We are HOME!!

Well, after two weeks in Florida, the boys and I are now home. Mike is also home from his mission trip in Guatemala. I haven't blogged in a long time...again, of course, I can't remember everything that happened in the last two weeks. The boys and I had a wonderful time in at Grammy and Papa's house. In the course of two weeks, E became a VERY good swimmer. When we first got there, he was a little uncomfortable in the pool. He would swim but only to the point where he could either reach the side, stand or swim to somebody. I like to say that he made a lot of "noise" but really didn't get anywhere...meaning he would kick and move his arms but not really move. He was trying to kick his legs by bending his knees rather than moving his legs from his hips. But nonetheless he jumped in on his own and practiced everyday! By the third day, he was 110% better! Casey and Ty came to visit from Orlando and I think that really helped him get more comfortable...by watching them swim.

Casey and Ty came on Thursday evening and were going to leave on Sunday. When Sunday came, the kids were not ready to leave. So they decided to stay until Thursday! It was so much fun having them stay a week. Typically we only see them for 2-3 days at a time when we visit...usually over a weekend. The kids had such a blast together. The boys would play in the pool and play "surviving" in the backyard. The built quite a hut for themselves using old palm branches. Casey was a huge help with Liam. She always loves taking care of the babies. I enjoyed spending the time with Tracy....it was nice to have time to chat and relax.

J came back to Ohio looking like a native from Florida...very tan and with blond highlights in his hair. I put 50 SPF sunscreen on the boys everyday and still he became the tannest of us all. He had a lot of fun in the pool as well. He would jump into the water and stick his face in the water. He also enjoyed lounging on the rafts in the pools. As always, his favorite thing to do in Florida was to play his tennis racquet guitar and carry his case. He also liked looking for the iguanas...everyday that we found one, he would say it was his favorite one. He picked up two new phrases while in FL...."Oh, WOW!" and "Oh, Mannnnn!" The funniest story was one night we had pasta for dinner and then went to get ice cream. When we got home, J looked for his pasta on the dinner table. I said that we were done with dinner and I threw it away. He looked at me and said "Oh, MANNNNN!" and walked over to the garbage and lifted the lid. It was classic!

So our trip pretty much consisted of the pool everyday, visiting with friends and we went to the beach 2 times. E did really well in the ocean. The first day we went there was a sandbar way out. He was able to go out far and still stand. I was surprised with how comfortable he was with swimming in the ocean...after only being in Florida for 4 days! He was riding the waves and swimming and letting them go over him while he was swimming. J's favorite thing at the beach was to build sand castles and play at the edge of the water. He would get knocked down by a wave and just laugh! It was a really good vacation as always!

Mike had an awesome time in Guatemala. He came back with raw fingertips because he lead the group in worship everyday...about 20+ songs a day! They went to two churches in the ghetto and helped fix it up as well as work with the kids. Also during the day they would go to people's homes and pray with them. On Wed & Thursday, Mike worked with two of our high school students and built a roof for a homeless man. This man "lived" in front of the school, so he built a roof for him to sleep under. It was an impactful trip for Mike...one that he will remember. Obviously he can speak more on it...hopefully I will get him to post on here about it!