Aloha from Maui!

Two years.

I can’t believe that’s it been nearly two years since we last visited my family on Maui.

Ken and I flew here right after we bought our first house in Alaska (read about that), in January of 2014, and I still remember grappling with mixed feelings at the time - I missed Maui terribly, especially after visiting, but also recognized that the intense longing for ‘home’ that I felt, could really only be met in Christ, and that rather than a particular physical location, home is the place where Ken and I, and now Ruby, build community together. It can be anywhere. My sweet little family and I are home, when we are together. That’s how our last trip to my homeland of Maui, helped me understand my desire for home - for a place of safety, community, and fellowship. It was a great trip for launching us into the next season of homeownership in Alaska, and now ironically, we are back in Maui as we transition from living in Alaska to Eastern Washington.

Maui is a great place to relax and recharge, and for the introvert in me - to reflect, as my family and I prepare for so many new adventures ahead.

It’s incredible being back here. Temperatures in the low to mid-80s, tropical breezes to balance out the endless-summer-sun, local-style grinds (i.e. plate lunches, spam musubi, chow fun) available 24/7, and endless amounts of fresh Maui-grown apple-bananas (think: tiny, baby bananas that are sweeter than Chiquita’s and taste apple-y) and perfectly ripe strawberry papayas - juicy, succulent, firm-meets-soft, orange flesh. Mmm. I’m home. The home I spent my adolescence enjoying with my parents and two sisters, Kehaulani and Nohealani. What an amazing place.

This is Ruby’s first trip to Maui, and it’s the first time she’s been able to meet my side of the family. She loves it here. My family, my friends, the ocean, the food - she even loves poi. This comes as a complete shock to me, because I hate poi. Perhaps I've been missing out? (For those who don’t know about poi, it’s a Hawaiian specialty, made from cooked taro root.) We’re so proud of our baby girl!

Here are some photos from our first few days here!