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Pearl Harbor

Written by: Amanda // Category: hawaii, United States

Since today is Veteran's Day back in the U.S., it only seemed fitting to post something a bit patriotic. I already wrote from my heart on how I feel about Veteran's Day on Instagram, and from reading that you'll know I am very proud of our enlisted: past, present, and future. If you haven't thanked a veteran or a military service member yet for the things they have done for our country, you better get on it. Back in January we had the opportunity to tour Pearl Harbor during our time in Hawaii with my family. Both my father and my brother-in-law are currently serving in the military, and my brother is also quite the history buff, so visiting this historic site was top of our list. We spent about 3 hours walking though the visitor ... Read More

Not Captured on Camera

Written by: Amanda // Category: hawaii, United States

Wouldn’t it just figure that one of the most amazing and unforgettable experiences of our lives happens when we don’t have our camera? But isn’t that just how it works? It’s either your battery dies, your space is used up, or you forget the camera all together. I swear it’s some sort of karma which is forcing you to use your photographic memory and really absorb the ‘unforgettable experience’ without you sitting there fiddling with gadgets and missing the opportunity to envelop yourself in that moment completely. Our last day on the Big Island, Hawaii proved to be one of these experiences. We went snorkeling in Honaunau Bay, which we found out after talking to the locals, that this was the snorkeling gem of the island. I’m so mad at ... Read More

Pololu Valley, Hawaii

Written by: Amanda // Category: hawaii, United States

I'm so excited to finally be sharing about our month long trip to the Hawaiian Islands! We visited Maui for a second time, and then added Oahu and the Big Island to our list of places we've been to. To this day my husband and I can't figure out if we like Maui or the Big Island better...love the vibes of Maui, but we love all there is to do over on Hawaii. We spent a lovely 2 weeks on the Big Island, and on one of our first days there, we decided to explore the gigantic island a bit. Took us a few hours to get from Kona to Pololu Valley, but the drive was beautiful and there were plenty of small towns to stop in, shop, and stretch the legs. To get to Pololu Valley, you drive north from Kona on the main highway until you reach the end of ... Read More

Maui Photo Session

Written by: Amanda // Category: hawaii, Love, Review, United States

It's been a long time since Derik and I have had a legit couples photo session. Actually, its been since our engagement/wedding over three years ago, and I knew it was high time to schedule another one. The only problem was finding a good photographer. I thought it would be really awesome to hire someone to take our pictures while we were on our big trip, so I started looking for a professional/freelance photographer in Hawaii. You wouldn't believe the amount of so-called 'photographers' in the Maui area. Most charged over $1,000 for something I could have easily done with a point and shoot. I took one last drastic measure to find the kind of photographer I was looking for by checking out Craigslist. Yes, you read right, Craigslist. I'm ... Read More

Currently on Instagram

Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays, but the ones we get to take are oh so sweet. 

My daughters are now 2.5 years and 6 months old. Life never slows down, but only gets faster with each day we’re blessed to live. Social media may not be a part of my life how it used to be, and instead I’m working on living life intentionally each day as we raise our girls during these crazy times. 💕
2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
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