Treasuring people in our lives

Time is flying by these days!  As we prepare for our big move back to the States, I find myself thinking back on all the wonderful visitors we've had this year.  Between the end of January and the middle of March, we've had four different families visit us.  We LOVED every single minute of it!  It's so much fun to be able to share a little bit of our life here on the island and experience our favorite places with our friends.  It's an added bonus that when we have visitors, we feel like we are on vacation too! :)  With every family, we were reminded of how blessed we are to have had these wonderful people placed in our lives over the years.

This picture sums up our wonderful day together!

Shipwreck Beach

Love this beautiful mama! 

We got rained on along the way...but we made it up to Sofa Stone!  Friends since pre-babies! Love them! :)

Dads and their precious kiddos!

Downtown Basseterre

Group picture on the top of Monkey Hill! Love this family! 

Sharing our favorite island drinks.

"Look what we found!"

Rainforest Hike

Crushing it open and enjoying fresh almonds!

Major's Bay

We got rained on AGAIN...! But it made it more adventurous! We love Uncle L & Auntie L!!! 

One of our favorite beach meals..."the veggie platter"!

Trying to re-create one of our college pictures...!

Mount Liamuiga Hike - Looking down into the volcano!

Happy birthday Uncle R!  

M family - Love them!!!

Back in February, I celebrated my birthday.  Since we felt like we had been partying several weeks straight with all the visitors, we had a very low-key birthday celebration.  My only request was to bake my birthday cake as a special family activity of the day.  So we spent the day making my "lemon iced raspberry yogurt cake".  It was scrumptious!!!      

My 31st birthday ended up being a very memorable day not only for the special time spent with my family but because of the phone call I received that evening.  I got the news that my grandmother passed away very unexpectedly.  I couldn't believe it.  It had been a few years since we last saw her and we were so looking forward to seeing her in May in Japan.  We were going to have her meet our kiddos.  There are days I still can't believe she is gone.  I have random moments throughout the day when I come across something that reminds me of her.  Just the other day, while I was organizing my things to pack up, I came across an old letter from her.  "My beloved Yuki..."...immediately my eyes teared up seeing her beautiful handwriting.  But rereading her letter made me happy because it flooded my mind with all the little things that made her so so special to me.  She didn't live close to us growing up, so the time spent together in person was always treasured.  Whenever I visited her home, my grandmother and I used to have a special tea time- just the two of us.  We'd talk about anything and everything and she used to make me feel so valued.  So loved.  Over the years, we wrote letters to each other and she loved seeing pictures of her great grandchildren.  Every time we talked on the phone, she'd always end our conversation by telling me how blessed she was to have us in her life and that we were always in her prayers.  How lucky am I to have had a grandmother that made me feel so loved even from miles and miles away? Although I miss her more than ever and I so wish I could've shared one more tea time together with her, I know that I will see her again.  She loved Jesus and her love for Him was evident in her service for others.  My precious grandmother is asleep in her grave, waiting for our Savior's return.  Oh what a glorious day it will be when we will be reunited with our God and with each other!  I am so thankful for this great hope we have in Jesus!  You can be sure we will be having a very special tea party.  Until then, I will treasure the memories I've shared with her and I look forward to retelling all the precious stories to my kiddos.  It's true, life is precious.  I was reminded of that on my birthday.  So I am making a conscious effort to appreciate the people in my life everyday and not to take the time I have with them for granted.  Okay, enough typing.  I'm going to go cuddle my son and go have a tea-party with my daughter :)  Treasure the people in your life; God placed them in your path for a reason! 

"A pebble dropped in the ocean disappears quickly, 

but the ripple it creates continues long after its initial splash is gone." 

-J. Hohnberger