It is Monday morning and we are here!  We arrived late last evening…right at the point of darkness.  But,we were able to tell that we were indeed back in Paradise, and   we went out on the beach  We sat at a table by the beach, got something cool to drink, and listened to the band. We watched some of the old beach boys as they packed up their little stalls for the night.  Soon, we decided we were going to pack it up for the night, as well.

I asked Joy and Patty before we retired to tell me their wonderful discovery and surprising joy.  Answers following”

Joy…(discovery)…Rainbow in a raincloud.

Joy…( joy)………..Watching Patty’s face as she saw the islands for the first time.

Patty…(discovery)…the beauty of this Paradise

Patty…(joy )…sharing and laughing with friends

We, of course, had plenty of funny things to laugh about.  Really, there is fun and funny things everywhere you go….IF you want to look for it!

Tonja…(discovery)…It is NOT a good thing to fly all the way to Hawaii from Atlanta…with no stops.  Not good for the body or soul! 

Tonja….(joy)…recognizing, once again, the blessing of being able to travel to beautiful places on this planet.

Speaking of the plane…our plane was equipped with the personal TV for each seat.  So, I watched 3 movies…and had time to watch one more.  Here’s my reviews….

THE KING’S SPEECH…WOW!  This si a gentle movie that moves along like a glimpse into the lives of these people.  There is some harsh language….but the way it is used in this movie…all the ‘bad word’ mentality is removed.  At least for me.  EXCELLENT!

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT…just another Katherine Heigl comedy about the guy, a baby, love, and marriage.  Funny…good chick flick…mindless entertainment.

EAT  PRAY  LOVE…..this is a true story of a magazine editor who takes a year off to ‘find herself”.  Played by Julia Roberts, she travels to Rome for food, India for prayer, and Bali for love.  I had read the book and enjoyed it tremendously!  The movie did not do it justice.  It plodded along.  It was entertaining enough with beautiful scenery, but it never captured the feeling of the book!

Tonja…DISCOVER#2…some things are better read than seen!

Well, Joy and Patty just left to go to Pearl Harbor and tour there.  I just needed to rest a little more after the day I had yesterday.  So, I’ll meet up with them later.   I’ll post as I can.   Enjoy these pics of our Hotel and Beach.    ALOHA !

See Ya soon, my friends!  I am headed out of Dodge early Sunday…I packed my bags.  Think I brought enough….?

 I’m leaving on a airplane…..

Look!  There we are…..Joy, Patty, and me!  I’m the one waving!  But, my hair looks doesn’t like that!!!!

Well, can you imagine where we are heading?   Here’s a clue…..

A hammock under a palm tree against a blue sky…. Well, that could be anywhere…I live just 80 miles from the coast in Florida, and I LOVE Florida!   But, I’m not going to Florida.  Here’s another clue……

OK …. you think you know?  There are palm trees and hammocks and sand……aaaannnndddd…

…WHALE  TAILS!  Now do you know? …….  RIGHT!!!!!  We’re going back to Hawaii!  Joy and I and our friend, Patty, who has never been.  And, Joy didn’t get enough last year!  We have been talking about what we’ll do and what we’ll see and especially what to take.  Because we want to look really good when we hit the beach…This is what we have in mind…

But, let’s be realistic here…this is probably closer to the truth….

So, all is well.  We’ll be cute either way! 

This time we are going to the island of Oahu first, and staying several days on Waikiki Beach.  Then on to the island of Maui for a week in my favorite place on this planet!  I always stay in the same resort on Maui…here is a shot of the courtyard.  Isn’t it beautiful?  And, even though it doesn’t show here, there are flowers everywhere.  It smells divine!

I plan to blog while I am there.  Plan to….we’ll see.  It’s just so hard sticking to a plan while in Paradise!    So, if you don’t see me commenting much…you’ll know why.  Cause I’ll be doing this….

…and this…

…but, I’ll be staying close to the ocean because…

I’m not sure if that is true……..but I’m not taking any chances!

Mostly we are going to enjoy the fun of family and friends.  Good food, good drink, good scenery, good activities, good everything!

