards, we drove along to Kualoa Park. An island called "Chinaman's Hat" lies just off the beach there and since it was low tide, we walked across the coral in waist/ chest deep water to explore the island. It was phenomenal... one of the coolest experiences we've done while here! After getting back to the beach we had an enjoyable time just sitting in our beach chairs and napping (Derek) and pulling out my paints (Dena) to try to catch a picture of the majestic mountains behind us. Just a few hours with my love and him alone is so refreshing. We had such a wonderful time talking about ways we can grow in our marriage and training our kids and just enjoying being with each other- our best friends. He is probably the only person I know who I can spend endless amounts of time with without needing a break from him eventually. I wish I could just be with him forever!

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November 3rd. We've got a half day free, so we try for the top of Diamond Head crater. We enjoy the beautiful view of diamond head from our beach all the time, but we enjoyed parking inside the crater where lava once flowed and then climbed up the inside of the crater along a path then up about 225 of so steps, going through a tunnel and ending up with a breathtaking view of southern O'ahu. We were able to remind Ella of an evidence of God's grace too. Just 60 seconds up the hike Ella (my hiking partner) started whining and complaining and crying constantly. We reminded her about how in the past hikes she'd have a good attitude when we got to the top and she saw that her hard work was worth it. After a few more minutes we had to forbid her to talk or whimper unless she had something joyful to say. I was discouraged since we hadn't even gotten to the hard part of the stairs yet. Within a few minutes, just as we were starting to climb the stairs, God gave Ella a change of heart. She was joyful, excited and practically running ahead of us. What a fun opportunity to point out to her the evidence of God's grace in Him helping her to turn her attitude around!

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October 31st. Derek's Mom, Sister & Nephew were in town for 1 last day, so we took off to the North Shore to see waterfalls, eat shaved ice & watch an amazing sunset while enjoying our last few hours with them before they head home.

The Walley/ Plouff Vacation Continues

It hardly feels like we've stopped while Derek's family has been here. We've had a few things that we've done for the second or third time but we've also gotten to do a few big new things too. We had a brief visit into China Town. It looks like quite an interesting place to visit, but apparently not at night. The homeless are plentiful around here and it seems even more so in China Town which isn't one of the best places. So, we'll visit again during the daylight but for this trip stopped in and had an authentic Chinese meal. Renee even ordered the shark's fin soup. The girls were pretty grossed out but Jett enjoyed it a lot! The girls had a night out shopping and we took the trolley to Hilo Hattie's to get a little hula rhythm into Renee & Freddye. Freddye's birthday was last Wednesday and we went over to the lagoon to try out Paddle boarding and then ended her special day with a trip to Puu Ualakaa State Park for one of the most amazing sunset views across the west coast of the island. We've visited the Bishop Museum again- we got season passes to it. This really is an amazing museum. We've visited it twice now and haven't covered more than maybe a quarter of all there is to see. They have such good hands on stuff throughout for the kids too that it's perfect for all of us to go to together! We also spent one day driving up the east coast of the island to the Polynesian cultural center. As a last minute stop we went to The Valley Of Temples to see the Byodo In Temple. The setting was amazing and the fog like clouds in the mountains behind it made the place stunning. Afterwards we went to the theme park which covers 7 island nations- Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, etc. They do shows and demonstrations for each and then we had a luau afterwards and then a wonderful show at the end full of hula, dancing and a great story. It was another tiring and beautiful day!

Walley/ Plouff Family Vacation

Derek's family has come to visit! His Mom & Sister and her son (Christina's family) are here for 13 days and we're almost half way through the trip now. I am so blessed by Derek's family. They have loved me and welcomed me into the family so I feel just like one of their own and they are such a blessing to me! We're having such a good time showing them around the island- maybe too good a time since we're pretty exhausted from all that we're trying to do! Poor Derek & Christina are going to just be completely wiped out at the end of the trip cause they are doing everything with us that they can and working too! We've taken them to a dolphin cruise, done Sunset picnics, hung out on beaches, seen the Royal Hawaiian band play on the lawn before we toured Iolani palace, went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, went hiking on the Windward side of the island (Renee, Freddye & I took the kids on a kid-friendly hike while Derek, Christina & Mike went on a longer one- pictures from that are to come soon!)... good times!

