Gimenez Family Pictures 2012

We took advantage of Mom being here (she's a great photographer) and took some family photos.  We had to get some new pics with our Micah! 

And the true us.....

Micah Reuben~6 weeks Old

 Happy 6 Weeks to our Micah! He's growing and smiling and cooing and I just love this age!  He definitely has eyes for his Momma.  I'm so glad that's me!  He loves to be held and loves his swing.  He's nursing great and averages waking up once or twice at night.  Not bad! 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Today I made mom some of my Black Bean and Corn Salsa.  It's perfect for a warm day like today when turning on the oven seems out of the question.  She loved it!  And even asked for the recipe!  (thanks, Mom)  So, I thought I'd post it here.  First, I sent Mom out to our lime tree to pick two limes.  I LOVE having fresh limes and use them over lemons any day!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa:
~Dump 1 can of Black Beans and 1 can of Red Beans in a colander.  Rinse and Drain then put in a large bowl.
~Add two cans of corn (drained)
~Add 1 small diced onion, 1 diced green pepper, 1 diced tomato, 2 diced cloves of garlic and the juice of two limes.
~Then, sprinkle on about 1 tsp. of salt, 1 Tablespoon of fresh Cilantro, 1 Tbsp of fresh Parsley, 1 tsp. cumin, and about 2 Tbsp. of white vinegar. (sometimes I add some cayenne)
Mix well and refridgerate until ready!  We eat ours with Scoops tortilla chips.  We love em!

Hope you enjoy!  We sure did!

We're Home!

We made it home!  It was a great day of travelling and the kids did so well.  We started our journey at 5:45 leaving from my Mom and Dad's house in Fort Myers.  35 minutes down the road Silas loudly announce he had to go "Poo Poo!"  And it sounded urgent.  We pulled over and I did a quick look for alligators on Alligator Alley.  All was clear, but poor Silas couldn't possibly do his "business" on the grass, so he said he'd wait for the rest stop.  Good kid, and smart, too!  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale and the Spirit lines weren't too bad and we checked in our luggage (6 bags, two carseats, two strollers and 6 carry-ons) without having to rearrange the pounds more than twice.  (40lbs is the limit.  That's tough!)  The TSA only wanted to rescan 2 of our carry-ons.  They were very curious about the Red Robin seasoning that my Mom bought for Josh.  We finally made it through security and put back on our shoes, unfolded strollers, grabbed two busy preschoolers trying to get away, buckled them in the strollers, count and recounted our bags and we were off to our gate!

  We found a corner to hang out in while we waited.  We feasted on hot dogs and took many bathroom trips.  First, I changed Micah.  It was a short walk to the family waiting room where the line wasn't as bad as the ladies line.  Then, I went back for Callie.  She was a bundle of energy!  She hopped OVER every leaf in the carpet pattern.  I quickly changed her diaper, then went back for Silas.  He didn't have quite as much energy as Callie, but did jump ON every leaf! He used the potty and by the time I got back to our little corner, Micah was ready for another change!  I think he scared everyone waiting in the terminal with us with his fussiness.  We received lots of "Oh please don't sit by me" looks!  When we walked down the terminal ramp Silas jumped up and shouted, "Woo Hoo!  Josh and Daddy, I'm coming!"  Once we got on the plane Micah nursed and was very quiet.  (He actually nursed for the entire 2 hour and 46 minute flight.  Ugh!)

 Silas was so excited to be on the plane, but when the plane turned, he started to say (rather loudly) "We're falling!  The plane's falling!"  Not the best thing to say to a nervous-to-fly Grandma!  But, all in all our flight went great and before we knew it we were touching down in St. Martin. Flying with Grandma must be the best.  She had movies, snacks, books, games...the kids did great! We gathered up all of our luggage again, and got into a taxi.  Mom's knuckles were turning white around every corner.  Our driver was wasting no time!  We had extra time on our hands before our boat took off, so Mom bought us some Cokes and Fries.  They were soooo good!

