First game of fall balll for the colonia Pirates

This afternoon we had our first game with a local team from West End, the Westenders.  They had a world of experience compared to our kids but our guys amazed everyone watching!  Our team hit the ball, ran the bases, had double plays, etc; all of it absolutely defying everything these kids knew.   Trey was in awe of what these kids were able to accomplish with what seemed as so little training...commiting to something they just learned to love and following through with it...and they have immediate results!   Wow! 

We thought our guests had ceased for a time, however, they had other plans....

Apparently, when you live on a tropical island for the better part of a year, there are a whole host of guests that creep into your life.  We have had friends, family, honey bees, tarantulas, geckos, monkey lalas, mice, rats, ants....what are we forgetting here?  Oh, that's right, BOA CONSTRICTORS!  How on earth did that not top our list of guests?  The two sweeties were perched above our washing machine, hissing due to the fact that we had spoiled their slumber.  Yes, hissing at me after I had finished what was my fourth load of laundry....I am guessing they were pretty peaved at that point.  Ezekial, the gardener of the house we rent, called his brother to come and help remove the boas and of course get rid of them.  Little did I know that they were about four feet long and pretty much harmless unless you are a small animal or child.  They put them to rest and we later found out that most locals do not appreciate visitors killing the animals of the island.  We should have simply bagged them and released them elsewhere....yeah, right.  In Texas we kill snakes, sorry, but that is what we do.  Grab a shovel!

We have had about five weeks straight of rain and a handful of tropical storms come over the island.  The pool overflowed continuously but we always had water in our cistern.  Non-stop rain on an island is not fun with four kids, let's just say that God knew we needed the sun, bad.  The morning after or latest tropical storm, full-on sun and perfectly flat turquoise water, heaven. 

On another note, it is with great pleasure that we announce that it has taken almost a year for friendly little blood-sucking lice to attack us.  What a nightmare, trash bag the pillows and clothes, wash everyone's hair with toxic chemicals, wear shower caps to bead, comb and pick at eachother's heads....a ton of fun.  Actually reminded of the scene from that movie "Switch".  So funny.  Needless to say, we were able to get rid of this without any problem.  We ended up helping a couple of the kids in our youth group get rid of it too, this stuff spreads like wild fire and won't go away on its own.  Good times here in Roatan.

Take Care and God Bless,

Connie and Family

More Birthdays, Goodbyes and Travel.....

This past week Trey went to Texas and Arizona for the week.  It was his first trip off-island in 10 months!  Not only was he able to gain a new appreciation for the the little things that we can sometimes take for granted here on Roatan but he was able to have a ton of quiet time while driving across Texas.  The slower pace of life was much missed, as he juggled his "schedule" to include meeting after meeting in various places from The Woodlands all the way to Flagstaff.  He was unfortunately too busy to stop and see many of the friends he would have loved to spend some time with, but Trey was able to make some contacts with others that would possibly play a part in our future in the next few months.  God has a funny way of placing people in our lives at just the right time to throw us off of what we "thought" or "planned" for our near future.  Gotta love the surprises!

We saw our lastest house guest, Holden, return to Montgomery.  It sure was fun having a teen ager around to help shuffle kids on the scooter and get to to know the youth that we spend so much time with.  It seems like each young person that we have had as a guest in our home these last few months, has bonded with not only our kids and family but also with the youth group. It is so much fun to see the kids grow to know oneanother and build life long friendships.  Both Holden and Taylor have succesfully recruited Kenfor, one of our youth group members, to come to the states once he gets his passport.  We have some amazing kids here on Roatan and the more they can see outsiders that have willing hearts, the more they can visualize all the potential for their future through getting an education and never giving up.

Our oldest daughter, Anna, turned 11 last week.  We had the youth group over to swim and play wii and eat cake and ice cream.  It was a blast!  The weather has been very rainy and cool at night, so the kids were freezing but loving every minute of throwing eachother into the pool and sliding on the make shift slip and slide on our tile patio.  It was crazy and the best part was Anna getting her cake in her face, she loved every minute of it!

We have quite a few things going on with youth group and church each week.  The toddler class that I started, mainly due to the fact that my two youngest are a little disruptive during the kids church class, is doing great.  We have at least three and sometimes four toddlers each week and the older kids are now able to learn scripture and pay better attention to the lessons each week.  We are getting more volunteers so that will eventually free myself and Melissa to actually attend a church service.  I can honestly say that is one of the things I miss most, of course air conditioning and Walmart are pretty high on my list, but attending worship would be wonderful.

Trey and Mike's baseball is still going strong, twice a week practice with their first scrimmage this weekend!  The kids are amazing and such a testament to what hard work and determination can do.

Please continue to pray for us as we make some large decisions about what our family will be doing at year-end.  We have a great opportunity to possibly stay part time here on the island while spending the other part of the year back home, not sure where home would be, but it would be a great break both ways if it should work out that way.  Eyes to see and ears to listen...

Take Care and God Bless,
Connie and Fam