Shore Was Fun!!

We are back (insert sad face here) it has taken every ounce of energy I have to get back into the swing of things. We had the perfect wedding!!! Every expectation and each little dream I had about this special day came to fruition. We stood before God and all our friends and family and committed our lives to one another. It was magical, elegant, emotional, romantic, and tons of fun. It is day 10 of happily ever after and each day gets better.

Our honeymoon at Pink Sands Resort in the Bahamas was the icing on the cake. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.

The view from our cottage.....

Of course I had to get some decor in......

Front Lobby....

The Coral Sands .....

Because SNOW is in the Forecast...

And I am so over this cold weather.

Pink Sands Beach in the Bahamas and fingers crossed this could quite possibly be our destination spot come August. Yes, the sand on the beach really is pink and its 75 degrees and sunny right now.

Puttin' Around Hilton Head

I know that the use of words and pictures together are very powerful tools in communication. But there are no words, no words for how lovely our trip was to South Carolina. So I am only going to tell you the story from my cameras point of view. Enjoy!!! 

     

     

  

 

Hilton Head Here We Come

I am guessing this will be our last official vacation of the 2009 year, so we are going out with a bang. Britt and I are headed to the island of Hilton Head, South Carolina..... and you are correct if you guessed this little getaway revolved around golf. My man loves his golf, and I love to travel so when the two collide it makes for a great week!! 

I always like to be prepared for the future so I did a little research on this new adventure. This will be my first time to South Carolina and it has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. The island is very unique, it's the largest barrier island on the East Coast and 20 miles away from Georgia, it has 300 tennis courts, 23 golf courses, 8 marinas, stunning views (yes I am bring the camera), beaches, boutiques, fine dining, and some awesome southern culture!! So, I bid a brief farewell to you my fellow bloggers - have a great week!!

Lighthouse overlooking the 18th green of Harbortown golf course

A Room With a View - St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands

My little blogspot seems to have unfolded into all the things happening in my life i.e. my passion for decorating, celebrating birthdays, cooking, my travels, or just life in general. I follow other blogs that seem to have the same passions that I share, and through them I have found my way to these amazing places Be Hands and Feet and The Journey. They are woman living in Uganda as missionaries and reading their story has stirred within me something that had become dormant. One thing that I hold very dear to my heart and don't seem to talk about is God. Between finishing school and the working world I did mission work, so reading their blog was like being back on the mission field. I felt their struggles because I to have held the hand of a dying child; I also felt their joys of knowing that you are serving a God that is always by your side and works miracles through you. Last night I was looking through some photos from my time in missions, and I started reflecting on life. I have forgotten so much of what I learned living that simple life, and I am stunned at how easy the world can lure us into running circles in this rat race. It's hard to keep "your heart set on things above," and sometimes I feel that it was easier being a Christian while serving the poor in foreign countries than serving Him here at home. But home is where God has me right now, so home is where I have to strive to be a good Christian.

When I finished college I knew in my heart that doing mission work was exactly where I needed to be and the doors began flying open. I was scared, but could not ignore the burning desire to just GO. I want to share with you a story of one of my mission trips to the beautiful island of St. Vincent. I hope to never forget these moments:

We went to St. Vincent to set up a mission base to send other missionaries within our company to serve there long term. We saw so much on our trip, and I knew on the first day that God needed us here. We spent a few days at an abandoned children's hospital and the kids there captured my heart. Aids and other diseases ran rapid on the island leaving many children without a family and no where to go. Walking through that hospital and visiting with the kids you could see how much they needed love. The medical help was important but they really just needed to be loved, to know that they were not alone in this big scary world. I poured out all I had, playing with them, rocking and kissing them to sleep, and just being present with them in that moment letting them know that they were important. The girls loved fixing my hair, and the little boys would climb all over me, and I laughed the whole time. Upon leaving one of the little girls through herself on the ground and said "mommy don't leave me." I was in shock, she called me mommy, and my heart hurt. I had only know these kids for a few days and the love we shared was so real, the love they needed was even more real. Jesus used me to show His children that He loved them, suffered with them, counted every hair on their heads, and wiped every tear they shed. Tears welled in my eyes as we drove off.... she called me mommy. God had brought us here for such an obvious reason and his plan was unfolding right before my eyes. I knew their was a good chance I would never see these children again but my heart still carries them all. "We may not be able to see God, but when we love one another, He lives in us and His love is made complete in us.... We love, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:12

I am happy to report that after our trip FMC set up a mission base in St. Vincent from 2002-2006, for four years missionaries served in that wonderful place, but the harvest is great and labors are few. 

