Christmas Tree Cutting

So every year Joel and I like to venture out into the woods and find the perfect little tree for Christmas. Sure we could go out and buy a tree that's fuller and a little more symmetrical, but then we wouldn't get to enjoy that time together that always ends up being so much fun. We took a 4-wheeler from my mom and dad's house and rode around their acreage until we found the perfect little guy. We took the dogs with and they had a blast running their hearts out. So not only did we have a cute tree, we had two worn out dogs, and an afternoon of enjoying the outdoors with each other. We got home and decorated the little tree with little ornaments, as the branches wouldn't hold anything larger :) The lights were almost too heavy, but after some reinforcements were in place, it's standing up just fine! Maybe next year we'll have room for a slightly more substantial tree, but for now, this one makes us smile :)

Baby Update

We had a general check up with the midwife yesterday. We wanted to deliver with a midwife, but we also wanted a hospital delivery, so from the start we've been going to this lady who is just fantastic. The nice thing about the midwife is that you have more say in what happens. Doctors tend to push for certain things more quickly and don't always allow the mother much say in what happens. Also, it's nice to have a female taking care of you, one who has actually been through a delivery, unlike a male doctor :) This midwife works in an absolutely gorgeous clinic under a doctor. So if anything were to become high risk with our pregnancy or delivery, the doctor is on hand and would take over. So long as things remain routine, we have the midwife. To top it off, they deliver in the hospital with the nicest birthing center around! Sweet! Anyways, the baby is doing great, his/her little heart is beating strong at 143 which is perfectly average for 16 weeks. On January 6th we'll find out if it is a boy or a girl, so stay tuned!!!

Jasper Retreat

Last weekend we took 9 of our youth group to a lodge in Jasper, AR for a weekend youth retreat. Our previous youth minister, Lee, came as our guest speaker and between his wife, our current youth minister, a parent, and Joel and I, there were 15 of us total. There was a pool table and hot tub and we played a lot of games from horseshoes to dominos. The theme of the weekend was finding our purpose in life-why God put us here. 6 of the 9 youth were kids that Cody (the kid who is living with us) knows from the alternative school and most of them are in host homes too. The lessons that Lee presented were perfect for this group and the kids all asked great questions. I really hope they took the messages to heart and find ways to apply them to their lives. I didn't take very many photos this year, and in fact this first one is a photo from last year's group that I'm posting to show the outside of the lodge.


Joel concentrating on a game of horseshoes.


It was so chilly outside, these goofs put the lid on the hot tub with a breathing corner!

Kyle, Cody's brother, in front, and 3 of the other boys figuring out how to 'break'.

Other Highlights

In addition to our on-shore excursions, we had a lot of fun on the boat. Here are photos of us at our formal nights on the ship and at the ballroom dance competition we took Runner-Up in with our Salsa dancing :) We won a trophy, rose, and bottle of champagne that I couldn't drink because I'm pregnant! Thanks for checking out our stories and photos from the cruise. It was a ton of fun and we will definitely be doing more cruises in the future.

Princess Cay

Our last stop was Princess Cay, on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. Princess purchased a huge section of this island and has created a private, beach-front resort for its passengers. They serve a buffet of food, have beach volleyball, snorkeling, kayaking, etc. It's a relaxing day to end the trip. Here are a few photos.

Cozumel, Mexico

Our next stop was Cozumel, Mexico. It's a little island off the east coast of Mexico. Once again, we rented a Jeep and took off for some exploring. We first went to one of the ruin sites that ended up being really lame. It only had one building and wasn't very tall or impressive looking. So we continued on the 1 road that goes around the island and drove past miles and miles of untouched beaches with incredible waves. Once in a while there would be a market along the beach, but really nothing else on that side of the island. We found a blow hole where water would spout through the rocks when big waves would hit. We randomly saw two racoons run across the road, and later saw a wild crocodile soaking up the sun on a rock. It was only about 3 feet long, but exciting nonetheless. We then went to another ruin site that was far better than the first. There were probably 20 different buildings or sites where buildings had once been. They weren't the tall pyramid buildings I was expecting, they were 10 to 15 feet tall and arranged in a way that suggests a whole village lived there. It was really neat. After that we explored the city a little bit and dropped off Isabell and Danny. Our Jeep rental place had warned us not to go down this one road on the island because, according to him, Donald Trump had just bought the property and it was therefore private property. Joel asked another guy and he said that that wasn't true, but that the road was really rough and shouldn't be driven down. So he asked ANOTHER guy about the road who told us that as long as the Jeep was 4x4 we would be fine. Apparently there was another ruin site at the end of the road. So Joel and I let our curiosity get the best of us and took off down the road, past the "restricted access" signs, and they sure were right about it being rough! It went through some gorgeous terrain, but after nearly 2 hours and miles of maneuvering over rocks and through deep sand, we still hadn't seen any ruins and the time for our ship to depart was getting closer and closer. So eventually we turned around and headed back. When we were within sight of the main road, two Mexican policemen appeared walking down the road. They were strapped with M-16's across their chests and didn't look very pleased to see us. We pulled up and said Hi, and they just looked around the Jeep, said a few words, and walked on. Phew!!!! So, here are a few photos of our sights around the island of Cozumel.

