HI Day 1: To Market, To Market

My parents and brother had their travel to Hawaii delayed by one day, so Aaron and I were on our own for most of Saturday. Our condo in Waikoloa Village overlooked a golf course, the foothills of mountains, and the ocean.


The property was also home to wild turkeys.


After taking a few pictures, the first order of the day was to find food. We visited two local farmers' markets (a tiny one in Waikoloa Village and a bigger one in Keauhou), which were full of exotic produce.


After lunch, we explored Holualoa, a little town full of art galleries and boutiques. A highlight was the ukelele shop, housed in the town's old post office.


We finished the day by picking up my family from the airport, celebrating their arrival by giving my mom a lei.

Humor Me and Pretend It's March 12

Here's what I intended to post that Thursday, before silly things like packing for our trip got in the way.


The point of the photo is not to preserve our packing list for posterity, but to say, "Look, I can take frivolous pictures now and publish them on the Internet with ease, because I have a digital camera!" Just before our Hawaii vacation, we used a slew of horded gift cards to purchase a Nikon D40, along with an 18-55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens. We love it!

So even though the packing list post is outdated now, I thought it would still serve as a good introduction to the Hawaii vacation photoblogging about to come.

Unfulfilled

We sang the hymn "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" at church this past Sunday. The lyrics flooded me with memories and emotions. Five years ago, I wanted desperately to start trying to conceive, but Aaron thought (and I agreed logically) we should wait one more year. During that year, I listened to "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" many times. The words encouraged my faith in God's plans and gave me hope.

Hast thou not seen
How thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

"Surely," I thought, "the Lord will grant my desire for children. I can be patient for a year until we can start trying to get pregnant." So I waited, and I hoped. We finally started trying to conceive in January of 2005. We were still trying in 2006. 2007. 2008. Now in 2009, I sang the same hymn, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

Hast thou not seen
How thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

"No," I thought, "I haven't seen that. I've seen my desires denied again and again. I haven't been healed. I don't have children. God hasn't granted my desires; He has deferred my hope indefinitely." The words of praise that had previously offered such a balm now brought a surge of grief and weariness over how long this trial of infertility has lasted. So much longer than I ever expected. No clear end in sight. As we kept singing, I was reminded that the proof of God's goodness lies not in my circumstances but in the cross, not in giving me everything I want but in giving me Himself. But still, I ache with the unfulfilled yearning for children.

Roaming

Thanks again to all who are praying for Aaron's dad. We had a good visit in West Virginia. John ended up staying in the hospital through Sunday, and now he's recovering at home. I'm sure he and Carolyn (Aaron's mom) would appreciate ongoing prayers for endurance during the long recovery (6-8 weeks). We're grateful!

On an entirely different note...

We leave a week from today for a vacation with my family - in Hawaii! None of us has ever been to Hawaii, so we're very excited. We're staying on the big island, in Waikoloa. After browsing through a travel guide, we have some good ideas of what we want to do (besides relax on the beach, of course!). But I'd like to throw it out to you, Internet: does anyone have recommendations for things to see and do on the big island? Suggest places to eat, too; we love food! We planned this vacation almost two years ago; I can't believe we fly out next week!