Sad Goodbyes

Jorge and I have both had our fair share of heartache over the last few months.  In 8 months three of our family members passed away.  It still seems very surreal to realize that they are no longer on this earth with us.  We miss them so much and continue to work through the many emotions that come with losing someone you love so much.  We are very thankful and blessed by the fact that we were able to spend time with each one before they died.

My paternal grandmother, Sylvia Davis, passed away on August 23, 2014.  She was 93 years old.

Jorge's dad, Antonio Silva Garcia, died on September 19, 2014 at the age of 86.

After a 2 year battle with esophageal cancer, my father, Kenneth Weeks, passed on April 17, 2015 at the age of 71.

Special Visitors!

This month Jorge had the special blessing of having several of his family members visit him in Colombia for the first time ever!  They were able to spend 3 weeks there and visited Bocachica, Cartagena and Bogota.

Jorge with his sisters, Lupita & Isabel, and his younger brother, Chava in Cartagena.

Our cute nieces, Karen and Blanca with some children from Bocachica, waiting for cell group to start.

Lupita, Blanca, Isabel and Rocio on the Chiva bus in Cartagena.

Hanging out at our home in Turbaco, just outside Cartagena.

Yolanda, Rocio, Erika, Isabel, Blanca and Karen sightseeing in Cartagena.

Jorge with Karen and Blanca in Cartagena.

Mexico

We were able to visit Jorge's family in Mexico one last time before heading back to Colombia later this year.  Jorge and two of his brothers celebrated their birthdays together and we were also able to be a part of our nephew's civil wedding ceremony.  We are really excited because in the spring, several of Jorge's family members will be visiting us in Colombia for the first time ever.

Civil wedding ceremony of our nephew.

Jorge and his siblings with the newlyweds.

At a family birthday party.

If you would like to see the rest of our Mexico photos from our sabbatical year, click HERE.

Road Trip!

After the wedding festivities were over we embarked on a 2-week road trip with Jorge's brother, his wife and 2 daughters, our niece, Galia (Gaby's twin sister) and our friend from Colombia, Yolanda, who also came for the wedding.  There were 8 of us in total, riding in 2 vehicles.  We drove from Laredo, TX to Mobile, AL the first night and then to N.C. the second night where we stayed for a week and then we set off for NYC, to see the sights of the city!  This was their first time to travel in the USA and of course their first time to NYC so it was quite exciting!!  Since my brother-in-law is a member of one of those holiday clubs, we were able to stay at a really nice hotel right in the heart of midtown Manhattan!  I never in a million years dreamed that we would be staying right on Madison Avenue with our Mexican family and taking in the sights of NYC!!  I still can't believe it happened!!  Here are a few photo highlights of our time together but if you want, you can see even more photos HERE!

Visiting a dairy farm in NC.

I have to give a special shout-out of THANKS to our friend, Sandra Hart (pictured above on the left), who very generously and graciously opened her home to our family while they were in NC.  Not many people would be willing to host 7 Spanish speaking strangers for a whole week but she did and we are so blessed and thankful!!

Climbing Hanging Rock with our friends, the Southern's.

At Grand Central Terminal.

Galia and Rocio on the ferry to Liberty Island.

Jorge and I with Lady Liberty.

 

One of my personal highlights was worshiping at Times Square Church!

At the United Nations Headquarters.

Galia and I at the Rockefeller Ice Rink.

Wedding Adventures

Since we got our car a month and a half ago, we have driven 5000 miles!!

Last month we drove down to Mexico for our niece's wedding celebration.  It took us 2 days to get there and along the way we got to visit with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty in Alabama.

Once in Mexico we had a great time seeing our family again!  Several came up to Nuevo Laredo for the wedding and there were 21 of us sharing one bathroom for three days!  We had fun spending time together in between the wedding festivities... staying up late talking, sitting around together, eating and laughing.  We slept in every available spot...some in beds, some on the pull-out sofa bed and others on the floor.

Our first day there, Jorge and I were able to be present at our nieces civil wedding.  In most Latino countries a wedding consists of two ceremonies:  a civil  (legal) wedding ceremony, and a church (religious) wedding ceremony.  Our niece, Gaby, was just 4 months old when Jorge and I got married and since we have watched her grow up, it was especially meaningful to be able to be with her on this special occasion.

The church wedding was held the day after the civil wedding at a Catholic church.

After the wedding there was a big sit-down dinner and party for over 400 people that went on until 2am, complete with plenty of Mexican wedding traditions and fun.

After that party ended they moved it to the groom's aunt's house where the party continued on all night long and all the next day.  After a nap the newlyweds hosted a barbeque and later opened wedding gifts.

We love our Gaby and wish her and Toño all the best in the years to come!

There are lots more wedding photos here!

Surprise!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Jorge's birthday with a SURPRISE party!  His brother and sisters helped pull it all off and invited a bunch of Jorge's old friends from their youth when they used to all play soccer together on a local team.  Jorge never suspected a thing and was totally surprised and blessed by all our conniving behind his back! 

Check out the rest of the birthday photos here!

Our Time in Mexico

On Dec. 19th I returned back to Mexico and Jorge and I spent the holidays with his family.  We really had a great time and we appreciate very much being able to spend this time with them.  We had several opportunities to visit some other cities and little towns and do some fun things together.  Here are a few of the highlights:

Authentic Mexican food!

Homemade tortillas and grilled cactus!

Family gatherings!



Piñatas!

Family time: Jorge with three of his siblings and his dad in the center.

Time with dad.

Visiting quaint little towns: Quiroga

These cuties!

Holiday traditions!

New Year's feast!

Family fun at the beach!



Visiting the Teotihuacan Pyramids for the first time!

Playing revolutionaries!

Nieces and nephews!

Birthdays!

Visiting Jorge's goddaughter.

More Mexico photos here!

Monse's Quinceñera

After our adventure leaving Colombia, Jorge and I were finally able to meet up again at his home in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán (Mexico) on Oct. 18.  I made it just in time for our niece's Quinceñera party.  As you may know, in Latino culture, that is when a girl turns 15 years old and it is usually a pretty big deal.  In a lot of ways it is similar to a wedding and if the family can afford it (and sometimes even if they can't!) they usually plan a big shindig.  Jorge's family threw a big party for Monserrat and Jorge was honored to be invited to perform the religious ceremony.

With Monserrat on her big day.

Getting ready to start the ceremony.

During the ceremony.

Click here to see more photos!