December 25- Recap

Christmas....

We were to dock at 8 am and we were scheduled to disembark at 9:25, so we should have made it to my moms house by noon for Christmas lunch. However, that DID NOT happen.

Around 7 they announced that we could not enter the Mobile Bay due to heavy fog. They also announced that we were waiting for our guide boat to join us, and that once the guide joined us it would take 4.5 hours to reach the dock. However, 2 hours later our guide boat was still not there and the fog was still very thick.

We made the most of things and Caleb and David played a game of chess and then we found some cards and played cards. Time went by so slowly. I was not able to place calls but was able to update family with text messages. We told them not to wait dinner for us.

Around 12:30 our guide boat showed up, we docked around 4:30. Those who kept their luggage got to disembark first. We had no clue we would be delayed so we had them take our luggage the night before, so we were last to leave the ship. We got off the ship around 6 pm. Security went very quickly and we were in our car around 6:45 and made it to my moms around 8:00 pm.

It really sucked not being with Madilyn for her first Christmas Day. She was very excited to see us when we walked into the house. She had not opened her presents so we got to do that with her. We ate leftovers and filled everyone in on our trip and gave the kids gifts we had purchased for them in Mexico. Over all it was a good Christmas and a wonderful cruise.

Wednesday- December 24 (recap)

Christmas Eve at sea....

Another lazy day at sea just hanging around on deck and relaxing. Of course Caleb spent a lot of time playing video games. But that was fine, it was what he wanted to do.

I took in a game show called the "Marriage Game." It was funny. After that I stayed for the Christmas show. It was good, and made me get a little more in the Christmas mood. It is hard to think about Christmas when it is 80 degrees outside.

While I was watching shows David was hanging on deck.

We hit the ship gift shop and got some good buys. I got a necklace and 2 bracelets, Caleb and David got a bracelet. I got Madilyn a Mermaid doll and we picked up a few other items.

Tonight at dinner the waiters sang a goodbye song. It was funny. We had 2 really good waiters named David and Gusti. They provided good service and many laughs during the week.

Tuesday- December 23 (recap)

Today we docked in Cozumel Mexico. Thankfully my seasickness had passed and I felt back at 100%. I did wake in the night to some rough waters, but was glad to be feeling well enough to take our planned trip into Cozumel.

Once we came on deck we noticed that we could not see the shore (lol). The Disney Magic was docked next to us, that ship made ours look like a tug boat. The Disney Ship was massive and beautiful. Maybe in a few years we will take Maddie on a Disney cruise.

We had planned a 4.5 hour trip but it actually lasted about 6 hours. We went with a group of about 40 people and 10 dune buggies. David drove the dune buggy through the city and then out to ECO park. At the park we saw some Mayan Ruins, a croc preserve, a 200 year old light house and we went snorkeling.

The dune buggy ride was fun. We got to see a lot of the city and beach front. Eco Park only had 1 major ruin but it was interesting to hear how the structure would warn the Mayans of a coming hurricane.

Snorkeling was fun, but not nearly as pretty as when David and I went to the Bahamas. It was Caleb's first time and he had a blast. We had to swim pretty far out to get to the reef. To say we were all beat once returning to the ship would be an understatement.

We had hoped to have some time to do some shopping in Cozumel, but our trip lasted too long and we barely made it back to the ship in time.

The waters were once again a little choppy but no one got sea sick.

Monday- December 22 (recap)

Today we docked in Progresso Mexico. We had a planned trip to see the Mayan Ruins and relax at the beach.

We took a bus to Dzibilchaltun (the ruins we visited). The bus ride took about 45 minutes. Along the way we received a history lesson on Progresso and the Mayans. The ruins were more that we expected. We expected to only see two or three structure however, we saw 20 or more ruins. We took a ton of pictures. Caleb seemed to really enjoy himself. Our guide Manuel was very informative and made the trip interesting. We spent about 2 hours visiting the ruins.

Upon leaving the ruins we headed to the beach for our "beach break" which included free drinks. I must say we were disappointed with the beach. It was not as clean as the beaches in Pensacola and the sand was dirty. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, but no one really ventured into the water, because it had a lot of jelly fish in it.

We got back to the ship around 4:00 and got cleaned up and showered before dinner. Our dinners were long usually ending around 8:30.

The weather was perfect, around 78 degrees and a nice breeze. The day was perfect....

But the night is another story....

We hit some rough waters about an hour prior to dinner. At first we were all feeling fine. On our way to the dinning room we thought it was funny to see vomit bags hanging up everywhere, we also thought it was strange that no one was out and about. The dinning room was not even half full when we arrived. We ordered our dinner and one by one our table for 8 became smaller, another couple left and then I barely made it out of the dinning room before I was throwing up. Thankfully I had picked up a vomit bag earlier (just in case). I made it back to the cabin and went to bed. David and Caleb were able to eat and did not suffer with seasickness. Caleb did feel a little ill so he spent the night in his room resting and watching a movie.

December 21 (recap)

FUN DAY AT SEA

Missed the sunrise, it was great to actually sleep through the night. Missed Madilyn but enjoyed the sleep.

Caleb spent some time swimming, playing video games and hanging with the circle C kids. David and I were just plain lazy and spent a lot of time lounging on deck. I took a book to read, but was even too lazy to read. Our view for the entire day was blue water, it was so peaceful.