To "Hell" and Back

As I mentioned, we were sailing for Jamaica, but when we got there the seas were so rough, with winds reaching 55 knots, that the captain, for the first time in his career, aborted our stop. We were pretty bummed, but he really had no other choice. The seas were really crazy, to the point where they had to empty the swimming pools onboard because the water was crashing out into the restaurant areas. So, we just kept sailing for Grand Cayman Island, our next scheduled stop. When we got there, Joel and I rented a Jeep and took off to explore the island. We went around the entire island and saw beautiful properties, gorgeous beaches, crystal clear waters, and neat little towns. There is even a little town there called "Hell" that we drove to. It's pretty hilarious because the little kids at the school in Hell wear red uniforms ;) Poor kids. Here are some photos of places we visited and things we did while on Grand Cayman.

Our Caribbean Cruise

Last Saturday, November 22nd, Joel and I boarded the Ruby Princess for our 7 day cruise to the Caribbean. The boat is 950 feet long, 19 stories tall, holds 3500 passengers (not counting the 1200 employees), has 9 restaurants, 14 bar/lounge areas, 4 swimming pools, 6 jacuzzi tubs, a complete theatre, and is absolutely beautiful. They treat you like an absolute king from the room steward who makes your bed in the morning and turns down the sheets at night with chocolates on the comforter, to the waitstaff who brings you as many appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts as you could ever wish for. From a pregnant woman's perspective, it was HEAVEN. No cooking, no cleaning, just adventures during the day, all you can eat food, and fantastic evening entertainment. They have an amazing crew of dancers and singers who did multiple amazing shows from a Broadway dance show to an abstract Alice in Wonderland type production. There were also comedians, jugglers, live bands, and much more! So needless to say, we were never bored. So we got on the boat Saturday with our friends Isabell and Danny from El Paso, TX and spent the next two days at sea sailing for Jamaica. These are a few photos of the boat from the swimming pools, to the big screen where we would watch "Movies Under the Stars" on certain nights, to the grand piazza in the center of the boat.

Fall Photos

Joel and I took some fall pictures with a gorgeous tree outside our home last week. The one with his hand on my belly is our attempt to include the baby, even though you can't really tell I'm pregnant yet :) Enjoy!

Ultrasound Pictures

We have had a lot of people ask us to see the ultrasound photos of our baby. Unfortunately, we were only 6 weeks along for the first one, and 8 weeks along for the most recent. We are currently 14 weeks along, so I'm sure the baby looks a LOT different at this point. So to explain the pictures, the first one is the baby between the two + signs. Tiny. Not very intersting... The next one is only two weeks later, and you can see the actual shape of a baby. The big hump in the middle of it is the baby's heart. My finger is simply there to hold down the page while I took a picture of it, I'm not pointing at anything of interest. Our next ultrasound won't be until January when we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl. Woo Hoo!!!! Stay tuned...

Joel's Mom and Brothers Visit

We had a blast with the family and went to a beautiful setting called Mear's Bluffs. Check these out!!!!








We maybe had too much fun acting like someone was falling off the bluffs, but luckily no one did and it was all in good fun. We also went to a natural spring that flows year round and is aptly dubbed "big spring".

Of course Joel's brothers Gabriel and Ernesto had to tease their mom, Rosa, and pretend to throw her in the freezing water!

They were only here for a short weekend, but we really enjoyed getting to spend time with them and catching up a little. Hopefully they'll be back before too long!