For our family this experience has been a stretching one. We have spent so much time together as a family I think we are good for at least ten. :) This was taken as a Christmas picture. Thanks to all you who have been praying for us.
We have not seen these wild picks (peckary) for a number of months now. They move along or are hunted by the wild cats or jaguars - or hunters. The meat apparently is terrible if it is not prepared correctly after you shoot it. This was taken just below our house down the hill. About 300 feet away.
This is a typical home in Belize. Many people live in this kind of raised house. I think it is a traditional thing. Where we live the houses are not on stilts. The laundry also (you can see it in the picture) is hung dry. One of the biggest chores for us is to hang our laundry. Not too stressful, but it does take time.
In the middle of the country are huge orange groves. Miles and miles of trees. This truck is loaded with oranges which are taken and made into juices or various kinds. This was taken at the beginning of January. The orange season ends by the beginning of March.
In Placencia. We stayed here for four nights. We took some time at Christmas to go to the beach with Lill and Bruce who came to visit. There are miles and miles of beach. We were dissappointed there were so few shells on the beach. It was too far from the coral reef. There were very many shells when we were on the islands.
Bruce catching fish when we went fishing with a guide. He caught supper and supper and supper... The fish were big and very good. Austin and I each caught one and Bruce caught the rest. This fish is called a Jack. Our guide was very memorable.
Family picture at the Blue Hole in central Belize. You can go swimming here. The water comes from under the mountain. Travels about 300 feet above ground and returns underground. It is a little freaky swimming where the water comes up as it is very deep. The water is a blue color, hence the name. Very refreshing swim on a hot day.
Nurse sharks. They are harmless. This is the spot where we jumped in and snorkeled with sting rays and nurse sharks. The water is about 5 feet deep. If you ever get a chance to snorkel on a coral reef it is a spectacular experience, don't pass it up. Renee may say otherwise, but I think she is glad she tried it.
We are waiting for the water taxi to take us to Caye Caulker. Greg and his fiance (Melissa) accompanied us on this trip. They are getting married in July in Washington State.
Christmas break in Cancun with Earl and his family. Who could pass up a free round of golf through our hotel. All the boys went for a round. As I remember it was quite hot. It was a par 3 course. Seems to me we lost a few golf balls, and almost hit some cars in parking lots, but a good time was had by all.
Games night at our place. We try and do this once a week on the weekend. These are teachers who have joined us for the evening. We play things like spoons, Dutch Blitz, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride. Everyone bring a little bit of a snack and we have a good time visting and relaxing. No TV so we make our own entertainment. Raena, Austin and Noah are a little bummed we don't have a TV, although I am sure they will thank us when they get older. Maybe.
At a wildlife park. The fawn was born within a day of this picture. It could already stand and run around a little.
A praying mantis on our front porch. At least this bad boy didn't get into the house. I think the cats took care of him in the end.
A scooter that many people use here. I think this one is 100 CC. It belongs to Greg, the grade 7 teacher and is for sale. He wants to sell it when he leaves.
This is a picture of us in Herman's Cave. We went with Wally and Paula when they were out to visit. It was a cool experience, except it would have been better if we had all had our own flashlights. We had wanted to rent some, but not much was available at that time. So we five shared one flashlight, so it was a little hard to trust your next step. It was neat though, and we would highly recommend it.
We also traveled to the Belize Zoo with Wally and Paula. This is a picture of the male harpy eagle. We are kind of excited about this bird, as Blue Creek got to host the release of one of these endangered birds while we were here, and Austin and Jerry were lucky to be a part of that event. Only a few got to go, and they saw the release and everything. It is a gorgeous BIG bird. So that was a cool experience.
This is also a picture of us at the Zoo. The foliage is awesome there. The jungle is all around you, and they have just cut away growth to make paths and the pens look mostly natural. There is wire mesh, but the inside of the pen looks like their natural jungle environment. Very fun to see, especially now on the second time as we have heard more about the animals and have even gotten to see some of them in the wild.
This is a picture taken in Indian Church, just outside of the Lamanai ruins. This would be quite a common sight in Shipyard, a town not far from us where the older colony Mennonites live.
Our February company! We had a great time with Wally and Paula Rude. Jerry went to Bible School with Wally at Capernwray in Sweden (a few years ago :) ) and then they both went to University in Edmonton and lived together at Wally's Aunt's house. Wally stood up for Jerry when we got married. So it was exciting when we heard that they were coming to visit for about 4 days, as well as going on a little trip of their own afterward. They left their kids at home this time, but we are looking forward to our next meeting where our kids will get to meet each other too. They took great interest in our kids and the kids grew to love them a lot. This picture is of breakfast - omelets thanks to Jerry.