If Wishes Were Fishes

Last weekend we brought my niece and nephew to New Orleans to visit the aquarium. We made a day of it starting with a breakfast of champions: the ever so famous deep fried dough covered in powdered sugar (yummy)!! After the heart health breakfast we walked down the river walk to visit the fish at the aquarium, had lunch, and went to visit the insects at the museum. The kids had a blast - Payton loves all things animal and it was Emily's first trip to New Orleans. Here are a few pictures from our fun filled day in NOLA!!!

Eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter

Aquarium of the Americas

Audubon Insectarium

Butterfly at the insect museum

Jelly Fish

Some Girls Have all the Luck

O no you didn't - my cousin Rachel invited me to see Rod Stewart live in concert Friday night. I am always hesitant about attending concerts because I don't care much for large crowds of strange people stuffed in a warm building with all the lights turned off. Actually just typing that made my palms sweaty and now I am feel claustrophobic.  Hold on................ No really, I love music and for the most part I can muster up the courage to put that fear behind me to enjoy the show. But wait America, I have found the answer to my dilemma: The Woodlands Pavilion. It is an outdoor amphitheater!!! We got to the venue early, spread our blanket on the lawn, and plopped our little hiney right in the front on the grass. The weather was beautiful with a cool breeze in the air, and we both enjoyed a rather pleasant plastic glass of red wine. Rod rocked the stage and he played all his classic music, and sorry but we did sing right along with him.

We had a jam packed weekend, we stayed at Rachel's brother house in Houston. We slept late Saturday morning from the long concert and woke up to Justin cooking breakfast for us with a pot of fresh coffee on. We did some shopping after breakfast, and laid out by the pool when we got back. Justin also had Astro/Mets tickets lined up for us on Saturday night. The Astros lost 10-1, but it was worth the money seeing Ivan Rodriguez (I-Rod) warm up right next to us before the game!!!   

We ended the weekend attending the Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco in the Toyota Center Sunday afternoon. Britt and I had seen the Love/Beatles show in Vegas and we fell in love with the whole idea, so I was super excited to see another show. Saltimbanco did not disappoint!! I found a clip on YouTube to give you a little preview of what we saw. It is quite amazing to see live, and I had to constantly remind myself to blink. 

My Thailand Travels

Alright everyone, today we are going to take a little trip down memory lane. Your final destination will be Chiang Mai, Thailand and the surrounding Hill Tribes. Many happenings this week reminded me of this amazing place that I fell in love. Friday, we attended a wedding and I got to visit with the couple that started the mission company I worked with. Then, I made a little trip to my favorite (actually only) Asian grocery store in town. I found fresh rambutans, an Asian fruit, and stocked up on many ingredients for my favorite dishes. I introduced Britt to some new recipes this week, some were met with confusion, but everything was eaten. I think the rambutans pushed him over the edge - on the outside they look like red hairy aliens. Finally, last night our big group of friends went to this quaint little Asian restaurant: The Noodle House. It was true authentic asian food, the guys had some spice in their dishes so they were sweating to clean their plates.

OK so back to our destination, the summer of 2003 my dearest friend Kim and I traveled to Chiang Mai. Kim had previously lived in Thailand for 2 years and attended language school, so it was a reunion for her and a brand new experience for me. She brushed up on her "you speak Thai" skills, and I hit the Internet making contacts and plans for our trip. We stayed with the same family that Kim had lived with, and worked under the Bishop of the diocese. When we arrived the grandmother, Khoon Yah, was ill and had a bed set up in the living room. Her spirits were down and you could tell she was just tired from life. Kim is the funniest friend I know, and with her witty comments and optimistic attitude Khoon Yah was out of bed, sitting up, and taking us out to eat by the end of our stay. Most of our time there was spent visiting the people, teaching english classes, attending services, and helping the Nuns.