Date Nights & Discoveries

Derek & I have had a few wonderful date nights together recently. We tour our Hawaiian tour books advice & drove 15 minutes to Puu Ualakaa State Park where we were treated to an amazing view of almost the whole of Southern O'ahu at Sunset. A...mazing! We also were able to get away for a bit to tour Iolani Palace. This is the only Royal Palace in the USA and the tour gave us some interesting view into the history of Hawaii & the royals. I love architecture so I was in heaven touring the beautiful big place! Derek & Mia and Ella & I took off at different times to have some date nights together and the girls were adorable! :) They especially loved getting Daddy ready by doing his hair and picking out his clothes! We've all gone out together (with Christina too of course!) to 2 new beaches. One was ok, the other was simply amazing. Ko Olina resorts has 3 lagoons where the water is perfect because the waves are small and the snorkeling is good. Apparently this is normally quite a crowded area but was practically empty the day we were there and it was so peaceful and wonderful!

Friends from England!

Almost a year ago we were touring England and I was meeting old friends from Derek's days of living there. We stayed with Andy & Yadge outside of Manchester and when we said goodbye to them we had no idea that we would be seeing them again in less than a year! They were touring Hawaii on a cruise for their 35th anniversary and we got to play tour guide and take them all around the island. It was such a pleasure to see our friends again and we loved every minute of the much too short day!

Welcoming A New Family Member Into Our Home!

For those of you who may be wondering about the title of this post... no, I'm not pregnant! Nope, we've adopted a lovely 24 year old niece for our Hawaii trip! When we were in Georgia for Derek's brother's wedding the week before we left for Hawaii, we asked Derek's sister's daughter, Christina to come live with us. Things fell into place pretty easily once again and she agreed! She took a few weeks to finish her semester of school then flew out last week to join us for the duration of our trip. What a blessing it is to have her here with us already (and not just because we can now have a regular date night- though that is AMAZING!) and our kids have already informed her that she's now their sister. :) She doesn't start work at Starbucks for a week and a half so we're trying to get in as much fun stuff together as we can before that happens! We started off with Surfing lessons on Waikiki beach. None of us had tried it before so it was a pleasant surprise that we were all able to get up on our small beginner waves and have a wonderful time surfing. Sadly, exhaustion set in extremely fast and by the time we were done we were all quite exhausted. The next morning all of us were so sore and personally, it took days before my arms and shoulders felt normal again. All that paddling to get out to the waves definitely took it out of me!

The day after surfing we took it a bit easier by starting off the day with a parade. It was Aloha Week here and there was a parade going right past our apartment building. We just crossed the street and sat on the curb looking at our own place and had the best seats in the house. I must say that living in the city is so fun to me right now because I can't imagine ever doing it again. I was kind of picturing myself in "Miracle on 34th Street" being able to watch the parade from my city apartment! I couldn't remember the last parade I had ever seen that wasn't a Disney parade. This parade also had princesses in it, but they were real Hawaiian Royalty riding on their horses and adorned in capes & leis and my girls were going nuts! Over and over they kept telling me, "It's a REAL Princess, Mom!" It is odd to think of our country having royalty and a Royal Palace... only in Hawaii! After the parade we jumped in the car and headed a mere 15 minutes away from the city into the mountains for a mile hike through the rain forest to Manoa Falls. The falls were so pretty and of course, so was the entire hike. We ended the day muddy and tired but quite satisfied with our day.

Now it was Sunday. We have visited a few churches but not found the one that we'll be staying at yet. We all got up and dressed and in the car and simply couldn't find the church. It was pretty funny but since we were quite literally all dressed up and had no where to go, we figured that we could find somewhere pretty easily! So off we went to the Bishop Museum. This was a very cool museum. We didn't cover near enough and will have to go back. We did a show about the Hawaiian sky & constelations and toured a few rooms of the museum about the Royals & the old Hawaiian culture. They've got a great area for kids too where they have lava demonstrations and you can explore a fake volcano and learn about it. This absolutely counted as a school day! :)

The weather here has been amazing. We hardly sweat unless we're doing something active and then if you step into the shade it's immediately perfect. The rain here is so different thatn Florida's thunderstorms. You can quite seriously open the blinds in the morning to see an overcast drizzly day and by the time you've filled up sippy cups and put 3 bowls of cereal on the table it's cleared and is the most perfect Hawaiian day yet. These last few days have differed in being much more rainy. The rain here has hardly surpassed a drizzle but it's kept at it for a few hours each of the last few days. Poor Derek, who rides his bike 2 or 3 miles to and from work each day has come home quite soaked a few days. Yesterday the weather returned to it's normal and hopefully we can now convince Christina that was a fluke! We went down to Ala Moana Park & walked around and walked to Magic Island to watch the sunset. We've been here several times to see it set and it's been different every time. We just don't get sick of it!

