It’s been a long time since I have taken pictures of all the children together in a semi-staged photo. I think the last time was our family Christmas picture. Lots of reasons…I was so sick for months with this pregnancy, then so tired all the time, and of course there is the rain and cold here that makes being outside miserable. But I have really been wanting to get back in to taking pictures again. I have a new lens- 50mm- that I want to practice with. And I want memories of all these days.

So camera out, children all dressed, props in hand, we headed to the orchard. But it was a bad time of the day. Late afternoon, with the sun setting behind us. Lots of shadows from all the trees. And the grass was so long that the children complained that it hurt their feet. (Give them a few weeks of being barefoot this Spring, and they won’t even notice!) We ended up on the side of the barn. I love the boards, they make for a great backdrop any day. So here are a few pics from that afternoon.

A jet that one of the boys spotted!

~cheryl

A few weeks ago, Laura had a Birthday Tea Party for a girlfriend. She spent months planning it. First she chose a theme…lemons… and then went from there. The menu was:

Lemonade
Lemon Tea
Lemon Bars
Tuna fish sandwiches
Veggie wraps
Lemon Cake
Lemon Candy

We had fun shopping for the ingredients and special little decorations for the special day. That morning we awoke to dark clouds and rain and wind, but our dining room was bright and ready to welcome the girls to tea. Laura had spent most of Sunday afternoon baking, so Monday morning was just decorating and putting together a few last minuet things.

A few minutes before the girls arrived, I walked into the dining room and found Gabe up on a chair. He was thrilled with the spread of sweets before him. He had even found an empty bottle of his and set a place for himself. So when I picked him up and carried him back to the kitchen, the poor little guy had a meltdown. He knew this meant tuna fish in the highchair in the kitchen with the other boys. He was so inconsolable that I ended up putting him down for a nap a little early.

The tea party was lovely. I had fun watching the girls eat and drink. It was also fun to get a chance to serve Laura and her girlfriends. Laura helps me every day. I often say she is my right hand. She loves to cook and clean and take care of Gabe and Maryann. So on this day, I got the blessing of serving my precious daughter and watching her and her girlfriends talk and laugh and talk some more!

Gabe at the table.

His bottle in the spot he reserved for himself.

Mad at me for removing him from all the food!

Lovely name tags by Emily

The Birthday Girl!

Lemon Tea with LOTS of sugar!!

The favorite food of the day. Lemon candies.

Laura’s decorating

Laura’s hand stitched gift to her girlfriend.

All the big girls helped with clean up. Within 30 minutes, every dish was washed and put away!

~cheryl

Growth Update on little one…
Around this week, the structures of little ones tiny spine are starting to form, including 33 vertebrae, 150 joints, and 1,000 ligaments. These structures will eventually support her entire body weight. Her capillaries are also forming. By the end of this week, air sacs and blood vessels in her lungs will have developed, getting her ready for her first breath. Up until now her nostrils have been plugged up, but they are now beginning to open. Her hair has taken on it’s color and texture that she will have at birth and she is starting to “fatten “up, looking more like a newborn. She can now cry if born and has all her fingers and toenails fully formed!

Growth Update on me… (photos by Eric)

My outfit was fun to put together. I just got the sweater this weekend as a birthday gift from my Grandma. I just love it and wanted to include it in the pictures of this week. The jean skirt and boots I found at the Salvation Army for a few bucks. The shirt is one of my favorites that I have had for a few pregnancies now. The necklace I bought from a little girl in San Felipe, Mexico a few years ago (pregnant with Maryann) and the bracelet my sister in law just brought back for me from Hawaii. So each piece of my outfit had a special little memory.

A picture of me with Braces…for you Laura. (Eric said this was his favorite pic of the day!)

The timer mode on my camera out in the orchard together.

