Our Trip to PA - Part II

If you would like to read Part I from our trip to PA, click here.

{ Our Visit }

We started off our month long visit with getting my sister married!  Congratulations to Josh and Brenda!

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite pics...

{ the beautiful bride }

{ me and my little sister }

{ the wedding party }

{ Brenda and her nephews }

{ our family }

{ Taylor preceded the bride down the aisle holding this sign.  It was so cute! }

{ my family - the Pardoe's }

Next, we spent a lot of time visiting with family and friends!  We had many evenings of enjoying good food, fellowship, and conversation!  We also really enjoyed worshipping with our home church family.  It was refreshing and a great blessing to our hearts!

And to those of you who don't know, we also had a doctor's appt. scheduled while we were in PA.  Why?  Well, we are pleased to announce that we are expecting baby #4 in about 10 more weeks!!  They also tell us that IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

We are very happy and excited!!!  It will also make life a little more interesting as we are planning on starting our fall deputation about two weeks after the baby is due!! Whew...I'd better get busy organizing and planning now!

So now you know almost all the news...but wait!  There's more to this story.  Check back for Part III and how the Lord guided our steps in regards to our return back to Mexico.  Sometimes, the Lord works in mysterious ways...

Celebrate!

Yesterday, we were able to spend some time relaxing together. We also checked out the large indoor market here, drove out to the border of Guatemala, then later on, I put up the Christmas tree while Mom and Dad wrapped gifts.

All of those things that happened yesterday, brings us to today! We started the morning by eating a delicious french toast casserole, then we read the Christmas story and opened up Christmas gifts that Mom and Dad had brought with them. The boys were all excited, of course!

Parker was enjoying himself by piling his gifts on top of each other!

Later on this afternoon, my Dad and I put up some cabinets! I finally have a place to put my dishes and glasses, etc... Yay! Now, I just need to get them (the cabinets!) painted some time soon! My plans are to paint them an antique black that will match my desk.

And........today is also my 30th birthday! It was so nice to be able to celebrate it with my Mom and Dad and Pap! And we all really enjoyed Dad's chocolate/peanut butter cake!

A New Experience

Well, that day has finally come! The day I had to go find a dentist and get some major work done.

You see, I had braces when I was younger, and was always being warned to brush my teeth well, because cavities have a greater chance of appearing while wearing those metal brackets that can trap food real well. So, I was quite surprised when I had the braces removed, and I had no cavities! I thought that was exciting! And then every year after that when I would have my teeth cleaned...still no cavities! So recently, I thought it would be really neat if I could make it to my 30th birthday without having any cavities. Unfortunately, my teeth had other ideas, and I didn't quite make my goal (by a few months).

For a couple of months now, my lower, left, back molar has felt like a piece had broken off of it, but I had no pain, so, big deal. Apparently, another piece broke off this weekend causing a severe tooth break and a constant tooth ache. Of course, I didn't really know what was causing the pain, so we began asking around for a good dentist in town.

We finally found this really nice place that is similar to what we're used to in the States (receptionist, clean waiting area, good equipment...).

That Thursday when I went in, the one dentist lady cut the nerve to the molar to help with the pain and also sanded the molar down and put in a temporary cap. Today I went back, and another dentist lady performed the actual root canal and then put on another tempoary cap. I was very pleased with my experience. The best part about the day, was since the Novocain wore off, I've not had any pain!

I'm to return to the office again on Thursday for them to reconstruct the tooth/make a crown for my molar. I have no restrictions on eating/drinking (yay!), so I'm good to go.

The only other bad news, is that I have a cavity on the upper, left, back molar that they're going to drill and then fill at some other time.

So, that's my new experience in life and I'm guessing it means I must be getting older! Next thing you know, I'll have a mouthful of false teeth!!! =)

Celebrating 10 Years Together!!

Yesterday we decided to do something special for our anniversary. We planned to drop the kids off with some of our church people, and after visiting a store grand opening, we would head out to the beach. Great plan. Unfortunately, anytime we plan something special, it seems that L-I-F-E happens, and makes everything more "interesting." That's just kind of how we roll. And yesterday was no exception!

Beautiful roses Michael gave me on our anniversary.