Today Christina had to work but as soon as she was home we set off to get her out of the city for the first time. We drove 30 minutes out of the city to the East and stopped at Lanai Lookout Point. This is my favorite spot on the island so far. We've stopped a few times but not been in good climbing shoes. We made sure to be this time and we climbed down the rocky hills & cliffs and explored all around. We didn't leave this small area for a good few hours but it was amazing to watch the waves pound the cliffs and spray water sky high and see all this beauty close up. We found a small cave hole and climbed in it. There at the end of the hole was a good sized exit that went out into the side of the rocks where the waves were spraying. It was a very cool spot. The kids were amazing in sticking close to us and being troopers and going carefully when there were drop offs and slippery gravel and it was such a fun experience to share with them! Once again, we went home tired but happy!

A wonderful week with Mom!

Mom is leaving tomorrow and we've been so busy that I haven't had time to post! We've been quite active! While Derek was at work we spent a few moments of normal life around here- doing school, going to the grocery store & Target, etc. But we also stayed busy showing her around. We took her to the North Shore where we went swimming in Waimea Falls. The rainfall in the mountains hasn't been as much as the past few weeks so the falls were much less full but that made it perfect to coax Ella into swimming out to them with us. Also, last time we went it was quite packed but this time we had the falls to ourselves. It was so peaceful and wonderful and of course, Mom loved the plants, flowers & birds! We also stummbled across the filming of the new Hawaii 5-0 show and it was fun to watch that happen for a bit- unfortunately no sighting of my Lost actor- Daniel Day Kim... bummer... no stalking today! :) We took Grandmom shopping & to the zoo too.
On Friday, Derek had the day off and we took off to Haleiwa on the North Shore. We stopped for delicious (ono) shaved ice- which is quite popular here. We also went to the beach there and rented a paddle board so Mom could try that out. We enjoyed trying it out on the open ocean too. The beach was so quiet- there were only a few other people on the beach and there were a lot of sea turtles out there to snorkel to and check out.

On Saturday, Mom & I took off alone and went to Pearl Harbor to tour the USS Arizona Memorial. It was so sad hearing the facts and traveling back into World War 2. There are about 1,000 men still buried under the sea in the Arizona and the memorial spans over the boat whose deck lies just 8 feet below the surface after it sank in 9 minutes taking 1,177 sailors and Marines with it. It was a quite sobering sight seeing oil leaking out of the surface of the water still. Then we had a wonderful treat when my Mom took us out to dinner and told us that my wonderful grandparents sent money along to treat us to dinner. That was such a fun gift! Mahalo Poppop & Grandmom!

Today we drove to the Leeward (West) side of the island to Waianae to take a dolphin watching tour. Just minutes out of harbor, we found ourselves inside of a pod of 50 to 75 spinner dolphins. They had several of their tiny babies with them and they put on quite a show playing in the surf behind the boat, racing in front of the boat and jumping and spinning out of the water. It was amazing to see that many dolphins together out in the open sea. We toured up the coast and saw more amazing beaches and mountains and views which we'll now have to find from the island side. It was wonderful to see them from the water side though!

All in all, this time with Mom has been amazing. It was such a blessing to have her with us everyday and I know that I'm going to hate having to drop her off at the airport again tomorrow. It will be another 3 months until we'll be together again when both Dad and Mom get to come out. What a blessing to have a Mom who is such a good friend and who loves me and my whole family so well!

A surprise for my birthday girl!

