Birthday Celebrations with Krishna

Making Sweets for Krishna

Happy Birthday Kahna 

This week was Kahna's 8th birthday.

How quickly these 8 years have flown by! and the scary thing is the next however-many-years will fly by too! So we took this opportunity to focus on what will help him, and us, today and everyday following. Remembering Krishna!

The night before his birthday, we lay in bed after reading a story together, and I asked Kahna what he wanted to offer to Krishna the next morning "SWEETBALLS! " (and a little secret about Kahna he loves making flower leis for Krishna!)

So here are some pictures of Kahna's birthday morning. It's nice to remember that Krishna is the center - and there is nothing more heart-satisfying than spending time with Him. And because birthdays are all about fun (especially when you are in a little body!) we invited some little friends over to join in on the fun!

I'm pretty sure I have never heard anything as cute as this little bunch of boys singing and playing together for Krishna.

And as Kahna requested, there was also a visit to Waimea Bay Jumping Rock (over here on Instagram.) This was all a couple of days ago now and my boys are still beaming.

He may not roll a perfect ball, but these little sweetballs Kahna made on his own are amazing!

Kahna has always been the lei maker in our family! He's always first to volunteer so I had to get a few flowers for his birthday celebration! 

Kahna dressed Krishna on his own, and I wish I had taken more pictures - I was too busy enjoying the moment!

Jai Sri Krishna!

possibly the cutest thing I have ever heard! These boys will tell you chanting Krishnas names is FUN!

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Kailua Beach - sun and songs

Kailua Beach

Spent the morning at Kailua beach the other day,  and sharing a few photos using my -phone-has-a-great-waterproof-case  (kinda the equivalent of using a zip lock bag)

We had a little addition to the family for the day,  our little friend Stoka came for a sleep over play-day, those are always the best!
They have been practicing a little song for Gaura Purnima (Lord Chaitanya's appearance day - this Saturday! how exciting) and have been enjoying it so much I have heard this song sang in a variety of places and had to chuckle to hear them out on the ocean.
Special thanks to Shani for her amazing song and rehearsal time!

Aloha from our little crazy patch of sand.
Devaki

2..4..6..8. surfs up don't wait!.. ok so it doesn't look like it in this picture >.<

no joke they call me 'myland' they tell me its a mix of 'mum island' and 'my island' and whenever I'm off enjoying a peaceful moment... they are off to discover 'myland' so for now this is always my view while swimming.

waiting for a wave

There wasn't many waves, but enough for lots of fun!

I had to include the beginng of this video because that was me thinking I was going to take some peaceful water shots!

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Koko Crater Botanical Garden

Koko Crater Botanical Garden

Our no-so-latest adventure was to Koko Crater Botanical Garden (I'll admit I have been a little tardy in posting this, mostly because I couldn't decide which pictures to share, and you know me, it ended up being a lot!)

This is a great little walk and transports you from Hawaii for a moment the scenery is so diverse. 

Our favorite part of this walk is dinosaur garden (that's what we call it) and I bet you can tell in my pictures which part I'm talking about.

I'll leave the many photo's and captions to describe this hike, and hope that you are inspired to visit it if you are, or ever are, on Oahu.

The very beginning of the hike. Deciding which direction to go. They have some maps at the entrance which make it extra fun for the kids (I also love how they encourage you to recycle the maps, so we tried not to get it too crumpled)

It is almost the start of plumera season when all these trees will be flowering - its and amazing transformation. We have often picnicked under these branches when they are covered in leaves and sweet smelling flowers, I spy them just starting to flower-  Can't wait!

pack plenty of water! my little guys had lots of water stops.

Kishan is our little artist, he loves to bring his sketchbook on our adventures and makes sketches and notes of things that catch his eye....

.... like this crazy cool tree, I forgot its real name, but we called it camo-tree (which lead to a discussion of the different kinds of camo and why, I was learning things!)

superman-style-brave-moment

dino-garden! (yes making up our own names is a bit of a trend around here.

I just wanted to take this view home with me! 

and when it couldn't get any better, look who wondered into my frame with a hand full of little flowers for Krishna... 

on the move again!

Kishan came up with his own solution for keeping the sun off his ears...

giving him virtual hugs just looking at this pic..

