feliz navidad - Christmas in SPAIN!

We decided to take a little vacation & break from West Africa and meet some friends in Spain to celebrate Christmas. We absolutely loved Spain. It was very different from where we've been living for the last few months - a little more like America. Plus this was our last trip without a child! We had plans to travel around to a couple of different cities and see different parts of the country.

We flew into Madrid, arriving at 5 am, and had big plans to hit up Starbucks, Burger King, and TGIFriday's on our first day :) We spent the next few days in Madrid, sightseeing and spending time as a Spaniard. Spanish culture was a little different than anything we're used to. They're on a different time schedule. Everything happens much later. And they close businesses during a siesta time, typically 2-4 pm and everyone goes to enjoy an afternoon snack! So we had to adjust our eating schedule appropriately. Also, they don't really do breakfast. Their idea of breakfast is toast.

While in Madrid, we took a day trip via the awesome high speed train to Segovia. This city was incredible. The coolest part was an ancient aqueduct that provided water to the castle. And the castle that we saw was the one that inspired Walt Disney in his design for Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland! Both of us have never experienced an ancient city like this before and we just fell in love. Also, to get to the castle we had to walk on Cervantes Street, which for all of you Pensacolian's that just made me laugh. I tried to find a street sign to take a picture, but no such luck.

We ended our time in Madrid by going to a mall... a real live mall! It had mall Chinese food, Taco Bell,  McDonald's, and everything we could have dreamed of. Not to mention it had an indoor ski slope! We really hit the jack pot hanging out at this mall.

After Madrid, we boarded another train to Granada. We decided to take it easy in Granada and enjoy some shopping, Netflix, and treated ourselves to an Arab bath & massage. If you ever get to hit up an Arab bath, it's worth it. Basically there are 7 pools of a warm-hot temperature and 1 freezing cold pool. You hang out in the warmer pools working your way to the cold one. In the middle of it we both got massages. It was a great way to spend a day relaxing.

After Granada, we headed to Sevilla (or in Pensacola we would say Seville). This is where we spent Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and a few days after. We bought groceries at the store to cook Christmas Eve dinner and stayed in that night since most places were closed. Christmas morning we woke up and exchanged gifts with the names we had drawn earlier in the week. Trey got a cool handmade cup & I got some homemade soap & oils. We made plans to head out for a nice Christmas dinner. Some of the girls we were traveling with let me borrow their straightener and I straightened my hair for the first time since we were in Canada! It's the little things that get me excited now :) Also in Sevilla we visited a huge Cathedral. And when I mean huge, it holds some record, like the 3rd largest in the world or something. The coolest part about this Cathedral was they had Christopher Columbus' tomb! (Walking around the church we kept saying, "Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.") We were also able to climb the bell tower - 35 flights! (don't tell my doctor!) It was gorgeous up at the top.

Christopher Columbus' tomb

From Sevilla, we took a day trip to the coastal town of Cadiz. We enjoyed walking around in the warmer weather and seeing the sights. It's on the Atlantic coast, but this coastline is prettier than Atlantic coast we've been to in the states. Could have just been the surroundings :) We had the chance to go to the top of a watch tower and see all around the city. This watch tower has a cool camera on the top. One the second floor that have a showing using the camera where you can see the whole city and have things explained. Also, there is a beach surrounded by 2 castles... one was technically used for prisoners & has been refinished while the other is not yet open to the public. I finished the night off with some froyo!

Our last day in Sevilla we made our way out to some Roman ruins. They weren't anything spectacular, but they were free & the first Roman ruins we've ever seen. It looked like there was still an active dig going on as well.

We finally boarded our last train and headed back to Madrid on Trey's 25th birthday! His one request for dinner was more TGIFriday's! I was definitely a-ok with that. We really enjoyed our time in Spain. We would definitely love to go back and visit some different cities. And if you ever get the chance to go, I highly suggest it!

2012: a look back

I cannot believe we are already in 2013! It’s been almost 8 years since I’ve graduated high school. If you asked me 8 years ago what I’d be doing with my life, I would have probably said married with children, but living in Africa would have not been on my radar. This last year has been a roller coaster to say the least. We have lived in 6 different cities, spent time in 8 different countries, Trey ran a marathon, got the surprise of a baby on the way, turned a quarter of a century, spent 6 months in training, and began to learn a new language. When I look back on 2012, I cannot believe all that we did in 1 year.

We started the year headed to Disney World for Trey to run the Disney Marathon. The best memory from that day: I saw Trey at mile 13 and he was doing great. He was still smiling and had energy. He waved and talked to me as he ran by, all with excitement. I saw him again at mile 23 and things were a little different. When he came by I asked him if he needed anything, since I had Gatorade & power bars in my backpack, and all he said was, “Do you have a gun?” Needless to say he completed it!

We then headed to a short vacay in Jamaica. There are so many things I love about Jamaica, but the best part of being there was relaxing by the pool :)

We returned home to spend time with family & friends and say some goodbyes before we headed to Virginia for 2 months.

While we were in Virginia, we spent time in classes & with others who have the same passions we do. It was a challenging time, but also an encouraging time. No doubt about it, the best part about being in Virginia is the friends we made. They have been lifesavers during difficult times, both during training and since we’ve arrived here.

We went back home for a week or so before heading to Vancouver, Canada. Neither of us had ever been to the West Coast or Canada. Vancouver has so much to offer. We continued to have class every day, but were able to put into practice what we were learning. We continued to grow closer to some of those friends from Virginia and make new ones. Being there was good since we were able to still feel like we were in America, but begin to spend time away from home. The best part about Canada was all that the city had to offer. We loved sight-seeing and spending time out & about in the city.

While in Canada, we welcomed a nephew to our family! We met sweet Owen via Skype and cannot wait to get home and actually play with him!

Finally, at the end of June we boarded a plane for Africa. We had a layover in London and decided to get another stamp in our passport :) The UK became our fourth country for the year. I would definitely love to go back and spend more time there!

We then landed in our now home country. Shortly after arriving, I celebrated my 25th birthday! Here we have had incredible times - like finding out we’re having a baby only 2 weeks after landing - and some difficult times - like living in 3 different cities out of suitcases while waiting for our house to be completed. It has been a learning experience. We have learned so much about ourselves, our relationship, and about another culture. We have had incredible support from our family, friends, and churches back in the US. The days that have been the hardest, we know they are praying for us and helping us stay here. We have learned to be completely dependent on the Lord. We know that He has sustained us through all of the good times and bad times.

28 weeks

23 weeks

26 weeks

In October & November, we spent time in Burkina Faso & Ghana for West Africa training. We spent time every day out in the community, meeting the people, learning about their culture, their struggles, and how we could encourage them. We also made some great friends here!

We returned home and moved into our HOME! We were thrilled to move and get settled. We began to make connections in our city, get our house set up, and find our way around town. After about a month in our home we boarded a flight to our final country of the year: Spain! We decided to take a Christmas vacation. Spain is beautiful! We stayed in 3 different cities and make day trips to yet more cities. Not only did we celebrate Christmas here, but we also celebrated Trey’s 25th birthday. We are so thankful to be able to get away for a bit.

We returned home on New Year’s day and began 2013 - another year full of changes.