My Family’s Taro Farm

Aloha Friends + Family! I can’t believe it’s August already and back-to-school time for the kids. How was your summer? Did you go on any trips? Summer seemed to fly by around here as Ken and I focused on our homebuild, adventuring with the kids, along with filling a bunch of cake orders. (Psst my new Cyrus Baking Co. web site will be launching soon!! In the meantime you can always reach out on my Instagram @cyrusbakingco). Ken and I finished the framing on our house with the help of new friends and their crew, then we completed insulation and drywall and painted the interior of the house this past week. Next, we will install electrical, cabinets, plumbing and appliances. I’m so proud of how hard my husband works at his daytime job then comes home and continues working on our homebuild. It’s definitely been a growing season for us and I’m so thankful for the many opportunities we’ve had to press into the Lord for patience, with each other and this build.

As we approach the finish line of “Phase One” of the DIY homebuild and get ready to move in there this next month, I find myself equal parts excited and exhausted. This project has been so much harder than most (or all) of the house projects Ken and I have worked on together these past nearly 12 years of marriage. Ken encouraged me yesterday that someday we will look back on this time and be grateful because it changed the trajectory of our lives in creating more opportunity than we previously had. It is growing our dreams of creating housing, becoming more financially independent and making space for us to have my little baking studio. When I take the ‘long view’ of things, the current discomfort of growing and working hard isn’t as painful.

Circling back to the title of this blog post, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite memories from this summer. Toni Colombo Photography took the sweetest photos of Ken, me and the kids at my family’s taro farm here on Maui. I think I will treasure these photos for my whole life. They were an early anniversary gift. I love them so much.

I’ve posted a couple times about my family’s farm if you ever want to read more. Here are those posts: Our Maui Taro Farm // Hawaiian Poi Pancakes // Happy Birthday Ruby // Making Space to Grieve

Without further ado, here are my family photos at the farm. Thank you so much for all your love and support for us in this wild and wonderful season of life and homebuilding!