Aloha Y'all

Big news everyone! We are going to be moving to Maui!

Matthew and I have talked and prayed about this for awhile now. Our plan was to move there eventually so that Matthew could join the family company, but plans have a tendency to change and our 3-5 year timeline has morphed into 6 months or so.

We are aiming to move in January or February 2015. Our biggest hurdles that we need to cross before we move is getting my mom's estate settled and getting the paperwork to get the animals to Hawaii.

Hawaii is a rabies free state and they would like to keep it that way. Luckily, Hawaii has a process called the 5-day-or-less program which means that instead of the animal spending 120 day in quarantine on the island we can spend the quarantine time here on the mainland. We just have to jump through a lot of confusing hoops to qualify for the program.

Here is a simplified list of stuff we have do before we can move the animals:
- Each animal has to have had at least two rabies vaccines in its lifetime and the vaccines must be at least 30 days apart.
- Each animal must have a microchip
- Each animal must have had a OIE-FAVN blood test done by Kansas State University
- Each animal must complete the 120 day waiting period after a successful OIE-FAVN test result before arriving in Hawaii
- Each animal must be treated for fleas and ticks by a veterinarian with a product containing Fipronil within 14 days of arrival to Hawaii
- Each animal needs a health certificate dated within 14 days of arrival (though some airlines might require a certificate dated within 10 days)
And since we are movie to Maui, which is considered a neighbor island, we will need to submit our paperwork earlier because we will need a special permit. I'll also need to make reservations for an approved Maui veterinarian to meet us at the airport to do the inspect and release procedure for our animals.

Sounds simple enough, right?

 We also have to decide what we want to keep in order to figure out what size shipping container we will need for our move to Hawaii. Then we also have to consider how we are going to store the stuff we end up keeping until we get a more permanent place to live.

A lot of our sentences seemed to be punctuated with "in 6 months." Just a few examples, while changing a difficult to reach light bulb "Hopefully we won't have to done this again in the 6 months we're here." Shopping at Sam's Club, M: "We need soy sauce" K: "Do you really think we can use a gallon of soy sauce in 6 months?" M: "Probably not, we'll get it at Kroger." and M: "Do you need to go to the library? I have books on hold I need to get." K: "No, I'm trying to read through this book case because I don't want to take them with us in 6 months."

We are excited about moving and the opportunities we will have there, but we also realize that living in Hawaii will make some things a lot more difficult. I've been trying to spend more time with my friends here and planing road trips to see the ones that are further away because I know when we move it will be a lot harder to visit them. The good thing about living in Hawaii is that people will always want to visit.

(note: all these pictures were taken in 2010 when Matthew and I went to Maui for Christmas at his parents house)

Walter vs. The Grasshopper

Walter hates grasshoppers on the windows. He normally goes berserk when they appear, banging, ramming and even sometime a body slam into the window. This here is a very mild reaction to one showing up.

Early Birthday

Even though my birthday is a month and a half away, Matthew gave me my gift early. I'm so glad he did. He got me a reverse osmosis filtration system. Best water you have ever had!

I have a friend with a reverse osmosis filter at her house and every time I went over there I would drink 8-10 glasses of that stuff. It's like crack or something.

Unfortunately, you have to let the spigot  run for 24 hours to clean out the lines before drinking the water. I'm counting down until Monday at 3 pm so I can have my first glass.

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July from the Betsill's!

On This Day Last Year

July 1, 2013. I don't even know where to start.

A very scary journey began on this day last year. It began as any other Monday would have. I went to my moms house to take her to her chemo appointment. But when I got there I found a neighbor was at the house because my mom had fallen out of bed. Little did I know how my world would crumble in the following days and months.

My mom with my Grandma who passed away in 2008. I've been missing these two women a lot.

Grief is a funny thing. You really don't know how or when it will hit you. I have been doing pretty well these past few weeks, but then I looked at the calendar and saw that it's July 1. It caught me by surprise. As it always does. All I have been able to think about are those few months that I got to have with her on hospice care. Those three and a half months that were only the beginning of a emotional roller-coaster. I am very grateful that I had that time with her, but there is always so much that is left unsaid or subjects that were just too painful for her to talk about.  

At my High School graduation ceremony in 2003.

I wish I would have gave her more hugs, and told her I loved her more, but I don't think it would have been possible for me to give her more hugs or told her I loved her more than what I did. I miss her laugh. I miss the sound of her voice. I found the last voice mail that she left me, and every time I listen to it it brings me to tears. Hell, just thinking about that voice mail brings me to tears and it was only her reminding me about a dinner at her church she wanted Matthew and I to go to. I miss being able to call her up and tell her about my day or ask if she wants to go get a pedicure.

My bridal shower in 2012

In these next few months I know I'm going to have some really hard days. July 4 will be one of those days since that was the last holiday I got to celebrate with my mom. My birthday will be another difficult day since it will be the first one without my mom, the woman who birthed me into this world. I can't even talk about the month of October. So please keep me and my family in your prayers these next few months as we relive her last ones.