Through much prayer, debate, inspiration and admittedly, a few tears, Justin and I have decided to leave behind our beloved island and make the move to Idaho. So, here's the story:
I've been living here on Oahu for 6 1/2 years. I came out as a bright eyed 18 year old fresh out of high school and immediately fell in love with everything about Hawaii in August of 2005. I was able to finish up my undergraduate degree at BYU-Hawaii in four wonderful years spent in Laie. I graduated and tried as hard as I could to find a job so I could stay in Hawaii, but things worked out a little differently. I ended up meeting the man of my dreams who encouraged me to get my Master's degree instead of seeking a job. I applied and got in and was able to extend my stay in Hawaii a little longer. Meanwhile, the man of my dreams, Justin, was transferred out here to Hawaii for work in October of 2009. We were good friends for several months before he made the move and we started dating. A year later we were engaged and 2 months after that we were happily married in the Laie Temple on March 22, 2011. Justin quit his job and started working for himself as a handyman and all his clients adored him. Meanwhile, I was busy trying to get my Master's degree when along came a very big surprise. In September of 2011 we found out that we were going to have a baby! We were shocked but so so so so excited. Because I work in a research science lab around chemicals and biological hazards I was told that I would have to stop going to school and working, which is exactly what I did. I started helping Justin with his business and making wonderful plans for the new life we were going to bring into the world. This wonderful surprise in our lives has forced us to think more about our future and what our plans were for our family. We talked about where we wanted to end up eventually and even made lists of priorities and things we wanted our future family to have. We talked around to several people and got their opinions and advice. In the end, what it really came down to was family. We love Hawaii and think it would be a fun place to raise some kids, but there is no value you can place on having family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) around when raising a family. And since Hawaii is a little isolated and costs a lot to fly into and out of, we realized that if we stayed here our children wouldn't be able to be as close to their family as we want them to.
So, that's the main reason we are leaving behind paradise and so many memories and making our journey to the cold depths of Idaho. But we'll have family, which is what really matters, right?
I've been living here on Oahu for 6 1/2 years. I came out as a bright eyed 18 year old fresh out of high school and immediately fell in love with everything about Hawaii in August of 2005. I was able to finish up my undergraduate degree at BYU-Hawaii in four wonderful years spent in Laie. I graduated and tried as hard as I could to find a job so I could stay in Hawaii, but things worked out a little differently. I ended up meeting the man of my dreams who encouraged me to get my Master's degree instead of seeking a job. I applied and got in and was able to extend my stay in Hawaii a little longer. Meanwhile, the man of my dreams, Justin, was transferred out here to Hawaii for work in October of 2009. We were good friends for several months before he made the move and we started dating. A year later we were engaged and 2 months after that we were happily married in the Laie Temple on March 22, 2011. Justin quit his job and started working for himself as a handyman and all his clients adored him. Meanwhile, I was busy trying to get my Master's degree when along came a very big surprise. In September of 2011 we found out that we were going to have a baby! We were shocked but so so so so excited. Because I work in a research science lab around chemicals and biological hazards I was told that I would have to stop going to school and working, which is exactly what I did. I started helping Justin with his business and making wonderful plans for the new life we were going to bring into the world. This wonderful surprise in our lives has forced us to think more about our future and what our plans were for our family. We talked about where we wanted to end up eventually and even made lists of priorities and things we wanted our future family to have. We talked around to several people and got their opinions and advice. In the end, what it really came down to was family. We love Hawaii and think it would be a fun place to raise some kids, but there is no value you can place on having family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) around when raising a family. And since Hawaii is a little isolated and costs a lot to fly into and out of, we realized that if we stayed here our children wouldn't be able to be as close to their family as we want them to.
So, that's the main reason we are leaving behind paradise and so many memories and making our journey to the cold depths of Idaho. But we'll have family, which is what really matters, right?
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