Ensenada Mexico..life changing

We have been waiting forever to go on our Mexico mission trip. It finally has come and sadly is over. When our home group from church talked about going to Mexico to build a house through Homes for Hope. We knew we were going for sure.  It truly was an amazing adventure.  We left the day after Thanksgiving and headed to San Deigo, California.  There was 28 of us, 9 were children. We met our host from Youth With a Mission and headed over the boarder. Okay first we did stop for an In and Out burger. 

It was funny our bus driver was named Jesus, the man who went through our stuff was named Jesus and the little boy who's house we built was Jesus.  We all thought that was perfect. We stayed at the YWAM base in Ensenada. They took great care of us.

 Our first day on the job we were welcomed by the Veronica (Mother) and Ashely (5) and Jesus (3). Her husband works for the military as a chef and could not get the time off.  Ashely was so excited to see us. She said about time you are here. They helped us paint and work on the house. For 28 people working on the house we all worked so well together and created even closer bonds then we had before.   The first day we had most of the house built and some of the inside done. We went back to the base for dinner and hung out as a team.


A Godly moment.... we asked Veronica if there was anything that she and her family needed. She said they could use some blankets.. We just looked at each other and smiled.(okay a few tears too)  One of our team members brought with her two large bags of donated quilts that a friend had made for the family.  It was exactly what they needed. God is good!!!

The next day I got the opportunity to take Veronica shopping. She had NO idea that we were going to do this. It was a bit overwhelming for all. She would go and pick out a small container of something and I would put it back and get the biggest container for her. She could not believe that we were going to buy her groceries. It was wonderful. Her smile got bigger and bigger.When we got to the check out she could not watch as things were being rung up, it was just too overwhelming.

We had asked our builder what we should get them when we were shopping. He said if we could afford it a refrigerator and a washer would be a HUGE blessing. So we asked her which she would prefer... well she just put her hands over her face and shook her head. She told us that she was blessed just to get the house and now this.  It was amazing.. We were able to go and get a used washer and refrigerator. Little did she know what while we were gone the rest of the team was putting together the furniture packet that we were able to raise money for.

After shopping we came back to the family cooking the team Carne Asada. YUMMY... It was delicious.

We put together the last touches on the house and someone from the base went and got her husband. He was able to take an hour off to come for the key ceremony.  Roberto took one look at the house and wept. Imagine leaving for work and coming back to a home. 
We all stood in a circle and blessed the house and the family. Then they were able to go into their own home and see it. Well SURPRISE.. it was full of items we bought, brought and made.  The kids were so excited. They kept saying Grande and screaming.

Just to put it into perspective the house we build was about the size of our living room about 12 X 20. There is no plumbing (they are saving their money for this). It is now furnished with a bunk bed for the family, a kitchen table and chairs, refrigerator, range, and some storage bins. It is perfect for them. They were just so thankful. The husband told us that we was telling his friends at work about it and they laughed. Why would someone build you a house. He said he was going to have them over and show them God's love.

This trip was eye opening is many ways. We grew as a team and indivduals. We are looking at what we really need this holiday season and we have that. A home and friends and family that love us. 

If you ever get the opportuinity to do this GO FOR IT...

Life at the Smith house has been a bit busy. Now with soccer over, we hope to be able to get caught up. We are heading to Mexico soon for a Missions trip "Homes for Hope". We are so excited and will post more when we get back.

We have been in touch with our friends in China so that has been making the transition back a bit easier. We loved the simple life and have been trying hard to keep that going. We have been able to go to a few football games and hang out with our families. We are loving that. We continue to grow as individuals and as a family. The boys still talk about where we are going next. Makes us smile. My hope is to keep up with our blog.

Isaac as Darth Maul

Our caveman :)

Isaac on a field trip.. learning about our home town

The boys and I got creative and made these for their classmates. Forgot to take pictures of the witches shoes we made for the teachers.

what have we been up too

School, soccer, more school and more soccer :) more to come next week

New Jobs

Doug and I are both excited to be teaching back in Stanwood. I will be teaching Kindergarten part time and Doug will be at the High School teaching Science.

I got all moved back in to my classroom and boxes unpack. I was so excited. Then I got home to a phone message saying that our shipment was coming that afternoon. MORE BOXES.. It has been a whirlwind of unpacking and trying to get our classrooms ready.

More pictures of summer are coming.. I do still plan on keeping our blog updated.

2 Week Vacation

cat nap





We headed out for a 2 week vacation, yes we know we have not even been home a month and we were already going on vacation. We had three things we needed to do so we made it into a road trip. We started and headed down to Portland, Or for a bridal shower for Doug's cousin, Rebecca. It was a great shower and visit with his Uncle and Aunt. While we were in Portland we went to the science museum (surprise, surprise). We also met up with our friends from China. They live a block away for Doug's Aunt and Uncle's house. It was so great to visit and get caught up with them. The Flennaugh are some special people in our lives, sadly they headed back to China. The boys had so much fun playing and hanging with their friends.

reunion at last :) look at the smiles



buddies for life




We then headed down to Redding, Ca just for a pit stop and the next morning we headed out for Monterey, Ca. We had a blast at the aquarium and swimming in the hotel pool. After this adventure we were off to see my brother in Lake Forest, Ca. We had big plans of going here and doing this but the boys just wanted to hang out with their big cousins and play in the pool. It was so much fun. We headed to their cabin and hiked around, played games and bonded.. I am sure my brother and his family were happy to see us leave :)


On our way to Fresno, Ca for a bit stop we headed to Sequioa national park to see some of the biggest trees in the world. WOW they were big. Some were as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It was great. The next day we headed for Yosemite National Park. It was a quick trip and we know we will go back and spend more then a few hours there. That night we stayed in Lake Tahoe. Yes we were in the car for a LONG time. Thank goodness Uncle Kerry gave us the first book of Harry Potter on CD. It made the ride full of adventure. :)

Lake Tahoe was beautiful. We had an amazing breakfast and off we were again. Next stop Crater Lake, we tried to go for a hike but there was too much SNOW on the trails. The boys became Junior Rangers there. They had to fill out an activity book. That was a fun way to see the sights. Then the next stop was Sunriver.

We spent two days at Sunriver enjoying the bike trails and pools. Our main reason we were there was to attend our good friend's wedding. It was nice to see people we have not seen for such a long time.

Then to day we drove all the way home.. oh home sweet home. It was a great family adventure. I will post pictures once I find the camera :) still unpacking .