The Other Side of the World

My husband recently returned home from a 2 1/2 week trip. Eighteen days that included two conferences, speaking here and there, teaching a seminary class, and a whole lot of plane time. His days were wonderfully full of people and places and experiences. It was a tremendous blessing for him to be able to go.

The kids and I fared well. And ate well thanks to generous dinner invitations from neighbors! Skype and texting kept us in touch and helped us to experience a bit of the other side of the world along with him. We happily welcomed him home late Friday night, homemade signs hung all over the house.

My very tired husband hit the ground running and we haven't had much of a chance to go through his photos. So while I wait for the jet lag to subside, I figured I would go ahead and pick out a few of my favorites to share.

First, Sydney.  

Then New Zealand. I cannot get over how beautiful it is... and the color!

Last stop, Japan.

And this is the ONLY photo that includes my traveling husband! He's teaching a seminary class here and waiting for the translator. He teaches a few sentences in English, then it's translated for the class. I love the shoes... you can just see his adidas slip-ons. This is his fourth time teaching here, so now he takes his own inside shoes.



We are so thankful to have him home again!

Crickets

Boy, it's crickets around here. I'm in a bit of a blog lull, eh? Just a phase. It will pass.

Truth is, I've been very purposeful about staying away from the computer and chipping away at some projects around here. It's remarkable what you can accomplish when you never sit down at the computer. Truly.

One day, I gave myself a little test. I filled a paper with the day ahead divided into 15 minute increments, then I jotted down what I did with every 15 minutes. Weary of my days passing and my to do list only growing/never shrinking, I wanted to pause and look at how I was managing my time (or not). The results were interesting... and not completely what I expected. For instance, I spent the bulk of my day in the kitchen. It surprised just me how many hours of my day are devoted to meal prep and clean up. Another thing I learned is that it takes me about 7 minutes to fold a load of laundry and put it away. Why does that task seem so much bigger than it actually is??? And the computer, well... a quick check of email-facebook-pinterest, which leads to oh-I-need-to-order-that-book, and that birthday gift, and research out the best camera bags... it adds up to a whole lot of time. So, I've been trying to make lists for what I need to do on the computer and then giving myself a time limit to do it all. So far, working well. Hmm... what is a good time limit for blog posts? On that note...

A few photos from the last couple of weeks...

Hannah's class went on a field trip to Annapolis. I got to tag along.

Noon Meal Formation at the US Naval Academy. So neat to see... band playing, flags flying...

Naval Academy Chapel

Maryland State House

 

And the next week... the school fun run / fundraiser. Here are some of the 2nd graders on their mark.

More soon...

The Spring Season Begins

Saturday might as well been Christmas morning. Up at dawn. I think they may have slept in their shin guards.

And it was a perfect spring day. All three had games. I only got photos of Kindergarten soccer...

Spring Break in Boca Grande

We absolutely love this place.
It's always an amazing week visiting my in-laws there.
We're so very thankful.

Riding around on a golf cart for a week is kid heaven.

I can't really begin to tell you how fun they think it is to zoom around the island this way.

Nana and Papa with the kids on Palm Sunday.

Banyan trees - tree climbing bliss.

Poolside with my husband, three kids that swim, a book and an umbrella...

yep, I had to take a picture.

This boy loves water.

All day long. Smiling the whole time.

A picnic lunch, a lawn full of inflatables, and face painting one afternoon
was just icing on the cake.

Peter wanted to be a pirate.

Love the nose ring and chest hair.

He's a natural.

Hannah had a ball all week making new friends.

One day we took a boat ride out to Useppa Island - a small island only accessible by boat.

It's a beautiful, beautiful place. Orchids grafted into trees... how is this possible?

Life size chess. I would love to have something like this in the back yard!

Lunch at the Collier Inn... yummy Cuban sandwiches.

No cars on the island means you get to meander around on these lovely paths.

Yes, please.

No, please don't make me leave!

Some dolphins played behind our boat on the way home.
The kids watched open-mouthed the whole way...
"I can't believe I'm seeing this!"

I took a lot of pictures. This one is smiling for the camera.

After showers and before dinner - the daily game of Sleeping Queens.

Restaurants that spill out onto the sand.

And sunsets.

Thank you, Nana and Papa! We had a fabulous time!

Celebrating the Resurrection

We arrived home Good Friday afternoon after a lovely week of spring-breaking in Florida (photos to come!). New green leaves, bright white dogwoods, bursting azalea blooms, and pollen welcomed us home. Poor Hannah's allergies have kept her inside most of this glorious weekend.

So, she made cinnamon rolls for Easter (with a little help). Quite delicious I might add.


We skipped the neighborhood egg hunt this year. I just couldn't get it together the morning after vacation and the kids were more than content to have a lazy Saturday morning at home. So we had our own egg hunt. And then dyed eggs before bed...


And after a full Sunday morning of services, we had Easter brunch with friends and enjoyed a bright and sunny afternoon of play and conversation before walking to evening worship.

Poor Connor needs sunglasses. And why is Hannah so short?