With a Heart of Thanksgiving...

A year has come and gone since these pictures were taken, and later this week the 5 of us will once again board a plane and fly 2500 miles to one of the most beautiful places in the world.  To say how THANKFUL I am for this opportunity AGAIN is an understatement.  I know I have done NOTHING to deserve to go again.  This is indeed a most extraordinary blessing, not only to share with our family of 5, but to share with our extended family of 18!...mimi and papa, uncle D and auntie Katie, my aunt's, uncle's and cousins and my sister-in-law's parents....I am truly BLESSED... My HEART is full of gratitude and thanksgiving during this time of year, for the blessings God has given to my family...

(Maui sunset)

This trip is a culmination of a year's worth of planning, organizing and dreaming.  It is a time to get together with those that we LOVE...it is a time to REMEMBER as we scatter my dad's ashes a long the shores of the Royal Lahina...it is a time to CELEBRATE life, joy and happiness...TOGETHER.     

(Luke (7) and Grace (5) last year at the Maui Ocean Center)

The kids will once again enjoy warm afternoon's swimming in the ocean, building sand castles or "making pies" as Grace and I did last year.  If a dip in the condo's pool is desired, it is only feet away from our patio.  Mark, Roger (my mom's husband) and Uncle D will be zipping down the lines of Haleakala through Skyline Eco Adventures.  Mark and Uncle D will be boarding a boat through Trilogy cruises and snorkeling one morning at the little island of Molokini.  I will be FRANTICALLY trying to keep up with the kids (ages 8, 6 and 1 years old) with my camera glued to me to try and capture each moment.  As the moments go to quickly and kids grow too fast....I got a new camera recently a Nikon digital SLR.  I am in LOVE!

(Beach in front of the condo...looking towards Wailea and the Grand Wailea).

I am thankful this year I will have the opportunity to have our laptop with us and I will be able to blog and share pictures as the trip happens.  I am very excited about that!

So my friends...we are mostly packed and ready...join us this next week via my blog to share this most magical and fun time as we discover Maui again in a new way...such as Bella trying to eat sand for the first time, Grace looking for coconuts every where we go, Luke eating 2nd breakfast at Mimi's condo, trying to find an excellent Hawaiian shave ice, watching my mom and Roger trying to BBQ on the beach...and more seriously to find closure and lay my dad to rest in a place he LOVED as much as me! 

See ya on the Islands...ALOHA!