Life Lately April 2026

 Here are some photos from the month of April. 

 

We began the month celebrating Easter.  Here we are on Easter Sunday at an early morning service up at the cross above our town.  If you'd like to see more photos from our Easter celebration, click  Easter 2026.

 

 

David led a few sessions at a leadership development training for a church in Guatemala City.  The event took place at Lake Amatitlan, which is on the other side of Guatemala City. 

 

 

We celebrated Ben's 14th birthday.  You can read about his fun day HERE. 

 

 

The boys attended a one day Youth Day Camp with their youth group.  They had worship, Bible study, water games, competition games, food, and fellowship.  It was a fun day for everyone! 

 

The boys were gone all day which gave us time to get some things done around the house.  In addition, David spent time answering emails and also trying to complete an online leadership development course he is taking.  That afternoon we drove up the mountain for coffee and dessert.  Here is mine.  

 

 

Before leaving we walked around the beautiful property and I videoed a few of the fountains they have there.  I love hearing the water as it falls!  

 

 

I have been making homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast most every Friday morning since getting this super easy recipe at our recent homeschool conference. They are so soft and delicious!

 

 

On this particular morning I made a coffee flavored glaze to pour over them.  It was really good!  

 

Sadly, I took down all of our cheerful Easter decorations and stored them away.  I now just have generic spring things around the house.  I love bringing flowers in from the yard.  Seeing the pops of color makes me happy. 

 

I took this volcano view photo on a recent Friday afternoon drive to the grocery store.  I write out a menu plan for the upcoming week and go buy groceries every Friday afternoon.  Having my meals planned, prepped, and organized makes my school weeks go much smoother.  Anyway, views of the volcanoes around us never get old! 

 

Every year around Easter our grocery store (La Torre) has purple bags.  I love purple so getting these always makes me smile.  Like many people, we use them for garbage bags.  I love seeing the purple in our bathrooms.  Normally, they are orange.  It's great for fall but not so much the rest of the year.

 

The bougainvillea above our gate is in full bloom!  It is so pretty to look out the windows and see.  

 

 

As the petals fall, they fill our yard with color. 

 

 

Here's a photo of Ben I took at Luna de Miel on a recent Sunday lunch outing after church.  We had great views of the volcanoes in the background from our seats.  He especially loves eating there because they have delicious crepes.  He always gets the Chapin which is refried black beans, mozzarella cheese, and cream.

  

 

Lastly, we ended the month spending a few days in Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. It was an incredible trip!  I'll try to start posting about that soon. 

 

 

Two more weeks of school and then summer break!!!

Life Lately March 2026

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

 

We started the month getting supplies ready for a mission team.  We were hosting a team from Easthaven Baptist in Brookhaven, MS.  This is the city we have always stayed in during our Stateside Assignments.  We have hosted them many times and always look forward to having them here with us.

 

 

Our mission team

You can read about our week with them here- Easthaven Misson Team. 

 

 

They flew out on a Friday afternoon, and we flew out the following morning heading to Virginia to attend an IMB Americas Homeschool Conference.   We had an incredible week there with other homeschool families who serve in the Americas.  

 

 

our family March 2026 

 

 

Due to our mission team and trip to Virginia, the boys missed two weeks of youth group.  They were eager to return.  That night the boys' Bible study group made pancakes and served them for the evening meal. Our boys enjoyed getting to help.

 

youth group friends 

 

 

We took this photo on Palm Sunday morning. 

 

 

Ben took his friend, Josue, to the climbing gym with him.  This is Ben's favorite activity! 

 

 

For Cruz's cooking class during March, the recipes he made were batter fried fish, cheese grits, and a herb marinated flank steak.  

  

All of the recipes were good, but we especially loved the cheese grits.  It was more work than my usual way to make grits but was delicious.  I have since made the recipe again and is one I'll use in the future.

 

 

I made a banana pudding.  I brought pudding mix and Nilla wafers back with me from the States in December.  I brought enough to make three desserts.  It is something we all love. 

 

While at the homeschool conference, I was given a recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls.  The dough is only self rising flour and heavy whipping cream.  It seemed too easy to be true, but I tried it recently on a Saturday morning.  

 

 

 Turns out they were delicious!  The dough was so soft and perfect. 

 

  I will be making these again often.

  

 

We are on Spring Break this week.  On Monday we made a drive into Guatemala City and visited our favorite mall, Miraflores.   Here are me and the boys enjoying some of the Easter decorations.

 

 

I took Cruz to do some shopping.  David and Ben passed the time with coffee and donuts. 

 

We love just walking around this mall. 

 

 

We went bowling. 

 

me and my boys 

 

 

It was a fun family outing!

 

On Tuesday, the 31st, Ben and I were invited to an Easter party with several of his friends.  They dyed eggs and played "minute to win it" style games for Easter themed prizes.  I think the moms enjoyed the fellowship just as much as the kids. 

 

 

Ben with two of his best friends. 

 

We are now gearing up for the main Holy Week activities taking place in our town this week.  Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua, Guatemala is on a level of its own. Throughout this week there is expected to be several hundred thousand people pass through our town. It is by far the busiest and most celebrated week of the year.  It don’t know what your part of the world will look like for Easter week, but ours will be hopping.

  

 

Happy Easter everyone!   

Life Lately February 2026

 I realize it is almost April, but here are some life moments from the month of February.  

 

I started the month by meeting a dear friend for coffee. We had a long visit trying to catch up on all that took place while we had been gone to the States. 

 

We enjoyed watching the Olympics. 

 

 

We made a drive into Guatemala City to renew Cruz's Guatemalan passport. 

 

 

We celebrated Valentine's Day.  Here we are having a date night meal at Pappy's BBQ. 

 

 

Ben made a few visits to the climbing gym.  On this visit he took his friend Ethan. 

 

 

On this visit he took his friend Joshua (who is not pictured).

 

 

I packed away the Valentine's decorations and now have our house ready for Easter. 

  

 

Cruz translating at youth group. 

 

 

In his cooking class during February he made a mud pie (chocolate pie), cream cheese brownies, a key lime cheese cake, and a puffy omelet.  He makes one recipe each week.   

 

 

I made a roast for the first time in Guatemala. 

 

I also tried a new recipe for a sausage and egg breakfast casserole.  It was delicious! 

 

 

I made blueberry ricotta pancakes for the first time.  This was another delicious new recipe. 

 

my pancakes 

 

Ben with his friend Josue matching at church. 

 

 

I celebrated my birthday.   

 

Lastly, we ended the month attending the annual Intermissions Conference at beautiful Lake Atitlan. Here is a group photo from this year's conference.