Mi Madre y yo in Mexico- Time to serve

Dear Readers,

We are home from Mexico. from Mexico... It was such a spur of the moment blessing, I'm still shocked by it! So, if I am, y'all surely will have a hard time grasping it. So let me set the stage for you-

Mom and I hopped on board the week before they left for Ensenada. They needed a photographer, and that is Mom's hobby. (She is AMAZING- just check out her blog, The Blessing Counter, and you'll see what I mean! )

So, we prayed the whole time we were at Disneyland, and the next weekend were on our way! Mom and I. Driving to Ensenada, Mexico. With hours of Scrabble ahead of us. Ahh....It was really, truly a breath of fresh air for my soul.

So, once we crossed the border, we stopped at a little taco place for lunch. Yum. We also drank Mexican Frescas! The lady who served us was so sweet- she helped us order in espanol! I was hooked since then and still haven't stopped speaking in spanish!

 So, we stayed at Rancho De Refugio, which was breathtaking. And the owners of the ranch, who entered their mission field age 60+, were so sweet! Mom and I thought it was a beautiful example of how, just because the present time is not your season to go into the mission field, God may have one planned for you when you expect to be lounging in an RV! Retirement shouldn't exist for us Christians. We should serve the Lord until the day we die!
     We also got to listen to a couple who were missionaries to Papua New Guinea. They took a tribe who just two years before had practiced cannibalism, and was currently allowing girls ages 8 and up to be "community property", and taught them about the Lord. They were there for six years, however, before they could begin preaching. Talk about patience! They were such a beautiful example to us in so many ways, and their stories were uplifting and made all of us want to head out to the barrios!

  Well, the next day we did get to go to the barrios. That was ALL I had wanted to do. All weekend. I just wanted to be with the kids. And when we woke up, it was frigid, the wind was howling, and the fog felt like rain. NO!!!  I threatened to walk to the barrios if no one would drive. My head almost combusted when someone said we might just be 'hanging out' all day. I was not in Mexico to 'hang out'!!! Thankfully, God knew why were there, and the men said as soon as they pulled the hammer out (they were fixing the roof of the police department) the sun came out. Praise the Lord! God is so good.

We brought bookmarks, and this little boy wanted his picture with every one!

This bebe was precious!

We painted their faces, and after a while the kids wanted to paint our faces!

This is mi amiga Lorena. She is learning english, and I'm learning spanish! What a perfect pair.
She painted a big and beautiful flower on my cheek!

This man pulled his son to him and asked me to take their picture.
My heart breaks.

The children would call out "Hermana-un foto!" to my mom, asking their 'sister' for a picture. They called me 'nina', for girl, and we would take turns- I would take their picture, show it to them, and tell them they were bonita. (beautiful) Then, I let some little girls borrow my camera. They took a picture of me and, showing it to me, said "bonita!" Oh.     I truly love these children!  It was so hard to leave them. But God is doing amazing things in Mexico! At Rancho De Refugio, they are building a school for the children in these pictures. Many have never been to school before.   But this school is huge, beautiful, and will be a wonderful environment for them to grow in Jesus.

Well- thank you for reading all of this! Mexico is one of my loves, and I'm SO passionate about these missions that of course they deserve a couple hundred pages of words!! I encourage all of you to be ready- you never know when God will open up a season in your life! Whether it is for a short hop over the border or 3 weeks in Africa, or 21 years in Papua New Guinea's unreached tribes- you can make a difference for the Lord! But meanwhile, continue to serve Him in every aspect of your life- from the grocery store to the church pew! Your Blogger,

 Claire 

Blessings in May...

 Dear Readers,

Mrs.Darling got to wear Cinderella's slippers! My dreams come true...

Mason did an amazing job at improv--and allowed all the little girls to get changed! And everyone adored Benjamin...

   We are now finished with production week for Peter Pan...and our trip to Disneyland! Both were wonderful and filled with blessings.
Peter Pan was an amazing experience.
I've always felt clumsy as a dancer, and have struggled with feeling comfortable changing in front of people and wearing the costumes. Mrs.Caroline did an amazing job of allowing us to wear nude leotards underneath our clothes, and making all the costumes modest. More than that, though- they were beautiful!

Goodbye, Arizona!



Hello, California!

 Mom and Dad have been married for twenty years!

Now- on to our own Neverland!

We went to Disneyland to celebrate our wonderful parents' twentieth anniversary...and Mom's birthday! It was a wonderful oppurtunity for a romantic photographer! They were so sweet to pose...every time I asked... I'm so grateful these two fell in love!

Here are some of my favorite attraction photos.Did I mention that this is my first visit to Disneyland with my own camera?! I WENT CRAZY!!!

I want to play the violin on the carousel!

I love this picture- pure joy.

Dumbo is Mom and my favorite--he is a special needs elephant! And not to mention adorable.. I love this photo. Can you find Dumbo?!

To some, the perfect 'in love' picture may be the image of a gorgeous princess and perfect prince walking hand in hand, but I think the 'for worse' part of the deal is when your true love will show.



  My theme for this trip was mailboxes--and Disney has some wonderfully old fashioned ones! I thought this picture was ruined when Cate hopped in it, but it's actually one of my favorites!

  So--I've hit attractions, anniversaries..hmm.. another wonderful part of our trip was the people we met! My Dad's dear friend who we affectionately call Uncle Todd came, along with Aunt Marti and their adorable daughter Gracie! We had so much fun watching Gracie get to know the park, and were thrilled when she fell in love  with Dumbo, too! And as you can see from the above picture- she and Cate were inseperable! It was wonderful to spend time with them.  It was also wonderful to see another sweet friend who plays piano at the hotel. After running down to the lobby to check for her every day of our trip, I was ecstatic to hear her playing on the last few days we were there. I always love talking with her. And yes--she plays and talks at the same time! She's amazing and it was such a treat.

Another treat the boys were especially glad for-- we got to ride Star Tours! That is a favorite in our family (of course!), and so when we got to ride the new ride BEFORE IT WAS OPEN -- we were thrilled! We also loved World of Color and Fantasmic, although I was frustrated in how hard it was to photograph! But it was still beautiful. Well,I hope you enjoyed this little corner of our adventure! I hope you all are having a week- filled with JOY no matter what. I also have to share a little surprise-- Mom and I are going on a mission trip to Mexico this weekend! I've missed Mexico so much, and am thrilled to be able to serve the Lord and get a little Mommy-and-me time in as well. Please pray for hearts to be reached! I will be praying for each of you in your own private mission fields. Your Blogger,
Claire