Life is Sweet

Last week John and I took a vacation! It was amazing....Since our huge transition to the Fayettenam area we have had so many things going on. John has had a new job, new responsibilities and something new every week to wrestle with, pray about and overcome. It's been a roller coaster to say the least since we took off from the Western part of North Carolina to the Eastern part. While I feel God has stretched us and grown us in ways we have never experienced, I must admit we were a bit exhausted from it all and knew we needed to get away for refreshed minds, bodies, and attitudes!

The Cruise was an amazing way to rejuvenate bodies, minds, and spirits! And plain and simply it was precious to have my husband all to myself with no cellphone, no church responsibilities, no computer...NOTHING but us! I loved it!

We headed down to Jacksonville, Florida early Monday morning following Easter. I had to drive because John has stayed at the church till 1:00 AM getting things ready for his one week off. He finally finished packing close to 2:00 AM and was in the bed. He was still exhausted when I woke him at 5:30 so the "steering wheel Nazi" as I call him, (yes I realize this is politically incorrect...I've learned that the hard way..another story for another time though :) )..... gave over his post and allowed me to drive most of the way through till Georgia.

We arrived at Jacksonville and saw the FASCINATION ship! The excitement finally rose within us both as we realized we were finally THERE! We enjoyed our first few hours on the boat, just roaming around and enjoying the new scenery. It was our first cruise...it was probably obvious. There were probably 2nd timers on the boat making fun of us..but we really didn't care. One of my favorite parts was the towel animals they left every night in our room. This one we called Lily for our cat at home...we added the whiskers and of course, John with his "take things apart and put them together mind" knows exactly how to make this for our guests!

That night we went to dinner, but John couldn't handle being up any longer. Earlier in the day he had felt a migraine coming and it came at full strength around dinner time. We finally had to just go in for an early night. It was nice to get some much needed rest. However, John got the rest and I was WIDE awake through a HORRIBLE storm on the first night. I literally thought it might be the end of our days. I could hear the waves crashing against the front of the boat and the lighting was putting on a show outside our window. I had to continually tell myself that I was hanging out in a rocking chair so that the movement didn't make me sick...John slept through the entire storm and had no memory of it the next morning.

Our FUN DAY at SEA was spent in the sunshine! We got a little roasted as we typically do on the first day because we are so anxious for sun and we don't put on enough sunscreen. That night was the Captains Dinner and I was a night lobster red in my black dress. It went well with our prime rib and lobster dinner which was scrumptious, but the best part was the melting chocolate cake! It was so amazing. We made friends with our waitress Anise and she gave me the recipe. I can't wait to make the delicious dessert at home.

Our first stop on the ship was Key West, Florida. We enjoyed the Southern Most Point of the United States with dolphin watching, kayaking, and snorkeling. I haven't gotten the underwater camera developed yet. I haven't had film developed in forever... Once of the best part was the Key Lime Pie!

Nassau, Bahamas.

Nassau was beautiful! It was my favorite stop of the two.The turquoise blue water was unbelievable. Of course I took tons of pictures but there just isn't enough room for them all!

Atlantis is a resort on Paradise Island. We went over to the island with a couple we met on the boat, Candace and Trey. They only live about 45 minutes from us. It was alot of fun going over and looking at the aquariums and amazing sites of Atlantis. We wanted to get information about how much it would cost to visit Atlantis again sometime ..... bad idea. The cheapest room was $350.00 a night! YEAH RIGHT..not on a pastor and teacher salary. The suite that connects the two towers is $25,000! Anybody want to send us?

Overall, we were extremely happy with our cruise! We definitely want to go on another one. It was a great time to be reminded that all the hard work is worth these times together.