The day started out fine. We dropped the kids off as planned, then drove to a brand new superstore here in town. It took us forever to find a parking spot, and once getting in the store, we decided we were crazy. Michael described it as, "black friday on steroids!!" It was wall-to-wall people! After trying to navigate through the store, we gave up and headed for the doors.

We decided to stop by their other store in town (there was hardly any one there) and grab a few items. Then we headed home for a quick lunch, packed up some stuff, and headed to the beach.

Now comes the, ummm, "interesting" part. We arrived at Playa Linda and headed down the lane towards the beach. (Please note, this part of the story may sound a little different if you ask Michael.) That lane takes you right to the sand, not too far off the beach. The last time we had been there, I remember us remarking to each other that the sand was really firm and we could have probably driven out onto it instead of parking at the end of the lane. Well, after some discussion, Michael didn't think we should try it this time, and I though we should. I was driving, so I just gunned it and headed out onto the sand. Only this time, the sand was NOT so firm!!! Oops! I managed to get ourselves stuck good and proper in the sand!

Well, Michael was not too much "in like" with me at that moment, but thankfully, LOVE still remained! =) After several attempts at digging out around the tires and using our 4 wheel drive (which didn't want to kick on), we finally had a plan that worked! Both Michael and I dug long trenches in the sand behind both back tires. We found a wooden plank and some driftwood that we wedged under the tires, then while Michael pushed from the front, I put the truck in reverse and gunned it! Thank the Lord, we got traction and I was able to back up all the way to the lane. Whew! That wasn't quite the relaxing day we had planned, but at least we weren't stuck anymore!!

After all that, we were finally able to get set up on the beach and take a few deep breaths and drink our coke! It was a beautiful day...

...and I even got a few pictures!

What do you know? He could still kiss me after I exasperated him!

And the story continues, although not as bad as the sand episode! When we went to leave, we saw that a wire had punctured our back tire sometime during my wild, backwards flight out of the sand. We were able to leave a piece of it in, as a plug of sorts, so that we could drive into town and find someone to fix the tire for us.

After that was accomplished, we drove to our favorite little restaurant down by the beach...only to find that the owner had something scheduled in Tapachula and had closed the restaurant for the day! We drove back to the city and thought to try out a Chinese restaurant, but it was closed too! Grrrrr... We finally got sandwiches from Subway, went home and gulped them down, then went to pick up the kids.

All in all, we still had a good day and were able to enjoy some relaxing time alone together.

"And through it all - love remains."

-taken from the song "Love Remains" by Collin Raye

Happily Ever After!

Today we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary!!!

When you first get married, you're all wrapped up in that one event, and you never imagine how quickly the coming years will fly! But you know what? It's all been good. Oh, don't get me wrong. We've had our ups and downs, our disagreements, our financial struggles; but the good, the happy times, and the LOVE we share together, outweigh everything else.

Our prayer: That Christ will always be the center of our union and that our love will continue to grow deeper and more abiding through the years to come.

If you're interested in seeing a cacophony of pictures from the time we started dating, including our wedding, until now...just click on the picture below.

La Campaña 2011 :: The Day After

It was such a pleasure to be able to have Bro. Rigo and his wife Ana stay in our home during the campmeeting. They were a big blessing to us and our church people.

Monday morning we dropped them off at the border of Guatemala so they could spend some more time there before they had to return to Florida. But before we dropped them off, Bro. Rigo was really wanting a shrimp cocktail. So upon invitation, we went and visited one of our church families. The man, Isaac, pedals around Tapachula in his tricicleta (photo example) and sells shrimp/seafood cocktails for a living.

Seafood cocktail for breakfast anyone?

They also showed us their beautiful little pet loro (parrot).

After dropping Bro. Rigo and Ana off at the border, we decided since we were already halfway there, we would drive up into the mountains to about as high as they have roads. We went up past Unión Juárez to a place called Talquián. On the way back down, we pulled in to this little place to check out the view. This is a hotel, restaurant, and lookout tower.

This is to the right of the above picture. You can see the restaurant that hangs out over the mountain and the beautiful view, although it was somewhat obstructed by clouds.

Michael, Kyle, and Taylor. Parker was sleeping in the truck. :-)

And this is one of those great self portraits - you know, the kind where you hold your arm way out in front of you and snap a picture (sight unseen) and then wonder why you look kind of goofy!! lol

So now, after an exciting weekend, things are getting back to "normal." Although, we have plans to start a youth Sunday School class, and Michael is just starting teaching/tutoring some men in their Bible School classes... You just never know what great things will come to pass around here, so keep checking back!

