SUNDAY…..4/3/11

Adam and Suzanne took Levi  home on Friday.  All was well, and their first night went smoothly.  On Saturday, Ian came home from Birmingham and went straight to Levi’s house to play!    But, Levi was just too sleepy and didn’t do much playing.  He looks so tiny in Ian’s big hands!

 Adam had a wedding to shoot on Saturday, but they all visited again when he got home.   So Ian got another chance to visit with Butterbean.  He’s just about the size of one, don’t ya think?

 And, the second night was going as smoothly as the first.  Until Suzanne began feeding him in the middle of the night.  He began to have much trouble breathing and seemed to be choking and causing his parents much distress.  They called the doctor and the nurse told them to take him to the nearest ER.  They did, and we got a call.  We went, and he seemed to have gotten better by the time we got there.  Blood work came back fine.  The ER doctor said it was probably just because he is still 4 weeks early and his lungs aren’t completely ready for our world just yet.  But, they will be.  So, back home and into bed around 4:00.  So, so thankful.  God is good!

THURSDAY…4/7/11

No, I haven’t skipped the country with my new grandson.  And, no, I haven’t flown back to Maui and bought a little cottage on the beach.  Would I like to do both?   Well, what do you think?  Anyway, this has been a very hard couple of weeks.  First, I have been in lots of pain this week.  I am having to rest and stay off my feet quite a bit.  I really haven’t even felt like reading or writing.  So, that’s the reason I haven’t been commenting…I haven’t been reading.  But, I’m not gone…just   trying to keep it between the lines!

Don is in Birmingham to be with Ian who had his tonsils out yesterday.  He did well until last night.  Started bleeding, but was able to get it stopped!  Thank you, God!  Don will stay with him a few days before heading home.  Things are a little different inside his mouth due to his early difficulties…so we are praying he will heal quickly and without incidence.

Levi went in for his one week check up this week.  Adam and Suze decided to use the pediatrician that Adam had used and the one who had found his cancer 32 years ago.  He said that Levi was a healthy strong little boy…great news for us all.  And, the doctors was so glad to see Adam again…one of his early success stories!

I am working with a friend to plan and decorate for a very special wedding coming up this month…with another friend coming to help out also.   It will be an honor to decorate and so sweet to be in attendance.  More about this in a few weeks. 

Wanted to share this pic with you.  I didn’t have it when I did the post on the tsunami.  We bought these shirts later in the day that it actually hit!  Someone got busy, didn’t they?    (Patty has one too)  And, by the time we left there, we saw 6 or 7 different styles!

I still have several posts to do on our trip to Maui….I’ll try to get them posted before Thanksgiving!  🙂

And, please forgive me for not keeping up with you, my friends who blog.  I will get around to it!  Promise!

O.K….let me be honest with you.  It will help you enjoy this story much better.  I do not like the ocean.    Well, I like to look at it.  I like to sit next to it.  I like to smell it.  I like to hear it.  I like the way it moves.  BUT….I do not like it to touch me……not even one little bit.  I don’t like to be in it because there are other things in there too and I do not know where they are or what they will do or if they like me and want to touch me or if they don’t like me and  don’t choose to ignore my presence.

If there is a time that I NEED to be in the ocean….I can do it.  I used to get in with my children when we would visit the beach for vacations.  One rule:  Mom’s head does NOT go under the water.!!!!!!  They did pretty good, and I went in with them enough to get good marks in the ‘mother of boys’ department.  But since they got to the age where it was akin to public humiliation to be seen with your mother…..no more time in the ocean for me.  Which suits me fine!