 My Micah did very good,but within minutes sprouted a heat rash.  Poor Baby! He'll get used to the Caribbean heat soon enough.

 Then, it was time to board the Great Bay Express Ferry.  The seas had been pretty rough earlier in the week, but Praise the Lord the seas were calm for us.  God is so good to answer prayer.  Mom and Brenna found a great place by the edge, but they quickly had to scoot closer to the center of the boat.  The man we saw before we got on the boat that had had too much to drink sat right in front of them.  Then, he proceeded to get several plastic bags ready in case he got sick.  Then, he seemed to change his mind and hung his head over the side of the boat while he turned green. And this all happened before we left the dock!  I could just picture my poor Mom and Daughter getting sprayed!  They moved and we enjoyed the rest of the boat ride.  The breeze was perfect and it was truly relaxing.

It was great to finally arrive to St. Barths around 6:30.  I've been praying for months that the Lord would give us all peace and a great desire to return.  About a week before it was time to go I told my Dad, "I don't want to leave, but I want to go."  I think other missionaries will know what I'm talking about.  The desire to be with family, friends, your home church and everything that is comfortable to you is very strong.  But, the Lord gives an even more overwhelming peace (the kind that passes all understanding) to be in the "Spot" He's called you to.  I wrote about it here around this time last year.  It's good to be back home! 

Just about ready

After much waiting we received Micah's passport in the mail on Saturday!  Tomorrow Patrick and Josh leave for St. Barths and the rest of us will follow on Saturday.  I'm thankful that my Mom is going to travel with me and stay for a week.  I'm glad  to not have to say all my goodbyes at once!  So, here's a few pictures that I just had to blog about.  We've had so much fun!

 My kiddos love bubbles!  And Aunt Tay is such a sweetie to show them how to blow bubbles.  (Next time I need to wipe them off  Silas's face, though.  He was red for a week!)

 I don't know how many times we picked up dumped out legos.  I think most of these were played with when I was a little girl.

 Little Callie got lots and lots of attention from her older cousins.  She loves playing doctor with them and is always the patient.

 It was so neat that Claude was able to come and spend some time in Florida while we were here.  He even treated us to Red Lobster.  I LOVE their Coconut Shrimp and HAVE TO figure out a way to duplicate it at home.

 Denise made us a Turkey dinner one night and it was fabulous!

 Poor Micah.  He gets played with plenty by his siblings...

 and cousins!

 We've enjoyed lots of golf cart rides!

 And lots of smiles, too!

 3 of my sisters and my Mom took my Dad out for a ladies night.  We had a cute little hot dog deli that we had planned to go to with his favorite Koegel hot dogs.  But, it was closed :o(  So, he treated us to Rib City instead!  What a Dad!

 Silas made me some birthday soup.  It was one of those moments that he was so excited to see me eat his creation that I just had to get it down.  It was water (from I don't know where), smashed (by his cute chubby hands) bananas and grapes.  It was delicious (at least that's what I told him!)

 And then there's my parents....they're the best.  They let the 8 of us move in with them for so long!  They rearranged everything: their furniture, schedules, routine....EVERYTHING!  And I had baby Micah in their spare bedroom!  They are so patient with my kiddos.  Even with coloring on lots of walls they cherished every moment. It was a great visit and I love being with my parents.  Thanks, Mom and Dad for everything.  I will remember and treasure these past two months for the rest of my life.  You two really are the best!

Happy Mother's Day Moms!

 Patrick and I are blessed with wonderful Mothers.  On Mother's Day Eve we made them dinner over at Mom's house.  It was great to just talk and laugh and watch the kiddos act silly.  Both of our mothers are such  perfect grandmothers.  They love their grandchildren (and let them get away with so much!)  I think we'll have our hands full with our grandparent-spoiled children when we get back!

Celebrating Callie's Birthday

 We had a great time Celebrating Miss Callie Grace's Birthday!  She woke up to some fun gifts that she loved opening.

