Adelup Point

Today we visited Adelup ("look before you leap" in Chamorro) Point aka the Old Governor's Mansion/Complex. Legend has it that taotaomona's (island spirits) live here. I read the sign that says that AFTER I walked around the complex. I might have been a little more on edge if I read it at the beginning of our little adventure! I also found out that Adelup Point was also the location for a leper colony, how interesting! They sure did have one beautiful view in their misery. If you want more history, there is a picture of a plaque in the web album telling all about it. Here is just a taste of what you will find in the album...

Chamorran girls and Logan hanging off the statues commemorating how the Chamorran men helped the American GI's to locate the Japanese during the liberation of the island. I thought it was kinda funny.

Here is a statue commemorating the march to concentration camps that the Chamorrans were forced to do upon capture of the island by the Japanese. Thousands were forced from their homes and made to do heavy labor. Many men were killed just because of their sheer size and for fear that they would be a threat to the Japanese.

Chris standing in front of the old mansion which overlooks the water.
Check out the different colors of the water. That's one of my favorite things about Guam, how blue the water is.

Sorry this pic is sideways but I could not figure out how to get it to stay straight. These are stairs leading up to the Governor's Mansion (the locals say it's haunted).

Japanese Pranks

The Japanese are weird...but then again, so am I for putting this video on my blog!

Blessings in 2007

Last night, on New Year's Eve, I made a list of blessings that have happened to me over the last year. I came up with 10 but here are the top 5:

1. RYLAND! The Lord brought me through the darkness of a horrible pregnancy (IV's every other day, 30lb weight loss, hard delivery, etc) and produced a beautiful, HEALTHY baby boy!
2. Our new home- Against all odds the Lord gave us a great new home with a garage AND a huge kitchen which was something we prayed for. We were told that we would not get into a house (any house) until after the baby was born and that we would definitely not get the house that we wanted. Guess the Lord had other plans for us because both things happened! WOO HOO!
3. Guam- As some of you may know already, I've had a hard time adjusting to this place. BUT after over a year I'm finally happy here! (This has been a HUGE struggle for me!)
4. School- I could not be happier with the school that Logan is attending. He has learned so much already. He has started reading (I can't spell things to Chris anymore!) and has become a whiz at math. Tyler loves his teachers at the CDC also. He only goes twice a week but I'm comfortable leaving him with them and he always has a good time.
5. Mom- I know that she'll kill me for putting this on here but I truly count this has one of my blessings. My mother has had quite the struggle over the last few months with things that I won't mention but she has slowly come to depend on the Lord for strength. I continually see her relationship with Him blossom and that for me is AWESOME!

Ok so I listed my top 5 here. I encourage you to come up with your own list of the last year and reflect on the many blessings that you've been given. May the Lord reign blessings on you in the New Year!

Fiesta Time

We had a good time going to Tess's house (she works for Chris) today for a traditional Chamorran fiesta. It was to celebrate the new year and the beginning of the Fatima, a Spanish/Catholic tradition. There was a ton of food and I had Tess point things out to me so that I could take pictures for everyone. I wanted to show you the local fare here but I unfortunately forgot the names so you'll just have to go with the descriptions I give in the web album.Photo taken by Logan...hence the dark blob in the corner...probably a finger...

Salmon salad, anyone? A traditional dish on the island when you find yourself at local fiestas.

Spidermen

The video never loaded in the web album but here it is...

You know you wanna come for a visit...

Soooo what's the weather like where you are?? Here it's beautiful and 87 degrees. It's not that humid and there is a slight breeze coming off the ocean. We spent some time at the beach today. The waves (which is unusual for Guam) were rather big. It scared the kids at first...guess they don't remember the waves in NC!

I just had to throw this picture up here to entice those of you that are contemplating a trip out here.

This picture isn't as clear as I'd like it to be but it was taken pretty far away. It's of a tree here that has just begun to flower. Some of the flowers on it are yellow and some are pink, which I thought was odd...a tree w/ two different colored flowers??

My little heroes...these costumes are courtesy of Auntie Christy and Uncle Chris. They did not want to take them off....Tyler actually threw a fit! I think Chris is scared that they will take after a boy we knew that never took his off....I mean he even swam in it!! There is a great video of them in their costumes in the web album. It should be the last one in the 122807 folder.

I have no idea what they are thinking here but they sure are looking intently at each other's popsicles!

Morrison Look-alike Meter CONSPIRACY!!

I'm telling you I can NOT catch a break! Not one of those darn meters veered towards me at all! It's like Chris cloned all of them! SHEESH! Oh well...at least two of them have MY blood type...now that's something to brag about!