We went to the top deck and played a game of mini golf. David won, but I think the wind was on his side. The game was fun but difficult because of the high winds.

We went to the Captains reception prior to dinner. It was interesting to meet the crew. They had a band playing dance music, it was very entertaining to watch the older couples dance, they were really good.

Dinner was wonderful, we got spoiled on good food and good service.

Saturday- December 20 (recap)

We left my moms house around 10 am and headed toward Mobile. Madilyn went with Aunt Mary to spend the night at her house.

Upon arriving in Mobile we learned that the previous cruise arrived late, so we would be a little delayed in our departure. We were to board around noon, but did not board until about 2:00. It was all good, we just hung around and talked with other passengers.

Upon boarding we were treated to a large lunch buffet. After eating lunch we hung out on deck waiting for the ship to depart. However, our departure was delayed due to the late arrival. We went to the dining room for our 6:00 pm dinner. About half way through dinner they announced that we were finally departing and that our delay would not affect our trip or our arrivals to other destinations. After dinner we explored the ship and spent sometime on deck looking at the sky.

We had no problems with our luggage, and found our rooms to be about what we expected. Small but not too small. The beds were comfortable and we all slept well the first night on board.

Christmas Vacation 2008

We had an awesome trip! Caleb, David and I took a Carnival Cruise to Progresso and Cozumel Mexico. We had a great time and got to see a a lot of neat things. I will post updates on our trip in separate post so that the post do not become too long.

Madilyn stayed with my family in FL. They really enjoyed getting to know her. We missed her but really needed to spend some time reconnecting with Caleb.

I will post a link to our Flickr account once we have uploaded all of the pictures from our trip.

RevoluntianaryLove.TV- The Sequel Week 2

I was glad to see the amount of items collected for the women's shelter. Five truck loads of needed items were given to the shelter. The children of the church also collected 50 bags of items for MUST Ministries. The children were so excited to bring there bags to give to others who are in need.

WEEK 2: The topic today was Unselfish Serving. Another topic I needed to hear. Not that I am selfish with my serving, but sometimes I wonder when others will get up and step up to the plate. But you know that is between them and God and I don't need to worry about what others do I only need to worry about myself.

So Gary presented the 4 A's of Unselfish Serving. I hope that I remember them correclty.
Assessment- Assessing the need for service
Action- Taking action and serving where needed
Attitude- Having a positive loving attitude while serving
Awesomeness- Knowing it is awesome to serve others and to be a blessing to others.

At the end of the service they passed the offering baskets again. This week the cards contained Random Acts of Kindness. Can't wait to hear what people do with these cards and the reaction that they have.

Next week they will be collecting the annual Christmas offering. I hate to miss the service next week, but we will be having some time as a family relaxing and playing in the sun. However, we will mail our Christmas Offering to the church prior to leaving.

RevolutionaryLove.TV- The Sequel

"RevolutionaryLove.TV- The Sequel." Last year Revolution Church did a series called Revolutionary Love. It was great and I am glad that we are revisiting the series.

Week 1: The message today was about Sacrificial Giving. Boy did I need to hear this. David and I had discussed and prayed about what gift we should give to the church for the Christmas offering. After making a decision we felt good about we were dealt a financial blow in the amount of $6000 in attorney fees for Madilyn's bmom. We had $1700 left in our adoption escrow account, and our attorney sent this to the other attorney prior to Thanksgiving. Once we returned home from our Thanksgiving Break we had a message from the attorney wanting to know when the remaining $4300 would be paid. She wanted her money now. We bit the bullet and sent the rest of the money not really knowing how our fiances would play out for the rest of the year.

After hearing the message on sacrificial giving we decided that the amount of money we had decided to give the church was STILL the amount we need to give. Well we like most people do not just have this kind of money sitting around (especially after spending so much on the adoption). We will be giving sacrificially... meaning we are going to cut out other stuff to make this gift to the church happen. We are going to sacrifice and give to God what we know we need to give. We know God will take our gift and do a great work with it, and we will be blessed by giving.

At the end of the service the offering plates were passed and we each drew a card that contained needs of a local women's shelter. We drew diapers, toothbrushes and aspirin. I told Caleb that since he had drawn the card out of the offering plate that he should use his own money to help meet the need. He is such a stand up kid. He gets $20 a month, pays $2.00 in tithes leaving him $18 for the month. He decided that he would give $10.00 to help purchase items for the women's shelter. He could have been selfish and offered less but he gave 1/2 of his monthly allowance to this cause.

Caleb and I went shopping and purchased 2 bags of diapers, 20 adult toothbrushes, 8 children's toothbrushes and 8 bottles of aspirin. At the checkout the cashier smiled a toothless smile and said, "you must have some headache." I told her our church was collecting items for the women's shelter." She looked like she was about to cry and said, "Thank you, they helped me when no one else would." WOW.....

http://revolutionarylove.tv/

Christmas Photo Shoot

For the past several years it has become our tradition to create our family Christmas card with a picture of Caleb and Piglet. This year tradition changes, since we could not get Madilyn, Caleb and Piglet to all cooperate at the same time. David took around 75 photos and only got 4 that turned out decent. We had fun taking the pictures.