ABOUT Monica

Aloha, I’m Monica!

I live in Hawaii, with my husband, and our four sons.

Here are the oldest three (photo taken about two years ago, but it’s a favorite. )

We call kids like these “grommets,” or “groms.”    This usually refers to kids who skate/surf/do board sports.
My boys are surfers and skate boarders.  Among other things.

And here’s little Levi:

He’ll turn three in May.  He mostly loves tractors.  And making me feel too old to raise a toddler.

I am married to Dave–doctor by trade, Grom Dad in every fiber of his being.

I’m blessed and very grateful.

We are often accused of “living the dream,” and yes, I suppose we are.  However, if you read a post or two, it will be clear that we have the same challenges and struggles as everyone else.  And we don’t try to hide that for a minute.  Going through those challenges while living in paradise however…might help just a little.  And because of that, I hope to share a little of this paradise with every person who visits this site!

As for our family life:  We live up-country, on the North Shore of Oahu…Our home is on a hill overlooking the “Seven Mile Miracle,”–7 miles of amazing beaches, boasting some of the best surf spots in the world.  On our property, we grow all kinds of tropical fruits, as well as mac nuts, coconuts, and plenty of other things I still haven’t found a name for.  I home school our four boys, which sometimes makes me crazy, but absolutely helps support their surfing and skateboarding habits.  We spend a lot of time at the beach, at surf contests, and at skate parks. We take a lot of photos and somehow get ourselves in some ridiculous adventures as we go…So that’s a lot of what you’ll find here.

(another photo from over a year ago.  I’ll update these eventually. )

As for me:  I love God, and am blown away by all of His grace in my life.  I love to be with people, and since I don’t get out a lot, I am extremely grateful for the connections I make through blogging and social media.

I like good coffee, running trails, and date nights.  I find cooking therapeutic, and cleaning a drag.  I’m mostly disorganized, but still have hope for change.  I laugh easily, and have a weakness for juvenile humor, and ridiculousness.

I have a slight obsession with my bangs, and the IDEA of growing them out. (It’ll never happen,) and I love style even though most of the time we live in shorts and slippahs (flip flops.)  Every once in a while I try my hand at sharing some style posts–either of me, or one of my handsome guys.

I’m aware of my many weaknesses, and thankful for unconditional love.
I LOVE family, relationships, and focusing on being better at these things every single day.  I also am passionate about encouraging others in the same things.

So while you’re here, I do hope you’ll look around!

At Surf and Skate , you’ll see posts related to my groms surfing and skating.  I also link up to other hot groms and things going on here in Hawaii in the surf and skate community.

At Healthy Lifestyle ,you will find some of the things I feed this family of growing boys.  I try to post at least one recipe a week.

At Inspiration , you will find some posts related to my faith, or other simply inspiring things. I share my passion for parenting and marriage, and sometimes for things related to healthy living.

At Home and Country, I share some of the fun things going on here at our new home.  Since we moved to this new house in the summer of 2011, we’ve had one project after another going on…So this is where you can see the dirt, follow the projects, and find out what fruit is being harvested now.

Daily, you’ll find a bit of random story telling, some good laughs (usually at our expense,) and a lot of North Shore Aloha.  If you read this blog for a while, and then start planning a vacation–you won’t be the first!

I’m working on a page with links to all of my North Shore Favorites, so that is where to look if you’ll be visiting the island.  Keep checking back to watch that grow!

I want to thank you for taking time to stop by my site.  This blog keeps me connected and sane…Your comments make me smile.  I thank God for this place where I can share some of the amazing life He’s given me with all of you!  Please leave a comment and tell me where you’re visiting from!

Aloha, and Mahalo!

The Grommom (Monica)