Now you know of my love for Maui…I’ve talked about it enough.  But, all the times I’ve been there I have never gotten in the ocean.  Which was causing me no grief  because I never wanted to.  It was enough to be near it and watch it.  Besides I had always heard that you could not trust the currents and tides and such. ..especially there.   Once, while visiting there, I went out to lay in the sun for a while.  I placed my towel and other stuff far enough away from the waves breaking on the shore.  I watched the water for a while and then lay down to soak up some rays.  That was when it was still considered OK to lay out in the sun.   After about 10 minutes, I was surrounded by a foot of ocean water all around me.  All my things were floating away.  Water was everywhere.  It wasn’t a wave…it was the tide.  And, it was coming in fast.  I gathered what I could and high-tailed it (literally) to higher ground.  I learned a quick lesson then….DO NOT TRUST THE OCEAN IN HAWAII!  And, by the time I was ready to drive away…it was about 3 feet deep!  Scary!  And no sign to say BEWARE!  YOU CAN DROWN ON THE SAND!!!!!

ANYWAY…Patty is a swimmer…and a very good swimmer.  And, she loves to be in the water.  So the first chance she got…she was IN the ocean.  I tried not to think about it.  Now Joy likes the water as well, and is a good swimmer.  So the next day, she went with Patty.  And, they got all sorts of pictures of each other in the Maui waters.  They flaunted them in my face.  Really, I was not jealous in the least.  Besides, I had not brought a swim suit. I had no intention of needing one.   No matter….they put in for me to get in the water so we could all have a picture of us in the ocean.    While at a local shopping mall, I was making a purchase, and   when I finished paying, Patty was waiting for me.  She went in several stores and finally found a suit…ON SALE.  I tried it on and it fit.  As well as it could, I suppose.  And, plans were made for me to get into the ocean…just for a picture.  And, being the good sport that I am, I agreed.

Oh, I got a cover up and I got a hat and sunglasses, and I got ready to go.  And, I went.  And therein lies the story. 

I learned long ago, that you should never allow yourself to be talked in to something you are not comfortable with.  Things will not go as planned……bad things will  happen……and happiness will not be the result.  Oh…and you will regret your decision.  But, I digress.

*****BTW*****I’m sure you will understand if this little post doesn’t include many pictures.  Another thing I learned a long time ago…some things are better left unseen !

Just so you will know this is a true story…..here’s evidence!  Yes, I do know it’s quite far away…do you blame me???

Patty and Joy are already on the beach, and they can hardly contain their enjoyment of seeing me in a very uncomfortable place.   They were jumping up and down and turning flips and whooping hollering like little children!   But, I said I was goint to get in and I was!  I placed all my things down and took off my cover up.  Why did I leave my hat on, you say?  Because I had no intention of any harm coming to it…nor of it getting wet.  Because, only the bottom half of me was going to be submerged.  Yeah right!

This picture is taken while I am only in water up to my ankles.  Notice I am still smiling! 

Patty and Joy are on the beach saying, “Go further out!”…  Patty was taking pics and Joy came down to the water.  Anyway, I went out a little ways more.  “Just a little more!” they said.  And, soon I was up to my tummy.  Oh, the water did feel good, too!  And, I was standing there, feeling all Hawaiian Beach Babe , loving on nature, and thinking how proud I was of me.    And, what a great friend and sister I was to indulge my friends this way!  What a delightful little fairy tale I stepped into for a moment.  But, the next place I stepped was not so pleasant!

The undertow was fierce and I could tell I was being pushed and pulled strongly by it.  “Time to put a ‘happily-ever-after’ to this fairy tale…and get on out of here,” I thought.  I knew I was pushing my luck.  So, I took a step toward the shore, and immediately got pushed backward.  I tried to regain my balance, but the ocean floor was not in the same place!  It dropped away…and I could not find a bottom to touch!  So, I started swimming toward shore.  At least it’s what I like to call swimming! :).  I have always known I could swim if I had to and nobody believed me…but they saw that day!

Where, Oh, where was this sign?

Notice that even through this turmoil, I managed to keep my hat on my head.  Patty is still making pictures!!!  I swam up to where I could stand up…but something went horribly wrong.  I just couldn’t stand up.  Joy tried to help me…however she was laughing mighty hard, so she probably wasn’t giving her best effort! 