 Then, it was off to our church's Mother Daughter Banquet.  Miss Judy always does a great job planning and preparing and we enjoyed it so much!  Half way through Callie spotted her Grammy and was so excited.  She loudly said over and over, "Grammy!  Hi Grammy!"  It was so cute!

 It's not very often I'm able to go to the banquet with my Mom.  I'm so glad I was able to this year.  Here's my Mom with 3 of her daughters and all of granddaughters.  (My sis Tay had to work :o(  )

 Then, it was party time for Callie! 

 We played her favorite games with her cousins: Ring around the Rosie, Crawl around like a doggie, balloons....lots of funness!

 (Do you notice Callie not even noticing the balloons but playing with her new baby and stroller?  So cute!)

Then, Denise ordered an amazing cake for Callie.  So pretty!  It was the kind with a custard and fruit in between the layers.  So delicious!

Great day!

25 Years? Really?

 I received a message not too long ago that my elementary school was going to celebrate It's 50th anniversary.  In honor of that they were going to open the time capsule from 25 years ago.  That's when I was in 5th grade and our class contributed to it.  My other 3 sisters also went to Villas elementary school, too.  So, my sister, Keela, and I went to the celebration together.  It was so fun!  I found an album with a picture of my kindergarten class.  Can you tell which one I am?  Of course the cute one! :o)  I'm the little sandy blonde girl.  The 7th from the left on the front row.  Then, as we were walking we spotted coach Pittman.  He was our PE teacher and we loved him! The really cool thing is that he spotted us, too and said, "The Willoughby Girls!"  Wow!  He remembered us!  Then, we saw Mr. Barnett.  He was our principal and we loved him, too.  It was so fun to have this day with my sis and reminisce.  Was it really 25 years ago?

She Lost

Patrick's Mom, Denise, and Brenna had a deal.  If the baby was a girl, Denise (Grammy) would have to make 5 Pumpkin Pies.  If it was a boy, Brenna had to make a homemade meal for all of us.  Well, as you know, Micah is a boy!  So, Grammy picked out the recipes and Brenna cooked.  The meal was wonderful!  Brenna made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn.  Is your mouth watering?

Let's go fly a kite!

We  had a great time flying kites at Lakes Park here in Fort Myers.  Silas had been eyeing the kites for days and was so excited when we told him that today was the day!  Uncle William helped him get his kite in the air.  When it came down later Silas tried to get him up himself and did so good!  It was adorable and he received lots of cheers!

Callie wasn't all that interested in the kites, but loved playing in the sand.  Lots of fun to clean!

There was lots of running and trying, but we weren't super successful.

BUT, we did get some cousin time in....

and sister time...

and some good family memories made.

Heart of the Matter April and May

As you might have noticed, I did not do a “Heart of the Matter” word for April or May.  Knowing our baby would be born during this time, I had intentions to write out my posts ahead of time.  But, this never happened.  I guess you could say that my heart’s focus for these two months was to “Stand in Awe” like in Psalm 119.  I’ve stood in awe many, many times these past two months.

~ I’ve stood in awe at God’s faithfulness to provide our material possessions as well as our heart’s desire.  It was so good to be here with family while we had our baby and the Lord provided for everything!

~I’ve stood in awe at how wonderful my family and church family are.  They are so thoughtful and encouraging to us.  We know that whatever prayer request we have, they are so faithful to pray for.

~I’ve stood in awe at the amazingness of our Great Physician.  Having a successful homebirth is a blessing beyond measure!  We knew God was with us guiding everything that happened.

~I’ve stood in awe at how precious life is.  Micah has stolen my heart along with the rest of my children.  My heart overflows with how much love I have for our new baby.

Let me encourage you to stop and stand in awe at all the blessings God has bestowed upon you and your family.  I heard a preacher say a few months ago that “Gratitude produces Contentment.” I wrote it in my prayer journal as a reminder to stay thankful.  I like having a contented heart!  God truly loads us daily with benefits, don’t forget to “stand in awe” of them!