~cheryl

After surviving the storm, and no worse for the wear, we awoke the next morning to sunny skies but very cold and windy. Definitely no time outside on the decks or by the pool. In fact, the pool had been drained the night before during the storm and was not filled up again. After breakfast, we met up with our new friends and spent a couple of hours playing cards, pinochle to be exact, and just visiting. The rest of the day was very relaxed, as our ship sailed back to port in America. We had a nice dinner that evening and went to the last show of the week. Our luggage was picked up that evening, and would be waiting for us in customs when we left the ship.
The next morning, we were off the boat by 9:00. We had scheduled one last tour of the French Quarter and hurricane devastated New Orleans. I am really glad that we went on this tour. It was the weekend after The Saints had won the Super Bowl and 2 days before Mardi Gras ended. People were everywhere. The colorful Mardi Gras necklaces were strewn everywhere. First we went through the French Quarter. I was amazed at the rich history of New Orleans. I guess I had forgot all of it from my early school days. We stopped at a cemetery. But the uniqueness of this cemetery was that all the graves were above the ground. Many many years ago, they had problems with the coffins floating in the rivers when the waters would cover the cemetery grounds. So they started building tombs above ground, and out the bodies inside the concrete and marble tombs. Next we went through some of the neighborhoods that had been completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many houses were still empty, the families have never returned. Those homes still had the marks from the search and rescue teams that went through each house. The name of the team, the date, the number alive and the number dead that was found. Many of these dates on these houses were months after the hurricane had actually hit. And then there were the lots that just had grass growing on them. There was once a house, but the destruction had been so bad that everything had been plowed down and just grass left. We drove past houses that still had the water marks where the water had come up. And then we saw the new houses. Many people have donated materials and time to try and help rebuild these neighborhoods so that the families can come home.
I was very grieved by what I saw and heard on the tour. We had watched the hurricane on the news and read about it over the months following, but never had I really comprehended the mass destruction that happened. The families that were completely tore apart and lost everything. I guess for me, it’s like going to a third world country. We know that they are poor. We know they have little and yet still survive. But to go and spend time with these people. To laugh and cry with them, to be able to help them in any way I can, now that’s making it real in my mind. Understanding what they go through and live on a day to day basis.
So as we comfortably sat on the tour bus, listening to story after story of Hurricane Katrina, I snapped as many pictures as I could. I wanted to remember what I had seen. I wanted to come home and share with my children these stories and pictures of grief and suffering. Because we have so much.

Empty lots where there was once a house.

A family still living in a FEMA trailer in front of their house that has not yet been repaired.

Not a street I would recommend buying a house on.

Cars left from the hurricane.

New Construction

The cemetery

This house still had the water lines on it.

A bomb shelter from the 70′s. The only one built by the city. But only enough room for the mayor and his family and close friends. Hmmm.

The pumps that failed and caused the flooding. Why? Everybody left because of the evacuations. And then the power went out. If the pumps had come on, much of the devastation would have been avoided.

A pile of Mardi Gras necklaces outside the airport.

~cheryl

By now I was doing better sleeping on this ship. The sounds were not so bad with the ear plugs. I had all but mastered walking 5 months pregnant in a swaying boat. Even if it did look like I was drunk. Then came the storm. It started during dinner on Friday evening. The boat began to rock and sway. Eric wanted to check it out from the decks, so out we went. We were greeted by hurricane gust winds. Eric had to hold onto me to keep me from being slammed into the railing. He took me to the front of the ship, where I thought for sure that I would be blown over board. When I would go to take a step, my leg would be blown a few feet in front of me, almost as if I was bouncing thru the air. I was terrified. Let me re-state that, “I WAS TERRIFIED!” Eric brought me back inside the ship, and we headed to a room that had windows surrounding the front and sides on the ship. We sat and visited with some new friends for a while, and then between her stomach not feeling good and me having a growing anxiety attack, we all decided to head for bed.

Eric suggested on the way to our room that I take some Bendryl to help me sleep better. But we weren’t the first ones to think of that, all the Bendryl was already sold out in the ship’s little store. I managed to fall asleep, but not for long. I was awakened by the deafening sound of waves crashing against the boat. And then the boat being thrown from one side to the other. I was almost thrown out of my bed. I think I probley screamed at that point as I violently shook Eric awake. He looked out the window, and the waves that had been 20 feet below us were now smashing up against our window, completely covering it in water. Each wave that smashed against the boat would rock us violently. And at that point I had a total and complete melt down. I begged Eric to get me off the ship that second. Very unrational, I know, but I was anything but rational at that point. I am not sure why, but I am utterly terrified of drowning out at sea. All I could think about was getting off that ship. Each wave roared in my ears like a cannon going off. And the boat felt like at any given moment we would tip right over. Did I mention that I was terrified??? Eric however, was very calm. He assured me that the only thing the captain was concerned about, was all the passengers that were currently getting seasick from the storm. I could not in my mind believe this. I was remembering scenes from “Titanic”, thinking I would never see the morning light again. Eric rolled over and went back to sleep.

