Wonderful Wednesday - {Hawaiian Holiday Remembered}

Happy New Year!!!  Can you BELIEVE that this is what I found in my garden on New Year's Eve??? A blooming daffodil.  Totally unheard of in DECEMBER, as it's a SPRING flower... and it's BLOOMING in the WINTER!!!

My family recently returned from a long-awaited holiday.  A Hawaiian Holiday!  It was a dream come true and yet it took a near-death experience to bring it about.  When a child has a life-threatening illness, the Make-A-Wish Foundation is contacted by someone with knowledge of the child's condition, in our case, DS2's hospital social worker referred him for a wish.

Once DS2 was approved to receive a wish, he was visited by volunteers from Make-A-Wish of Eastern North Carolina to assess what kind of wish he might like.  It was a TOUGH decision, since his school community (and CRHS Bands) had been so generous during his hospitalization!

The majority of wishes fall into five categories:

1. I wish to go...
2. I wish to be...
3. I wish to meet...
4. I wish to have...
5. I wish to give...

Ultimately, DS2 decided that a family trip to Hawaii might make up for some of the stress our family went through (and, at that time, was still expecting to go through during his scheduled heart surgery - which was subsequently - indefinitely - postponed.)  His illness came during DS1's senior year of high school and severely impacted the family as a whole.  Thank you Make-A-Wish for a fun and relaxing vacation.  We enjoyed spending quality time together as a family.

While on Oahu, our family enjoyed a luau, a helicopter tour, a snorkel excursion, and a Pearl Harbor tour.  If you need ANYTHING while on the island, we found that (any one of the bajillion) ABC Stores has exactly what you want!!  On the "mainland" ABC Stores are strictly for wine and spirits. Not so in Hawaii.  We found snacks, sunscreen, t-shirts, and a variety of other souvenirs.  The only store that rivaled it was Lawson Station in the lobby of the Sheraton Waikiki!

What did you bring back, Joyful???

From the luau, I purchased a 2-yard piece of fabric (intended to be a sarong) for a backing of a future quilt - possibly for DS2:

Near the end of the evening, DS2 was invited to the stage and presented this handcrafted gift:

Thank you, Chief's Luau at Sea Life Park!  We had a wonderful evening.

From the helicopter tour, I could decide on a T-shirt, so I just took photos:

Thank you, Makani Kai Helicopters and Pilot Jim!  We enjoyed the "bird's eye" view of your beautiful island.

From the snorkel excursion, I bought a bag to use for small knitting projects:

Thank you, Ko Olina Ocean Adventures!  Thanks to our Captain, I didn't have a panic attack AND my DH was able to get a fabulous Whale Tail shot!  Both of our boys thoroughly enjoyed their FIRST EVER snorkeling adventure.

From the Pearl Harbor tour, DS2 was gifted a commemorative tote bag filled with:

A ton of goodies (including a baseball cap, a pack of post cards, and a souvenir newspaper.)

Thank you, Pacific Historic Parks!  We learned a lot about the history of the USS Arizona Memorial and the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor.

From the lobby of our hotel, came an assortment of notion bags for knitting and a (water-resistant) project tote for larger projects or for use as a purse:

And...

From the ABC Store, Christmas gifts for the family, including DS2:

My DH:

And a super-soft shirt for DS1:

It was a VERY happy holiday!!!  Thank you, Make-A-Wish of Eastern North Carolina.  Mahalo! to Make-A-Wish Hawaii and Sheraton Waikiki for making DS2's Hawaiian dreams come true.  He may have waited a year and a half, but it was WELL worth the year-and-a-half wait!!!  It was the trip of a lifetime!!

Until next time...
Aloha!!!