Spain Continued...

September 16: My favorite place with my favorite people

We spent the day in Sevilla, the city we lived in my early teenage years. We spent a few hours in the Plaza de Espana (which was featured in one of the Star Wars movies). Grace loved imagining she was a princess walking around and enjoying the beautiful "palace." Being in such a beautiful place that is so dear to my heart with my sweet babies and wonderful husband, my heart could not be more full. The day also included a horse carriage ride, exploring the Parque Maria Luisa, delicious paella, feeding pigeons and a flamenco show. Truly a perfect day.

September 17: Baila, Baila, Baila

After the Flamenco show the night before in Sevilla, Grace was beyond excited when we showed up for breakfast at our daily coffee bar to find that the waitress had bought her flamenco dancing shoes. Grace was so excited! We were so touched by Macarena's generosity! Part of the fun of of traveling in Spain with kids was seeing the difference in attitude towards children! It was so refreshing. Even Grace noticed and made comments about how everyone in Spain liked her and that everyone called her "guapa" (beautiful).

September 18: A blessed day indeed

Sunday morning we made the 2ish hour drive up to Sevilla to go to Iglesia Horeb Sevilla. I had gone to church with the pastor, Miguel Angel, when we lived in Spain years ago. When we got there, to our surprise we found out it was a baptism Sunday. Not only that, but Miguel Angel's daughter, Eunice, was being baptized. The church was PACKED (standing room only and a bunch of people were standing). It was such a blessing on so many levels. As a PK (and mother of two PK's) seeing a Pastor baptize his teenage daughter is always a treat. Also, I babysat Eunice before she turned 2, so seeing her all grown up and wanting to follow God was so encouraging. Being in a room full of Spanish people praising the Lord in a Spanish church that is growing and reaching it's surrounding community (in a country that is SO unreached) my heart was so full of joy!! And lastly, the icing on the cake: there was a church pot luck. I LOVE church pot lucks!! Not only was the food amazing, but it gave me time to get caught up with some friends. God is so good!

September 19: Reckless abandon of a child jumping in the ocean

My Aunt Marcy says that you should pursue life with the "reckless abandon of a child chasing a duck." It has always made me smile becuase of the clear mental picture it conjures up. I think I am going to change it though. I think I want to pursue life like Grace jumping in the waves. Full of pure, joyful excitement, not a care in the world, she was so cute to watch! She jumped in and out of the waves, singing and dancing her VBS songs for about an hour. Finally Gunnar took her out and she "body surfed" (kinda). She was SO happy and having so much fun. I was so full of joy watching her on two levels. 1) Only a few months ago she was TERRIFIED of the water at the beach and wouldn't go near it. I love it when she is able to conquer her fears!! 2)We were on the same beach I grew up on. I had such a happy childhood and loved it when my dad would take us to the beach, which he did often. Watching Grace play in that same ocean, talking incessantly, it was like watching a video clip from my childhood. It brought back a flood of super happy memories.

September 20: Hometown

On our last full day in Spain we spent the morning walking around downtown Rota. It doesn't take that long as it is a pretty small town, but having spent a large part of my childhood living in that town, there are so many wonderful memories! This street is classic old Rota. I am convinced no matter how old I get, these little narrow streets will always hold a piece of my heart.

September 21: Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

The finally travel day arrived. Grace and I were a little sad to be heading home, we had such a fun trip. It went pretty well, Ellie took a nap at the beginning of the trip and then proceeded to make friends with everyone else in our section. She scored snacks and people playing and coloring with her. By the time we got to LAX, three people came up to kiss her good bye. I love Spaniards! Grace managed to stay awake until the very end when she fell asleep right before we had to get off the airplane. Poor kid. She was pretty miserable in LAX as we waited for our stroller to be found (which was an ordeal in and of itself.).