Nicaragua

Hard to believe that just a week ago Derek was still in Nicaragua!
He was one of 4 youth leaders who took 14 youth to Central America for an AMAZING time of serving, (sunning), and experiencing a completely different culture.

I'll let him add captions later on to explain some of the pics.

I'm glad to have him back home, but SO glad he was able to go. God REALLY answered prayers, kept everyone safe, and allowed the youth (and leaders!) to be challenged in many ways, and grow closer to HIM!!

While Derek was gone, I spent some quality (and quantity) time with the girls in the van as we drove to Grand Rapids and Chicago! We banked close to 20 hours of driving time. Many people have said I'm insane to even try to drive this far with a 31/2 year old and and almost 2 year old, but I'm SO glad I did it! The girls did amazingly well, were happy and kept busy. Not a single flake of snow on the drive either. WOW!

Bri and Rob, thanks for the quick visit and for serenading us with "Alice the Camel" and "If you're happy and you know it." and everyone's fave: "Bump a Friends' Rump"
I'm so glad I got to (finally) see where you live!
Geneva still talks about Ameribear, believe it or not....

Cheli, an AMAZING visit! What a fun time we had in Chicago. Thanks for putting up with the early wake-up calls. You did really well with the lack of sleep. :0) heheh
We had SOOO much fun at the childrens' museum and aquarium!!!
I'm so so so so so very glad we made the trip.

I have NO pictures of my own to share, since the camera was halfway across the world at the time. Ok, well at least 1/4 way across the world. I'll have to rely on Chel to email me some pics. (hint hint) Here's some of the girls with Megs and Al's sweetie pie Kirra. We stopped for a quick overnight visit in GR on the way back home. Thanks for your hospitality Meggers! You fed us really well!



Then, on the drive home, I got some exciting news that I had new nephews!
I even got to stop in at the the hospital (which happens to be RIGHT off the hiway) and see the little guys. How cool is that.