Grandmommy and Papa!

We dropped "the Matt's" off at the airport and picked up my parents at the same time!  I was worried that Carolina wouldn't remember them or that she would be shy around them, but that wasn't the case at all!  I'm SOOO thankful for Skype, b/c she completely KNEW them and was thrilled to be with them!!  That, of course, made my parents' day! :)

Dad and the boys just after they arrived.  The boys could hardly get enough of Papa! :)

My parents arrived on Friday and we left Sat. for a beach resort in Southern Spain.  It was an amazing week of relaxing, swimming, and playing!

Carolina was SOOOO thrilled to be with my mom. She got lots of one on one attention, and she just ate it up!

Weston and Papa after a day at the beach.

They had a blast!

Carolina was hilarious.  She proved to be a total girl here... she enjoyed laying on a lounge chair, soaking up the fresh ocean air!  The sand here is more like sand mixed with dirt, and she didn't like getting dirty at all.

There were several days where Carolina took her nap right on the beach!  It was so great for me!... the boys played, Carolina slept, and I got to read!!!!  :)  definitely luxury! :)

In every little town, there are all these little fountains all over the place for drinking, washing hands, or just getting refreshed.  The kids are all a little too familiar with them, and before any of us could do anything, Carolina was drinking it... and getting completely soaked!

Marbella

Wes and I on a date in Puerto Banús... I've never seen such yachts before!  It was beautiful.

We had a week together at the beach, and then we came home to Cáceres for a week. 

My poor dad was sick for the first couple days in Cáceres, but Carolina couldn't resist being with him.

Mom and Nathan!

Mom and Dad at the top of the "mountain" in Cáceres... you can see all of Cáceres behind them.

One last pic together... 

We all had such a good time together; and after not seeing them for 14 months, it was really hard to say goodbye again. :(  But, we will treasure the memories of our time together, and hopefully see them again next year!! :)  In the mean time... we still have Skype. :)

"The Matts" Visit!

Our pastors, Matt and Matt came to visit at the end of March for a vision trip.  They were able to experience a little bit of life here in Cáceres, and we were able to talk and dream about how we can partner together with The Creek to further the Kingdom of the Lord!  It was a great time of encouragement and lots of laughter! :)

They came bearing a whole suitcase of goodies for us!  The brought the boys 100 Baseball cards.  Weston's face says it all. :)

You can see the mountain of clothes they brought for Carolina (exciting hand-me-downs from Trish!), and a Hello-Kitty travel bag.  Carolina was thrilled: "¿Para mi?" or "for me?" she says... :)  It was lots of fun.

Carolina just LOVED Matt Hahn.  I told him she could be his... she looked more like him with her coloring than ours, anyway!  She loved her snuggle time with him.

The kids just adored "Master Patt and Master Patt," as Jonathan kept saying.  They were calling them 'Pastor Matt,' but it just kept coming out wrong for Jonathan.  So, by the end of their time here, they were, "Master Patt." lol...  The guys spent alot of time with the kids, just hanging out playing Wii, soccer, and wrestling! :)  The kids loved the attention... and we appreciated their love for our kids.  These are the kind of "heros" we want our kids to have!!

They spent time seeing bits of Extremadura and learning some of the history of our area.  They also met us every morning for coffee with our friends.  It was so fun to get to introduce them to our Spaniard friends.  I explained to my girl-friends that they were our pastors from back home.  The ladies were in shock.  Wes, Matt, and Matt were sitting at the table next to us, and one of the ladies pointed to Matt Hahn.  "The young one is a pastor????"  'Youth' here usually extends all the way up until a person is about 35, so Matt was VERY young in their eyes.  Then, I told them that he's married with 2 little girls and another on the way.  That was even crazier to them. Lol... I loved it!  Everyday, whenever they saw him, they would make the comment about how young he is to be a pastor, let alone a dad! :)

We had just bought some outdoor furniture that, of course, had to be assembled.  Matt Rice gave up his time of "rest" to help Wes put it together.  They did a great job...

and we got to eat lunch there together the next day.  The weather is perfect for it, right now... before long, it will be too hot! :)

They also took Wes and I out for a nice dinner!  It was the first time we've had steak since we left the States!  (Extremadura is known for their pork, not the beef! lol...)  It was a GREAT meal, and we enjoyed the laughter and encouragement.

Before we knew it, it was time for them to leave!  The kids were so sad to see them go.  Thanks for coming, Guys!  You were such a blessing to our family!