getting fatter and loving it!

23 Weeks!! 

My tummy has finally popped, which is totally fine with me because now that little Fletch has come up a little higher there is a lot less pressure on my pelvis. Since I was about 18 weeks or so it hasn't been very fun to run because of the pressure that I was feeling down there, but now that that is gone I can finally run without so much pain! I can't even tell you how happy that makes me.

This week for our date we went to a little gelatto shop called Gio's. It was SO good. I have been in love with super dark chocolate lately and this week only they had super dark chocolate gelatto! The worker there said that they hardly ever make it, so I got a big scoop of it and enjoyed every last bite. Brandon got a coconut shake that was gone in less than three minutes. Yeah, it was that good. 

In other news-- Brandon and I got new callings in the Branch. I am the new Branch Chorister and Brandon is the new Second Counsellor of the Branch Presidency. He is a little nervous, but he will do great!!

Dutch Boy

We found out today that we are having a...

(for those of you who are wondering, boobs and belly are the two bumps of the B)

a little Bonairian-Dutch-American boy in fact, and we couldn't be more excited! 

Here is a profile of his face. 

Chin, two lips, nose... his eyes and forehead are hard to see.

The boy parts.

This is our little guy sucking his thumb.

Good strong heart. Love hearing his little heart beat!

Can't wait to meet our little Fletcher Michael! 

1 month down, 15 to go!

This week I had a successful trip to the immigration office and I got the stamp in my passport that means I won't get deported!! 

Isn't it pretty?

I also started working this week at Karel's Beach and Cappuccino Bar. It's pretty fun. I'm a waitress/bartender. I know, right? It's pretty cool though because it is on a pier out in the ocean. I haven't really taken any pictures yet, but it actually is beautiful. and of course there are fish everywhere. we feed them the extra french fries that people don't eat. Here is a picture that I pulled off the internet. I'll take some better ones. promise.

The funniest thing about working here, is that because I am white, everyone thinks that I am Dutch. So not used to to that! I honestly say, "I'm sorry, but I don't speak Dutch" all day long. It's hilarious. People are so surprised when I tell them this! They seriously are in shock and as me, "are you sure?" Yep. Pretty sure. Haha!

OH! Brandon got his test scores back! Let's just say, out of the four classes that he is taking (Anatomy, Histology, Embryology, and Clinical Ethics) Ethics was his lowest score. Genius, right?! 

Also, I'm 22 weeks and my clothes are starting to get a little tight. only 18 more weeks to go...

This weekend was the semi-annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. one of my favorite weekends of the entire year! 

What is General Conference?

"General conference is a semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During general conference weekend, Church members and others gather worldwide in a series of two-hour sessions to receive inspiration and instruction from Church leaders."

If you missed it or want to learn more, you can watch General Conference online!

Here is a picture of Brandon and I watching General Conference with other members of the branch!

Here are some of the thoughts I wrote down while watching Conference.

The family is the foundation of 
Love 
and 
Spirituality.
The glory of God is intelligence, both Spiritual and Scientific.

Life is not only to be enjoyed in retrospect.

Do simple acts of service daily.

Take an inventory of your life and look for the blessings, both large and small, you have received.

The future is as bright as your faith.

I really enjoyed conference this year. so great that clear over here in the Caribbean, I can still listen to the prophets voice.

Chao for now.

tying the knot, taking the plunge, dropping anchor, and jumping the broom

Congratulations to Sterling and Kristen! They totally got married!

We were super bummed that we had to miss Brandon's brothers wedding, but we are so happy for them!

New Neighbor

This is Monkey. He lives by us.

We're not sure where he came from, but he seems nice.

churchy church weekend

We had a great weekend.

On Friday the Rama Bonaire had it's 22nd birthday! same age as me. we are basically twins.

In order to celebrate we had a birthday party for the Branch. There was a slide show put together of all of the baptisms that have taken place in the last 22 years. It was so cool to see all the members faces light up as each of their pictures came up on the screen. After the slide show we had cake. Not just any cake, but cake The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Bonaire style. Which means 5 cakes.

These cakes were all so good. so good that I probably ate the equivalent of an entire cake by myself.

Hey, I'm pregnant, so I can.

First we sang happy birthday. once in english and once in papamiento. then the oldest and the youngest members of the branch got to blow out the candles. Dira is 3 and Josepha is 76. love them both.

The next day, Saturday, was Rama Bonaire's first baptism of 2012! His name is Machtonio Christiaano and he is super cool. He actually flagged the missionaries down while they were riding their bikes and told them he wanted to change his life and asked for their help.

In Bonaire, they don't have a baptismal font, so they do their baptisms in the ocean. way awesome.

Here are some pictures of Michtonios baptism.

Brandon was the designated picture taker.

Walking to the "font"

Before

During

After

It was such a great experience. So glad that we could be part of it.

Later that night, after the baptism, was the General Relief Society Meeting Broadcast. Love here from our leaders and getting to know the new Presidency.

Here is the link to the General Relief Society Meeting Broadcast in case you missed it!

Such a great churchy church weekend! So grateful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

muevete

We moved!! Sadly our time at the place we were housesitting- you know the one with the pool- is over. We really loved it over there-especially because of the pool- but we really like our new place too.

It's pretty small. It actually makes our apartment in Hawaii seem huge. But it's brand new and really clean. 

 Plus our landlords are awesome. I mean super awesome. Feed us all the time and give us things like a microwave and toaster oven awesome. love them already.

Here is our living room/dinning room/kitchen. No oven, but has a huge fridge. no cupboards, but we are going to put up some shelves. and of course, now we have a microwave and a toaster oven. super cool.

This is our bedroom/family room. (same room) our bed is super comfy and we have a fan AND an air conditioner. our TV is brand new too.

This is the closet we get to share. 

And this is the glass door that leads from our bedroom to the bathroom. yes that is the toilet you can see.

And this picture of the bathroom completes the virtual tour.

We are super grateful for this place and actually super lucky to find it. Never thought I would live in a place smaller than Hawaii, but it's all part of becoming Bonairian.