Life Lately May 2026

 Here is a look at some of our family activities during the month of May. 

 

The first Sunday of each month local churches do the Lord's Supper.  We were in two churches the first Sunday in May and enjoyed it twice. 

 

In early May David attended a pastor's conference at Lake Atitlan. 

 

 

I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day celebration. 

 

 

Cruz and his friends have discovered a love for pool and have found a few places in town where they can go play.  These three do a lot together.  In addition to pool and meal outings, they went bowling and saw two movies in May. 

 

 

David made a trip over to the Chiquimula area to make visits. Below are a few of the people he saw while there.

 

 

He was in La Libertad with Nicolas. 

 

He drove up the mountain to Nearar to check on the church and visit with Pastor Rafael and his wife Luz. 

 

He stopped by Camotan to see the Lubecks. 

 

 

Also in Camotan, he visited with sweet Jane.  She runs El Olam school, which is where Cruz attended preschool when we lived there years ago.

 

 

I enjoyed a long lunch outing with my friend Susan, who was back in Guatemala for a visit.  She lived in Antigua for several years but has since returned to the States.  She loves playing cards, and I miss getting to play with her.  It was fun to catch up!

 

For many weeks now Cruz, a few friends, and the youth group leaders have been going out to eat together after Wednesday night youth group.   He loves these outings!

 

 

We had our last day of school on Friday, May 15. That is always a fun celebration day.

 

 

Our night-blooming cereus or sometimes called Queen of the Night cactus bloomed in mid-May. I had been watching it all week knowing that it was getting ready to bloom. The blooms only open at night and last just one night.  By the following morning they close up and die.  They can be as big as 8-12 inches across.  In all, over a three night period, we had thirty-six blooms!  It's a beautiful sight with the sweetest smell.

 

 

 

David and our teammate, Mark, made an overnight trip to Ixchiguan to visit with ministry partners and make plans for our upcoming Indigenous conference.

 

 

On Cruz's birthday eve he enjoyed a meal and outing in town with friends.

 

 

He turned 16 on May 26. 

Here is a look at Cruz's 16th birthday celebration. 

 

 

The following day he got his Guatemala driver's license.  He was very excited! 

 

 

We traveled as a family over to Copan, Honduras to visit with Pastor Nahum. 

 

 

While in Copan, we made a visit to Macaw Mountain to see the birds. 

 

 

Lastly, we ended the month watching baseball.  It was fun to see the Ole Miss Rebels advance to the Super Regionals.   We'll be watching this weekend hoping they advance on to the College World Series.

 

Easter 2026

 Easter week was also our Spring Break week.  It was nice to have some time off from school.  

 

David and I got up before the sun on Good Friday morning.  We walked into town to see the beautiful sawdust carpets.  It is our Good Friday tradition.  Below are just a few of the photos I took.

 

 

 

 

Here's a YouTube video I made showing all the carpets. 

 

We stopped for breakfast at Cafe Condesa.  That is another Good Friday tradition we have. 

 

David's breakfast 

 

Always a good choice for breakfast.

 

 

We had another early morning on Easter Sunday.  We got up for a service at the cross above Antigua.  I had the boys Easter gifts out waiting for them. Their bags were full of snacks and chocolate.  

 

I got this beautiful coffee cup from San Martin.  

I love collecting these!  

 

 

The backside of my cup. 

 

 

We drove up the mountain to the cross for worship.  It was cool and cloudy when we arrived. 

 

Our family on Easter Sunday morning. 

 

 

After the service we drove back into town and enjoyed breakfast at Hector's Bistro.  

 

 

It was still early when we returned home so the guys headed to the gym.  I went out for a walk.  Here's a view of the cross from my walk. 

 

I returned home and cooked lunch.  Thankfully I had done most of my prep cooking on Saturday.  Here's my table for Easter.  This runner and place mats were a gift from a sweet volunteer team member a few years ago.  I love putting it out each year.

 

 

For lunch we had pulled pork I had pre-bought from Pappy's BBQ in town.  To go with it I made a carrot souffle, corn casserole, deviled eggs, green beans, lima beans, rolls, and a chocolate chess pie.  It was delicious!   

Mother's Day Weekend 2025

Mother's Day in Guatemala is May 10.  This year it fell on a Saturday so that meant I got a whole weekend to celebrate.  Here is a look at my weekend.

On Saturday morning we drove up the mountain to a beautiful outdoor place called Altamira Oriole.  It was our first time to visit there, and we loved it.  Last year for Mother's Day we visited a place next door called Antigua Boreal and rode their giant slide.  That was fun also! There are about five different places to visit all on top of the same mountain.  I am already thinking about which place I might want to go to next year.

 

a scenic photo as we arrived

 

Altamira entrance

 

There were so many cool photo props there!!  For someone like me who loves to take pictures, it was a perfect Mother's Day choice!

 

 

 

We always enjoy these mountaintop places because we like looking down and picking out landmarks of our town and surrounding areas.

 

 

They have a Mario Cart dirt track that Cruz and I rode.  It is all downhill, super fast, and a lot of fun! 

 

a video of me driving the trail

 

 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch with amazing views.

 

Before leaving I took a ride on the cable bicycle.  I have seen this advertised for a few years now and was very excited to finally get to ride it.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!

 

 

 

a video of me on the cable bike

 

Later that afternoon I took the boys to the Tacana Climbing Gym.

 

After a few hours of climbing we returned home to grill hot dogs and call it a day.

 

 

my Mother's Day cupcakes from San Martin

I get these every year and I always love the different designs they come up with.  Not only are they always pretty, but they are so sweet and delicious!

 

Mother's Day balloon

 

No pancakes for breakfast this year.  Instead I made sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits.  It is our Sunday staple breakfast meal so I just kept it consistent.  

 

 

me and the boys at breakfast on Mother's Day Sunday

 

I am so thankful God chose me to be their mom!

 

We attended church and then had lunch at Castor's Pizza. 

 

 Pizza is one of my favorite foods. 

 

That afternoon I took a much needed nap and then a long afternoon walk around town.  David grilled steak for supper, and I made a baked potato casserole to go with it.  It was delicious and a wonderful ending to my celebration.