I was about to lose my mind. I felt completely trapped in our tiny little stateroom. There was not a place on that ship that I felt was safe, and I certainly had no trust in the captain that I had never even met. I shook Eric awake again, informing him that I could hardly breath and I was certain that we were going to sink any moment. I’m not sure he ever really woke up. But he assured me once again that we were safe, and there was nothing we could do but sleep the storm out. Right…Sleep… So I crammed my ear plugs as deep into my ears as I could, turned the TV on as loud as it would go, curled up under the covers, and began to recite Psalm 23.

The Lord is MY shepard.
I shall not WANT. (to get off this boat right now!)
He makes me lie down in GREEN PASTURES. (All I can think about is how this boat is tossing me around in my bed right now!)
He leads me besides QUIET WATERS. (not this raging storm I’m in!)
He RESTORES my soul. (Because I feel like I’m losing my mind!)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for HIS name’s sake.
Even though I WALK (or sail) through the valley of the shadow of death,
I FEAR NO EVIL. (I’ve always loved storms, but right now I am very afraid!)
For YOU are WITH me.
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
(NASB)

And I did find peace. And rest. And I survived the storm to see the morning light.
~cheryl

Because I’m not completely crazy… I just read the headlines for Yahoo news a few days ago, and what do you know, a cruise ship out at sea was struck by a 30 foot wave that ended up smashing out windows and flooding some of the ship. They weren’t even in the middle of a storm. It was quite a ways off. Two people died and hundreds had minor injuries. The deaths were from glass and furniture being thrown around. So this just justifies to me that I wasn’t totally crazy in thinking that we could have had an accident from that storm. I told this to Eric and he just smiled at me and said “I love you!”

Our last sunset on the boat.

After sailing all night, we awoke in the port of Cozumel, Mexico. Our adventure for the day was a tour of the island in a jeep with some snorkeling and some time on the beach to relax. We were paired up with another couple that we had met on the ship. Each group of four was given a 4×4 Jeep, with the top down, and told to follow the guide. We drove along the coastal highway, stopped at one of the points for a few minutes, then onto a lighthouse where we climbed 133 stairs to see the views from the top. We also visited an alligator sanctuary, (somehow those two words do not sound like they should go together) and a Mayan Temple. We ended our tour at a resort, where there was a pool to swim in and snorkeling in the sea for those who wanted to. I opted for the pool and Eric went snorkeling. We both had a great time. At the end of our tour, they served us chips and salsa, which was the worst I have ever tasted. The chips were so stale, you could hardly chew them, and the salsa was one very large onion and one very small tomato. Then it was back to port to began our journey back to America.

Just as we were finishing up the tour, it started to rain. Not a few drops, but torrential downpour. This created a problem, because their was a quarter mile walk down the pier to get back on the ship. And boarding time was getting very close. So we really only had one option. Run through the pouring down rain back to the ship. Which is what we did. We were soaked by the time we reached the boarding ramp. Not only was it pouring, but the wind was blowing too, which added to the amount of water covering us. So soaking wet, we entered the ship one last time, greeted by Mr. Washee Washee.

the Lighthouse

Eric in a hammock while I walked around and took pictures.

THe view from the top of the light house.

The little shops at the bottom of the light house.

The Alligator Sanctuary

Mayan Weather Temple

Eric driving our Jeep

Notice the Black clouds in the left sky?

Spanish Dancers

~cheryl

Thursday morning we awoke to gray skies and wind. Not my choice for the weather, since we were scheduled for a boat ride and snorkeling. By now we had down the routine of our days. Eat breakfast, leave ship, meet up with our tour group, and then spend the rest of the day doing whatever the guides told us to do. Easy enough.

So after we met up with our guide, we were instructed to load into a boat that would take us to the northern part of Belize to a little island called San Pedro. This was by far my favorite tour.

Our first stop was Shark Ray Alley. We rode for over an hour along the shoreline, following it north. We stopped along the worlds second largest barrier reef, and everybody was given snorkel gear. I must first state that when I went diving off the shores of Grenada, which is much farther south and much warmer waters, I froze to death. I needed a 6 mm wet suit, and still I was cold. So with overcast skies, and some wind, I survived all of about 3 minutes in the water. The beautiful, warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. But Eric had a great time. The group snorkeled for about an hour. They saw sting rays, barracudas, and other tropical fish.