Ella's 5th birthday was this last weekend so we had some special 5 year old type activities planned for her. We kept telling her that Bumpa (my Dad) was going to send her something special for her birthday and we were going to have a lot of fun playing with it the next week. On her birthday I told her we would get it later that day but first I was going to go buy her a lei. The airport has great lei stands so we headed down to pick one up for each of us and on the way I informed them about leis and how people get them on special days and use them to show welcome and love to someone. So I told them we'd head into the airport to see if we could see people giving them to each other. Once in there I told them that we were really there to pick up Bumpa's special gift- Grandmom- who would be there any moment! They were stunned silent- which is saying something and then they were so excited! It's so fun to show my Mom all around our normal lives- our apartment, grocery stores, parks & beaches and the punch buggy games that don't stop even once we get inside! (They sit at the window and call them- they are in endless supply here and even Jett chimes in with the random "Punch Buggy Red" call). The kids have been her constant companions and I've been having to fight them for time with her! We took Grandmom over to the hotel across the street to watch the Hawaiian song and dances and fireworks that they have on Friday nights. Every show, at the end, they give out Leis and my kids have been so disappointed to not get one but this week I told them it was Ella's birthday and she got one. She has never been so proud! While Derek had off for the weekend we toured her around to several tourist spots. We started Saturday a little slower for her- making sure to keep room in there for nap time! We toured the Waikiki aquarium which was a bit of a let down but had a few interesting things like the Chambered Nautilus & the Lauwiliwilinukunuku'oi'oi and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a fishes (what great names, right!) Of course we had to take her to Waikiki beach too. The next day we donned our swimsuits and drove towards the windward coast to go scuba diving at Hanauma Bay (the best snorkeling on O'ahu). It was a volcano cone that had caved in and then eventually the rose to fill it in creating a perfectly sheltered bay with amazing coral and marine life! The snorkeling was great- Derek took turns going out with Mom, Mia & myself. The highlight for me though was seeing the two sea turtles swimming right in knee depth water and being able to snorkel right along side with them! After tiring ourselves out in the ocean we drove up the coast for a long way home and were awed at the amazing scenic mountain and ocean views. It looks like Jurassic Park land for sure! A tiring weekend for sure but we'll give her a bit more down time before the next busy weekend!

Last Weekend!

Last weekend seems so far away already! How does that happen when we haven't really been that busy! We've been a bit busy during the days this week. We're trying to double up our school days so we can have a bit more down time while my Mom comes for a week and a half. The kids don't know that she's coming yet so it's bound to be very exciting (and loud!) when they see her on Friday! They just think that they're working so much on school because of Ella's birthday on Friday and I keep telling them that I have some fun things to do next week because of a fun gift Bumpa (my Dad) is sending them!

So, last weekend we decided to head up to the North Shore to explore a bit. Before we left town we stopped at Leonard's Bakery (a classic store in town) to pick up some Malassadas (basically a very "ono" (Hawaiian for delicious!) Portuguese donut of sorts- though we told the kids that it was a seaweed and fish egg breakfast). It was here that my Dad called and told me that he had just surprised my Mom with sky miles for a plane ticket out to see us. Needless to say, I'm definitely homesick out here and would be happy to have anyone I know to talk to, but having my Mom- who, other than Derek, is my best friend- out here with us for over a week is such a treat! My Dad is the best... even letting her come and not having her there on his birthday cause no other time would work! They are both already planning on coming in December when my Dad has off work but it was so far away so I am so thankful for my wonderful Dad loving both me and my mom so much!

Now in a fantastic mood, after breakfast we drove up the middle of the island to Waimea Valley on the North Shore. The Park had quite a lot of activity this weekend with a "Heal the spirit Festival" or something of that sort. There were lots of Indian tribes & native Hawaiians there doing dances and exhibits and it was quite interesting. The girls loved the dancing and Mia found it hard to believe that these were REAL Indians. She confided in me later that she always thought real Indians would be meaner. So cute! I guess we are reading "Little House On The Prairie" right now and at this point in the book Indians are a bit of an unknown threat! :) They have a beautiful hiking area and Jett surprised us by wanting to run and explore everywhere. We figured out that if it was a normal paved road he refused to walk on his own without a tantrum but if it was a dirt path or stairs to a more woodsy area he was off at a run! What a little bugger! :) The whole area was beautiful and we especially loved that this was so clearly a "Lost" TV show filming area. There was a beautiful river running along the path that was the typical stop for water or have a flaming arrow attack spot in the show and then at the end of the hike was the gorgeous waterfall which in and of itself would have been worth the hike but made it even better that this was the falls that Kate & Sawyer found the briefcase in and that Jack jumped off of to rescue Hurley & his guitar case too. I'm in Lost Fan heaven! :) I was so bummed that they don't let you jump off the top anymore but it made my day completely to be able to swim out to the bottom of the falls and sit on a ledge there and just let the water run over me. It was a beautiful moment! Mia was so big and swam out with me and though she was a bit nervous by it all just loved it too! Ella took a bit of persuading but she at least tried to swim out with Derek (the kids have to wear life vests in the park) and then just got too tired of waiting for the other people to take their turns in the waterfall. After leaving Waimea Valley we drove just a minute or two down the beach to 'Ehukai Beach. It was such a nice beach with hardly anyone there and tons of sand for the kids to run and play in. The water here was crazy since it was over our adult heads in just about 4 or 5 steps out but it was a great place to begin to teach Mia to snorkel. The waves hit hard right on the shore but after getting through that first wave Mia loved getting out and learning how to breath through her very own snorkel. We'll have to come back to this beach in the winter since this is where the Banzai pipeline is and the expert surfers will do their thing! This was a great day to play in the sand, digging big holes and burying each other and over all getting ourselves completely pooped out!