Colorado: Part II

The second full day we were in Colorado [10-02-10], we went to a little place called Telluride that is situated in a valley between tall mountains. And let me tell you, out of all the places Michael and I have visited, this probably was our favorite. The village was quaint and picturesque and the view was breathtaking!!!!!!! The golden aspens just shimmered against the evergreens. We were wishing we had a whole week to enjoy and explore!

We parked in town, then walked beside a creek until we got to a " gondola station." We boarded the gondola (similar to a ski lift), and took the ride up the side of the mountain. It was a very cool experience! There is a station located at the top of the mountain where you can get off and hike or bike on trails, or you can continue riding the gondola down the mountain on the other side where there is another small, more modern and high class town called Mountain Village.

Anyway, we absolutely loved this area! If anybody near there is looking to donate their ranch, we'd be happy to take if off your hands!!! ;-)

[Walking through town beside the creek]

[The gondola line]

[Parker]

[Looking down on the village of Telluride]
[Us]
[Looking down towards Mountain Village]
[Daddy and Taylor enjoying the walk]

Playing "Catch-Up"

So, I guess it's no secret that I'm terribly behind on this blog. Now the only problem that remains is catching up on the past two months...

We've been enjoying the addition of Baby Parker in our lives! He just turned three months old and is starting to give us a glimpse of his personality. He has slept through the night since he was 2-3 days old, he likes to smile as long as his belly is full :-) and he prefers to stick two or three of his fingers in his mouth instead of using a pacifier. He's a very good baby, and we all (including his big brothers) love him very much!

10 weeks

Too cute @ 3 months!

As far as ministry related items...

1) We have held 13 deputation services already and have quite a few scheduled for this fall. We've enjoyed seeing familiar faces and making new acquaintances and sharing how the Lord has been helping in Southern Mexico.

2) We have also been doing a lot of "fill-in" work while here at home (Central PA).

: : Michael helped train the instrumental group from Penn View the last few weeks of May due to the injury of Mr. Lucas Shrout's daughter.: : Our home church (New Columbia GMC) had a cancellation for their VBS, so we "filled-in." Thanks to Michael's family, we had props, songs, verses, and ideas all ready to go! We had excellent attendance with an average of 90-100 kids nightly. Our theme was "Set Free" and Michael did a wonderful job doing all the up front stuff. Since I'm not an "up front" kind of person, I played the piano and did the "behind the scenes" work.


: : We ended the VBS on a Friday night, and then started singing at Mt. of Blessings Camp Meeting on Saturday...(yep, due to a few cancellations!) Although it was physically tiring, our souls were refreshed sitting under the ministry of Bro. Leonard Sankey and Bro. Rick Maloyed. We are so thankful for the presence of the Lord meeting with us at camp.

After camp meeting, we decided the kids (and ourselves) could use a small break from the norm, so we headed to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park. It was SUPER HOT that day, but we all had a fun time anyway.

Neither Parker nor the alpaca were too impressed with this photo op. :-)

Well, that pretty much brings us up-to-date. We are looking forward to being able to attend Penns Creek Camp Meeting starting a week from today. After that, we have a family vacation planned, and then we start into our fall deputation schedule in late August.

And hopefully, I'll try to keep this poor blog a little more updated.......!

Baby Update

I was so happy to have finally received a package in the mail today! It contained a beautiful baby quilt my Mom made. I'm not really into the traditional baby colors, so this quilt makes me very happy. My Mom thinks it's a little wild - but I love it!

Well, since our little guy hasn't made his appearance yet, my doctor is going to induce me. I go in to the hospital tonight at midnight, and we will start this grand process! Hopefully, tomorrow we will finally get to meet Mason Baby #3...we're all VERY excited (especially this pregnant mama)! More updates (and pictures) should follow throughout this week.

Mama-to-be @ 40 weeks, 2 days
(this picture is especially for my sister) :>)

A Special Visitor

Aunt Brenda has come to visit us again!

And...we decided to make a visit to the beach...it was a lot of fun and very relaxing! While there, we decided to have Brenda do some family pictures for us...she did a good job!

Below is a cacophony of pictures ~ enjoy!