It’s been 2 years – Hey-Oh!

First off, I can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since I’ve hit “publish” on a blog post. Seriously, where did the time go? Something about having three kids back-to-back in 3.5 years has really affected me. My mind is a bit hazy at times + I’m often sleep-deprived. 😉 It’s hard for me to wrap my head around not blogging because I love keeping in touch with my pen pals, journaling + writing to friends + family, and I had hoped to start gathering little snippets of my quarterly emails + weekly Instagram posts + including them here, but that obviously didn’t happen. Here’s my attempt at ‘getting back on the horse’ as my best college friend + I often joke after weeks + weeks of indulging in treats upon treats.

So, what’s happened in the past two years you ask? Well, I started experimenting with baking + cooking a lot. I’ve had a blast developing new allergy-friendly recipes to feed my family + friends! Being a family with severe food allergies + restrictions can be very difficult and yet I’ve seen God pour out so much grace + joy as we navigate these challenges. It’s been a great opportunity to educate our family + friends on topics that directly impact our well-being, such as what foods to avoid when coming over to our house + how to keep our family safe. Moving back home to Maui has been such a wonderful blessing, in so many ways! One way I’ve been deeply blessed has been the support of fellow food allergy moms here. Surprisingly, quite a few of my mom friends also grapple with debilitating food allergies (whether themselves or their children) and have a unique sense of compassion + understanding as they love on me + my kiddos. Our church + neighbors + sweet friends have shown so much love + support in this journey we’re on with food allergies. Through various “food challenges” where we go into the doctor’s office + try new foods (or foods we’re suspicious of), my family + dear friends have been a shoulder to cry on + a prayer support as we learn new ways to live well + safely.

In other news, we finally broke ground on our homebuild! We get so excited at the possibilities we see with our land. Our hope is to build a main house with room to rent + host guests. My husband Ken has such a big heart for affordable housing + creating opportunities for people to live/work here on island. I get really excited at how we are able to meet this need for housing on a small scale with our property. Did you know that Ken’s Dad built the house Ken and his family grew up in? It’s took quite a bit of time, but Ken speaks fondly of how he has the same vision for himself. To build and create with his hands.

My husband and I are so similar in our love for making things. He builds homes + furniture, while I build edible creations, works of art in the meals we eat + share with others, the home we are creating together, the children we are raising, the community we are cultivating, together. We recently celebrated our 10th anniversary + I just can’t believe how many adventures the Lord has gifted us with these past 10 years of marriage. From getting married at the Haiku Mill on a lovely late August day 10 years ago to living in Seattle for years, then traveling across Europe one summer before driving the Alcan to Alaska (where we lived for two years), next Eastern Washington and then moving to Maui, where I’m from! Three kids. Two dogs. More than 11 places we’ve rented, three houses we’ve owned + renovated. It’s been wild + wonderful + hard + humbling + so many emotions in-between.

I look with hope toward what God is doing in our lives as we seek after His heart for each other, our family, our home, our property, our time.

Thanks for joining us on this adventure.

x maile