Vacation- quick overview

We sailed on Carnival Splendor- One of Carnival's biggest ships.

While on the cruise Mike and Lizzie celebrated their 8th year anniversary.

We ate fabulous food- especially lots of fruit.

And we played lots of card games.
We had a fun RELAXING week and truly enjoyed the time spent with family.

I got back to Las Vegas rested and refreshed. Ana, my assistant kept things going smoothly at the office. I really had no fires to put out which is a HUGE blessing to me.

Surprise

May 13th, 2010 was my 36th birthday. My good friends Ana and Lana planned a surprise party for me. I got home and there were 17 people in my living room. I am very blessed to have such friends. We had a blast. Thursday was my last day of work before vacation so the day ended well with a party. They made me wear this birthday princess tiara... I felt silly but special all at once. This is Lana- she has become one of my closest friends. There is never a dull moment with her around. Here she is acting goofy.

Lana gave me a pair of sunglasses for the cruise- they were COACH glasses. I was modeling them for everyone.

Here is a picture of some of the guys that were at the party. It was a wonderful Surprise and I am VERY thankful to be thought of.

Then on Friday, Paul and I set off for our long awaited vacation..... More on the vacation to follow.

The countdown

Well friends-
I am on the countdown to our Cruise! We have 6 days until the actual cruise- and 4 until I actually am off work. I am really excited but exhausted all at the same time. I spent all weekend getting ready- cleaning, laundry, and just catching up on chores.

Osvaldo Munguia

Meet Osvaldo Munguia. This is Ana's little brother. He is 10 years old. Once again, we felt the Lord telling us to minister to someone.
Osvaldo is 10 years old. He is a total BOY- loves sports, eating, laughing and most of all getting attention!
Two weekends ago Paul and I went with Ana to Pahrump, NV to meet her mother and 2 brothers. We had a lovely time at the farm. They have chickens, pigs, goats, lambs, peacocks, quails, dogs, and a nice garden. We spent the afternoon with them getting to know them.
What I noticed more than anything was how thirsty Osvaldo was for attention. The more I observed his behavior the more my heart went out to him. He has been deprived of a father figure, so he instantly attached to Paul. After talking with him we found out that he has been a problem at school as well.
Paul and I both went home thinking about our day and how sad it was for us to see a boy so desperate for love and attention.
So, after talking and praying we decided that maybe we should reward him for good behavior by telling him that he can come and spend the weekend with us if he has a good week at school and at home. We talked to his mom and to Ana and they both felt it was a good idea. Osvaldo came to our house for Saturday and Sunday. We (and when I say we I mean WE) played soccer, bochas, went to the movies to watch "How to train a dragon", had yogurt from Yogurtland, had a cookout, played wii, went to church and basically had a weekend FULL of fun.
When we delivered Osvaldo back to his mother he was exhausted BUT happy.
Please pray with us as we start to minister to him and his mother. We pray that this act of kindness opens their heart to hear the Word of God.
They do have an older brother Jose Antonio who also needs the Lord but he has been a little more difficult to spend time with- he is 19 years old and does his best to stay away from the house.