An Ice Cream Goodbye Party

The few weeks of being in Washington were so sweet.. we got to see many friends to say our goodbyes. We even got to take a trip down to Halsey which as always was a blessing.. In addition the Page ladies came up for the day to say goodbye.

 

Ashley, Amanda and Grace with a few of the Page girls.. saying their goodbyes

 

 

Our WA friends threw a going away party for us. We all enjoyed our special time together..

 

 

 

They came up with a very cute goodbye card for us, made using words from candy bars.. it was so creative and sweet!

 

So many fun and happy memories!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Year

One of the greatest things we will miss after moving to Belize will be the fellowship we have been able to have with these 2 families.. they make everything a celebration and special. We have learned so much from them and look forward to their continued friendship through the years. This past year with them has been such a blessing. Rumor has it, they all may be coming to visit us while in Belize (right guys? :-) )

 

The McDonalds in the Big City

The day after Christmas we were able to meet Grady's mom in Tacoma where she treated us to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. We got to the place early and so decided to take a walk in the big city.  Daddy took the children over to see an ice skating rink which fascinated them. Dinner was yummy and it was such a blessing to spend time with Grandma. The dog that Ashley is training for therapy was with us also. Its was fun to expose Sadie to new things such as train tracks, loud ice skating rinks and immense amounts of traffic.

Our Belize Night!

We invited some friends over for an authentic Belize dinner! (well as authentic as we could up here in the States!) We served Belizean chicken with rice and beans, plantains and coleslaw along with iced tea. Also, the Popes brought along 3 cases of Mexican soda! Ashley had put together a wonderful movie slideshow of some of our Belize photos to show the families. After the slideshow they surprised us with the special blessing of washing of our feet and prayers. It was a sweet time which we will cherish as we prepare to go back to Central America.

 

Nothin' like a Mexican Sprite!

 

Or Fanta!~

 

The beginnings to yummy coconut rice

 

plantains! ( a sorry substitute to the ones found in Belize, but we made do! :-) )

Special friends

... and sisters

 

 

the girls want to be the ones to wash Mandy and Ashley's feet

 

 

Even the little ones wanted to be a blessing!

 

We went late into the night, praying for one another and just enjoying each other.. not many more times would we be meeting as a group.. what a sweet season in our lives. The Lord has blessed us with so many special friends & loved ones. As we all parted ways that night, someone cried 'Hey, we HAVE to take a group photo!" It sounded a bit daunting since some of the little ones were exhausted and ready for bed but after a few tries, we got this wonderful shot

 

¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. John 15:12-15 NKJV

 

 

 

SNOW much fun!

Fun on snowy days!

 

Grant has a great time making 30 + snowflakes and hanging them up in our living room. It was a festive decoration that we enjoyed for at least a month!