Cancun Get-a-way!

Well, we made it! True to our promise to the kids we wanted to post a little update of our time so far. We headed to the airport in Minneapolis this morning at 6am and arrived in Cancun at 2:20 via Dallas/Fortworth. It was a long day but worth it! We are glad to be here at last. It is GORGEOUS!

Here are some cool mosaics that we saw in the airport in Dallas. I thought you might like seeing how detailed they were!

Here is the hotel that we are staying at from the pier. It is very nice and is on the northern side of Cancun where we have never stayed before. The water is more calm here rather than the crashing waves. The weather was partly cloudy today and in the mid 80's. Kind of different from the snow that was falling in Minneapolis this morning!

That is all for today! More will come tomorrow!

Valentines Weekend!

Here we are singing our hearts out (get it?) at a Valentine Banquet at Shetek Bend for the Tracy Lions Club. This song was
Roses Will Bloom Again three part harmony.

Our newest instrument was an upright bass. We purchased it through a friend of my parents, so they picked it up for us on the way down! We just love the way it adds a joyful beat to our music. It is being played mostly by Becca, although we have been switching off now and then. Here, Grandpa is showing off his incredible jazz style runs. HA!

On Valentines Day, we had a Community Choir concert also held at Shetek Bend. Here are the teens that performed Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love. Although, the conversation determined that there weren't any love romances in the air at the time, but it was still a cute song. Some of us could relate to the falling in love in our teens, though, right? I still can hardly believe that I got married at 19, but I honestly am SO glad that I did! If it is God's will, then there is no mistake!

It was so neat to have Ben and Mindy, Elianna, Mom and Dad, and Sam come to our concert! Charisma and Becca stayed home and babysat for Reuben, Amelia, Katrina, Erina, Simeon and Elijah. They did a great job! Annika, Grandpa and Ben posed for a picture after the concert. They say he is the coolest Grandpa!

Charisma Faith's Baptism

What a wonderful crowd we had at church the day Charisma was baptized. Most of her favorite cousins were even able to come! It was a great day and one that we will never forget. A baptism is such a stepping stone to a closer walk with God. It is saying goodbye to the old man and welcoming the new creation in Christ! It is also telling the world that "I am making a stand to serve my LORD!"

Here, Charisma was singing When I Call on Jesus and she got a little choked up from the wonderful meaning of the words in the song, so Annika came up to help her through to the end. It was such a perfect song for her, and she had it all memorized when she made the announcement that she wanted to get baptized. It had alot of us in tears, and reports were that there were not too many dry eyes in the whole church!

Next she gave her testimony which also made me cry, but it really told her heart, and that was so refreshing to hear.

Here she is, coming up out of the water as a NEW CREATION! "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!"

Random Photos

This is a picture of our good friend, Maria when she first fell in love! Can't you just see it in her eyes? She and Antonio are great friends from our church. They have 5 children and we love spending time with them all! Sam and Antonio love to hunt and fish together.

Here are the guys after a successful hunt! Reuben, Sam, Roger, Tony and Antonio.

Can you tell the the photographer was NOT on the hunt? HA! Dead giveaway, Ben, in the stark WHITE!

Here is a snap of some of the kids at our Super Bowl Party. We were all engrossed in a couple games of 10,000. Not to brag or anything, but I WON!!!! Gotta show those teens that the adults still come out on top in SOME things, right?

Our Family Picture!

As you can see, our family has grown a little from last year. Kathrin Diconne from Germany and Bombay Wattanasombat from Thailand are members of our clan for the year. They are both foreign exchange students, one from NACEL Open Door, and the other from AFS USA. We have really enjoyed having them as part of our lives, and they add a new perspective to each day. They have alot to share about their countries, and our lives are enriched a little more with each person we have into our home!

School Pictures 2008-2009

Benjamin Lewis

Age 17 - Grade 12

Annika Victoria

Age 15 - Grade 10

Charisma Faith

Age 13 - Grade 7

Becca Charity

Age 11 - Grade 5

Reuben Samuel

Age 9 - Grade 3

Amelia Patience  

Age 7 - 2nd Grade

Katrina Hope

Age 5 - Grade K

 

Erina Peace

Age 3 - Preschool

Simeon Olaf

Age 1 - Babyhood!

Children are a blessing from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is HIS reward! Psalm 127

Where have we been?

Well, I know that there has been a space of time between posts here, but we are not lost to the world, only much better! We have been exploring the world. Now my plan is to bring you up to speed by posting the highlights of our summer month by month! So, bear with me as I attempt to capsule all the fun we have had!