Maui And Back Again

The past couple nights I have fallen asleep while replaying my newly formed memories of our week long trip to Hawaii....I feel the warmth, the cool breeze, the soft sand between my toes, and hear the rolling waves as they crash on the shore. I see clearly the beautiful cascading waterfalls, the effortless movement of the sea turtle as it glides in the clear blue water, the vibrant flowers of all sorts and shapes, the lush green surreal bamboo forests that surrounded us, the picturesque sunsets; and tasted the fresh fruits and delicious mouth watering food.

Truly our vacation was wonderful and everything that I hoped it would be. Each day i awoke excited for the new adventures I would get to experience with my sweet Daniel. It was a time to relax and enjoy reconnecting with each other, a time to rejuvenate and have fun doing whatever we pleased whenever we want to do it- the Hawaiian way of life-mellow, low key, and carefree. Many people asked if we were honey mooning-and I just had to smile to myself-after 5 years of marriage-we are able to re-spark that glow of newly weds-we must not be doing too bad:)

I did have one emotion that I didn't expect to experience a deep sense of longing for my 2 babies that we left safely in the hands of Daniel's mom 2 airplane rides, and a time difference of 4 hours away. It took about a day and a half for me to start missing their presence-I needed my sweet smiles, and monster hugs, my mushy kisses and bed time stories. Many times during the trip something would remind us of them and one of us would make a reference to something that Katie and Tavin do or did.

By the end of the week-I could have cried, I missed them so much. I looked forward to getting on the plane to come home just so I could be with them again. With out my kids, there is a hollowness inside me-they fill me up-and there is no place on earth that I could go-no matter how beautiful it was-if it meant not being with my Tavin and Katie. That is why I am happy that they are mine forever.

When we returned-Katie and Tavin met us at the airport. Even before we got off the escalator-Katie had spotted us and was pointing and shrieking as she ran in our direction. She wanted us to hold her for the rest of the day, and that was OK with me:) The next couple of days, she wouldn't let us out of her site. Where we went, she went. And each morning that she woke up and saw that we were there, she had a big smile on her face. It broke my heart as I realized that to her-we had mysteriously disappeared and she didn't know where we had gone or even for how long. Tavin-we could explain things to and talk to on the phone with him able to comprehend that we would be back soon. To Katie-everything was unsure and unknown and I hug her extra tight for that.

Tavin on the other hand welcomed us back and wanted to see all the pictures and ride on the plane-he wanted to tell us all that happened and sit on our lap to read books and play games. The next day at church-he stood up and sang a song with the primary kids to Dan for father's Day-and jumped up and down the hole time from all the excitement. He exclaimed: "I have a dad!" How good it is to be missed and to be needed. How lucky we are to have them as our own.