Hola ... Gracias

After being married for almost 18 years, Chris and I finally took a vacation together without the kids.  Last summer at the NFED conference, a friend of ours bid on a vacation package - 5 days, 6 nights - at Casa Patricia in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (actually about 30-45 minutes south in Mismoloya).  Our friend was the highest bidder, and immediately we volunteered to be one of the couples to go along.  How exciting.  As we looked into everything more, it turned out that Casa Patricia was owned by grandparents of a child affected by Ectodermal Dysplasia.  We met the parents of the child during conference and heard a little more about the place: 8,000 square feet, pool and hot tub, huge deck, small boat, staff to make sure the stay is superb, chef, and all the amenities with no reason to really leave the house.  WOW!!!!  We were able to travel there last week with our NFED friends from Oklahoma and Virginia ---- and yes, we traveled without kids!  Thank you Grandma Frankie for taking on the challenge of our children for the whole stretch ---- and Tyler and Ryan's friends' family for keeping each of them for 2 nights!

On our flight down, we found out we were not going to be able to stay in Casa Patricia, as the owners were there with some passport issues ... so we were placed in another Casa right down the hill from them (and it wasn't anything to complain about).  Villa Marylou was wonderful and the food the chef prepared for breakfast and dinner was incredible!

 
The picture below is what we saw every morning when we woke up and went out on the deck, or from the main level deck, or the deck at the lower level with the pool (3 decks all with the most incredible view ever)!

  

The resort at the beach below (Barcelo Resort).  

Sunset occurred almost every evening during our scrumptious dinner!  

Each night a picture seemed necessary, but I think this one was the best.

We walked down to the beach a couple days for lunch. 

While at the beach, many vendors come by selling things.  This guy made "Wildcat" bracelets for the older boys (he was very talented).

Another guy walked by with this iguana offering us to hold it.  Of course, when you hold it and take the picture, you are then asked to pay money for the "use of the iguana in the picture".  Oh well, it was great fun!  I was determined to hold it, but still freaked out when it was actually placed in my hand.  Notice the small one on my head and Chris' hat too.  I guess the large one was named Lucas and the small one Tony.

Villa Marylou from the beach below.  

It's the upper one --- you can see the top two decks and part of the lower one. 

Casa Patricia (where we were supposed to stay) from the beach ---- 

the top and farthest right one with the orangish color (not the white one).

 

The road we took to get there was VERY steep and approximately 1/2 mile long, 

so walking down was much more enjoyable than walking back up. Due to how steep it was it seemed like much more of a workout than 1/2 mile.

This picture really doesn't show it justice, but we tried.

One day we spent the afternoon on the deck at Casa Patricia (where we were supposed to stay). 

This is what the deck looked like there - definitely more room for all of us to lounge.

 They even had towels on each of the lounge chairs that said "Casa Patricia". 

Hugo (from Casa Patricia) drove us down to the beach to get on the boat.  Through all our planning, Hugo was the one we were in contact with because he is the house manager.  We road down in the "Beach Buggy" which is a part of Casa Patricia!  Just a little better than walking down as we had the other times:)  He also took us shopping in the city the last evening.  We knew we were safe with him.

Here's the "small boat" they had that we could use.  It was an AWESOME boat with Juan as our driver and Roberto to make sure we had whatever we wanted. He even brought us beach towels and pillows to lay on out front.  Very comfortable!  Chris also went on the boat on Sunday with the owners to tuna fish.  They didn't catch anything though. 

On our last day there we took the families boat out on the water.  We stopped at one of the beaches on the way back and had lunch.  It definitely was the "best day ever"! 

The shoreline was BEAUTIFUL!!!!  

Looked like little waterfalls as the ocean water crashed against the rocks. 

 

 One of the beaches along the shore.

 Ashli and Tom

 Kristin and Mark

Chris and Derek

Yes, one of us too!

 We were whale watching for the first part of our boat ride.  Here is a Humpback Whale --- we weren't able to get very close but we at least saw a couple of them.

My sisters, Kristin and Ashli (they actually are sisters - I'm the adopted one)

Group photo on the boat (Mark, Chris, DeAnn, Ashli, Kristin, Tom, Derek)

 

 The hot tub at Villa Marylou where we stayed (Chris, Mark, and Kristin)

Honestly, this is the first time in a LONG time that we have just relaxed on a vacation and not had a schedule to follow.  We truly took the 'relax and enjoy' approach this time.  We would lay out at the house some, walk down to the beach, have a light lunch, go back to the house and enjoy the time with friends.

