8.28.17

Thankful this week for squinty smiles.
{Thank you TJ Maxx for having matchy matchy outfits for our boys!}

 Thankful for encouraging hymns.

 Thankful for striped sweet siblings.

 Thankful for Anniversary drinks last week! Jamba and Starbucks are secret keys to my heart ;)

Thankful that Hudson stays safe when he sleep walks. How he climbed up on the table in our living room and snuggled there? Thankfully it was only momentary, and thankfully I captured it!

 Thankful for after football smiles, and hot pizza to carb load on for this kid.

Thankful for a local church's youth group that has so much fun each week! I love that our  kids want to hang out with other believer's kiddos, and learn bible truths during the week.

Thankful for retail therapy. That one quick dash in TJ Maxx had me at "Final Clearance" for a tad too long- but these pink all stars for $4?! And our Max Studio Flamingo lamp shade!

 Thankful for our groove... and for Hannah getting Hudson every day after school.

 Thankful for God's creation. Some days I am callous to it... but other days we celebrate the beauty.

 Thankful that Matt passed his sub test! Not only passed but aced it. Holla!

 Thankful for Harrison's football team.

Thankful for Friday nights. Movie, new macaroon spot,  espresso and my new Keep Bracelet!
My friend Sherry Seale sells KEEP bracelets, and this was my 1st purchase. It's rose gold and rope, and oh so simple yet so trendy! I am not a jewelry person, but this is just perfect.
I got "All In" engraved on it... It is a great reminder as to our daily mission... to be All In for His glory- in whatever manner that looks like... I have been spoken to lately about being All In and how hard life is when we are All In sometimes... I wish All In and Easy went hand in hand... but we know they don't, and we are thankful for every trial and every situation that helps our character grow and prosper.
Part of my All In character development has me walking outside to do laundry, and hanging all laundry from a *gasp* laundry line! Never. Would. Have . Thought.  When you think of moving somewhere - check to see how they do laundry ;) Or don't, and just grow in that area ...
{And although it seems minor, the amount of clothes we go through has me outside OFTEN... and with drying on the line, comes wait time, and that is another area of character development, so as we wait on clean, fresh clothes to be dried and ready, thank you lord for soap and water, I can hopefully have a clean attitude and be full of patience (this. is. a .process. )

 Thankful for sunsets at the resort area.

 Thankful for our fam. This pic was forced and man can you tell it. The kids are so like momma and can hide zero emotions. Wear it on their sleeves much? But so glad we can capture them as they grow here in Hawaii too.

 We found a beach hut. Yay!

 And a baby lizard!! Brave, gentle Harrison got to hold it :)

 Thankful for living in a vacation land. That means we get visitors often! This one was so special!
I had read about their family from their blog. Then they walk in to church and I'm like what!? I know them from somewhere... yep- their blog!! The Parent family from Toronto got a Children's Wish trip for their son Jadon
( read about Jadon, and their adoption here at www.lovemultiplieshere.blogspot.com )
They also have a son Hudson. Our Hudson was so excited. Two Hudsons!

 This mom was such an encouragement.  Sara Parent - you are one beyond amazing rock star momma!! 

{Just this weekend Matt & I were talking about our parenting and how totally crazy our kids were being and how we needed some refreshment from during this journey. I amen-ed him but thought I may have needed just slightly more refreshment as I am with kids a H-U-G-E part of the day ;)

  And then Sunday morning... Hudson was in tears as soon as we left the car to walk inside meeting. Harrison unbuckled him and he was beyond upset. 

Then we sat for literally 10 seconds in the church, and his 'tude continued... so we ventured outside for "more redirection"... and came back in  "redirected"- but I was already ready to throw the towel in for the day! 

And then the Parent family walked in. 5 kids. Oxygen tank. Jadon in his stroller. 

And I just knew God was sharing them with me, so I could truly appreciate our kids and all the crazy antics they do on an hourly, minute by minute basis- and to be thankful in our journey. 

All our parenting journeys are not the same. Yet we have one goal and it's to raise strong kiddos for the Lord. 

Somehow God knows just the right people to place in our path to encourage us and strengthen us... 

 And the Heaven Hug Sunday was SUCH a boost. 

 We have some new "pets".
Chickens roam wild here. Hannah couldn't be happier! We are thrilled she has a pet or 5 to care for- she feeds them gold fish, pirates booty and oatmeal. A perfect balanced diet. ;) We are getting a broom today so she can also handle their messes ;) She has them named: Violet, Brownie, Trickster, Flash and Cotton Candy. They roam our neighborhood but somehow always come when our sweet pet lover is outside throwing food ;)

Thankful for God's family. It is so incredibly encouraging to be encouraged. When friends ( whom I have never met!) in Texas reach out- ( Matt had visited there a year or so ago), but yesterday we were on their hearts for prayer and encouragement... it truly is such a blessing to be a part of God's huge family of believers- all over the world- meeting in many different places - during many different time zones.