After everyone finished snorkeling, we headed to San Pedro. A lazy, quaint little beach city. Here we were served lunch at an ocean side restaurant. Marinated chicken, rice and beans, and potato salad. And my favorite, Coca Cola in a glass bottle that has been rebottled so many times that the scratches in it let you know many a hands have drank from that same bottled. Of course it has been cleaned and I like to think sterilized before it was refilled again. It tastes so different than Coca Cola from a can. Not so sweet. And then there’s Fanta. Orange, grape, and pineapple. My favorite drinks in third world countries. And nothing like what we buy on a shelf at the grocery store.

After lunch we walked the streets of San Pedro. It was exactly what I love about living in a third world country. Simple, laid back, and friendly. We were hours away from the busy cruise terminal. So here I felt more like I could enjoy the people. We stopped for ice cream at a little shop that claimed it had the worlds best Coconut ice cream. And I think they did. We walked on the sandy beaches and visited with the different locals on the beach.

Eric has been collecting carved wooden animals for years. He has at least one from every country he has visited. So as we walked along the beach, he spotted a little shop, or more like shack, that had carved wooden animals. He found a sting ray that he liked and would remind him of the snorkel adventure from that morning, and then began the fun of dickering over the price. As he did that, I started talking with the other guy in the shop. He informed me that I should not have an ultrasound (I had not even mentioned that I was pregnant) because they were AWAYS wrong and that the doctors were just stealing your money. Then he wanted to know if this was my first. “Nope.” So then how many children did I have? I said “six”. He almost fell over. He sorta gasped for air, and then said I was just teasing him. “Nope.” By then Eric had settled on a price and was paying for his little sting ray. The man I was talking to informed his friend of our conversation so far. They both said “No way! Americans do not have large families.” They had never met an American with more than 4 children. So I decided to have a little fun. There was a little basket sitting on the table that I liked, and since I have a basket collection from all the countries I have been to, I decided to place a bet with them. I said “If I can prove to you that I have 6 children, then you have to give me that basket.” They laughed so hard and then agreed. So Eric pulled out his wallet and showed them our Christmas picture, which is also the picture at the top of my blog. They counted three times before staring at me in disbelief. Then they accused me of adopting the children. Surely they were not all born to Eric and I. They wanted to know if there were twins or triplets. “Nope, and Nope again!” So completely speechless, he handed me the basket, and said that if I ever brought my children back to San Pedro, to his little shop, they could have anything and everything they wanted. They shook both Eric and my hands. And we continued on down the beach.

one of my favorites pictures of the day.

Love, love, love the colors on this building!

A little boy eating an orange.

The rest of the day was relaxing and uneventful. I would love to return to San Pedro again and spend a week on the beach in one of the little hotels. The sun finally decided to make an appearance late in the afternoon, and the boat ride back to Belize City was relaxing. We boarded our ship once again, were attacked by the Washee washee guard, swiped our cards to make sure Eric was not brining a new wife on board, and sent thru security. Cleared!!
~cheryl

After we had all explored Maria’s house/store, we loaded back into the boat and headed back down the river to the city of Livingston. This city is a little island, where slaves were placed to work on the plantations. However, they were not fed, so eventually each would starve to death. Then, a jurist and politician from America, named Edward Livingston, happened to visit the island and saw the inhumanity that was taking place. He was horrified by the cruelty, and instituted laws that gave food and water to the slaves. And most important, their freedom. The city was then named after him. Livingston is still a very poor town. The plantations are all gone, and fishing and tourism is the main source of income now.

We walked along the streets, and stopped for another Coca Cola in a glass bottle. Then we all climbed back into our little tour boat and headed back to the cruise terminal. We had about an hour before we needed to board the ship, so we went into the “Jade Museum” which is really just an indoor shopping center. Kinda like a flea market. There was a stage with dancers and musicians performing, artisans working on their hand crafted goods and food booths all around. They even had a little counter where they would stamp your passport for free. So passport stamped, gifts bought, we headed back to the ship.

A hot springs on the side of the river as we headed back to Livingston.

Our captain of the River Boat.

Life on the river.

A caged alligator.

My Coke!

The Seventh Day Adventist Church

Siesta Time!

I loved the door and shutters on this house. So much color!

beautiful pregnant momma in her store.

Main street in Livingston

Main mode of transportation.

Fresh pineapple

Starving dog

I loved the colors everywhere!

Local hardware store.

Ice cream man

Taxi

Where the river meets the ocean.

~cheryl