I know you all must think I have fallen off the face of the earth!! I have sat down to write this post so many times in the past several months, but just never finished it. Sorry for the extreme delay!! Soooo much has happened since my last post....almost EIGHT MONTHS AGO!! I will try to summarize as best as possible!
After the tornado hit on May 10, we spent the next 30 days at a family friend's house a few miles from where we used to live. They had 2 empty bedrooms, a bathroom, and a family room upstairs, so that we would not be underfoot...too much. They also had a fantastic backyard...jungle gym, barn with goats, meadow with miniature donkeys, and a couple of cats, too!! We are so thankful to the Lee family for allowing us to stay there and become part of their family for the month.
This is the house we stayed at, and these are The Lee's, but they are the children/grandchildren of The Lee's who own the house and let us bunk there for a month! However, this Lee family also helped us out tremendously during this time and the whole time we lived in Oklahoma! Miss them lots!
Then, in early June, the kiddos & I headed to Washington state to spend the next 30 days bouncing between grandparents. Didn't want to stay at either house for toooooo long, lest we become unwelcomed guests! It had been a long time since we had been in that part of the country, so we enjoyed the cooler temperatures & seeing the sites. Hubby joined us for the last week. He had to stay back in Oklahoma to finish up work, get what was left of our stuff packed from the warehouse, and get the van shipped out. We had a great family vacation time! I had almost forgotten about what had happened!
The fam at Paradise with a great view of Mt. Rainier...hard to believe this was taken in JULY!!
Next, in early July, we moved to Hawaii!! Woo-Hoo! We found out in April that we would be moving here, so it was literally the light at the end of the tornado tunnel! We have now been here for just about SIX MONTHS! WOW! We have been enjoying every minute of it, as you can imagine, and we have even squeezed in homeschooling between different island adventures! The only drawback, so far, is that we have been living in a townhouse this whole time without OUR STUFF as we wait for a house on base...thankfully, it is furnished! Even though it has been a drawback to be without our stuff, we are so very thankful that the Lord provided this place for us...it's within our housing allotment and is very close to a nice pool and the beach! Since we did lose a lot of our stuff, we have been able to slowly start replacing some of those things...DVDs, toys, books, a new computer & printer for me (yeah!). The word on the street is that we SHOULD be moving on base by the end of the month! (I sure hope so because that's when our lease is up!) I am really looking forward to unpacking, assessing what needs to be replaced, and shopping with insurance money!
At the Waterfall at Waimea Garden.
At Waimea Bay!
I have REALLY, REALLY, REALLY missed my stamping time & sharing my creations with you all. I hope you have been making lots of fun stuff, since I couldn't! I think a vast majority of my stamping/scrapping empire is a-ok, so I am looking forward to getting inky in the very near future...maybe in time to make some hand-made Valentine's cards and treats!
I'll be updating my blog just a little bit with the NEW 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog, specials, etc! I really appreciate your patience & the emails you have sent to me in my time of non-stamping, non-posting! So glad to start getting back in the swing of things! Aloha....Erin
Wow! What an adventure your life has been. You are truly blessed that it has all worked out so well. I have followed your blog for awhile. A few months ago I moved all my stamping updates to a goggle reader (which I never check! LOL)but must have missed moving yours, so I was surprised to see an email from S.T.A.R.S. this morning. Best wishes for continued good fortune as you move into your new home. I look forward to seeing those Valentine projects!
Posted by: Roseolson | January 05, 2011 at 05:37 AM
Glad to see you are back and doing well.
Posted by: Karen H | January 05, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Yeah! You're blogging again! Can't wait to see what you create next! Love your photos . . . looks like you all are enjoying life in Hawaii!
Posted by: Michelle VanWiggeren | January 05, 2011 at 04:21 PM
OMG, what an ordeal you have been through. Thank God, you all were safe and are getting a somewhat normal life back. Hope to see you creating soon. God Bless.
Posted by: JoAnn Burnham | January 06, 2011 at 03:51 PM
Welcome back, Erin! I've been checking on your blog periodically for your return. I knew that you would come back, and I can't wait to see your wonderful talent again. I'm glad that God has been so good to your family.
Posted by: Marla | January 10, 2011 at 06:16 PM
I'm so glad to hear you're OK and will be settling down soon. I can't wait for you to start posting again....God Bless!!!!
Posted by: Jackie | January 15, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Just discovered your blog today! You have some AMAZING talent! Seeing the photos you posted of the damage your home recieved was just breath taking. I literally cried seeing it and I realize it was last year and you and your beautiful family are safe and sound and moving forward (and to a much warmer prettier area) but as a mom its hard to see how quickly things could have went wrong! Cant wait to see new stuff as you get back into the swing of things untill then I have seen some super cute ideas on here and can not wait to get started!!! I am very new to all of this : )
Posted by: Ashlie | May 30, 2011 at 08:02 PM