Valentine's Day 2026

 We had a fun Valentine's Day celebration this year. 

 

As always, I decorated our table and had gifts set out for my guys that morning. 

 

My gifts were roses,  a new table runner for spring/ Easter, and a coffee cup.  Both of those came from San Martin.

 

David got a tea blend from Pachamama and some honey from Doña Luisa.

 

 

We had heart shaped chocolate chip banana pancakes and bacon for breakfast. 

 

Later that morning, I headed out for a walk in town.  From this corner you can see all three volcanoes in our area- Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. 

 

 

 

I made a strawberry cake for our Valentine's dessert. 

 

 

David and I went out to eat that night at Pappy's BBQ. It was our first visit since being back in Guatemala.

 

We then spent some time walking around town and enjoying the sights.

 

Overall, it was a simple but lovely day! 

Ringing in the New Year 2026

We celebrated Christmas in the States but were back in Guatemala in time to ring in the new year. Most of New Year's Eve was spent running errands and lounging on the couch watching football. That evening after supper, David, Cruz, and I went into town to walk around and get coffee and dessert.  Ben had been at a sleepover the night before and didn't come home until around 9:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve so he wasn't here to join us.

 

Much of town was still decorated for Christmas.  It was pretty!  This is our town's Central Park. 

 

The San José Cathedral that faces our Central Park.

 

 

They had a large stage area set up for the New Year's celebration activities. 

 

 

ready to count down to the new year 

 

me and David in the Central Park

 

 

the famous arch in Antigua 

 

We stopped at Bru'd for coffee and dessert.  It is one of our favorite coffee shops in town. 

 

Cruz got cheesecake.  It is his favorite dessert. 

 

I had ice coffee and shared this cinnamon roll with David. 

 

I love the decorations in there. 

 

We came home, and I watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.  I love Ryan! 

 

 

Happy New Year!!!

 

We stayed up another hour until midnight here to see the fireworks and then went to bed. 

 

 

We had chocolate chip banana pecan pancakes for our New Year's Day breakfast. 

I then spent the morning watching the Rose Parade.  I loved seeing this Mississippi float.

 

our annual family photo 

 

 

We went into town for lunch and ate at Hector's Bistro.  It is one of our favorite restaurants in town. 

 

 

I love these bacon wrapped stuffed dates!!! 

 

A view of Agua volcano on the walk back to the car. 

 

 

The highlight of the day was watching Ole Miss play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. 

 

 

Let's go!!! 

 

I baked a cake.  I attempted to shape it like a football but didn't cut enough off of the middle.  Regardless, it was a delicious dessert. 

 

We also had Domino's pizza delivered for supper. 

 

 

We built a fire and watched the game. 

 

 

Ole Miss won!!!!!

I have watched a lot of football games in my life, but this one will always stand out as a highlight.  It was the most exciting, thrilling game ever!!!   It was hard to wind down and go to bed after that.  What a fun way to kick off the new year.

 

 

Happy New Year y'all!!!

 

Thanks for keeping up with our family on our little corner of the web.  We appreciate you reading!

 

As we start this new year, we are praying that it is a year filled with growth, obedience, and joy as we follow God's plan for our lives. We are trusting Him to lead every step in this new term. We are grateful for His guidance and excited for what He has in store for the days ahead.

Life Lately June 2025

We kicked off June sending the boys to Camp Guamiski.  This is a yearly summer camp for missionary kids whose parents serve in Guatemala.  They look forward to it all year long.  It is definitely one of their favorite annual events! While they are at camp every summer, we spend the week doing annual medical checkups.  

 

This year Ben was on the yellow team and Cruz was on the orange team. 

 

 

Cruz's team 

 

Ben's team 

 

 

2025 group photo 

 

 

having lunch with friends at Santo Gyro in Antigua

 

 

Enjoying my last walk with Betsy until next year. She and I started walking on weekdays back in January and rarely missed a day.  The exercise was great but the fellowship and accountability was my favorite part.

 

David and I on our last date night in Antigua for a while. 

 

 

We began packing for our furlough.  On this trip home we took all of our Legos to store in the States.  

 

A sweet friend saw this Coke with my name on it and brought it to me.  It made me smile! 

 

We had several meals with friends during those last days in Guatemala.  On this particular day we met the Jarvis family for a pizza lunch at our local mall.  We also got ice cream before we parted ways.

 

Ben and Josue at one of our last church services together. 

 

Ben playing video games at his friend Ethan's house the day before we left. 

 

 

Mid-month we flew to Panama for a work conference.  It was our last work commitment before we left for the States. 

 

walking through the Guatemala City airport

 

 

sunrise view from the airport 

 

 

While in Panama, we celebrated Father's Day. 

 

Ben at supper one night. 

 

 

On the closing session Cruz shared with the large group something that God had taught him over the week.  It was a proud moment to see him get up and share. 

 

 

We returned to Guatemala for about thirty hours.  It was enough time to unpack, wash clothes, and repack before heading back to the airport to fly overnight to the States to begin our Stateside Assignment (furlough).  I'll share about the rest of June in my next post.