 I managed to make it to my feet , but somehow I got knocked down by another wave.  And, even though I hate to admit it…this was in 2 feet of water!  Anyway, I ended up on the ocean floor. …completely lying in the surf.     And, the next thing I know…I was being rolled…ROLLED, PEOPLE…3…I tell you…THREE…TIMES!!!!! Everything I had was full of sand.  My mouth, and lungs, and head were full of water…not to mention my eyes and nose!     I was completely disoriented.  AND…I could not get up and out of that water.   And, my hat was gone, too.

I was begging Joy to help me…but, obviously she found this little unfortunate incidence to be a mite funnier than before!    And the only thing I saw of Patty was a camera where her face should be.  OH, yes.  I could tell she was laughing too, even as near to drowning as I was. 

Thankfully, there was a hero on the beach with his wife.  He had the good sense to tell that I was really in trouble and rushed to help me.  He helped me stand up and he walked me onto shore.  I thanked him and thanked him and thanked him again.   His wife and Patty were having themselves a good, old time at my expense.  His wife said to Patty, “I’m sorry to laughing at your friend, but that was the funniest thing I have ever seen!””  OH REALLY?  Then she said, “This should be sent in to Funniest Home Videos!  It would win!”   I started to take that little tanned , skinny girl in a bright white bikini and tell her a thing or two. 

 But, actually…I didn’t have any fight left in me.  I was winded.  I needed to sit down.  I needed to cry.  I needed someone to hug me and say, “Are you sure you are all right?  Is there anything I can get you?  I was so scared for you.  Are you sure you’re OK?”  But, all is heard was laughter…..on either side of me and behind me.  It was not a good day to be in the ocean in Maui…or on the beach, either! 

I learned many lessons that day.

Good friends can turn mean in a hurry!*****So can sisters!*****Never back into the ocean!*****Sometimes people with cameras in their hands don’t have many brains in their head!*****Sometimes people who get their scalp blistered on their first day in Hawaii get their brains blistered as well!*****Never go swimming anywhere that doesn’t have at least one hero close by.*****Don’t count on your family or good friends to be your hero!*****

And, now I post here the two bathing beauties who laughed when they should have been helping!

So, in case any of you are planning a trip to the beautiful islands of Maui, stay out of the ocean.  Especially if you have friends or family with you!!!

Now, all kidding aside.  I really was in trouble in the water.  The undertow was so strong, and the force of the wave churning, coupled with my weak legs could have been a bad situation.  Of course, I would never have been in the ocean alone.  But, it was so deceiving. I would never have thought I could not walk out of an ocean.   Please be careful when you swim.  I truly don’t know what would have happened if I had not had the help of the man on the beach.  Joy was trying to help, but she was not strong enough.  And, Patty would have been there in a second once she realized I was in trouble.  Hawaiian waters are notorious for changing tide patterns and undertows, and riptides and such.  I will enjoy it again….but only from a distance.  No matter what my companions say!

ONE MORE THING…..

Isn’t this the strangest drowning sign you have ever seen?  It was in use for only a short time before being discarded for obvious reasons. 

 Do you see it?  LOL …. is a head with 2 raised arms on either side!

I wonder if Joy and Patty had anything to do with that?

I believe in prayer.  I believe God is always listening to hear the prayers of those who belong to Him.  I believe that He answers prayers according to what is best for us.  Prayer brings our thinking more inline with God’s.

Prayer is conversation with God.  It is not contemplation or even meditation.  Prayer is a direct address to Him.  It may be spoken out loud or it may be silent,  but it is a pouring out of the soul to Him and beseeching the Lord for His favor.

To believe in prayer…you must believe in God.  You must believe in His abilities.  You must believe in His control of all things, and of all his creatures and all their actions.  You must believe that He wants to communicate with us.

Our prayers must be sincere.  They must be offered with reverence and humility.  And, they must be offered in the faith that God will hear and answer…that He will keep His promises.