"boys!!!"

At exactly the right time (feeling the midday sun heat at this point, because I'm crazy and go out at midday sometimes) we found salvation when the sprinklers turned on.

An all around fun little adventure! there were so many pretty spots to explore.

Some Fun links if you want more!!!

City and County of Honolulu -  Koko Crater information HERE!

Our friends Sita and her family recently did this hike too, I loved seeing it thru her eyes - you can too! right HERE!

We also spotted so many beautiful butterflies on this hike you can read about that on the nature fan club its a great page especially for the kids because they can submit their own stories! Kishan has submitted one too! HERE!

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Miles Apart - Together at heart

Prepare yourself for a bit of a picture extravaganza! I put some thought into cutting down the photos and then disregarded the idea because I couldn’t see a single one being forgotten! 

One of my favorite day-after any special occasion activities is going over all the beautiful pictures shared by my family of how they enjoyed celebrating with Krishna.

With the ease afforded by all these platforms making is so easy to share, it has become a little bit of a tradition to send each other some pictures of our special days. It’s a way we all stay connected over our shared love for worshiping Krishna. I feel there is no deeper connection to have, and seeing how my loved ones worship Krishna is like a little peek into their hearts and always leaves me walking on air.

It is such a personal and loving moment I am grateful to be able to share them.

This is how my big family spent Valentine’s Day with Krishna.  

He steals your heart and then keeps it safe and loved in his caring embrace, our ultimate Valentine.

My brother Acharya and his wife Jamuna along with their adorable little family of girls worship this beautiful little boy Krishna. I can't quite get over how wonderful He is! I have been meaning to ask who made the little heart toast because that's a perfect idea!

Little Krishna lovingly worshiped by my brother Vasudev and his wife Rosita. They have a little munchkin who's 10 months old and the cutest thing is if she even hears you say "krishna" she starts clapping her hands! So only one guess what I say to her every time I see her :D

Krishna and Nitai Gaur surrounded by flowers in the home of my cousin Surabhi - I got these photos off her amazing blog so you can see more of her day with Krishna here

My little sister Yogananda dasi worships this beautiful little Krishna. She's an amazing artist and you can see more of her Krishna inspired art here  (ever the proud sister :)

Celebrations at mum and dads house with beautiful Nitai Gaur! How I miss getting to cover Them with flowers, They are now an ocean away so I am always excited receiving pictures.

My Sweet Krishna <3 because I can never get enough of Him!

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Kheer - Sweet Rice for Krishna

Kheer - Sweet Rice for Krishna.

This Valentine's day I wanted to make something sweet to offer to Krishna and share with my family.

I ended up making Kheer, which I have been wanting to make ever since Bina  posted a picture of her amazing Kheer on instagram (I love saying and writing Kheer because although I have often had sweet rice I had never heard the name Kheer before and I love it). 

Click here  to her beautifully presented recipe that is oh-so-easy to follow! 

Bina used oranges, but seeing as I had strawberries on hand I used them as a replacement this was the only change I made. I did use the full cream milk she mentioned and it worked perfectly. 

I'm always chuffed at myself when I get it together to follow a recipe, I rarely think in advance enough to have ingredients on hand (this time was a fluke hence the lack of oranges) I really need to get organized in the kitchen... one day!

Love, Devaki

Kahna often offers my preparations to Krishna, he mills around while I am dishing it up in the hopes the job will fall to him. 

offered along with cute treasures from the boys

I'm a total cheese-ball and even after 11 years of marriage I'm still gooey about flowers on valentines day. So I was thrilled when I found these waiting for me downstairs. My husband had gone out early to surprise me, knowing full well they were destined to surround Krishna at our morning offering

Spoilt by my mum, she sent me this outfit for Krishna, its always so thrilling dressing Him in a brand new outfit! I took a little bunch of baby's breath from the bouquet to make Him a flower crown. First time I have used baby's breath and it won't be the last!

Krishna's bracelet was also a new addition to his wardrobe. I found the box my staples used to be in wrapped behind Krishna on Nityananda's apprearance day, and this was what was in it! (also doubles as a necklace, very sweet Kishan, so he's forgiven the pile of staples I later found on my desk)

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