It was a wonderful get away week!! 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I can't believe it is December already ... as always I'm wondering where the time has gone.  November seemed to just fly by and when I think back, I'm not sure where it actually went.  Soccer for Tyler ended (which he loved), Middle School football ended for Ryan (they had a great season too), and Thanksgiving came and went.  Chris and I as well as a couple other people organized a community praise and worship service called Saturday Night Alive on November 19 at Greer Gym in Moundridge.  It was an incredible evening of praise and worship ... the Eden Praise Band, that we are a part of, led the service with singing and we had Chris' uncle bring a short message.  If you don't know it already, Chris has a gift of  worship leading and did an excellent job leading the group in worship that night!  We served kettle popcorn, coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies.  There was a great turnout of about 130 people or so (which for our small community is great) and I believe everyone left the gym with a smile on their face after singing praises to God!  We're already organizing our next one for January and are hoping to make this at least a monthly event, if not more frequent. The positive response from those in attendance has been amazing!

We also took a short break one Saturday morning to have family pictures taken at Dyck Arboretum in Hesston.  It was a little chilly that morning, but the results of the pictures made it all worth it! 

One Saturday someone posted on Facebook that they had 4 Chiefs tickets for the game the next day against the Broncos.  So, spur of the moment (we've been wanting to take the older 2 boys for along time) we purchased the tickets and went to Kansas City for the game.  The not so good part was that it was the start of their losing streak and they did not play very well.  But the positive part was the experience of the game from the 2nd row at the 30 yard line ---- it was awesome!  Just being there was a great experience in itself.  I had not been to a game in over 20 years and Chris had only seen one other one ... the boys had a great time too!
 

We are heavy into basketball here and are experiencing the newness of Middle School basketball.  Ryan has had 2 games already and they are undefeated.  We will round out the next week and a half with 3 more games before the break.  It is so fun to watch these boys play together on a school team.  We've been watching them for years in recreation ball and MAYB, but this takes it to a different level and it is great to see. Ryan is playing B team and gets to "suit up" for A team.  He's excited about that and working hard.  Tyler has also started his recreation basketball season and they are currently 1-0.  I'm helping coach (not in charge thankfully) his team of 6 boys ... it's fun!  Those are all on Saturday's and we'll have 2 more before the break for Christmas.  Of course, the evenings we don't have Middle School games we attend the High School games because the boys wouldn't want it any other way.  They love it!!

We're also anticipating this most wonderful time of the year ... Christmas ... the time for giving ... the time for being thankful ... the time for understanding the most incredible gift ever given - Jesus!  Fortunately, we were able to get all of our Christmas decorations up over the Thanksgiving weekend because if we hadn't, I'm not sure we've had a moment to blink since then to do it.  I love the brightness the tree and garland with lights bring to a home ... driving at night and seeing Christmas lights ... and just the joy of many people during this season.  But as we were reminded Wednesday night at our community youth group (which Chris and I have started leading music at and being a part of), not everyone has heard the Christmas story and knows what it is really about.  That is so sad!  Although each year I'm sure I get caught up in all the "hype" of Christmas, all along I know that we celebrate this amazing holiday because of the birth of Jesus Christ - the Savior of the world!  It's hard for me to fathom not knowing the story ... but what a reminder that I have work to do here on this Earth.  What a rewarding gift we can give to people all year long, not only during the Christmas season!  So as I look to find ways to bring cheer to others this Christmas, I'm also concentrating and making sure my children realize the wonderful gift God gave them with the birth of Jesus, and encouraging them to give to others gifts too - even if it is just a smile!  Sometimes that's all that is needed.   So as we celebrate Christmas, let's keep the real reason for the season at the front of our minds and reach out because we never know when we may be touching a heart that may not know about Jesus.  Merry Christmas and blessings to each of you!

Happy Halloween

 Our Sunday School class sponsored a "Trunk or Treat" at the school parking lot Sunday evening.  It was a beautiful evening and at least 120 kiddos came past our "trunk".  Our little ones were excited to dress up in their costumes.