Thankfully we had a long holiday weekend so we had a relaxing next few days. We took a walk along the Ala Wai Promenade right by our house. It runs next to the Hawaii Convention Center which was named the most beautiful convention center in the world. It made for some fun pictures and our kids loved climbing up all the stairs to the waterfall fountains. I definitely love having all this special time with our kids doing things together as a family... it would be perfect if we could just get a date night out without them sometime soon! :)

Longing For Home

Homesickness is an interesting thing. Here we are in a tropical paradise, living amidst a daily beautiful scene where I regularly find myself gasping "Wow" at the amazing sights around me. Derek & I are finding both our family growing closer and our relationships with God growing as well. Yet, we long for home; we long for Orlando. To be back to the place filled with family... friends... our church... known roads... our big comfortable bed... ah, there is so much to miss. What a reminder that Honolulu is not our home. What a reminder that Orlando is not our home. Heaven is our home. How is it possible to live as though this is home but know it is not? How is it possible to long for a place we've never even set eyes on? We can trust in God's promises. Just living day to day in all this beauty sets my imagination on fire. If it took God just 6 days to prepare this world and we are amazed by it's beauty and His creativity, then what will be in store there? All this time He has been preparing a place for us. Unleashing his creativity for hundreds and hundreds of years to prepare a place for us. The gasps when we catch our first glimpse... the tingling and excitement... meeting our Savior face to face... being able to worship without distraction or exhaustion! To think, "Who am I to deserve this? I who hated You and nailed You to the cross with each sin! Thank you God for saving me!" What a moment as we are ushered into our home... the place we are made for. Being uprooted from my temporary home has begun to teach me to long for heaven. To be homesick for my home with my Savior. To view this earth as my hotel or apartment that I'm in until my Dream home is finished. As uncomfortable as it is for little imperfect me to be waiting in this imperfect place, it will be worth it to be with Jesus!

Adventures in Cooking!

We've had over 3 weeks here in our strange new lives! One of the goals I had for this time was to be trying out recipes that I've accumulated but never tried and to also be feeding my family more healthy foods! Like with another goal of ours, watching little to no TV, I was prepared for the worst but we've seen so much grace from God for change! The kids have only even asked about the TV a few times and that is really saying something! They are adjusting to the different menu too! We've cut out our previous breakfast of choice- cereal and now save that for the weekends. Instead I'm serving a lot of eggs, home cooked muffins, oatmeal, fruit salad, etc. and they are loving it! For lunches I've tried to cut out all of their goldfish, animal crackers, chips, etc. that they were used to and replaced them with yogurt, applesauce, fruit & veggies. They are doing amazing! I've even been making some snacks for them! I've tried Butter Popcorn, Caramel Popcorn, Cheese Its & Graham Crackers! (Thanks http://www.realfoodclasses.com for lots of ideas!) I'm loving making all these things! So, eating well during the week allows for our weekends to be more of a splurge. I'll get them a box of cereal and sodas for all of us and make a special desert for the weekend too. I am feeling like I'm in the kitchen a lot more right now but I also have a full freezer that we're beginning to be able to delve into to just pull out pre- frozen snacks or meals. It's also provided opportunities to meet our neighbors and building guards as we take them pans of Cinnamon Rolls too! It's a lot of fun and I can't wait to see the stack of recipes that I've gone through and have new favorites to add to our typical menu lists when we get home to Orlando!