Aloha Family and Friends!

First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay in writing a new post. Nearly three weeks of static is simply unacceptable! But I do have a good reason- my parents were out to visit for the past week and a half! 

Andrew and I truly enjoyed having them here on the Big Island with us. It was a nice little piece of home. Plus, it gave us a good excuse to explore more parts of the island we hadn't seen and...for the first time since we moved to paradise...take a little vacation :) However, there was one thing I didn't account for on our little 'holiday at home'....food. So. Much. Delicious. Food. We feel so spoiled after the week with my parents and I must say, my new year's resolution suffered quite a bit! We love you mom and dad, come visit again soon!

Andrew has really started gearing up at his new job at Aflac. He is currently spending his days memorizing Aflac approved sales scripts and tagging along with his mentor, Glen, for some on-the-job training. This week Andrew has the PACE event, which is kind of like an in-company competition to see which pair of agents can score the most appointements in a two day period. We're so excited for him to actually START working! Our prayers now are that Andrew is able to get his own niche on this side of the island and be able to make some sales. After the work day..poor Andrew..has still been dealing with the repercussions from our car break in. 

So here's the update on the car: Andrew called a handful of mechanics to get a quote on what it would cost to replace the driver side window and door handle. Each quote was about the same...$3,000! We didn't even pay that much for our car! Needless to say we did not accept that as our only option and Andrew (being the wonderful man that he is) set to work bidding for windows and handles on e-bay. Roughly $200 later he found both window and door handle...a much more affordable option! Also, thanks to a co-worker of mine, we found a mechanic who lives in our neighborhood and works out of his own garage, charging very reasonably for labor. Praise God for His provision! 

I'm still chugging along at my job- and loving every minute of it :) The whales are here in full force now and I have been lucky enough to witness some spectacular action! Baby whales breaching (where they launch themselves out of the water)... male whales competing over a female with awesome displays of tales slashing and head lunging (kind of reminding me of some cheesy wrestling smackdown on TV)...and whales singing! Did you know humpback whales sing? But only the males! It is said to be a sort of challenge to other male whales in a duel over the female, but this past week I found it to be much more. I was reminded of a verse in scripture that talks about all creation singing praise to God. The earth and all of creation is literally groaning for Christ's return and now, everyday, I get to listen to part of the song. What an encouragement for me to join in! 

As far as prayer requests, we are both really missing being a part of a church/small group. We'd love to find someplace to plug into and meet some more believers, especially in our age group. Also, I just officially launched my first website (haleyhendricksonphotography.com) and would really like to drum up some business here on the island. I miss photographing regularly and I really think this is something I'd like to do long-term. 

As always, we miss all you mainlanders very much (thanks for the skype date Lauren- it made my day!)

Let us know what we can be praying for (phone is great and we always love skype but if you just have a prayer request we can keep in mind e-mail us at andrewhaley.hendrickson@gmail.com).

Love you guys!

Andrew & Haley

P.S. CONGRATS TO MAGGIE HENDRICKSON FOR GETTING ACCEPTED TO REGIS UNIVERSITY! We're super proud Mags, love you!

The damage :(

Mist over the Kohala Mtns

Tiki torches and sunset

love my parents <3

beautiful pali (cliffs) in Havi!

tad bit windy..

textures in Hawaii

Coy fish patterns

Mister Hollywood ;)

Miss you guys already!

Learning to Trust

Aloha Family and Friends!

Welcome to another episode of "Hendrickson's in Hawaii"! Today's show features mini road trips, new jobs, and a story of trust. Get ready!

 As I mentioned a few posts ago, Andrew recently passed his exam and submitted his results to the state of Hawaii to become a licensed producer for insurance. Well, as of yesterday Andrew dotted the i's and crossed the t's and officially signed a contract with Aflac! Andrew will start his training on Monday. He is really excited for this opportunity (and is thankful to his friend Britton Johnson who recommended him for the job..thanks Brit!) Aflac sounds like a great company and Andrew is excited to get started. He even gets to go to Oahu next month for some more training! Thank you all for your prayers in this, I know they were heard :)

On a less happy note, our car was broken into today while I was at work. The thieves not only took my new purse (which was buried under the driver's seat) and busted out our driver side window, but also took a crow bar to the driver side door handle. The damage is pretty severe and unfortunately our insurance doesn't cover repair work on the car. That's the bad news. The good news is my wallet was in the glove box and not my purse! Credit cards, cash and ID are all safe- what a blessing!

