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The Christmas Story

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendent of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.

After walking to the petroglyphs and back, we made our way back up the volcano. The drive back up was about 30-40 minutes, and it was only when we got back to the top that we realized we had left the stroller down at the bottom! So, an extremely angry James left to go retrieve it. He got back to the bottom, and it was gone! We later found out that a ranger had picked it up and we were able to get it back. But, not before James wasted over an hour of his day going back down and searching for it!

So, what did we do while he was gone? We went and explored the “lava tube”. It was a neat sight, but Aaron was disappointed. He thought there would be lava flowing through it!

God’s amazing creation!

Tired, tired little man! (I mean Rylan, not my Dad!)

Petroglyphs

I am convinced that the Ironman was taking place on Hawaii long before the 1970s! Look closely at this photo and tell me if it does not look like people biking and running!

Awww…the petroglyphs! Seeing the petroglyphs was quite an adventure! When we arrived at the park entrance, we were at a high elevation and it was chilly. We changed Rylan into footy pajamas with long sleeves. By the time we reached the petroglyphs, we were almost back down to sea level and the barren lava fields were hot! The sign said they were .7 miles out. Well, I’ll tell you, that was the longest .7 miles of my life! We could not take the stroller (which we did not realize we had left at the sea arch, anyway!), so we took turns carrying him.

Rylan and his “Paw Paw Mark” in the lava fields!

Standing on top of the world!

Sitting with the Pacific Ocean behind me!

Dad sitting on the lava rocks in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Rylan in the chocolate field!

I was fascinated by the fact that the sign states “Frequent high winds and waves”. WAVES??? Really? We were extremely high up. I could not believe that a wave could crash that high. I would have loved to see that (from a safe distance, of course!)

One of the warning signs!

Sea Arch

While Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is obviously most famous for the volcano, there is so much more to be explored there! We crammed a whole lot of “sightseeing” into a very little time!

One thing I had never seen before going to Hawaii was a “sea arch”. It was fascinating to look at. There were signs warning of high winds and waves. Aaron did not even want to get close to the wall for his picture!

Out on the lava fields.

Aaron said “They look like chocolate!”

Ironman Benefits

One of the benefits of racing the Ironman in Hawaii, is you get to see cool things like volcanoes!

The black sand beach was a unique treat for us. It looks like it would be rough to the touch. While it was a little coarser than the beaches we are used to, it really just felt like sand!

We had been told that sea turtle often come up onto the beach there. Unfortunately for us, none came up while we were there.

The black sand beach was something we had heard we should not miss. So, on our way to the volcano, we made sure to stop there!

Before getting to the beach, we went climbing on the lava rock. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of God’s creation in this spot!

A Different Kind of Adventure!

Most of our time in Hawaii revolved around the Ironman race. After the race was over, we had a little time to experience “Hawaii”. On Monday, we went out in search of black sand beaches and volcanoes! Were we successful?

My dad and Aaron were crammed in the backseat of our tiny Kia. They did not seem to mind though!