Aw, Shucks that's life...

One phrase I learned quite well when working with children with autism was the phrase, "Aw, shucks that's life". Folks with autism don't do well with change and when something interrupts their schedule/routine in life, they tend to get anxious, worried, or upset. (hmmm...hit close to home?). Well, "aw shucks" phrase was used to help them grasp reality once again. The reality in life is that hardship and struggle is inevitable. Well, David and I had our "struggle" this week that brought us once again to the famous phrase. Haley and Andrew also had their struggle as well...read on.

We'll start with Haley and Andrew. Unfortunately, their car got broken into. Haley, after work, came back and had her car window broken and door handle pried apart. A couple thousand repair job, if they choose to fix it. But they are handling it terrifically, and are just waiting and watching God move in the situation.

As for us, we bought a new car, well used car, but new for us! In the first hour of ownership, as David was driving it home, he suddenly found himself on the side of the road with no power. As you can imagine, we were not happy and could not understand why such a thing had to happen. However, our dealership took upon the expenses of towing and repairs. After a whole days worth of tests, they found out that it just happen to be a bad sensor in the engine. So we are now proud owners of a 2001 Honda Civic with 89000 miles! The "newest" car we've ever owned.

On the good side of things, I did get a new 2012 12 meter kite and was able to ride it for about an hour and a half the other day. I hope it can take me to the next level in kiting:)

Well life goes on...more to come...

Kelsey

The New Year

Happy New Year or Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
Tis another year with new goals and new dreams. In fact, I just finished writing down my new year's resolutions from physical goals to spiritual goals, from travel to my relationship with David. Now, if you are like me...the momentum of a new year seems to die quickly, the goals seem to be forgotten., priorities get rearranged once again, and life can continue to be disorderly and chaotic, the important things once again being put on the back burner. So as a friend, I ask...what do you do to keep the momentum of New Year's Resolutions.

Well, as most of you know we did have an 11 day visit from Dad and Mom Waliszewski and Trevor. Running, the beach, and paddleboarding seem to be the only words in their vocabulary while they are here in Hawaii. We had some very windy days before Christmas, which made the beach more difficult and paddleboarding especially hard, however, all in all their trip to Hawaii was great! For Christmas, I was able, thanks to my great boss, bring Trevor and Andrew on our last trip Swimming with Wild Dolphins. Not only did they see and swim with Dolphins but they had an 80,000lb Humpback Whale swim under the boat. What we like to call a Whale Mugging.
Mom and Dad and Trevor were treated to 2 days of Whale Watching on our Big Yellow Boat the Malaialena. The first day seemed a bit "slow" in sightings, however, the second day we witnessed about 6 breaches in a row from a massive Humpback Whale. They all enjoyed their time with Adventure X Rafting.

As for work, it has been wonderful having Haley come work for ADVX. She has picked things up so well, and seems to be enjoying the job. Unfortunately due to the 40knot winds and then some engine trouble, we did have to cancel the majority of our trips before Christmas, however, once the winds calmed down and our engines were fixed, we had some pretty incredible Whale Watching trips after Christmas, and we hope to continue with the great Whale Watching as the season progresses (the majority of Humpbacks are here Jan-March).

It's been so great having roommates (I hope they can say the same as they get to live with David and I and our quirkyness). I love being able to share life with another Christian couple. With all four of us loving Jesus, life seems good:) Haley and Andrew are hoping to get involved in canoeing. There is a canoe/paddle club just down the road that offers recreational canoeing. Andrew has plugged himself into a gaming community in Kona every Wednesday night. Not sure what they do...but I know he seems to enjoy himself with the guys. If you are looking for some entertainment I have 3 words: Zumba, Haley, and me! Yes, the secret's out...Haley and I have taken up Zumba (in the privacy of our own living room fortunately). Coordination and rhythm are not my strong suit, but I'm working on it. I think I get more of a work out laughing...then I do with actual Zumba. The wind hasn't been great kiting wind...I'm hoping that will soon change. I'm looking forward to a new 12 meter Switch kite on its way:) A very generous Christmas present!! David is still playing hockey with the boys. He also now has a kayak. A few days ago, he went out on his kayak and I went out on my stand up paddleboard and guess what we ran into? A small pod of dolphins! For about 10 minutes we enjoyed the dolphins completely to ourselves....until a zodiac decided to join us and scared them away. It was pretty remarkable. While watching dolphins, a whale decided to breach in the background...boy, God puts on some pretty spectacular shows.

Well, what's 2012 going to bring? We have a political election going on, still in an economic crisis, wars and rumors of wars, and Jesus coming back? etc. We can sometimes get so caught up in things we cannot control, instead, I hope you take time to enjoy the little joys that God brings in life. For us, just a few days ago, it was dolphins and a whale breaching...what little show/joy is God allowing you to participate in? I believe those little things in life are just ways he tells us how much He loves us!!

May 2012 be a great year!
Kelsey