We are going to Kauai, Hawaii in 44 days!! And when I say "we," I mean me, my husband, my mom, dad, and brothers and sisters! It is literally going to be a family reunion.
But I would be ungrateful if I didn't thank my parents and my Heavenly Father for making it possible for us to go. My dad bought tickets for them 10 months ago, but I wasn't planning on going until February when my little sister got her mission call and I realized I wouldn't be seeing her for nearly 2 years. So my sweet husband said, "you're going to go to Hawaii with your family," and I called up my dad to ask him if I could join them. He was excited about my coming, and even offered to buy me tickets. I was speechless! (I have to say that I was not in any way fishing for his help in buying tickets.) Now we could afford to send my hubby too! Patiently we waited until we were out 60 days before our travel date so that we could request leave. Paying for the ticket was going to be a sinch: we were going to use part of our savings and some of our tax return.
Life doesn't usually go as planned.
My hubby's truck, Stitch, finally decided to die in March. This news was hard for me to swallow, for I didn't want to see all of our hard earned savings to go away so soon. But I think the best thing about this experience was that I learned how much my Father in Heaven looks out for us! After a week of lots of looking and calling around, he found a truck that was a step above Stitch AND within our budget--no loan needed. We were thrilled. Then we realized we didn't have much to pay for a Hawaiian plane ticket from Alaska (which always seems to cost more than from the lower 48).
What were we going to do? Keep doing what we had been doing since we got married: i.e, keep a budget, pay our tithing, save every extra penny, and keep praying that we would be able to find a ticket we could afford.
About a week and a half after starting to save for the trip, we had a good chunk of money saved up; a plane ticket was starting to become a reality! Could it get any better? Well my dad offered to buy us a one way ticket, leaving only the ticket to Hawaii for us to buy. And we had enough for that.
You might be wondering why all the fuss? It really wasn't about the tropical vacation. It was all about spending time with family. I have learned over the past couple of years that time with family is the best investment one can make. I have lost two grandmas in the past six months and I cherish the memories I made with them. My family hasn't had a lot of time getting to know my husband, but this trip will give all of us a time to bond and become even better friends. My little sister is leaving on a mission for 18 months and I need to make a few more memories before she leaves. I know we couldn't have been able to go to Hawaii without having a sound budget, but most importantly was the help of a loving father here on Earth and in Heaven.
Plus, who could pass up a trip to Hawaii?
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| I can't wait until I can take my own pictures in Kauai! |
But I would be ungrateful if I didn't thank my parents and my Heavenly Father for making it possible for us to go. My dad bought tickets for them 10 months ago, but I wasn't planning on going until February when my little sister got her mission call and I realized I wouldn't be seeing her for nearly 2 years. So my sweet husband said, "you're going to go to Hawaii with your family," and I called up my dad to ask him if I could join them. He was excited about my coming, and even offered to buy me tickets. I was speechless! (I have to say that I was not in any way fishing for his help in buying tickets.) Now we could afford to send my hubby too! Patiently we waited until we were out 60 days before our travel date so that we could request leave. Paying for the ticket was going to be a sinch: we were going to use part of our savings and some of our tax return.
Life doesn't usually go as planned.
My hubby's truck, Stitch, finally decided to die in March. This news was hard for me to swallow, for I didn't want to see all of our hard earned savings to go away so soon. But I think the best thing about this experience was that I learned how much my Father in Heaven looks out for us! After a week of lots of looking and calling around, he found a truck that was a step above Stitch AND within our budget--no loan needed. We were thrilled. Then we realized we didn't have much to pay for a Hawaiian plane ticket from Alaska (which always seems to cost more than from the lower 48).
What were we going to do? Keep doing what we had been doing since we got married: i.e, keep a budget, pay our tithing, save every extra penny, and keep praying that we would be able to find a ticket we could afford.
About a week and a half after starting to save for the trip, we had a good chunk of money saved up; a plane ticket was starting to become a reality! Could it get any better? Well my dad offered to buy us a one way ticket, leaving only the ticket to Hawaii for us to buy. And we had enough for that.
You might be wondering why all the fuss? It really wasn't about the tropical vacation. It was all about spending time with family. I have learned over the past couple of years that time with family is the best investment one can make. I have lost two grandmas in the past six months and I cherish the memories I made with them. My family hasn't had a lot of time getting to know my husband, but this trip will give all of us a time to bond and become even better friends. My little sister is leaving on a mission for 18 months and I need to make a few more memories before she leaves. I know we couldn't have been able to go to Hawaii without having a sound budget, but most importantly was the help of a loving father here on Earth and in Heaven.
Plus, who could pass up a trip to Hawaii?
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
That is so awesome! I'm so excited for you guys!
ReplyDeleteJenessa, i'm so excited for you. You will never forget that time you spend with your family and Marshall gets to go too. That is so awesome. I believe when our priorities are the same as the Lords priorities. He will help us find ways to do what we would like to do.
ReplyDeleteLove Mom
And I am SO EXCITED to have them too :) !!!!!!! Oh, so very, very excited..
ReplyDeleteThe best investment is family time. So well said! You think they're gonna be around forever and then well, suddenly they're not. Hawaii sounds like the perfect destination!
ReplyDeleteSo much fun! I hope you guys have a blast in Hawaii :) And how exciting that Hannah is going on her mission, I'm assuming that's who you mean by "little sister!"
ReplyDelete-Elissa
It is exciting that she is going! You are right, Hannah is who I am talking about :)
Delete