House Hunting

Derek had Spring Break this past week and we had planned to visit Pittsburgh, PA and hunt for housing in Clarksburg. Derek studied for COMLEX on Monday and Tuesday while I recovered from my Florida trip. We then traveled toward Clarksburg on Wednesday, it was a long drive and when the rain started coming down hard we decided to rent a hotel and spend the night.
Although Clarksburg is a bigger city, they don't have many rental options for inquiring renters. We picked up the local paper and called on the listings but most apartments had a 35lb limit for pets. I felt a knot form in my stomach thinking about the lack of options due to our dog (aka our first child). As we continued down the small list several managers allowed pets but only with a $325-$700 non-refundable pet deposit. We were hopeful and checked out a few places and this is what we found...


Please excuse Derek's unsteady hand, the elements made it tougher than usual.

If you think that's bad it only got worse from there. Not only would I have to worry about Acalias, Skofeild or myself potentially getting hit by a speeding semi truck but some of the rentals should have been condemned. I rented far better when I visited Costa Rica for 5 months and Tonga for 3 weeks, countries that are considered 3rd world!

Towards the end of the night we felt hopeless. We picked up a magazine for homes for sale and thought maybe that option would be better for us. The average rentals that we looked at were $600-$800.00. I felt like the rental rate was increased for the non-locals, not only was the housing terrible but the economy isn't that great in such a rural area. We searched for homes in the $35,000-$50,000 price range, if we found a home our mortgage would have been anywhere from $211-350. We wrote a list of all the homes we'd like to visit, said our prayers and went to bed.

The following morning we called more listings in the papers and a few Realtors. We visited a few homes and they were all in bad shape but a whole lot better than the rentals we had found. The homes were 10 minutes away from the hospital but I still didn't feel right about it. I had been a housing counselor for a year and I can recall many clients who purchased houses in the price range we were looking into. Most of them returned, overwhelmed with the amount of work they had to put into their new homes on top of paying higher utilities, taxes and so forth. I didn't want to get ourselves into a similar situation. That evening we didn't feel like we had covered much so we decided to stay another night. We discussed the pros and cons of purchasing a home, said our prayers and went to bed.

Acalias thinking 'Wasn't I wearing shorts a few days ago Mom? Why is it so cold? More time in my darn car seat again mommy?'


The next morning,we called a few more listings but the people didn't want to show their apartments until Saturday. We received a phone call from Derek's friends' Aunt(a local realtor)she had contacted a manager of a four-plex and scheduled a meeting to see the house at noon. We were elated to finally have the opportunity to walk through an apartment after several days of peeping in windows. As soon as we drove up to the complex we were both happy as can be. The neighborhood was clean, the streets were paved and the lawns were maintained (very uncommon out here in WV). We were shown the home and we LOVED it! It's two levels, two spacious bedrooms, a large kitchen, washer and dryer hook ups and 1.5 bathrooms. The manager will even accept Skofeild with no deposit. We were offered the apartment, it won't be ready until mid-May which works out perfect.

This is it! I'm excited for all the natural light, we've lived in basement apartments and our current apartment doesn't have very many windows. Notice the concrete driveway!!

Feeling so happy, even Acalias can sense it!

I am relieved. I have a wide road to run on or a paved trail 4 minutes away. I have neighbors near by. I have a ton of options for socializing just a few minutes away. I didn't see any big rusty loud trucks with confederate flags hung on their back windows. I felt safe. I feel blessed. I know the Lord knows our needs and he hears our prayers and for that I am very thankful.

Bienvenidos a Miami Zoo-Day 7

The majority of the crowd spoke Spanish, I love practicing my Spanish with native speakers.


Miami Zoo had a variety of sections like most zoos, I truely felt like I was in the Amazon.


His little feet look so cute in these flip flops.


Acalias enjoyed the monkeys, they were so loud and their screaming caught his attention.

I really wished I didn't exceed the weight limit for these water balls. I would have loved to walk on the water it looked like so much fun!


The entire zoo was an estimated 6 hour walk. We walked around for 4 hours...I guess I forgot that my grandmother just turned 80. We were all so tired afterward but we enjoyed ourselves, we enjoyed watching Acalias' reaction to all the animals.

Fort Lauderdale Beach-Day 6

The Fort Lauderdale beach is were all the locals go to relax. It was tucked in the neighborhoods and the parking was a lot cheaper than Las Olas Beach. Kura had to return to Georgia early for a mid-term exam so we visited the beach shortly before she had to travel to the airport.


I love the sound of the waves crashing onto the shoreline. Acalias and I walked up and down the shore line. This time around he thought the sand between his toes felt funny so he giggled.



I love how Acalias is looking at Uncle Greg, his body launguage says, "Hi...I think I like you!"

Acalias and Grandpa.



Acalias misses you Aunt Kura, we can't wait to see you in July!

Family Pictures-Day 5

We don't get together often so I had to make sure to snap a few pictures before everyone traveled back home.









To see more photos check out Facebook.

Las Olas Beach-Day 3 in Florida

We managed to take a few hours off to relax at the beach. It was a nice breezy day, Acalias was content to play with toys on the beach towel while Kura and I played Phase10 dice.



