MOVING

Playing in "our" yard!

First sunset in the house

Okay, bubble bath in the new big tub and painter guy, Mike, painting around Deveraux as she sleeps on the floor for her nap..."gotta do what ya gotta do"

First Easter at the new house, had to have an Easter egg hunt!

Easter morning, First morning

So I need to say some words about the move. Life has been so full it's been hard to keep up! I think the reason you are able to move again is because you forget all the work that went into the previous move. We had a rough moving week. The morning of the first day, Andrew was experiencing extreme pain, we went to the Dr., it was a very scary few hours, we found out he was dehydrated and he had a kidney stone which he was able to pass in the Dr.'s office. We also had to deal with both of our kids being sick and Anderson had a rough time being with anybody other than mama or dada. We hung in there and made our goal to wake up in the house Easter morning. We all felt very blessed. It is amazing how everything else in your life remains the same and you move only 5 minutes away from your previous home and everything seems different and it takes time to get your bearings.

I went through some really hard feelings the first few days. Here I was in this big beautiful house and I didn't want it. I wanted familiar and I wanted our condo with the pool and beach. I felt all my fears of not wanting to be in this house were coming true. What was I doing in a house in Maui anyways, a place I don't want deep roots. I just kept thinking, I wasn't ready to leave our old place, I was just so uncomfortable and I felt stuck. This was my first house in our married life and it felt so big and strange to be in a house.

Now we are two weeks into our life here and it feels better. Although sometimes it feels we are house sitting and I still sometimes long for the old workplace and the familiar lower road. But now my runs take me on the lower road and my skin feels familiar again only in new surroundings. It is different but there is good. One of my favorite things is playing in the yard and with the hose with Anderson and Deveraux, it's our yard. It is fun having people over and more people have come over lately. Even though I miss our Kahana Villas home and my workplace, change offers new opportunities and a new way of looking and experiencing life. For now, we will try it.

I know one thing that will be wonderful, sharing it with friends and family. We finally have a guest room, so come!

Oh, one more thing. Deveraux said what she liked about this house better was it reminded her of Colorado...good to hear.

Our Sweet Anderson Ellis Kainalu turns One!

What a day...what a year! Anderson turned one today, in about an hour from now, one year ago, we were ready to meet our little one. From my pregnancy to the evening Anderson was born fears surrounded his little life..and now to look at him bumbling around, smiling all the time, and curiously looking and tasting everything around him...he is full of life! God is good. Oh how I love our little boy and I am so glad for his life.

We had a birthday party at 11:00 am, a brunch with lots of blue color all around. As Andrew and I were putting up streamers last night in preparation, I couldn't help but think of growing up and the streamers being put up at every birthday and now it was my home, it felt very significant and just plan wild!

We ran around crazy the whole day preparing and then cleaning....we had waffles, fruit, an egg dish, and cupcakes and Anderson had his own cake which he slowly navigated his way around. Dada (as he known around our house) was "Kimo" for the day and the kids played Limbo and "Kimo Says." This was a repeat from Deveraux's first birthday. We hung a pinata from the upper lanai and had fun watching the kids and adults take a whack at it. The day was cloudy and cool but no rain. I just couldn't get over we were at our home, it was beautiful. Anderson had a cold so that was a bummer but he hung in there and was a sweet boy, I even forgot to feed him lunch, oops! But he had a lot of cream cheese frosting! He was very ready for his nap at 3:00. When he woke up, we picked up food at the farmers market for dinner and sat at the picnic table at Honokowai Beach Park for sunset and then let the kiddos play for a little bit, Anderson loves the park.

It was nice to have our Maui friends and I felt the love for Anderson. He opened some sweet gifts...books, first birthday frame, wood toys, a puzzle, and an outfit. But oh how I really missed our family and dear ones in Colorado and Mississippi. Thank you for your dear words, they make me sad and miss you for Anderson. Pictures will show a little...

Butterflies, Birthday, Baskets, and the Big House

We have had a full week.....

The Butterfly Farm with the mom's group where we got touch and feel butterflies. (brother almost ate one, oops!)





A Birthday party where Deveraux asked for a goody bag for Anderson, that just touched my heart, a small thing yet big, she looked out for her brother.























Baskets..Brother's first Easter egg hunt! We had a lot of mom's come out for our annual Easter egg hunt at Hawaiian Village Coffee shop..the grass was filled with moms and keiki! It made me glad for the community, even with all the bumps....

