We Made It

It has been a very long 30 hours or so, but we made it to Madrid.  Today's update will be short because I can barely keep my eyes open!  We arrived about 9:20 a.m..  Then ,we brought our luggage to the hotel and left again for some walking around downtown.  We ate lunches at different little spots and then toured the Prada Museum. We like our tour guide very much.  She provided us with a scavenger hunt in the museum to keep everyone entertained, but we started dozing off in the late afternoon.So, we ate dinner at 6:00 and then came back to our hotel.  We are going to bed early tonight so we can enjoy a full day of fun tomorrow!

Last Night in Hawaii

For our last evening on the Big Island, we took a walk down the beach (and lava rocks) to the Lava Lava Beach Club for dinner.    It was a beautiful walk as the sun was setting...but we had a hard time getting the sunset in a picture with us!?




Great dinner and lots of fun!  What an amazingand memorable trip!  We are so thankful for this opportunity to unwind and relax. 

Sightseeing near the city of Kona

Today, the crew headed out early to do a little sight seeing near the city of Kona -- not to be confused with the Island of Kona that we are on!

We've had fun with our church summer challenge - #foundryroadtrip Scavenger Hunt.  This one was "take a picture with a yellow car"!

This was "take a picture of a bulletin from another church.  We think we should get extra points because it is a historical church!!??

The Painted Church was beautiful.  It was painted with the stories of the Bible ... truly amazing!


The Painted Church in Honaunau



A "bird of paradise" flower! 



The City of Refuge...also in Honaunau.  Legend says the king (I guess Kameahmeah) would make sinners jump off a cliff and swim through shark infested waters.  If they made it to the City of Refuge, their sins are forgiven!  Can I get a "Thank you, Jesus!" for saving us from our sins (and sharks)?


Wandering around the City of Refuge. 



And then an amazing lunch in Kona. 

Hawaiian Waterfalls

Today, we drove a few hours to Hilo and enjoyed the waterfalls. It was beautiful!


We've enjoyed spending some time with the Kettle family, too!

Andc Ray C., had a good time being silly....

Amy & Toby’s Baptism

It's been a big week for Amy and Toby!  They asked Ray C. to baptize them in the ocean.

So, they both celebrated their relationships with Jesus in one of the most beautiful places I can think of to be baptized!

Kettle Vow Renewal

Amy and Toby were married 15 years ago on a beach in Jamaica, but they wanted to renew their vows and asked us to come along so Ray C. could perform the ceremony!

The ceremony was very special with about 15 famiily members attending, and we have been so blessed to be a part of this special week with them!

And look at that sunset....Mahalo, God!

Hawaii Day 2

We had another fun day today.  Jacqueline stayed by the pool most of the day, and RayC. went in to the town of Kona with some of the others for a few hours.  They are having a competition on who can get the most steps/miles each day. I'm thrilled with my at least 10,000 steps and have no need to get more.  The pool works fine for me! :)

We went to the Marriott Luau tonight and enjoyed a delicious dinner and drinks along with some amazing entertainment!

The audience got involved in some of the hula dancing too! 



And this is my newest food obsession...Acai bowl!!  Yummy!

Aloha

Ray C. and I arrived in Hawaii yesterday for a week of relaxation and fun!  It has been 6 or 7 years since we have been able to get away like this, and we are really looking forward to it!

Fostering Broken Hearts

I have moved my foster-related blogs to this location:  https://fosteringbrokenhearts.blogspot.com/

So, if you'd like to keep up, please visit there!!

Jessie came to visit

We had fun visiting with Jessie last weekend!
We went out to eat with Papa G. after watching Chase play baseball!  He hit an out-of-the park homerun!!

She got to visit with Corri and be here with us when he left for home!


And...she got to see Chase and the Smith Choir perform the National Anthem at the Astros Game!!

Chase’s Confirmation

Chase completed confirmation this year.  He celebrated with a large class of Confirmands at church this Sunday. Confirmation is a special day for anyone, but it is pretty cool when your dad is the preacher and gets to share a special moment with you in front of everyone!  Dad may have teared up a little! :)