Only two months later, here's my Mother's Day story...
My dear sweet husband gave me the choice to do anything that I wanted for Mother's Day. I wanted us to spend the day together as a family, so I needed to choose something that the kids would enjoy, too. It would cut out on the whining and grumping! So we looked on the internet and our guide books and decided on a neat park that has scale miniatures of all of the country's famous natural wonders, mosques, and other famous buildings. We had heard that it was a fun family place.
The first bit of our journey was a special treat- a taxi ride (we always take the bus) to the pier. Then we got on a ferry to go up the waterway. I LOVE being on the water. It is so soothing!
Callie posing on the ferry.
Noah wanted his picture taken, too. I cannot believe that I have been a mother for 8 years!
Legend has it that the first flight took place from this tower hundreds of years ago. A man made wing-like contraptions and it is said that he was able to completely cross the waterway over to our continent!
More scenery
Adorable scenery!
After we worked our way through all of the stops to the end of the ferry line we disembarked. From our maps it didn't look like the park was very far from the last ferry stop. We headed to the sidewalk along the coast to walk the rest of the way. But, once we got down by the water we saw that the sidewalk ended just a short way up the coast. So we turned around to go on the sidewalk by the road. A man asked us if we were headed to the park. When we said yes, he directed us back down toward the water and assured us that that was the way to go. Then he called an old man over and shouted into his ear the name of the park where we were headed. He took us down to perhaps the first dock ever placed on water- it was ancient. We had to climb down off the sidewalk, over some rocks, and pray to God as we stepped onto this dock. And the boats made the dock look fancy!! Justin and I exchanged glances, and for some crazy reason decided to do it. To be honest, I absolutely cannot tell you why on earth I agreed to get on that boat. But it turned out to be my favorite part of the day.
Looks inviting doesn't it? Who needs a cruise when you've got this?
And we're off...
Our lives were in this guy's hands. We were going along just fine- albeit loudly. After a bit Justin said, "Well, I know why this guy can't hear anymore!" At one point we looked back and he was putting on a life jacket. Did we have life jackets? NO! This was a little, um... interesting! After we went along a bit and didn't sink we figured he just put it on for warmth. About halfway through our journey we ran out of gas! Luckily the old man pulled out a coke bottle full of gas, filled her up, and we were puttering along again. We made it the rest of the way to a tiny little dock right next to the park without any more hitches.
We got to the park and had a blast! Here is Callie Cutie on the the trampoline.
The kids posing on a miniature bridge. There are two huge ones in this city that span the continents.
Lucy's favorite part of the day- the train ride.
A perfect day always ends with ice cream!
Little lady
Have I told you that this child is trouble?
She is trouble!
God is good...
all the time!
We ended the day by taking a ferry, a bus, and then a minibus over to pick up pizza. We actually have Papa John's Pizza here. Two in the whole city! It is fantastic! The sausage and pepperoni that they use is the closest thing to pork that we can find. The pizza is yumm-O! So it was a major good day!
Thank you, Lord for your abundance! Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done, and it never stops. It is constant and all encompassing. But it is without a doubt what makes life worth living. I cannot imagine what life was like before these monkeys came into it. They are so fun and smart and beautiful. Life is a thousand times better with them. And of course, the amazing man that I married 12 years ago who parents alongside me. I love this little family more than words can express!!!