Acalias wasn't sure about the water. I thought he would love it because he loves bath time so much, I think it was the feel of the sand that threw him off.





Loving all the attention from Auntie Kur Kur:)






On the boardwalk, there were so many bright things that caught Acalias' attention. We left just as the crowd was arriving. There were thousands of young college students there enjoying their Spring Break vacation.

We still had a lot of things to do prepare for grandma's party, we were happy to visit the beach and relax.

Event Planning in Florida Day 1-2

Leaving my husband behind at home is always hard but I’ve been so excited for our trip to Florida and Grandma’s surprise birthday party. Acalias did wonderful on our flight from West Virginia to Georgia and from Georgia to Florida. He draws a lot of attention by his 6-toothed smiles and wants to playfully interact with anyone around us.

We arrived to Florida on Wednesday evening. Immediately after departing the airplane we were greeted with the humid tropical air. Acalias and I walked through the Fort Lauderdale airport hearing the familiar native language of my father, Creole.

My dad’s flight arrived a few minutes after ours; we met up in one of the terminals and dad helped with my bags and car seat. Dad’s luggage was delayed so I fed Acalias while waiting and while dad chattered in Creole with everyone and anyone around us who spoke the language. I felt like I was in Haiti being so submersed in the foreign language.


After retrieving dad’s luggage we were finally on our way to our destination. My little sister Kura had flown in earlier that dad and was anxiously awaiting our arrival at our cousin’s house. The plan was for everyone but dad to stay away from Grandma. The first night Kura and I caught up with each other’s lives, the last time we spent a lot of time together was at our sibling camp trip in 2009. It's so refreshing to learn that my sister is doing so well in college and has some great goals that she is striving to accomplish.

The following day I woke up early to enjoy a long run in the beautiful weather. In Coral Springs Florida there is a paved pathway throughout the entire suburb, a rare commodity in West Virginia. The weather was so nice that I had a tan line of my watch and iPod after a 45 minute run.

Dad snuck away for a few hours so that we could purchase all the items needed for the party. He has a lot of family in Florida so he told grandma he had to visit a few people.

Acalias looked super cute in his summer outfit and flipflops.


Next I was happy to learn that all of the packages I had ordered for the party had arrived in a timely manner so we jumped into gear to prepare for grandma’s big day. My sister Kura was my right hand, thank goodness she was around to help especially since Acalias needed my attention as well.


Kura did most of the candy wrapping while I taped questions behind dinner plates. I planned to ask each guest to share a specific memory of grandma.


After preparing the bulk of our items for the party we went out for a stroll during sunset to relax.

Acalias enjoyed sticking out his little toes while swinging his feet. He babbled in happiness throughout our entire walk.

Grandma’s Surprise 80th Birthday

By Friday evening my Uncle Greg and Uncle Jean had arrived from New Jersey and Georgia. I was so thrilled I woke up at 5:30 am on Saturday morning with edgy butterflies in my stomach anticipating the party. I went for a long run to calm myself down and organize my thoughts and plans for the day.

We had to swing by the store for some last minute items such as the balloons, flowers, fresh fruit and salad. My mom also sent fresh flower leis from Hawaii that we picked up from FedEx. Although we had 2 GPS systems in the car and an ipod, somehow we got lost for 3 very long hours looking for a Michaels craft store. I was trying hard not to get frazzled but it was inevitable due to the time slipping quickly.

When we returned, we fired up the grill and dad BBQ’d the meats while I finished the flower arrangements and Kura laid down mulch in the front yard.

My dad is great at the grill, his specialty is his famous BBQ ribs.

The flower arrangements and decorations were a cinch set up.


Dad had fooled grandma into thinking she was going to take a family portrait. Guests started arriving at 5:30pm and everyone brought their dishes that they offered to share. Dad called me and I pretended to be an employee at Wal-mart photo studio, I gave him the green light to bring grandma to her party.


My videographer, thanks Kura!



Grandma was in shock, she has never had a party to celebrate her birthday. March 11th was grandma's actual birthday and she is accustomed to people calling her to wish her a happy birthday. We all called her as usual and Sabrina visited her and gave her flowers. Once she greeted everyone, we played this tribute video that my brother Simi made for her.




The response to the great tribute video, thanks for doing an EXCELLENT job Simi! We all missed your presence at the party.

Grandma sitting next to her younger sister Rose. My mom loved them both very much and sent them each a lei.

I couldn't have done it with out these lovely ladies. Sabrina was a great host and sent out all the invites to family. Shikura seemed to know what I was thinking and would do things to help out without being told.

We played a memory game, grandma sat in the center of the room and each family member shared their favorite memory of her. Kura caught it on video but it's far too long to upload.

Grandma's sons had wonderful memories of her. It was enjoying and at times humerous to hear what family members had to say about grandma.



I'm so thankful for my grandma. She is so loving, attentive and sincere. I'm thankful that she is healthy and still very much a part of my life. I'm pleased with how the party turned out, grandma told me that she felt very special so my mission was acomplished!

I have a lot of pictures, I will post them on Facebook:)