I have some news to share, but was going to wait til I had a photo to share along with it.  Oh well.

We leave tomorrow for Exuma!  We’ll be gone for the month of January.  You may remember I talked about it here?  Well the time has come and we couldn’t be more excited.  All of us.  Even the teenager!  She was on board initially … back in June or July when we told her about it.  Back when she didn’t have a social life.  But then things picked up in her social world and her thoughts were that I’d be ruining her life if I dragged her away for a month.  So she wasn’t too hip on the whole idea.  I waited patiently and she came around!  Yay!

Anyway … a forced hibernation from posting may be a good thing.  I’m going to be busy homeschooling the kids … yes … I seriously am.  It’s my biggest goal to make sure we keep their schoolwork a priority!

And busy relaxing and playing games and swimming and well … as I mentioned here … taking care of me.  My legs are too weak to run, not to mention how shot my knees are … but I plan to do some serious walking, pilates, healthful eating, sleeping … ahh … I can’t wait!

And now for a summary on our Mexico vacation …

First up … some photos of our miss Huntie J …

Some photos of our poolside activities …

Payl = pale … oh! and the girls called it “scribble” … too cute to correct them!

Sorry … this sweet one is too irresistible to keep the camera off her.  I mean … look at that tushy!

Wynter looking for crabs.

Shhh … I fell in love with this photo!!  I haven’t shown it to CJ, but plan on getting it on a canvas and giving it to him for his birthday in a few months.

3 of my little ladies!

Our New Year’s Eve in typical cheese-ball style included the Hard Rock cafe, goofy gear and sleeping by 10:30!

I thought it might be a fun tradition to have a New Year’s Eve slumber party with a movie.  We watched An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong.  It’s a really good movie about bullying … the girls enjoyed it.  You can see a clip here.

Anyway … so this is the first year of our “tradition” … since we’re usually traveling over New Year’s … and the girls are too young to go to the hotel’s usually boring event do much of anything else … I think this will fit the bill nicely for as long as it lasts.

And here’s miss Hunt the next day modeling her party ware …

Oh! And here’s the little crab we caught … so teeny-tiny!

We all had a seriously great time.  It was perfect to get away after Christmas and focus on nothing but ourselves.

I’m really looking forward to this next month away and hope we can continue to have some quality time together.  I really am looking forward to our schoolwork, doing devotions, watching movies, playing games and spending time in the sun together.  I’m also hoping we can find some kind of “charity” work to do on the island.  I’m not sure how or if that will come together … but I plan on looking into it when we arrive.

I wanted to also take a minute to mention how I’ve been feeling.  My insides are feeling relaxed … but my outsides are numb, in pain and frankly … pretty exhausted.  I also wanted to say … I know I mentioned here about an acquaintance saying I must have a “mild case” of MS … and then I went into a list of my ailments … please know that I understand this is all relative.  I know there are people that wish they had a “mild case” like mine.  I don’t take lightly for one minute that things could be much worse for me.

I’m just saying that I am suffering … in some form or another.

Anyway.  I really am looking forward to this time away … and I’ll be checking in just as soon as I can!

And I seriously can’t believe it’s 2010.  Is that cliche?

2010.  I didn’t even realize it was the start of a whole new decade.  A decade.

Does it seem like I’m in a bit of denial mode?

Man, to think what we’ve all been through in the last 10 years.  I’ve gotten married, had 3 children, bought … reinvented … and then sold … a business, started another business, throw some personal trials in there … and whew! what a decade.

As difficult as some parts of it has been though, I don’t think I’d take anything back for a minute.  Every situation, whether good or bad … has made me the woman I am today.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a long way to go … but I honestly think God is pleased with how I’m turning out.  I know He’s not finished with me though … and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

I’ve been reading some of my older posts lately, and came across this one … I love this.  I love to see how I’ve grown.

I have, in fact, come miles in my ability to put down “stuff” and partake in life.  In God’s word … in hearing Him … in my family.

I think my goal for this year … actually, I know my goal for this year … is to focus on myself.  To be better about taking care of myself.  I’m doing great at taking care of others and feeling good about it.  Feeling a balance with it … but now it’s time for me to add myself into that equation.  And here’s the key … not feel guilty about it.

Alrighty then … I’ve rambled here.  I’d only meant to post a photo and say …

I wish you all the happiest of happy new year’s.  May 2010 bring you untold blessings.

The weather was beautiful today and the water was relatively calm.  We’re staying in the Cabo area, so drove to the downtown harbor to catch our ride to the whales.

The yellow beauty below was all ours!

Once we broke outside of the harbor, we didn’t have far to go before we saw our first sighting!

So excited!!

We followed this guy around for a while … he, or was it a she? put on quite the show for us …

Look at how excited these people are!  The extra girl? One of Tay’s life-long friends … Christina.

Oh!!  And this poor little girl … my Huntie babe.  Once we started out, she freaked!  The poor thing couldn’t see over her seat, we were at top-notch speed, and I think the anticipation of it all just freaked her out!

Once we had our initial sighting and stopped, she calmed down.  Our tour guide was also extra special to her and gave her lots of TLC!

We had radio silence from our big friend for a while when all of the sudden … we spotted him!  With a friend!  No, wait … make that two friends!

We had three humpback whales putting on a spectacular show!  What a day!

Huntie fell asleep in the guide’s arms on our way back to the harbor.  She missed the sea lions and multitudes of pelicans …

But we had a great dinner when we got into the harbor and I couldn’t resist sharing this photo of my rockstar babe!

So today started out like this … beautiful sunrise … assumption of a beautiful sunny day in Mexico … right?

But for some reason, the cloud cover dominated … it’s pouring and 60ish degrees right now … so the girls are doing this …

But at least we still have these!

In all seriousness, we’re having a great time.  We had great weather yesterday, we have plenty of salsa, guac & chips {really, what else does one need?}, tomorrow we’re going whale watching, I’m unwinding & relaxing, I’m enjoying some quality time with my family, and for some reason … seems I’m watching these girls grow before my eyes!

I hope you all had an awesome Christmas and are in the process of a peaceful “re-entry.”

If our weather continues this way … I’m thinking you’ll be seeing more of me this week than I’d planned!