*****************************************************************************************************

I believe the above with all my heart.  And, I know so many of you do, too.  It was amazing and so, so comforting for all 3 of us when we started getting messages, and e-mails, and tweets, and FB messages, and phone calls, and text messages.  They started, and they kept on coming and coming and coming.  Each time, we would share what was said with each other.  My 2 best friends called each other and prayed together for us…then called us.  With each word of support, we felt the arms of our Lord holding us tighter and tighter.  And, our hearts….felt more and more peaceful.

You did this for us.  Even though there was an ocean between us….we felt you were as close as next door.  You did it because you carry the love of God in your heart as well.  And, with sincere and humble hearts, you carried our dilemma to the Father.

Thank you so very much.  We are eternally grateful.  From Patty, Joy, and myself….’mahalo’ from the bottom of our hearts.

(MAHALO…thank-you)

What a surprise!  The surprise of our lives, you could say.  Who would ever think that in this beautiful paradise, amidst the most beautiful of natural creations, the force of the life-giving ocean would offer up its most devastating ways.

 A tsunami  is caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.  We know the earthquake occurred in Japan…and I am sure you have seen the devastation there.  Such a tragedy.  We were seeing the pictures also…just as we were waiting for it to hit Hawaii!  What exactly is a tsunami?A tsunami wave is really a very “long” wave, with its energy moving vertically from seafloor to surface at a high rate (this wave was traveling at 600 mph). When approaching the coast, the depth decreases dramatically and thus the amplitude increases creating huge devastating waves.  Usually there is little impact offshore, and most boats travel over it feeling only a small bump.  The water along the coast is sucked out , then the wave come rolling in…stopping for nothing.  Size varies.

The first hint of things to come came at about 9:45 as we were watching CSI .    The newscasters broke in and said that we were under a tsunami watch…….”News at Ten.”  Of course, we watched it, and at that time all they had to say was that there had been a major earthquake in Japan and that the Pacific Tsunami Warning System was assessing the situation.   And, they would let us know.  So we waited and soon they were back on and telling us that the earthquake in Japan was much worse than thought and that it had already caused a major tsunami in Japan.  And in another half hour…..we were under a tsunami warning!!!

Now, I knew what a tsunami was.  One of the very first times I came to Hawaii….back in the dark ages…….there was still evidence of the last one.  There were ‘water line’ marks that were higher than I could reach.  I was only16 at the time.  In 1946, a Pacific wide tsunami obliterated the waterfront area of Hilo, on the Big Island.   This prompted the establishment of the Pacific ‘Tsunami Warning Center.  Since then many areas and lives have been saved due to this early warning system.  It is always ‘on watch’ for any thing happening in the Pacific that would affect the areas it serves.  Unfortunately, the tsunami in Japan was created immediately and there was no time for the warnings to take affect.  If you remember the devastating tsunami in Thailand several years ago, there was no warning system in this area to warn the residents of coming disaster.  So sad.

Well, it is hard to explain the way I was feeling.  Surprisingly, I felt a  sense of calm.  Maybe it was niavite, but I felt no panic or fear.    Because, I was familiar with the Warning System, I knew that the warning was true and would happen…in some form or another.  Also, I knew that Hawaii had evacuation routes already in place and that we would simply evacuate, if necessary.

I also experienced an excitement of sorts.  Was I actually going to have a chance to witness this phenomenon of nature?  It really would be quite a sight to see…and quite a story to tell!  (And what great blog material!)

The newscasters were telling us to wait until the ‘EVACUATE’ order was given.  They had told us all to check in the phone book where it explained just which areas were in the evacuation zone and should be prepared to leave.  We looked.  And, yes.  Yes we were.  We were smack dab in the middle of the tsunami warning evacuation area.  Which meant we had to be ready to leave.  If we left, we would drive up into the mountains following the escape route.  We were to go as far as we could.  Then we would stop, and spend the night in the car…until the ALL CLEAR was given!  We were to take food and water.

