Life Lately May 2024

 

The month began with a youth group day mission trip to a neighboring town outside of Antigua. They did games, worship, crafts, and made some home visits. It was a wonderful opportunity for the boys to participate in.  They both loved it!
 

 

Getting ready for games

 

hiking to make a home visit

 

Cruz sharing with a group of kids.

 

 

I had an extra fun Mother's Day celebration.  Guatemala's Mother's Day is on May 10, which fell on Friday this year.  Then, the U.S. Mother's Day was on Sunday, May 12.  We just celebrated all weekend long.  

 

Here's a fun video of one of our Mother's Day outings.

 

 

My Wednesday mom's group ended for the summer.  A few of us went out for lunch to celebrate.  We had a delicious meal at Hector's Bistro. I am thankful for these ladies and their friendship. 

 

They gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers as a thank you for hosting each week.

 

On the same day we celebrated the last day of school and started our summer break.

 

Me and the boys on a Sunday morning outing to church.

 

We had a work trip to Brazil and were so thrilled to get to take the boys with us.  Here we are standing alongside the Amazon River. What a joy for us to all get to see a different part of the world together.   It was an incredible trip! 

 

We spent a day on the Amazon River.  Here's a video highlighting some of the views from the boat. 

 

We enjoying getting to see birds and monkeys as we ate our meals each day in an open air dining room.

 

 

A video of us trying to catch pirarucu in the river.

 

 

Swimming at the Meeting of Waters.

 

 

Cruz's flag football season ended in late May with a finale game.  He loved getting to play this sport!  Hopefully they will both be playing in the fall. 

 

 

Here's a video highlight of his finale game day.

 

He turned 14 on May 26. 

Here's a video of his birthday celebration.

 

a family photo on Cruz's birthday

 

 

Cruz was cast as young Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in the upcoming fall production of Little Women.  It will be a presentation done by the Guatemala Academy of Performing Arts.  He is excited!  Now, time to start learning those lines!!

 

Here he is on a recent lunch outing with his friend Canon.  Our beautiful walking town is full of restaurants and cafes.  It is a great location to meet a friend for coffee or a meal.  Cruz is finding some independence in that and thinks outings like this with friends are a huge deal.  God has put some amazing friends in his life in recent years.  I am glad he has others to do life with.

Lastly, May started in the happiest of ways and then ended in the saddest of ways.

 

The first Sunday in May my brother was baptized.  He had made a profession of faith back in March. I had prayed for my brother for many many years and this felt like a huge answer to prayer.  I was so  proud of him!

 

Then, in late May, his life tragically ended. He was just 54 years old. I am still trying to process this great loss.  It was just six months prior that my dad passed away.  My heart is heavy and sad.  I could definitely use your prayers.

Overall, we are enjoying our lazy summer days.  I am thankful for unscheduled time to just rest and heal.  We'll be traveling a lot this summer so I better rest up while I can.

Mother's Day 2024

Mother's Day in Guatemala falls on May 10 each year.  This year it was on a Friday.  We try to do something on Guatemala Mother's Day and the U.S. Mother's Day.  That meant a whole weekend of celebration for me.   

 

We had a normal school day on Friday.  I got these beautiful roses.  That evening we ordered pizza and ate outside on our patio.

 

After supper we walked down to our mall, Plaza Telares, and had coffee and dessert.

 

On Saturday morning we drove up the mountain to El Hato to visit Antigua Boreal.

 

These flowers were at the entrance.  They are one of my favorites!

 

celebrating Mother's Day with my boys

 

Antigua Boreal is known for two things- their giant slide and their deep dish pizza.  We wanted to try out both.

 

me and the boys took a turn on the slide

 

It was so much fun!!!

 

Next, we had a pizza lunch.  Look at all that cheese!!

 

One last photo before we left.

 

 

Here's a YouTube video that includes footage of us going down the slide.

 

 

That evening we lit our fire pit, cooked hotdogs, and tossed the football in the front yard. We ended the night playing Skip Bo.

 

Saturday night dessert- delicious cupcakes from San Martin bakery.

 

On Sunday morning I had homemade cards, wind chimes, a giant Hershey bar, and a new coffee cup waiting for me on the table.

 

San Martin is a local restaurant chain/ bakery.  They offer different coffee cup patterns all throughout the year. I love collecting them!  This was one of their Mother's Day patterns this year.  I love it!

 

ready to eat

 

For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits, and bacon.

 

We took a few photos before we left for church.

 

After church we enjoyed lunch at Pasta Nostra in town.

 

The rest of the day was spent lounging around. It was a great way to end a wonderful celebration weekend. 

I shared this poem on a Facebook post- 

“Motherhood is messy.

And challenging.

And crazy.

And sleepless.

And giving.

And still unbelievably beautiful.”

-Rachel Martin 

 

I think it sums it up perfectly.