Father's Day 2011

Because we were traveling we did not get to do anything special for Father's Day.  Last Friday, June 17, was Father's Day in Guatemala.  We were in meetings all day, I was sick that day, and it rained that night so we did not want to get the baby out to go eat.  Sunday, Father's Day in the States, we were traveling home and stopped over in Coban for the night.  It was raining there too, but we did get to go next door to Casa de Acuna for dinner.  Below are a few photos I took of David and Cruz after eating lunch on Sunday at Sarita's near El Rancho on our way to Coban.

Cruz did not want to sit still to have his photo taken.

One of his favorite things these days are rocks.  He loves to pick them up, carry them around, and especially put them in his mouth.  As soon as we walked outside he spotted this fountain-

it was covered in rocks and he loved it! 

 He got really upset with his dad when he picked him up for a picture.

We celebrated most this past Wednesday.  The day started with a Southern breakfast.  I even made biscuits.  We then drove to Santa Elena to run a few errands and to eat lunch.  David chose to eat at Pizza Hut because it was one of the only places that has a/c.  Later that evening we cooked on the grill and enjoyed a nice meal at home.  

Here is a photo of David and Cruz with David's Father's Day card.  I started a tradition of giving him a card with Cruz's handprints on it last year and plan to do it as long as Cruz will cooperate. 

Cruz is such a blessed little boy to have such a great dad like David.  I have often said that it is like Cruz has two mama's because David is soo hands-on with him.  I have enjoyed everyday of getting to see David in action as a dad.  It is a role he is doing very well! 

Mother's Day 2011- Part 2

I posted earlier in the week about my American Mother's Day celebration.  Here in Guatemala we celebrate Mother's Day on May 10.  So that means that unless May 10 falls on a Sunday, we get to celebrate twice.  How nice is that!  This post is about how I spent my Guatemala Mother's Day.

The day started really, really early.  Here it is tradition to start shooting fireworks before the crack of dawn.  They started around our house about midnight.  People drive around in vehicles playing very loud music, giving "shout outs" and Mother's Day wishes through a megaphone, and shooting fireworks in your yard.  It seemed as though they circled our block at least a dozen times.  It was constant until about 3:30 and then it got quiet for an hour or so.  Around 5:00 they started back up for another round.  We were exhausted!  If most mom's around here are like me the one thing they would love most for Mother's Day is some rest.  This is not a very good "gift" for mom's in my opinion, lol, but he locals love it.

Surprisingly, Cruz slept  through most of the celebration.  We were thankful for that.  He decided it was time to start our day around 6:30 (a little earlier than normal).  We had french toast for breakfast and I ate mine on our special plate.  I have a feeling that this plate is going to be one of my most prized possessions in the years to come.

We then packed up, loaded the car, and drove north.  Our first stop was Pizza Hut for lunch.  It was my choice.  I could eat  pizza every day.   After eating we walked over to the local grocery store to buy some snacks and bottled water and then headed around the back side of Lake Itza for the night. 

 We spent some time walking along the lake,

 swinging in the hammocks,

playing in the water,

and just relaxing!  It was a wonderful afternoon.

We had a nice dinner and then enjoyed the evening getting to take a bubble bath and sleeping under A/C.  I felt pampered, haha.

The next morning we walked back down to the lake to help feed the turtles and fish.  That was a lot of fun.  Below are a few photos of us on the walk down.

We stood on the back of this big boat and watched the turtles swim in.  There were a lot of them in all sizes. 

The hotel worker brought this bag of left over bread and that is what we fed them. 

David and Cruz on the pier 

Me and my baby boy

It was a great way to celebrate.  I had a blast!  I told David that next year I would like to do the same thing except maybe stay the night on Mother's Day Eve and skip some of the local festivities.  ;-)

Mother's Day 2011 Part 1

My Mother's Day weekend was a work weekend for us.  We had made plans a while back to attend the inauguration of a new mission in the town of Poptun (without realizing it was Mother's Day weekend).  They have been meeting for a few months, but had the service to make them officially a part of the Peten K'ekchi' Baptist Association this weekend.  We left early Saturday morning and did not return home until late Sunday afternoon.  Because of that David made sure that I had a little something to enjoy before we left.  When I woke up Saturday morning and walked into the kitchen, this is what I found-

He bought me this glass frame, and put a photo of Cruz in it.  He picked some flowers from our yard and put them in water.  And, he made me a very special card from Cruz.  He wrote it as if it were Cruz speaking.  What I love most was that he used English, Spanish, and K'ekchi' words because we are sure that when Cruz starts talking that is what he is going to sound like, haha.  It was priceless and brought a big smile to my face!

me and my sweet boy

This was us on Sunday morning before heading out to attend a baptismal service.  We had the joy of watching ten people get baptized that morning.  Afterwards we attended worship with them and had lunch together.  It was more of a typical Sunday than a special day.  But, Mother's Day in Guatemala is tomorrow, May 10.  So that means I get the chance to celebrate again.  I am not sure what all is planned, but I do know it will include a nice meal and some R and R.  I am looking forward to writing Part 2 of this post later this week. 

Before I Was a Mom

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

 Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

 Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

 Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom so much.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.
(poem author unknown)

It's my first Mother's Day and today I am so very thankful that I can celebrate the fact that some little person calls me mama, loves me dearly, and makes my life complete!

Happy Easter!

It Was A LOVEly Day

First of all let me mention that we had planned to spend a few days this week in Coban visiting with our supervisor who was scheduled to be here to do some leadership training for the K'ekchi' pastors.  But, his father-in-law passed away on Saturday, so he had to postpone his trip.  We had planned to buy groceries in Coban while there.  When our visit got cancelled we decided instead to head to the Santa Elena area on Monday to buy groceries and eat lunch for Valentine's Day.  It turned out to be a fun outing! 

Cruz really likes his stroller these days (as long as you are moving).  He's not a fan of sitting still.

We went early because I wanted to stop by the local El Mismo Precio (The Same Price).  It is our version of the Dollar Tree.  I didn't need anything, but just wanted to look around.  I ended up buying a few bilingual children's books for Cruz, and David wanted to get him this maraca- 

He loves this thing!  He likes to shake it, hit it on everything, and especially put it in his mouth.

We also thought it would be fun to let him ride a few of the rides they have there.  He didn't know what to think at first.  He mainly wanted to eat the steering wheel.   

David was constantly moving his mouth away from licking it. 

Here is a short video of him in action-

We also put him on the motorcycle.

Afterwards we visited a local hotel to have lunch by the lake.  Some missionary friends of ours recommended we try it.  They like to visit it when they host teams. 

We ate under this tent.  You can see the lake in the background.  We were the only ones there so we had the whole place to ourselves.

my little Valentine!

This was my plate.  David and I both ate fish.  It was yummy! 

Cruz enjoying his Valentine's lunch, with a little maraca on the side, ha

After eating we spent a while walking around and seeing the property.  They have a lot of walking and bike trails.  We ended up putting Cruz in the stroller and he fell asleep.  Here are a few photos we took-

Cruz and I in the BIG chair next to the pool.

David and Cruz

Can you guess what they are looking at???

this crocodile!

our family on Valentine's Day

They have a large fenced in area with many deer.  We enjoyed watching them. 

They also have several of these beautiful birds. 

It was nice to walk around and enjoy the fresh air.  When we left we visited the grocery store and purchased some groceries.  We also picked up a Pizza Hut pizza to take home for dinner, and drove back to Sayaxche.  The neighbor kids saw us drive up and came running to see us.  We spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining them.  We had a fun, relaxing day!