Just Because

 by Terri

MY FAMILY | {Merry Christmas}

It’s actually a week before Christmas as I sit at the computer, choosing photos to share with my family and friends on Christmas…as this won’t post until Christmas day. This year we all are feeling heavy hearts and a need to be closer to family and hug them all a bit tighter and as I go through my photos of our children and grandchildren…tears come to my eyes as I think about how grateful I am to have them all…healthy and all doing well…how blessed we truly are and I’m SO very thankful to be able to spend the holidays with them this year…all of us together…just hanging out together, enjoying one another and appreciating our time with one another! No presents can top this…quality time with family is what IS the most important thing. I’m SO proud of our children…I can’t tell you how much I love them and LOVE seeing them in their lives with their families!! It is the best thing, so see children grow up and become parents…not only to give us grandchildren (who we ADORE!!!!!!!!), but to be great people, citizens and parents…my heart is just bursting right now with pride….I can’t even tell you how much I love them!!

Josh…our oldest, has a beautiful daughter who is seven years old and I’m always in awe of how fabulous she is! Josh hasn’t had the perfect life, but he’s made the best of what he’s been through and is an AWESOME dad and loves his daughter to the end of the earth! Seeing the two of them together is incredible…they are loving, but playful and have a lot of fun…and he’s been great and teaching her responsibility and respect, which I truly admire! He’s in school now and working hard to make a better life for himself and Jayden…and we are so proud of him…and want the VERY best for them!!! Jayden…his daughter, oh, I’m sure you have seen MANY photos of  her on this blog…needless to say, she’s had TONS of photos taken of her by me and I love photographing her….her smile, the sparkle in her eyes and seeing her grow into a lovely girl with a kind and loving heart is the best thing I could ever witness! Jayden, our first granddaughter, has a very special place  in our hearts, is am amazing girl and now seeing her with her new cousin…she is remarkable with her…so sweet, loving and gentle…sometimes when I see them together, I think my heart could burst with pride!

Jessalyn, our daughter, is married to an incredible man, Sean, who we’ve known for many years…ahhhh, they are remarkable together…and as individuals! Jess (as we call her) is a teacher…and now a mother…and WOW…she was meant to work with children and those who are blessed with her as a teacher, are so fortunate…she’s is caring, understanding, patient and thoughtful…and seeing her blossom in this role, it’s amazing and heartwarming!!! And, her recent new role this past year, as a mother…oh my…I can’t even put into words how much I love seeing this…tears come to my eyes as I think about it…she’s the BEST mom and her beautiful daughter, Emma, is so fortunate to have her as a mom!! Emma entered this world a bit early, not quite as Jess (a planner) had planned, so that was a bit unnerving for all of us, but from the beginning, she was there, doing what needed to be done for Emma and making sure that everything was right and ready for each step along the way (and still worrying about her kids at school while on maternity leave)…I was so impressed and in awe…she’s truly remarkable! Today, Emma is about 8 1/2 months old and it’s so hard to believe she was so tiny and spent her first month of life in the hospital…she’s healthy, happy, adorable, spunky and beginning to tell us all about her life…I cherish each and every day with her!! Sean, husband and dad…we met him when he was in the 5th or 6th grade…he went to school with Josh…and as the years went on, I always felt like “something” might happen….someday between he and Jess…and low and behold…the stars aligned and it did…and now, they’ve celebrated their 5 year anniversary this past summer and have a beautiful daughter…he’s a great provider, loving, thoughtful, appreciative and I must also add…quite the prankster…we are always being caught in his jokes…oh, how fortunate we are to have him in our family!!

I can’t NOT talk about my husband…Rick…wow…it’s been over 30 years since we met and honestly, it was pretty close to love at first sight! We were in college and it wasn’t long after we started dating that we both knew we’d be together forever…and low and behold…this past summer we celebrated our 30th anniversary! Every day I am so thankful for him…for our lives together, for our children and for our love…I am SO blessed!!! He’s a great father, amazing husband, faithful friend and ADORING grandfather…and I am SO lucky to call him MINE and shout to the world how much I love him and share just how thankful I am to have him as MINE!!!

So…without further ado…here is my family…I love them all so very much and am so proud of all of them…they are the best and I wouldn’t be the person I am without them…they are part of me and my life wouldn’t be the same without them!! (P.S. there might be an overload of photos, but I figure I’m allowed to do that…to brag about how great my family is and how great they all look!!!


My wish for each and every one of you is a holiday filled with love and joy, family, friends and great memories…treasure what you have and appreciate each and every day to the fullest!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Here’s a little slideshow…if you are interested…in the family photos with music!

