Island Adventure

Well, as Christmas approaches I look forward to celebrating the season with our church family, our own families and our friends...but I can't help looking a little farther forward to January when Joel and I will fly away to San Andres Colombia on our 2nd Honeymoon (to celebrate our 10th anniversary :) I am beyond excited at the idea of going South with Joel since we haven't been South together since our honeymoon to Cuba nearly 10 years ago. We will actually be spending our exact anniversary day in San Andres which is super-amazing!!

We learned about this incredible little island from my Aunt Ruby while we were storm-stayed there last January on the way home from the Bear Trail resort. Her neighbours had spent some time there and had fallen in love with the island. It won't be a five-star hotel that we stay in down there, but this little island oasis fits Joel and I to a "T". The island is very small and can be driven around in a golf cart in only an hour and a half. Our resort is made up of pods that are built on the ocean, so hopefully we'll get the ocean view we requested and we'll be able to hear the ocean waves below us as we fall asleep at night, and wake up to walk out on our balcony and look down to see fish swimming in the ocean that is 7 shades of blue there. The snorkeling is supposed to be incredible, right from the pier at our hotel. We bought each other snorkeling sets for Christmas and are looking forward to doing a LOT of snorkeling while we are down there. Apparently there are stingrays, nurse sharks and tonnes of different types of fish that swim in very shallow water there where we can snorkel. I can't WAIT!

Joel and I have both been to mainland Colombia in the past 2 1/2 years, but we went separately (as most of you know). We both fell in love with the Colombian people and are so looking forward to experiencing Colombia together this time. Our hotel is a couple of minutes walk from downtown San Andres so we plan to venture in to town often and really get a feel for the island and it's people. I would also love to visit the local schools and hope to be able to give out some goodies to the kids there, and I'm hoping we can go to the local Baptist church for a service on the Sunday morning too (even though we won't understand much of it :)

It's funny how people's ideal vacations are so different. For me personally, to fly to an island and stay on one resort for an entire week doesn't appeal to me. Joel and I are not 'beach lovers', we do not enjoy sitting on a beach for hours on end reading a book. We'd both much rather be exploring the area, taking in the culture and investigating the underwater coral reef...that to us is much more ideal than a luxury 5 star resort. In fact, our resort doesn't even have a beach, we will be able to swim off of the pier at the resort and that suits me just fine since I do not particularly enjoy sand. There is a gorgeous beach just a few minutes walk from our resort that I'm sure we'll check out for part of the trip, but I'm sure we won't spend days laying on it.

10 years...I can hardly believe it. They have been 10 really great years, we are SO blessed. We've had our ups and downs, like everyone else, but I really can't say that we had months or years of marriage that weren't happy (just moments within those years when things may not have seemed so 'rosy'). I know that I am so fortunate to have Joel...I know because I almost married the wrong guy. Thankfully God saved me from that mistake and months and months after healing from that breakup He put Joel in my life and I knew he was the one almost right away. It's really crazy when I think about it. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I had travelled the path I had planned for myself. I know that I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now, that's a guarantee.

So blessed.

So, as we wait for another 5 weeks in anticipation of our romantic getaway, I am praying that my client due somewhere between Jan1-Jan 3 has her baby nice and early so that I won't miss it! Speaking of births I had my first in 5 months last Thursday and it was beautiful! So great to get back into the delivery room again. The next few months are really filling up with clients and it's awesome.

Until next time,

Mel