Birmingham 2010

Last week it was time for us to renew our visas again, so we headed to Birmingham AL to visit my sister and family and thankfully my parents came down to visit as well. It was such a fun trip, that was packed full of stuff.

The first thing was seeing Caleb sing in his Spring School Program. I felt so proud seeing my cute little nephew up there sing, dance, and play the best imaginary guitar solo ever. It was glimpse of what life could be like as a "normal" aunt, its the simple moments like this that I miss being in the States for and loving and supporting family.


Ellie felt the need to sing and dance along with the big kids.


Lucy loved seeing Caleb's school and we were invited afterwards to his classroom to view his art projects. Lucy thought Caleb's school was the coolest ever, considering her school here in Honduras isn't quite up to these standards.


They loved sitting at the desks, eating cookies, and meeting all of Caleb's friends.


After nap time we headed out for family pictures in the classic white shirt, and jean combination. Usually family pictures are a very big ordeal but the kids took it in stride and loved showing off and being pretty for the pictures, making it a very pleasant experience.


Then it was off to the Super Target. What trip to the States would be complete without a big shopping trip, spending lots of money on all the American consumerism stuff you miss out on!



Stay tuned for more pictures of the week to come.

Easter Egg Hunt

We had our 2nd annual Honduras Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. This was the crew this year, Big Luci, Susanna, Ellie, Lucy, Abner Daniel, and not picture baby Kendra.


Our tradition begins with dying easter eggs.


Then the Daddies hide the eggs while we try to keep the very excited children entertained. Ellie didn't really know what to think, the first egg she found was hidden in a pair of shoes. She threw the egg to the side and started playing with the shoes. Oh well at least she had fun.


Lucy on the other hand was a pro at finding the eggs and wanted to keep finding more.


All the kids showing off their loot and quickly eating the chocolate out of the plastic eggs before they completely melted.


And what would any Honduran party be without swimming involved. While the kids swam, the adults enjoyed the fruit of their labor with yummy egg salad sandwiches.

Easter Week

This past week we enjoyed some lazy mornings, where we all stay in our pjs until around 10. On this particular morning Lucy was pretending that Ellie was her baby.


We made some homemade popsicles and all got very messy trying to eat them.


We enjoyed making our Easter mountain again this year and Ellie especially enjoyed decorating it.


We had some fun evenings with friends, this little boy is our neighbor and one of the girls favorite playmates. Lucy enjoyed baking easter cup cakes and as you can see we all enjoyed consuming them.


And last but not least we enjoyed dying easter eggs.

Beach Bums

Last week we took a short trip to Roatan Island, for a retreat with our teammates and the Latin America director for MTW. It was a wonderful chance to get away and as always the girls loved the beach.

We enjoyed some nature watching, as we saw 2 of these, in the wild right outside our hotel.


Eating ice cream.


Swimming in the crystal blue water.


Taking long walks on the beach.


Dancing and frolicking.


And in general just some good family time to get away.


Now we are enjoying some more down time as family as we are celebrating holy week, and the death and resurrection of our Savior.

Curls

17 months later when little sister finally gets hair and turns out we have 2 curly haired girls, what fun!

Sarah Returns

Our nanny from the summer returned back to La Ceiba for her spring break. It was such a joy to welcome someone back who has already been here, experienced life here, and developed relationships here. We had a blast catching up, and the girls picked up right where the left off as far as playing with her and enjoying her friendship.

We decided she deserved some R&R, after all this was her spring break, so we took her to a water park here in town. I never knew that something this nice exists just 15 minutes outside the city. I know where I will be any day off I get during the summer!


Another thing she wanted to do was hike Pico Bonito. Sean graciously kept the girls so we didn't attempt this extremely difficult hike with them again. It was refreshing for me to get out in nature, work my muscles hard core, and get some fun girl time. The sweat we are showing in this picture lets you know just how tough this hike really was.


It was a joy to see Sarah reconnect with all the kids she grew close to this summer. Blanca Estella, is just one of the many girls, that Sarah really touched this summer. Lucy loved being with Sarah again soon. She continues to talk about Sarah and just how cool of a girl she really is, I think this is the first real role model Lucy has found.


And Ellie was happy as ever to once again be squeezed and loved on by Sarah.


For Sarah's last night we got to have a girl's night in town with some of her favorite friends in Armenia. We took them out to Pizza Hut and then back to my house for dessert. As you can see we had a blast.


Thanks again for visiting us Sarah, know you are welcome back any time. We loved having you here with us!!

Weather Changes

The past 4 months have been nice and cool here in Ceiba. But now we are saying goodbye to our "rainy season".


And hello to hot humidity.


So here we go again, working on our tan line, sweating the day away, and taking at least 2 showers a day.

A Day at the Beach

On the last day of the Dirks visit we got to go to the beach with them. It was fun to spend a chilly, windy day playing on the beach with them.


Maggie was a little more daring that most and even tried out the water.


Mrs. Carrie makes some rocking sand sculptures including mermaid tails.


And sleeping beauty beds.



We love you and miss you Dirks. Thank you for coming here and ministering to us and along side of us.

More Weekly Adventure with Dirks

Story time is always better with a friend.


This is the way Carrie and I rolled 95% of the time, as single moms, but it was great I wouldn't give up my time with a girl friend for anything.


A little sibling fun.


This was Henry's highlight of the week, a $1 ride on a carousal.


It was great to introduce the Dirks into our world, even though at times it was a little bit overwhelming for the kids.

A Little Dirks Love

So I apologize for the lack of blogging lately but we have been busy entertaining friends. Here is just a little glimpse of our fun week and the love we received from our friends.

As expected Lucy fully embraced the dress up master, Maggie Dirks.


This was Maggie's favorite thing about Honduras, which ironically she called the "big bath tub". It was even more thrilling with the Princess bubbles she brought along.


The little ones enjoyed playing blocks, balls, and just running around chasing one another.


Lucy enjoyed sharing her love of lip gloss with a friend.


Watch out guys, this one is taken.



I promise there will be many more pictures to come of our week to come.