We decided that that Joy and Patty should begin to pack.   I  asked Patty to go and get our car, which was in valet parking, and move it to the third floor parking so that it would be closer to us. In the meantime, I took off to the lobby to talk to the management.  As I expected there was a huge amount of activity around the lobby.   When it was my turn to talk to ‘the man in charge”…I asked him about the level of danger.  “EXTREMELY  HIGH”.  I asked if we should leave.  “THAT WOULD BE THE SAFEST THING TO DO”  We are on the 6th floor of the motel…would we be safe there?  “YOU SHOULD BE O.K.”  ‘Should’ is not a word that instills much confidence in this girl.  Should is not definite.  And, in matters of life and death, I prefer to be VERY, ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY SURE !………[which is why I know FOR SURE . where I will be going when I die! ]  .  He moved on to talk to someone else.    And, so, as I stepped out into the beautiful courtyard of our motel, I looked up into the sky.  The stars were  amazing.  Millions of them…twinkling their little lights as hard as they could.  The beautiful palm trees were gently swaying.  The smell of plumeria was heavy in the air.  And, the waves crashing on the shore was an oddly comforting sound.   All around me was the most beautiful of the natural world.  It was unthinkable to imagine it mutilated or gone completely. 

I did not hear God speak to me…even though I was asking Him to tell me what to do.  But, in my heart of hearts, I knew that He said to me….”These things belong to me.”  Well, not meaning to be sacrilegious here…but I KNEW that these things belonged to Him…and that was not an answer to my question….and I really didn’t have a lot of time here.  So, just in case I wan’t passing along to Him the fact that I needed to hear some instructions NOW…I said out loud, “Jesus, please let me know what to do.”  And, I heard nothing…and I felt nothing…and my heart of hearts stayed empty of His words.  So, I found a bench and sat down and waited.  I knew Joy and Patty were packing and waiting for me.  But, I needed to be still.   I watched as people were scurrying here and there.  The sirens were blowing everywhere…every 30 minutes.  Loud…very loud!  How could anyone miss it?   People rushing to the parking lot with their suitcases.  People on the phones making reservations at hotels not in the danger zone.  People calling the airport and trying to book flights out going anywhere before the tsunami struck…about 4 hours.  Husbands and wives arguing about what they should do.  Children crying because they were seeing their parents not in control.  People arguing with the hotel manager, “You mean you expect me to sit in my car all night?”  or  “All you have to offer is the floor up on 6th to sit on and wait?  What will we eat?  What are we supposed to do all night?”   I sat and watched, and felt foolish for not doing something.  I thought of Joy and Patty.  And, even though they could make their own decisions, I knew they were waiting for me.  But, I heard nothing.   I thought of how watching all these people in such turmoil was like an ant hill that gets stepped on.  Out pour the ants, not knowing where to go…just going.  There was no leader.  It was a picture of chaos.  If the Queen Of All Ants would just step out and blow her whistle and get them all lined up…they could follow her out of danger…back into the deep trenches of their home. 

And, then I knew.  I HAD a leader.  I HAD heard Him before tell me to STOP!    Or tell me to GO!  And, I knew that if I needed it, He would,again, tell me what to do.  I felt an immediate peace about the situation.  AND to top it all off, a friend of mine had posted this verse on FB…and I had read it aloud to Joy and Patty. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified…for the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go.”  Joshua 1:9.  If  He meant anything He said in His Word, then He meant this as well.  Either all He said was true or all He said was lies.  This was one of His promises and I had every reason to believe He would keep this one as well as all the others He had kept in my life!