 

in Children / Families / Just Because / Love / Personal 0 comments
 by Terri

Beautiful Jayden | {FULL of JOY}

If you aren’t already familiar with this little beauty, then you probably haven’t followed my blog for long…this is our granddaughter…our oldest one, who turned seven this fall. I’m a bit late in getting her photos posted…there were so many to choose from and since I’m a “bit” biased about her, it was hard to narrow it down…so be warned, there are plenty of photos! Sweet Jayden is not only a beautiful girl, but she is so much more. She has a very kind and thoughtful heart and caring way about her…she is gentle and polite…and yet, can be funny, sneaky, silly and goofy…quite goofy…at times!! This past spring she became a cousin to our daughter’s new baby, Emma, and we were all unsure about how she’d deal with “sharing” not only her grandparents, but her aunt and uncle (who she ADORES!!!)…  Well, she’s handled it exceptionally well…had been the BEST big cousin a little baby could ask for and is very loving and tender when around Emma. It’s more like she’s a big sister….and when I see the two of them together, it warms my heart…such a precious sight and the memories will forever be treasured! It’s obvious there is already a bond between these two girls…you can see it on both of their faces, when they see one another…it is truly priceless! Just the other day when I was watching Emma for the day and Jayden came here after school…once Emma woke up from her nap and saw Jayden was here, it was magic the way her face lit up with joy at the sight of her big cousin and that brought tears to my eyes…I love that they love one another! Naturally, with this being a very personal post, I have wonderful things to say about Jayden, but anyone who would meet her would probably agree with me…she’s a great friend, a good student, a loving daughter, a BIG animal lover, afraid of spiders and snakes and gives the BEST hugs ever…and this only touches the tip of who Jayden is…and I am so blessed to be her “Mimi” and am thankful every day for her!!  (P.S.  There are more photos to come…a second day of shooting, that I have yet to cull down for posting…stay tuned!)

in Children / Just Because / Love / Personal 2 comments
 by Terri

A hui hou kākou | {Maui = Beauty}

A hui hou kākou in Hawaiian means “until we meet again” which is how we feel about the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii! Earlier this month, we returned from a fabulous vacation there and although sad to leave, knowing we will return again, it made it easier to say goodbye! This is one of our most favorite vacation locations as we love not only the beauty of it, but the peaceful atmosphere  as well as the relaxed lifestyle! Often times when one goes on vacations, you plan every minute of vacation, so you can see and do all that the location has to offer…and when you return…you are exhausted and need a vacation to rest up from vacation. This is not how we feel about Maui…granted we have been there several times and have seen many things in the area, so we don’t feel as though we have to “go-go-go” while there, but we do keep busy, but it’s a “relaxed” busy, with things we enjoy and find not to be so tiring. A typical morning for us there begins with a glass of juice and then a long walk on the beach…which to us is just about the most perfect way to begin a day! After the walk, breakfast and get dressed, then figure out what we want to do for the day.

This trip was a bit different than past ones…we had three other couples join us during our stay there and we LOVED sharing with them what we love about the island…two of the couples had never been to Hawaii before, so what a treat to introduce them to “Hawaiian” style of a vacation! The other couple hadn’t been to Maui, so we were excited to share why we love this island just so much! Sharing our time with great friends, who we really consider more like family, was fabulous and SO much fun…and we did things we hadn’t done in a while…and even one thing I’d never done before…ever!!

There are a LOT of photos here…browse through if you’d like to see some of the highlights of our vacation…it was amazing and we were blessed to spend time where we love and better yet, with such amazing people…life is GOOD!!!