Thankful that many miles away from us here,  our friends in IL celebrated worshiping in their brand new building on Sunday!! Thankful for pictures that help make the distance almost disappear :)

8.21.17

Happy Anniversary to Us!
13 years and counting on many many more!


Thankful this week for God helping Matt through a heart scare. Waking up one morning to him in severe pain is not the best way to begin the day.... yes I may be tough love and not dramatic over hurts and bumps and bruises, but heart issues are like - stop pronto and get it figured it out...
Matt is not as urgent, but did go to ER eventually :) And I might have lost my emotions when someone at work asked my how my day was going... which then allowed me a "get out of work free card" for the afternoon, to be all together in the ER room :)

Thankful that his incident was not heart related, but sternum related. Still unsure as to the cause? But we are thankful he is okay, and that insurance was still active from IL, and our copay was 0! Wahooooo!

 Love how he is taking a selfie, with a No Selfie sign posted behind him ;) Oops!!



Thankful for Pizza Hut, the favorite local pizza joint! Costco is our next fave, but it's a little too far to be called local.

Thankful for an easy Open House! Unlike our IL Curriculum Nights, Open House is an informal meet and greet. No presentation needed, just smile and be nice - even to all the siblings who tried to fit in the teepee  ;)

Thankful for the 2 street commute, and that sunset view after Open House. We love our proximity to school. We are praying that our landlord ( the pastor at a church 2 houses down), and good friend of Matt, will allow us to rent it for the school year. The purpose of the house is to be a place for the Church's school admin to stay, but as of now, that position is vacant, and although it appealed to Matt, he is going in a different direction for work. But the proximity to work is ideal for our Community Outreach ideas. The space in the house is perfectly laid out as well. As soon as we hear a yay or nay, we will outfit it in Hebert style! It may be harder on momma to be in limbo with other people's furniture than I thought! And our Target purchases, are just sitting in the boxes, waiting to jump out and deco!

Thankful that Matt began training for subbing here. The sub salary is significantly more than we were used to, and the flexibility is amazing. We were so thankful how much my Principal has helped Matt get into the right training group etc and provided a letter of rec. Such a blessing! Training for subbing here is 5 full days and he was charged a fee! This sort of extensive training is new to us, and we are excited for the opportunities ahead! Even cooler is the anticipated Student Teaching he can do here at my school, in January! 

Thankful for beachy shops with fun signs. 

 Thankful for KoOlina... the resort area that I just love. I love the tourist crowd, since I still feel like a tourist, not a local, and I love the comforts of the "known". Everything from KoOlina has a flare of familiarity, since that was our vacay hang out, and many days the feeling of being isolated is a tad much! Hannah loved her 1st Macaroon!

 In hopes of getting our kids on a more Eat In lifestyle ( since it's super hot in the house - supper time often calls for something SUPER low key i.e no oven or we eat out)  But the menu she created seems low key and with items we can cook with ease :) I especially am excited for Saturday's :)

When the siblings are not getting along the finest, getting them involved in jobs works well for us all! Harrison loved washing our car ( seems like this will be a great go- to activity!) and Hannah loves swiffering!

Thankful for technology. Thankful for my fam who sends many texts and many pics - making the many miles seem short!

Thankful to have a friend at church who owns a sushi spot!
We went to visit & she treated us to literally SO MUCH sushi. We left feeling  beyond grateful to be part of God's family. The love she had for us and for our kids was immense. Our language barrier is strong, but the love barrier is none. She is a true Auntie to us here and we are so thankful!

Her friend works or owns a yogurt spot in the mall, and she insisted our kids go with her to get treated. Hudson napped the entire supper 

( insert all the hooray hands here, as he isn't big on raw fish ;))

Thankful for the ocean. Thankful for how many hymns and verses we know that reference the ocean or sea... in the form of waves, or the sounds of mighty waters... and when we stand by the waves, or sit by the beach, we can have a minute or 2 of devotional thoughts before someone is yelling Mooooom ;)


Jeremiah 5:22

Verse Concepts

'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it. 

Bible Verses about the Sea

Thankful for our long weekend. Friday was a state holiday here for Statehood Day.

 The colors of this bag just said :Take a picture:

 Reason 200 why we love KoOlina's Lagoons.... no waves, so Hannah can boogey board in safety ;) She is very cautious with the water, which we love, but are excited for her to experience a little deeper water

  Our clouds looks so puffy!

 I might have made the kids walk a mile to the Aulani snack shop-
 1- we needed to workout 2- they wanted food, so it felt like a Two- For - One :)

 We met Ray- of Ray's World Famous Shaved Ice... outside of 4 Seasons... Hannah was impressed and even jogged home after! Get it girl! 

 After Saturday's training for Matt, we drove to Waikiki for the Zoo's twilight tour, We loved the rainbow that my phone barely captured!  We ended up skipping the zoo, and getting our anniversary dinner early, at Cheesecake Factory. This place always delivers the BEST experience!

 Hudson loves his nap ... clearly even

more than food!