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{Unedited} Snapshots of the Caribbean

My hubby and I just returned late Sunday night from an incredible week away in celebration of our 10th anniversary…and while I won’t bore you with jealousy-evoking details of swimming with turtles, gloriously unnecessary naps, and the fact that I only gained 5 pounds after devouring enough food to feed a small country – chased by at least one dessert after each course – I figured I’d simply upload the photos from my phone {we decided against toting around a “real” camera} and give you a verbal snapshot of our trip.

So here you go…an unedited-photographic, un-spellchecked, grammar-careless review.  Just go with it.

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We sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico – like we did for our honeymoon, a decade ago – only we sailed with Carnival this time, rather than Norwegian.

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One just can’t argue with smoked salmon delivered to your door for breakfast, people.

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Our first Port of Call was St. Thomas, where we sailed with Captain Max and her first mate, Jordan (who was a hilarious, restless 24 year old Texan who was determined to keep the rum punch flowing).

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Day two was spent at sea, day three in Barbados, and the next stop was St. Lucia, where we spent the day at the Grande Sandals resort (like we did on honeymoon)…

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Day five landed us in St. Kitts, where we didn’t intend on doing much…but then we met Annie, the most charming tour guide you ever did meet! 

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This tree in the Botanical Gardens was over 400 years old…and literally had wild orchids growing from it.

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We spent an incredible two and a half hours touring Annie’s beautiful island, soaking in her incredible historical knowledge while enjoying her delightful accent…

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While we toured St. Kitts, a charming Indian jeweler soldered an additional band to my wedding/engagement band.  It was a stunning match and an even more fantastic price!

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Our final stop was St. Marteen, where we went snorkeling with a lovely South African woman we had met on the ship.  We met some delightful people this past week, ate more than we could ever really admit, and were gob smacked once again by the sheer beauty of creation.

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This was the longest we’ve ever been away from our little ones and boy, was it a treat to come home.  We were rested, energized, overweight and so ready to snuggle their faces off.

{so very thankful for my parents, who put their lives on hold, and moved in again to make this happen}

After a layover in New York City, where our luggage just happened to sit after we took off (sigh), we arrived home just before midnight on Sunday…and promptly woke our babies up {then rebelled further by keeping them home from school on Monday so we could smooch their cheeks and smell their hair for hours on end}. 

It was magical.

Leaving…connecting…and coming home.

Related posts:

  1. We’re Back!
  2. Excuses, Updates and an ATW Guest Post
«
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Marriage, Photography, Travels

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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May you remember that God is not only the God of d May you remember that God is not only
the God of destinations, but of detours.

When life takes you somewhere you never intended to go,
may you recognize that you have not been forgotten.

May you have eyes to see the people in front of you,
hands willing to gather the sticks,
courage to shake off the snakes,
a heart willing to welcome and be welcomed,
and faith to believe that even here,
especially here, God is at work.
What if the place you keep calling a detour is act What if the place you keep calling a detour is actually part of the story?

Paul was headed to Rome. Instead, he ended up shipwrecked on Malta.
It wasn't the destination. But it mattered.

A reminder for all of us: don't waste the waiting,
the detour, or the place you didn't choose.

🎙️ 042 | Make Malta Matter | Finding Purpose in Divine Detours
  The latest Oh, Good Grief Podcast episode is out now.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #MakeMaltaMatter #SimplyBloomCo
Instagram post 17924817765424628 Instagram post 17924817765424628
What if the years you thought were wasted… weren't What if the years you thought were wasted…
weren't wasted at all?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Leah Harvey,
we go deeper into what it means to trust
God when the outcome is still unknown.

Leah has spent years carrying the ache of infertility,
and she doesn't offer a tidy answer or a spiritual shortcut.

Instead, she talks about restoration.
About eternity.
About choosing Jesus over her preference.
About looking for treasure in the middle of the story.

And about the surprising realization that there
may not have been wasted years after all,
because God was present in every one of them.

He is.
Even here.
Even now.

🎧 Part Two with Leah Harvey is live now.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #StruggleWell #StayRooted #SojournTogether
Instagram post 18091972097640684 Instagram post 18091972097640684
What if trusting that God is good doesn't mean bel What if trusting that God is good doesn't mean
believing He will give us everything we ask for?

That's one of the questions my friend Leah Harvey
and I wrestle with in this week's episode.

Leah and her hubby, Jake, have walked through years
of infertility and the kind of unanswered prayer that
doesn't just hurt once—it asks you to keep
trusting God over and over again.

We talk about grief, surrender, the questions we sometimes feel afraid to ask, and what happens when we stop trying to put tidy answers over messy pain.

This is a tender conversation about choosing Jesus over our preferences, embracing the mystery of God, and learning to believe that His goodness doesn't depend on whether He gives us the thing we're asking for.

Part One of my conversation with Leah Harvey is live now
🎧  040 | The Goodness of God in the Waiting

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #StruggleWell #StayRooted #SojournTogether
Before the world told you who you needed to become Before the world told you who you needed to become...
Before fear taught you how to survive...
Before shame convinced you to hide...
God looked at you and called you His own.

Not because you had healed.
Not because you had figured yourself out.
Not because you had become your best self.
Simply because you were His.

You are still becoming.
And you are already loved.

Keep coming home.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #SimplyBloomCo
What if the goal isn't to become a different type, What if the goal isn't to become a different type,
but to become more fully yourself?

We've spent the last several weeks exploring the Enneagram:
our gifts, wounds, coping strategies, and the stories we
learned to believe in order to survive.

Now it's time to come home.

Episode 039 closes this Summer Series by asking
what happens when self-awareness becomes surrender.

The Enneagram can help us understand our patterns.
But it was never meant to become our identity.

You are not your number.
You are not your trauma.
You are not your coping strategy.

You are a beloved child of God.

🎧 Oh, Good Grief — Episode 039 is available now.
Sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee, m Sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee, my Bible and a book of maps in my lap, and the sun on my face, has me thinking about how strange and beautiful life can be.

It’s no small honor to be given the opportunity to preach at our church from time to time. Had you told the broken, shoplifting, lying, giving-her-body-away-for-free teenage girl I once was that one day she’d stand in a pulpit and talk to people about God’s goodness and grace, I would have laughed at you.

But maybe that’s exactly why God delights in using the messy, the unlikely, the misfits. Because these are the stories that make His redemption impossible to miss.

One of my favorite lines from The Chosen, spoken by Mary Magdalene, sums it up perfectly: “I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

That’s my story, too.
And if I were to hazard a guess, it's yours as well.

It’s one of my greatest joys to dig into God’s Word, share what He’s laid on my heart, offer some encouragement and conviction, confess the uncomfortable things, and ultimately point people back to Jesus.

Because there’s no denying the extraordinary power of redemption when you’ve lived it yourself.
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