So many stories to tell I can't imagine picking just one: We almost died on top of a mountain because I was insistent on riding an elephant down a hill during monsoon season. I ate stir-fried june bugs which its equivalent to eating popcorn for us. They had a guy almost stop our plane going home so he could give Kim flowers, and confess his love. We sang our class the Happy Days theme song to get them to remember days of the week. We would bring plate lunches to this little lady that lived on the streets, and she made it her mission to find husbands for us so we would not leave. We listened to Khoon Yah singing in the shower in her broken english "I love you, you love me." All the late night trips Lu Gang would take us on to find a street cart with our favorite desert Roti. I love the custom of taking your shoes off before entering a building; after Mass it was always fun searching for your shoes amongst the piles. And O how I wish I could I forget the 12 hours that we got stuck in the Singapore airport trying to get home.

We left Thailand with sad heavy hearts. Upon leaving Khoon Yah wanted to give me a compliment, Kim translated "You come here skinny and dark, now you leave white and fat, you pretty now." Ahh the culture difference!!! Every other commercial on TV was for skin whitening creams. I told her in America fat and white is not good that I would have to stay in Chiang Mai with her until I was dark and skinny again.

Row, Row, Row your boat

We spent Saturday canoeing down the Whiskey Chitto River.  As we drove up to the rental place there was good old Bearcat with his famous tie-dye shirt on directing traffic.  And the not so famous bus was still parked in the back with graffiti writing "canoe naked."  Umm, please don't. I do not think I have the stomach to handle seeing any of you people naked. Rachel and I were in line to pay for our canoe and she whispers "If you have friends from out of town and wanted to scare them you could drop them off in this place."  Yep Rach I agree, it is like a foreign country in Mittie Louisiana, everyone is as good as gold but - well you know. It's always an interesting trip but always a good time.  This year marks our 3rd annual canoe trip with my cousins, and true to tradition Blake tried to dunk everyone in the water, the kids rolled down the sand hill and lodged sand in every crevasse of their bodies, and Holly flipped her canoe.  We beat the monsoon rain heading our way by 5 minutes, and yes if you must know my butt is still sore.

(2008 canoe trip)

It's a Family Tradition

Where do I even begin? We are officially back from Orange Beach. I had 7 hours in the car to start formulating into words our little vacation, and I am still speechless.  So, I guess I will just start at the beginning and let the story unfold.  The GGCC, the GGCC, the GGCC - that's what everyone kept talking about, and I really had no idea what it was, what it meant, or what I was in for.  Sometimes in life you just gotta sit back and enjoy the ride, as hard as that is for me to do I was bound and determined to let go, not plan ahead, not worrying about time frames, and not be in control.  So when Britt's closet friends offered me a ride down to the beach two days before our "official leaving time" I jumped in the car no questions asked. With freshly pedicured toes, I was ready to meet the Greater Gulf Coast Challenge Invitational Vacation head on. Well, the entire DeClouet family welcomed me with open arms and treated me as one of there own. Anyone standing on the outside would think this family tree is full of NUTS and I was ecstatic to be a nut too.  And my favorite part was that no one looked at me funny when I laughed so hard beer flew out of my nose, or when I had 5 jello shots and a bloody mary for breakfast, or when I almost drowned in 1.5 feet of water we call the lazy river. They just laughed with me because for a few days 'we were f-a-m-i-l-y!' 

Here are a few highlights from our trip: 

The famous Jackers: yes people he is a man after my my own heart, and in true fashion he lived up to my vacation motto "you can do what ever you want." Jack wanted a bath in the sink, Jack got a bath in the sink.  Does this kid make the cutest faces in the world? You got your hands full Mike and Amy he is going to be a ladies man!!!

"I tried being good but I got bored"

What would vacation be without a little splish splash and lots of good old natural sunlight.  After a few hot mornings on the golf course the Lazy river was a big hit with the group.  Many hours, many cases of beer, and hundreds of laps were spent floating in the river.  

The heat is on!

"Come on in I think we can fit one more"

Monday morning I decided to put my big girl pants on and support the boyfriend with his FAVORITE past time.  I neatly tucked away my plans of sleeping late and curling my toes in the sand and went with the group to play golf.  Some would say boring, and I tell you nothing is boring with this clan of people.  

"Shankapotamous"

"Mike dreaming of miller time on the 1st hole"

 "It's not a hazard guys" 

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

- Jane Howard