It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

The smell of Christmas trees, cinnamon and yummy cookies…yes Christmas is here! This will be our third Christmas at Clifford and so we’re feeling somewhat nostalgic. My favorite part about decorating is hanging our stockings on our mantle. Steven is all about the Christmas tree and we laugh at all our ornaments we made back in first grade. Of course there are two ornaments we hang together…our wedding one and WVU, since those are most important to us.

This Christmas will be filled with much love and joy because we have each other and our families together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the real reason for Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Change To Believe In

History in the making and we are proud to be a part of it!

Our neighbor voicing her opinion and the right to vote!

Molokai - A Different Hawaiian Experience

Molokai is a fairly remote Hawaiian island off the coast of Maui. The island does very little to promote tourism, but Steve and I found many reasons to travel there. With only two days to spend with our friend Dan Emhoff (Lucas’s older brother) we were taken the far West and East ends of the island experiencing the culture and admiring the scenery. Molokai has much to offer and in every situation we found our breath was taken away by the beauty and admiration for the Hawaiian’s love for their land.

We arrived Saturday late afternoon and went to the west tip of the island to a deserted beach with the most breathtaking cliffs and views of Oahu. We also saw the longest beach in Hawaii along with the beach where Pirates of the Caribbean’s last scene was filmed. Here are a few pictures from our first sunset in Molokai.  

The next day we headed to the far east of the island, Ha’lawa Valley for some true Hawaiian culture. We visited Dan’s Hawaiian family on the land they’ve maintained and lived off of since 1650.

Ha'lawa Valley and two waterfalls in the background.

Steven and Dan with a Machete cutting down banana trees.

The next day we took a very short hike to view Kaulapapa, the leaper colony, which 

was such an unbelievable experience. Knowing the history of leprosy, Hansen’s disease, and how each person

was considered an outcast to their family and friends. They were forced to live on an isolated peninsula given very little to food, water and human contact. As we stood on the cliff overlooking the town, the wind howling through the trees and shrubs had a different sound to it; it was a very spiritual experience and only one can understand in person. The photo on the left is a view of the town from above. There are now only 25 leapers remaining in the town and will soon become a historical landmark.

Kaluapapa city below.  Four miles of switch-backs to access the town.

August 30 - September 1

Different

Molokai. Different, Spiritual.  Mesmerizing. Glad we went. Pictures to follow, but the commentary is now...We learned a lot. Most applicable lesson was to "feed everyone who passes your door." It's a good lesson, and better when you realize the insignificance of the word food.

Better All,

Steve & Jenn

Happy Anniversary Clifford

A family friend gave us a sign that hangs in our home which says "Home is where your story begins" and 2 years ago yesterday our story began. We were sitting on the floor in our house (since we had no furniture at the time) drinking champagne and toasting to the American dream of homeownership. Exited, scared, nervous and proud were just a few emotions we felt at the moment when we closed escrow at 41 Clifford Lane.

There's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this place.  From painting to sanding to caulking, hanging and re-hanging of pictures, selves and mirrors. Yet every hole, scratch or dent has a story behind it and everyday we continue to add to our story (not to mention the holes, scratches and dents) and the memories of us, our family and friends in our home.

Vacation

Hawaii in 2 weeks...we can already taste the Lava Flows! 

Peggy's (Madge's) Baptism

On August 10, Peggy was baptized at Doheny State Beach. Here are some additional photos.

A First...

This blog was created faster than the time it took for Misty May and Keri Walsh to dispose of the Cubans. It's our first and really doesn't have an agenda except to keep you updated, post cool photos and perhaps dive into some current events.

For now, it's just a first. 

Check back every so often.