Andrew as "Bob the Builder"

 

 Grant as a "Dinosaur"

Always have to get the 2 together.  Grant did not like how his hood went down over his face!

The 4 boys --- the older two went along with our "trunk" theme ......... BASKETBALL!

Here is the coach/recruiter and the referree

 

We chose to use the basketball goal as our treat holder rather than the trunk!  Don't you love the hat Ryan is wearing (he was bound and determined to cut an old basketball in half for a "candy holder".  

Works well as a hat too! 

The nephews came to get some candy too.  Great to see Luke and Ian in their costumes.  

We had to get a picture of the cousins together.

Successful Day for the NFED!

The inaugural Huxman Run 2 Sweat on October 1 was an ENORMOUS success. 

A very touching moment as Grant joined my brother, Gregg Dick, as he finished the 10K.  It was precious, and captured on camera by our photographers Mug Shots Captured by Jennifer & Krissinda.  Click on the previous link to check out all the pictures they captured from the day.  They generously donated their time and are donating money earned from purchased pictures back to the NFED.

 

New registration table . . . there were 33 participants in the 1 Mile and 5K that registered the morning of!  WOW ---- Janet and Vanessa did a great job making sure this was taken care of quickly and accurately!



We started with a 1 Mile Walk/Run at 7:45 am which had about 100 particpants.  The winner was Donald Hazelton with a time of 6:18 with his son, Cody - age 10, following close behind at 6:52.  The first female to cross the finish line was Lauren Flickinger - age 14, with a time of 7:50.  Many people chose to walk the one mile which was awesome!  I would like to thank two groups that participated --- the Moundridge Middle School football team (which Ryan is a member) and the Moundridge Middle School volleyball team (which I coach).  Thanks to the parents for helping make this be a "team" effort for them.  The mile was a great start to the day.

After the 1 Mile Walk/Run we thanked everyone for their support, generosity, donations, etc. that made this amazing day happen.  We shared at this point that we had already raised approximately $7,500 and that donations were still coming in.  We ended this welcome with a prayer thanking God for all our blessings!

Grant cuddled with his Dad most of the morning . . . he still wasn't feeling too well.

I was showing Gregg how the stop watch worked as my Dad looked on.  Gregg's golf team stationed themselves at each mile marker with a stop watch to read off times. 

Carol Agne, Director of Development at the NFED, and myself.  It was so awesome that she was able to come and be a part of the day.  They only had to travel a little farther than Kansas City, where they were for the Chiefs game on Sunday:)  Thanks for joining us and helping us out!

The 5K followed beginning at 8:30 am.  Here are the "serious" runners at the front waiting for the start. There were approximately 50 runners in the 5K.  The winner was Greg Shelley with a time of 21:42.  The winning female was Heather Gregg with a time of 26:21. 

Waiting . . .

Still waiting . . .

 

And they're off . . . winning male in the front in black.

. . . winning female right here in pink shirt and black pants.

The serious walkers stayed at the back:)

Grandma Frankie pryed Grant away from his father for a little bit.



Andrew with his cousin Ian.



 

The start of the 10K.  Only 10 participants but they were all serious and excited!

10K runners in action.  I love how this picture has the Moundridge City Limit sign in it.  Thanks for capturing this picture Christina Hartmeyer.

The 10K winner was Katie Sawyer with a time of 48:01.  The winning male was Gregg Dick with a time of 49:00 (although he sacrificed about 15 seconds to finish the race with his nephew, as pictured at the top).

This event was a HUGE success.  Although all registered participants did not show up, we had 185 numbers given out or registered participants.  We were hoping for at least 100 so this almost doubled our initial goal.  We also had at least 75 volunteers including the Bethel College Golf Team (mentioned above), Bethel College Women's Basketball Team, Moundridge High School Cheerleaders, and Moundridge High School FCCLA members.  Also, we set a goal to raise at least $5,000 . . . and we far surpassed that too.  The final numbers are not in yet, but we are guessing it is going to be very close to $10,000!!!!!!!  YEAH!!!! 

Thank you to everyone that participated, volunteered, donated, and sends daily prayers and support for our family and the NFED.  We appreciate each and everyone of you and know this event could not have happened without you.  If you are still interested in being a part of this event with a monetary donation, go to www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/deannhuxman/huxmanrun2sweat