And, so, as we leave, we pray for safety……for ourselves and for our loved ones  here at home…and  we will remember this:

 And, we intend to find it!       ALOHA

“GOD HAS GIVEN US THESE TIMES OF JOY.”                     Nehemiah 12:4

Our family and Suzanne’s family have all been watching the little miracle that is Levi as he grows and gets closer and closer to coming to be a part of our lives.  God has blessed us so!  Now, finally, it’s time for the celebrations to begin…as in Baby Showers.    Joy, Tara, Lori and Patty gave the first shower. 

 And, they decided that the Creek House was the place to hold it…which was just fine!    I did not have to lift a finger.    BUT…’having’ to and ‘wanting‘ to are two different things.  So, I set about doing a little sprucing up.  I worked on the mantel to make it more baby friendly.  I made a banner with Levi’s name in her nursery colors.

 And, I made a wreath for the front door.  But, I classify none of that as ‘work’… it was fun!  And the other stuff..the real work…wasn’t mine to do.  So, at the shower, I could sit down and enjoy watching Suze open her gifts and talk with the guests.  It was nice!  And, then….THEY did all the clean up, as well!   My kind of party!!!

She got some wonderful gifts, lots of the things she had registered for, and other sweet surprises!  These are just the gifts that arrived ahead of time!  Our friends are so kind and generous!

 And, it’s always such fun to welcome them into my home.  Some of those attending  were friends of Mom’s as well.  When they are here for things such as this, it makes me feel as if a part of her is here.  She did love to throw a party!  I know they loved her and they love me and my family.  Their support is like another hug from my sweet Mom!  Thank you my friends!

 Joy and Tara were at the house on Friday evening  getting a few things done ahead of time, and Suzanne came over to see everything.    Here is that sweet boy, John Thomas.  We were working on trying to slice 4 yards of brown and 4 yards of blue netting down the middle so we could make 2 bows for the front porch.   I finally handed this project off to Suzanne.  And, once she spread it out on the floor…John Thomas decided to plop down in the middle of it!  He was so funny!

Sweet girl did allow me to make a picture of she and Levi before she left.  Oh, and a little bit of JT, also.

OK…Don’t you think this is a cute outfit?  A little orange polo style romper, and cute little shoes, with orange stitching!  Too cute!  But, why is Suze cutting her eyes at me like that?

Don’t you love orange?  Well, there is a big rivalry between 2 of our universities, Alabama and Auburn…red and orange…she is Alabama red.  But, that’s not the reason.  I don’t even understand football.  Actually, I was thinking of all the orange highlights in my kitchen.  And, wouldn’t a picture of that sweet, sweet boy wearing that bright orange romper look great in my kitchen!?!!!  🙂  Just thinking  ahead, people.

And, look at this……

…the next gift she opened was this colorful ORANGE lion…from her mother, Mary.   Serendipitous, wouldn’t you say?   So I’m thinking Leo should definitely be in the picture with Levi in his cute ORANGE romper!!!  I’ll be sure to share it when it comes to pass.

Here is a picture of the table and the mantel decor.  OOPS!  I think the cloth has a little wave in it!

And, look!  Here’s the New Mommy and the New Grand Mommies!

And, so the gifts were all opened and displayed and ‘oohed and aahed’ over.  The friends were greeted and hugged and time spent ‘catching up’ with their news.  The cute duck cake (which had a serious molting problem…which Tara fixed) was cut…yummy!  the other party goodies were enjoyed too…along with the blue punch with 3 little ducks swimming happily!  Such a pretty table they set!

Time passed and Suzanne began to pack up the wonderful gifts.  The girls all did the clean up, and I took down the banner and wreath and sent them home with Suzanne.  Hugs all around…and then…it was over.   Suzanne took the gifts and spread them all out so that Adam could see them when he came home.  You know, I remember doing the same thing after my baby shower for Adam. 

It’s wonderful, bringing a new life into the world.  Despite the odds, God decided that Adam and Suzanne would be parents…and they will be fine ones.  I’ve thought often about the children that are born into the world that are not wanted, not looked forward to, and not held and cuddled and sang to.  It breaks my heart.  We are so blessed that God has chosen to send another baby to grace our family.  He is wanted by so many family and friends…he is looked forward to by the same…and, oh, how held and cuddled and sung to he will be.  God is good…and all praise goes to Him!

“THE LORD HAS DONE THIS.  IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES.”       Psalm 118:23