I went back to the room, and we sat down and talked.  I told them I had a very strong peace.  And, that I felt like we should stay put.  But, if either of them felt different, we would go.  But, both Joy and Patty assured me that they were at perfect peace, and not afraid.  I wanted to know one more thing before we made our final decision.  I asked them to go to the lobby and ask about the strength of the building we were in.  They were told that it was a concrete structure made to withstand hurricanes and the like.  That settled it for me.  And Joy.  And Patty.  They went and got our suitcases out of the car.  We sat together and prayed and asked for safety for us and all the rest of the islands.  We prayed for the devastation in Japan.  We thanked God for giving us the courage of our convictions.  We called home and spoke to our families and told them what we decided and they were in agreement with us.  Since it was the middle of the night, I just sent e mails to some.  And, then, we still had 2 hours to wait.  We watched TV…which alternated between what happened in Japan, and what could happen here.  I looked over at one point and Joy and Patty were both asleep!  ASLEEP!  Can you believe it?  Facing danger and mayhem, yet they were sleeping!  🙂  Creates a picture of true trust, doesn’t it?  (Well, I woke them up before time for it to hit…no way I was sitting through this alone!)

About 50 people came up onto the breezeway of the 6th floor.  They had rooms on the lower floors but could not leave for one reason or another.  The hotel provided them with food and water.  At one point we took the blankets off our beds out to see if anyone was cold, but no one was.  There were old and young, men and women.  Mostly they sat without talking.  Just waiting.  So thankful that we had gotten a room on the 6th floor when we checked in!  God knew!

The tsunami was scheduled to hit Kauai first.  It did and caused  little damage.   It was announced that it was only about 4 feet high on Kauai, so it should be no higher on Maui.  That relieved our minds.  We didn’t know until the next day that it actually was about 6 feet high here in Maui.  We never saw anything where we were.  But, there was quite a bit of damge about 10 miles from us . It seemed to do the most damage on The Big Island and on Oahu.  Damage, yes, there was some.  And, some of it was quite severe.  But, nothing like it could have been.  Hawaii had for the most part, been spared. 

Long line of cars snaking their way up the mountain to safety in Maui.

 Coming ashore…….

Can you find the house in the ocean…below?

Here it is!

See Ya soon, my friends!  I am headed out of Dodge early Sunday…I packed my bags.  Think I brought enough….?

 I’m leaving on a airplane…..

Look!  There we are…..Joy, Patty, and me!  I’m the one waving!  But, my hair looks doesn’t like that!!!!

Well, can you imagine where we are heading?   Here’s a clue…..

A hammock under a palm tree against a blue sky…. Well, that could be anywhere…I live just 80 miles from the coast in Florida, and I LOVE Florida!   But, I’m not going to Florida.  Here’s another clue……

OK …. you think you know?  There are palm trees and hammocks and sand……aaaannnndddd…

…WHALE  TAILS!  Now do you know? …….  RIGHT!!!!!  We’re going back to Hawaii!  Joy and I and our friend, Patty, who has never been.  And, Joy didn’t get enough last year!  We have been talking about what we’ll do and what we’ll see and especially what to take.  Because we want to look really good when we hit the beach…This is what we have in mind…

But, let’s be realistic here…this is probably closer to the truth….

So, all is well.  We’ll be cute either way! 

This time we are going to the island of Oahu first, and staying several days on Waikiki Beach.  Then on to the island of Maui for a week in my favorite place on this planet!  I always stay in the same resort on Maui…here is a shot of the courtyard.  Isn’t it beautiful?  And, even though it doesn’t show here, there are flowers everywhere.  It smells divine!

I plan to blog while I am there.  Plan to….we’ll see.  It’s just so hard sticking to a plan while in Paradise!    So, if you don’t see me commenting much…you’ll know why.  Cause I’ll be doing this….

…and this…

…but, I’ll be staying close to the ocean because…

I’m not sure if that is true……..but I’m not taking any chances!

Mostly we are going to enjoy the fun of family and friends.  Good food, good drink, good scenery, good activities, good everything!

And, so, as we leave, we pray for safety……for ourselves and for our loved ones  here at home…and  we will remember this:

 And, we intend to find it!       ALOHA