Vacation and Beyond

Hi everyone! Long time no blog... Did you miss me?

The cruise was fun. I'm glad we went but it was not (to many people's disappointment) "the best vacation ever..." And we're okay with that : )

Let me tell you what was great:

1) I love the water. The ocean is soooo incredible. Each night, Ross and I would walk around the Promenade deck enjoying the waves and watching the sun go down. It was amazing. Its size and depth- its pure magnitude was truly awesome. Our God certainly creates marvelous things. (Side note: one night Ross and I went out to look at the waves in pure darkness- that was scary. I now understand how you can be in awe of something to the degree of grave fear...)

2) We had a very relaxing time. In the afternoons, Ross and I would grab our books and head upstairs to lay in the warm sun and read. One day we read with our feet dipped in the pool. We got to sleep in everyday. I definitely feel refreshed.

3) The food was yummy. I thoroughly enjoy dressing up for dinner : ) I think I could do it every night. In fact, maybe I will... Although the food was always yummy, it was not always necessary. This led to a tummyache or two.

4) My husband is the best. I can't tell you how much I needed the past nine days to be with my hubby. He is absolutely delightful and I am so glad that I married my best friend. This trip was good for us : )

With all that said, let me make a few negative comments:

1) We wouldn't cruise to these locations again. We stopped in San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada. San Diego is great- in fact, we'd love to live there, but we had just vacationed there. We had fun walking around and exploring a bit- but we could do that on a separate vacation pretty easily. Catalina is beautiful, but the part where we docked isn't really. It's full of tourists and smelly golfcarts. And Ensenada- well, if Ross and I go there again it will be on a missions trip and not on vacation. Which is okay in and of itself, but not exactly what I had inticipated : )

2) We were kinda lonely. We met some nice people around the boat, but everyone had their own agenda so we didn't really have friends except for ourselves. This gave us more time to be together, but it would have been nice to been able to sit and chat with a girl for a little while, too.

3) That amazing, enveloping ocean that I was admiring... it can make you sick. The last day I didn't feel too great. In the evening we watched the sun go down and then planned on working out before dinner. (Using an elliptical while overlooking the ocean is the best way to exercise...) We went back to our room to change and I had to lie down for a minute. My head felt nauseous. I told Ross maybe working out wouldn't be good for me right now, but he could go by himself if he liked. He gave me own of those "I am not going by myself looks..."

So he chose to pack our things while I layed on the bed with a wet washcloth on my face. About 1/2 an hour before dinner, I decided to take a shower, in hopes that it would make me feel better. I was in the bathroom turning on the water when Ross came in and gave me a hug. I started shaking with a chill and then I just started crying and then I pushed him out of the bathroom, closed the door and puked in the toilet. And then-- I felt sooooo much better. However, after my shower, the nausea came back. So I spent the last night of the cruise in bed watching Fox News. Ross brought me iced tea and rolls for dinner. That wasn't how it was supposed to work either...

So if you put all of this stuff together. We had an okay vacation- with its positives and its negatives. And, alas, tonight is the final night of vacation.

I've written a lot- so now I'll be brief. I need lots of prayer this week. School is going to be rough as I finish up report cards and schedule/plan for parent teacher conferences that take place next week. I will probably go through Ross withdrawals tomorrow, too. Pray that I give my best at school and that I am satisfied with that. Oh yeah, I have my first formal observation on Tuesday. I know I will do well, but I'm mildly anxious.

Speaking of anxious (and I will end with this) at church today, we read these verses aloud as a congregation. I almost started crying. I need this reminder each and every day.

Philippians 4:4-9

"4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

May the God of peace be with you this week, too.
Love to you!