Jerry relaxing in our hammock. You wouldn't catch me (Renee) in that thing ever again as yes, as luck would have it, the one end gave way and I landed quite soundly on my bottom. Thankfully it was feet first. But that cement sure is hard!!!! It was one of my first tries in it too, and I had witnessed Jerry relaxing in there many times already. Let's not talk about all the weight I have gained back. :(
Raena trying some stuff with her camera. This is a black and white of her brother acting silly. I think that worked out well
This is a sepia of her mom acting silly. I guess that worked out too.
What a beautiful picture. This is Raena with her friend Karen. Karen has been a very good friend to her, and they have spent a lot of time together. On one of her visits to our house, we stopped by another teacher's house to see their new baby lambs. They were so cute, and the kids got to hold them and name some too. It was a really neat experience. There were tons of baby lambs - maybe 20 or 30. It was fun to see.
Papaya! Looks really good, but we haven't quite acquired the taste for this fruit yet. Don't think we will this trip. Although one of Austin's teachers has told his class that it is a wonderful solution to irregularity.
Noah's 6th birthday party. We invited his whole class to come over - 12 kids. We had some snacks and played some games at our house and down at the park. They also got to do a craft of coloring some race cars. The birthday party was "supplied" by dear Auntie Shelly. Treat bags, decorations, plates, tablecloth, birthday candle,etc. Thanks so much, sister! It was a fun time for Noah.
This is the view from our front windows one morning. These are the wild pigs, called pecaries. There was even a baby one. Quite neat to see them outside of the zoo, and in our front yard! They are not very large and up close they are very stinky. But I guess they are pigs.
This is a picture of our favorite restaurant here, Three Flags Restaurant. Okay maybe it doesn't look like much in this shot, but it is really a cool place. Our favorite items there are chicken fingers or deep fried shrimp. It is a favorite spot for many people to go after church on Sundays. Prices are pretty cheap.
This is a picture taken in Shipyard, where the old colony Mennonites live. The roads are a little bumpy in that neck of the woods, but it is very interesting to see the horses and buggies driving along the road and the people in their unique dress passing us.
A family photo at the Lamanai ruins. The jungle walk is a wonderful experience - cool and peaceful and beautiful.
In December, Bruce and Lill came to visit. They came for the last two weeks of our Christmas holidays. We had an awesome time with them, spending a few days at our house and then traveling with them to the island of Caye Caulker for 3 nights and then on to Placencia for four nights. The kids really bonded with them and once again it was hard for us to say goodbye.
Here is a picture of us all picking oranges during their visit. Noah, Jerry, Renee, Lill
During the first week of our Christmas vacation, we had booked an all inclusive in Cancun and were blessed to spend the week there with Earl and Shelly and family. Here we see Austin with his best buddy Ethan and Noah building a sand sculpture at the seashore. Austin had missed Ethan a ton, so he was very excited to spend this time with him.
Reunited. Our first meal the first evening we got there. Brett was really shocked to see us :) . Jerry is way too busy talking with his long lost buddy to pose. But I always have time :) . It was so nice to see my sister. We had a special week with them, relaxing and catching up. We have said many times, that each set of company has been so SPECIAL. We have shared unique adventures with each of them and enjoyed each visit thoroughly. We have been so blessed! We said too, that we felt that we had bonded more in some ways than we would have had we stayed at home. I feel my kids have interacted more with their Aunts and Uncles, their grandparents and other adults that have come to visit, which is cool to see. At home they would generally run off with the cousins, so although they miss that, it has been special to see the bonding happening.
Okay, so the joke here is that the mosquito is the national bird of Canada. Well, we always joked back that at least you see our national bird. We had many here quite a few months and not seen theirs yet :) But finally we looked in the right place, I guess. Yes, here is a toucan. He doesn't look quite like the one on the fruit loops box, but he is a gorgeous creature. I still can't quite get over seeing one. I watch it till it is out of sight. We hear and see (pretty much every single day since we have been here) parrots. They like to sit in the tree right outside our front door. Although we don't usually see them in the tree, but flying away from the tree. Beautiful birds. Just part of the awesome experiences we are having out here. Unforgettable!I am pretty sure that all of these pictures are in backwards, so sorry! First you have to wait for months and then everything is mixed up. But we did have a lot to catch up. Our kids were pestering Jerry about updating our blog saying that if we didn't people were going to stop praying for us. So that got action. From both of us. Anyway, thanks for continuing to check up on us. We are using a different computer now, and the speed is sometimes lacking a little. But we will do the best we can. Take care! See you in about two months or less. Cannot believe this experience is almost over. Where has the time gone. We miss home a lot, but we know we will miss this place and the people we have met too.
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