And welcome Home (big house).....We got the keys today! It was a crazy day... Dev and Anderson both have colds and are sick, running back and forth from the Easter egg hunt to the new house, not being able to find putty for Lance to start painting the nursery..thinking we have just begun! But we weathered it and peace came eventually. Then in the evening, the four of us went home. We were walked or were carried across the threshold and went into each room with much joy and dancing around. Deveraux didn't want to leave, I just kept saying, "I can't believe we have a home." From our house we look down on Kahana Reef our first home in Maui (600 square ft.). We feel so blessed and it just felt good, it was our house!

Signing for a house!

Full days...my mind feels a bit overwhelmed thinking one week from today we will be in a new home. The pictures above are the official signing on Wednesday..Homeowners!!

I look around this house and many things come to mind...how much there is to pick up, how I need to fold laundry, I need to do something with the big pile of donated bubble wrap for packing, and..... how much I have enjoyed this home. This was Anderson's home for the first year of his life, the home he came home to. This was a home Deveraux and I spent many hours in playing and creating. I found myself staring out at our property this morning, the pool we have so enjoyed and the ocean across the street. My mind can often go in the direction of, "Oh no, look at all we are leaving." I stopped and thought the very heads on our hair are numbered by the God of the universe. I felt strangely comforted. I guess because we are okay no matter where we go and this just isn't all there is, we will always just be passing through this side of heaven. So we are just going to our next "passing through" place and it's okay.

Deveraux and I were driving by our old complex last night, she didn't remember our home or the many many walks around the neighborhood. It made me somewhat sad because those memories are so vivid for me and as a mom you pour so much into the moment and you are so much more aware of your surroundings as you take each walk and stop at each special spot to play. I think she will have a sense of being happy and enjoying her days but not remember the exact spot. I wonder if she will remember the home we are in now.

So this week, we will be up late, a little stressed, excited, running around a lot, weary, and through it know we will soon hear the cries, laughter, and stories of our children, our family, our friends, and one another within the new walls we will call home. I always said I wanted a place to "hang my hat", expressing the desire for a home, a sense of permanence. I didn't picture Maui, but our pictures often change. I do know I realized our places we rented became our homes and it didn't really matter that we "owned" them, we really lived in them and took them as our own. The pictures on the wall became my paint and I did hang some hats by the door. I still long for a home near family and that may never change, but for now a new adventure asks us to walk, and this week we walk!

Embarking on a new journey

So we have embarked on a new journey in the last few weeks...buying our first family home. I certainly did not set out wanting a home. I've always wanted one foot out the "Maui door" and buying a home represents stability and more of a sense of permanence. But I was willing to look and now just a few weeks later we are waiting for final loan approval, life is an adventure! In fact, from the day we looked at the house it was just two weeks later that we were walking through "our" house with a home inspector. We have decided right now it just feels we should move through this door and I am totally trusting Andrew.

I will never forget the day Andrew told me we "got" the house. We thought we had lost the house, then we were able to put in another bid, and the day we were to find out, Andrew walked in the door, got out the sparkling cider and I knew. It was a knowing moment for us...those are fewer now that we share most of our moments with two little beings aged 4 and under. It was our moment, we knew what is meant after 15 years of togetherness, it was nice to share a new moment.

So our world during the past few weekends have opened our eyes to the tall ceilings at Home Depot and Lowe's....showing us a world we had not previously stepped into. Buying our first appliances, shopping for ceiling fans, closets, and lights. Our children have been mostly patient as we try to sort through what all of this means. It is fun, exciting, challenging, scary, uncertain, and hopeful...it is good to stay in each day.

So the fast whirlwind has slowed as we wait for final loan approval and in about a week the house on Poinciana could be ours (still crazy), Deveraux calls it the "Big House", her first home was about 600 square feet. So we wait and see...

"Gifts from the Sea"

So today was Baby Beach Day. We always love a day at baby beach. You never return from the beach empty. I often wondered during my "desert" days what Maui had to offer me. I realized after having Deveraux, she was my "gift from the sea." Now I have two gifts!

Aloha

Aloha!

Welcome to our Gallagher Family Greatful Blog!

Here I am, blogging for the first time. I have to be honest, I never wanted a blog, I didn't want to seem too self important or say, "look at us". But after reading a friends blog, I was inspired. I have several reasons for wanting to do this. We live on an island, truly, and sometimes I can't bear the thought of my family not seeing Anderson walk for the first time or Deveraux sing a silly song. Through the airways is another opportunity across the miles to share those moments and daily happenings until we are together again. I also think a blog, like my journal, could be a good way to look back and a gift to our children. And lastly, as a stay at home mom, removed from stimulating college years, I want to think deeply and ponder the things of life and of God and maybe that will come in one way through this blog.

My brother in law, Brent, thought I should do a GAP Blog, as the risk of seeming too superficial, I will do a family/life blog with maybe some "GAP sightings" from time to time.

So Aloha sweet friends and family, I hope we all enjoy this together!