Even with all the chaos today, I couldn't help but feel at peace. We are so thankful that God provided Andrew with a job this week. We are thankful that my wallet wasn't stolen today. And we are thankful to know that God will never leave us or forsake us.

Thanks for your prayers.

Love,
Andrew & Haley

P.S. The following..eh hem...several pictures are what I like to call "drive by shooting" from our mini roadtrip to the other side of the island (most are taken from the window of our little car). All the pictures were taken between Waikoloa and Hilo (about a 2 hour drive) It was so amazing to us to see all the beauty in the landscape and the creativity that God has! How crazy is it that we went from deserts, to forests, to green rolling mountains, to green pastures with cows, to jungles to beaches all in 2 hours!?

2012

Aloha Family and Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope you all had a lovely and safe New Year's Eve and that your last night of 2011 went out with a bang. Our certainly did as our neighbors were setting off fireworks well past midnight (they are legal here apparently because walmart sells them in huge packs!) Welcome to two-thousand and twelve everybody :)

Love,
Andrew & Haley

Watching the last suset of 2011

Holiday in Hawaii

Aloha family and friends!
Well, we hope you all enjoyed the Christmas season wherever you were and that you got to be with the ones you love. Andrew and I knew that Christmas was going to be a tough one this year (first time away from parents and siblings on the holiday), but thanks to a wonderful little creation called Skype- we were able to feel a little piece of home Christmas day.

After Andrew finished his online class he took the insurance test last week- and passed! Hooray! He now has to apply to the state of Hawaii to become a "licensed producer of life and health insurance" and then he can apply to Aflac. Whew! It has been quite a process so far but each step gets him closer to having a job so we are very thankful!

Due to high winds, we had to cancel a few trips on the boat last week and although it meant money lost- the silver lining was that everyone got to spend more time with family for Christmas.

Andrew got a ukelele for Christmas and has since been serenading me! I think he's going to be the next IZ ;)

And since I rather enjoy pictures...here is a little visual update for you all-

Andrew working on his new hobby- making knives!

Whale tail (on the job)

Best workplace EVER

yes mom, this is where I work..

Watching the Broncos lose miserably online (isn't technology wonderful?)

Cousins! (Kelsey, Trevor, and Haley)

Christmas Eve in Hawaii

some of Haley's family comes to visit (Kelsey, Uncle Bob, Aunt Leesa, Trevor)

Hilarious gag gift from my Grammy for the boys (kittens or fairies- can't decide which one is better!..or worse?..)

Well folks, there's the update. We seriously can't believe this year is almost over! 2012...really? Just today we were marveling on how fast this year has gone and how much has happened! In the last year, both of us graduated college, celebrated our 1 year anniversary, moved...twice, changed jobs, and grew up just a little bit more (maybe). We feel truly blessed to live in such a beautiful place and to have friends and family (all of you!) who love us. Mahalo...thank you for sticking with us in this crazy adventure. We love you all.

Andrew & Haley

ps- shout out to Andrew's brother Grahm who turned 21 today!!!!! Happy Birthday Grahm! We miss you and we wish we could've been there to celebrate with you today.

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou!

Aloha family and friends!
Okay, so Christmas was two days ago now but we wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love, Andrew & Haley

Ohana

This is our 'Ohana'. This is our Family. 

Love, Andrew& Haley

Critters, Cars and downright awesome sunsets!

Aloha friends and family!
We are beginning to feel more settled into our new home. Thank you all for supporting us in this big step as well as the many calls, texts, and 'skypes' we've received since the move. (Thank you Mama for the Christmas tree...it was just what we needed to feel more at home!) It really is good to hear your voices, see your faces and feel your love as little bits of homesickness set in. Also, thank you for your prayers! Last week Andrew and I were able to purchase a car! Hooray! It is a 1985 Nissan 300zx with extremely low miles and pretty decent gas mileage! (It is also Andrew's new baby...he LOVES this car).

I'm on week 2 of the new job and loving it.  Top three reasons why I love my new job:
1. I'm on the water and in the sun all day.
2. I get to see amazing creatures like turtles, dolphins, manta rays and whales.
3. I am required to be barefoot.
(If you want to know more about my new job check out the website...http://www.adventurexrafting.com/)

Other critters in our life include Kapule, who is David and Kelsey's very cute, very loud kitty. I am loving having something furry in my life again and Andrew is *gasp!* actually not minding her being around either ;) Andrew has also befriended several of the geckos that live in and around our house (and yes...I said "in") The picture below is of Lester, who was chilling in our shower a few days ago. Harold hasn't been seen for a few days now...

We hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season wherever you are.

Love, Andrew & Haley