The years have flown by since we said “I do” six years ago! February 4 was our six-year anniversary and to celebrate we took a five day time away–the longest time we have been apart from our children. We were so glad that we have such good friends as Robert and Kendalyn Staddon who kindly offered to have them stay with them.
We had a nice meal together along with some good fellowship, tucked our children in bed, saying good bye and drove away into the sunset :-).
The next morning we drove down to Galveston, Texas to catch a cruise that we had gotten for a bargain. Being our first time on a cruise we were surprised/saddened to see the drinking and party life. However, we quickly found times and places to enjoy our being together while avoiding much of the negative influences. We listened to an audio book by Gary Thomas on marriage as well as an excellent DVD series called Sacred Marriage highlighting the fact that marriage is not designed just for our happiness but also for our holiness. It was an excellent series. 
We enjoyed some wonderful food and felt like every meal was a date together.
The formal night was also fun, dressing up and sitting down to a multi-course dinner.
One of our favorite times was just sitting together on the upper deck and watching the sun set or getting up early in the morning and watching it rise while reading our Bible together.
Mexico
The port of Progreso that we docked at gave us a day in Mexico to be together and explore.
We chose to rent a small motorbike, reminiscent of our honeymoon, and head into the city of Merida. It was much bigger highways than we anticipated but we made our way there just fine.
We had brought around 1,000 little Bible tracts that we passed out in the city plaza as well as in the open markets. Many people were very grateful and some even came back to thank us and ask for another one for a relative. 
We also stopped at some ruins that dot the landscape of the Yucatan.
We were blessed to enjoy the beautiful weather.
Back on the Boat
Our primary focus was spending quality time with each other away from cell reception, internet, distractions, etc. Our time enjoying meals together was fun. We did not have dishes to wash, children to feed or messes to clean up. It was very relaxing in that way.
There were over two thousand guests on board the ship. We were fascinated to learn that there were over eight hundred crew as well. Less than two dozen of the crew were US citizens. All the others came from a variety of other countries. We enjoyed reaching out to them to get to know them and share the Gospel with them and had many good opportunities to visit.
What a memorable time to enjoy together and look back on for years to come.
Our Children’s Time With Friends
Once we got back to cell reception a flood of pictures started hitting our phones marking the fun time the children had staying with the Staddons
Esther shared some wonderful Bible stories with the children before bed time.
Phillip enjoyed not being the littlest one around.
Popsicles came after nap time as a reward for waking up with a “happy attitude.” 
The children had a remarkable time together and we are so grateful for such wonderful friends.
Visit with Priscilla’s Siblings
As we headed out of Galveston, we stopped through Houston on our way back up to East Texas where we live. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and sweet time of fellowship with Priscilla’s brother and sister. We came home very grateful for all God has done in showering us with His blessings!
Comments
I’m so happy you were blessed with such an amazing trip. Loved your video from the ruins. It’s fun to see you enjoying one another’s company.Looks like your children had a blast too!
Congratulations on your anniversary. Wishing you many more years of happiness and blessings. Glad you had a nice trip. Love the pictures of the children. They all are so cute. God Bless you and yours.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
I thought about y’all on your anniversary! I like to set reminders on my phone when people are having special days so I won’t forget to pray for them by name. My alert sounded and I stopped for a moment and said a prayer. Your loving marriage is, in itself, a ministry. Thanks for being an inspiration to me and so many others! I hope it was an especially blessed time to reconnect and fall even deeper in love!
I so enjoyed your update, and the photos were so fun to view as well (both of your trip, and of the children’s time apart from you.) You are such a precious couple and lovely Christian family.
I do understand your point about the drinking and negative influences (my husband and I have been on many cruises, and even had beer dumped on our backs while watching a show. Sigh.)
However, I would remind you to recognize those “negative influences” as precious children of the same God, in need of the same Savior, deserving of the same love that Jesus would have shown them when He dined with sinners, talked with “the unworthy,” forgave the “unclean.”
I so hope that you were willing to share a smile, a kind word, to model Christ’s love, and to lead these “negative influences” in paths of light by your humble, willing interaction with them. We are called to be in the world and not OF it, but that is NOT a call to separate or to judge. Jesus did not separate. And only He can judge.
For all I know (and I mean this with all gentle implication), you were kind and compassionate, approachable and gracious, and you did interact with love and compassion (not toward those in the midst of foolish drunkenness, but with those “worldly types” who were so unlike you.)
If you did, I am thankful for your openness to reaching out to others right where they are, just as they are.
If you were wary of them, however, I would encourage you to pray about this. “The world”(the unsaved, the broken, lost, and hurting) NEEDS Davids and Pricillas to love it into repentence, forgiveness, and salvation. And we serve a God who is DEFINITELY big enough to equip us for that work. No judgement, friends. Just wondering.
Peace! ~thar
That is wonderful. I have never been on a cruise, I would not like the drinking and party part of it either, my husband and I don’t drink. You are smart to put your marriage as a priority..I wish I had done that with my marriage more. We get so busy with our kids it’s easy to focus all our attention on them, which we should be, but we also have to take time for our spouse, good for you! You are such a cute couple and the kids are adorable, I’ll bet they were happy when you got home. God bless you all.
Thar, beautifully crafted statement for a sweet amazing family