Our vacation begins…Hawaiian Airlines is the only way to go!!!First morning walk…ahhh, even better than I’d remembered, if only I could start every day like this!!While at another beach, this dog showed up with his ball…and just wanted to play…oh, I love this about the island…the dogs are so friendly and just LOVE life!!WhooHoo…love the sunsets and LOVE that I’m on vacation in Maui!While there, my husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary…I can’t tell you how much I love him or how thankful I am for each and every day we have together…and celebrating in such a beautiful location, it doesn’t get much better than this! Dinner was enjoyed that evening at Mama’s Fish House….if you’ve never been there before, we HIGHLY recommend it…their food, service and ambience….all amazing!!!!Yeah…the first two couple arrive…Rick and Patty Palmer from New York and Allen and Brenda Swift, from Tennessee…in case you didn’t notice a bit of a resemblance, Patty and Brenda are sisters…and I have sort of adopted them as my sisters as well!!Amazing sand art…made with just a rake…wow, that’s incredibly creative!!Finally, we were on the island when the lavender farm in the UpCountry was in bloom…and wouldn’t you know, it rained…and rained and rained…drats…oh well, we’ll just have to return again someday when it’s blooming! Still pretty!!Rick Palmer…what a great guy…loved that he and Patty joined us all on vacation!A trip to the only winery on the island…Maui (or Tedeschi) Windery…great wine and the tour is very interesting, lots of history about the area and the industry on the island!We saw a rainbow nearly every day we were there…a great sign that we were to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of this island yet another day!        Cheers…here’s to great friends…and family!! The Palmers had two days of travel before they arrived and the Swifts had one VERY long day of travel…we were so excited when they all arrived!And, finally Kelly and Tammy Grimm (also friends who we consider family) arrived…not quite the long travel time the others had, but we were just as happy to have them arrive to join us all!FRED’S…our favorite Mexican restaurant on the island…yummy, fish tacos…the BEST!!We attended the Old Lahaina Luau one evening and it was wonderful…excellent food and the entertainment was great…and the location and sunset, wow, we couldn’t have had it any better! It had been at least 12 years since we’d been to one, so it was great fun to share in this wonderful island tradition!Now, the guys were watching these girls quite closely…and they said they were studying the moves and that it was all about science…us gals didn’t quite understand the “science” part of it!! LOLTim….our server, he was awesome and never let our drinks go dry…he was right there with whatever we wanted…such great service and he was very entertaining!The Palmers, Swifts and Grimms each rented a Harley for two days…they ventured on the “Road to Hana” their first day…we have done that, so stayed behind, but it was fun to watch them all getting set to go!
Kelly…the leader of the pack!!SURPRISE…this year both Allen and Brenda are celebrating their 50th birthdays, so we threw them a surprise HAWAII 50 party…what a fun evening…a great way to start a new decade in their lives (and they also celebrated their 30th anniversary earlier this year…what a big year for them!)And, I said I did something I’d never done before…ride on a motorcycle…and a Harley at that! The second day of their rental, Brenda rode in the car with Rick (my Rick!), and I rode with Allen…wow, what fun and so beautiful! If you’re going to do something like this, I can’t think of any better place to try it! We rode north of Lahaina on a narrow road (one lane in many parts) that goes along the coast – so beautiful and what an incredible feeling to have the wind (and a bit of rain, not much, though) on our face! Imagine that I had a camera in my hand most of the time!!Yep…that’s me!!Sunset cruise for dinner…what a perfect way to spend the last evening that Palmers and Swifts would be there…such fun and so pretty!!Love these pics…and I must say that Tammy and I both were “chastised” by the crew for doing this…evidently, it’s dangerous, or they thought we were really going to go down the slide…whatever, we were safe and had no intentions, other than getting a fun photo!! Rebels, that’s us!!
Beach shot with all of us…July 3rd, and the night of a full moon…such a great evening!!LOVED spending time with Brenda (and everyone else)…hated that they were leaving!  A bit of history…10 years ago we went on a cruise in the Caribbean with Allen and Brenda, to celebrate our 20th anniversaries, 5 years ago we cruised with them to Alaska and for our 30th…it was Hawaii…now to figure out our 35th…can’t wait!!Fourth of July…beautiful sunset and hardly any fireworks…didn’t miss them a bit, this little cone on the beach satisfied our need for fireworks on this day of Independence!We ventured to the Nakalele Blow Hole with Tammy and Kelly…it was a bit wet and windy, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the beauty of the location!!Honolua Bay…such a beautiful view from above…many of the snorkeling catamarans go here and you can certainly see why! In the photo below, if you look closely, you will see a turtle!While at lunch, this little guy at the table next to us was “tempting” the birds…couldn’t resist snapping this shot…too cute!The LARGE Banyan tree in Lahaina…such an incredible sight, it takes up nearly an entire city block!Beautiful view above Ho’okipa Beach on Maui…love going there to watch the surfers and wind surfers…so much fun and so beautiful!!Yoga on the beach!!!Ahhh….love these two and this photo!Kelly…always keeping us on our toes…and I think he takes the prize for “rebel” over Tammy and I!!As I said…you never know what Kelly will do next!! LOLIt took a bit to get us all in the air…Rick counted for us and the first several, he was the only one in the air for the photos…as you can see…but we finally got it…yeah for vacations with friends!And, here we go again…Kelly was trying to be romantic and “dip” Tammy…but it didn’t quite work out the way he’d hoped…as you can see!SAD day…time to head to the airport…not quite the same faces we had when we arrived at the start of our vacation!Aloha, Maui…we will return again, soon!!And, yet, another rainbow…another great day!Back in Seattle…heading home and back to reality……………..

in Just Because / Kiwi and Kiki / Love / Personal / Travel 2 comments