crazy...

about this guy!

Easter 07

Easter 09!

not too much has changed!

except we are engaged.

4 months from today i walk down the aisle and become Mrs. Snider.

I am so very excited!!!

picture overload.

well if you want to look at around 500 pictures from guatemala you can do just that here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20581162@N08/sets/72157616410306942/

the first 100 is from a guy on our trip.
the last 400 are mine.

if you have some time enjoy.
they are wonderful... at least i think so. (:




this weekend was wonderful.
i love the sniders.
im so very blessed to have an amazing family to join.

tomorrow i begin my workout plan
& begin packing/organizing.

we shall see how it goes...

UP from the grave He rose!

This is my favorite Easter hymn, but only because of a funny childhood memory.
Each year my dad puts this song on the lineup, and I truly believe its because of our little family joke. When litte brother B was a small tyke (at least I think he was small)... one Easter Sunday when we sang this song, each time "up" was stated, it was more of a yell from the guy. UP from the grave He rose! UP UP UP! Precious isn't it. Ever since that Sunday dad plays that song- and we all smile and look over at benny boy... and smirk.

Unfortunetly this Easter, our family row wont be packed all the way full. I am here in Savannah having a Snider Family Easter. We will be heading to church- hunt our easter baskets that get hidden around the house (yes the baskets! and yes we still get one!!) and then have a lovely big family lunch. Ive been blessed to know this family for 4 1/2 years- and Im so very blessed to have an incredible family to join. Im so greatful my "in-laws" are wonderful, sweet, funny, and have made me a part of their family for so long. Plus I'm getting an amazing sister!

So I am a tiny sad- that I wont be able to hear a fantastic sermon from dad, sit crammed in a row with my gigantic brothers and their lady friends, have a macminn family lunch full of TONS of people (my mom is MRS hospitality and sometimes invites lots of people (and sometimes random) for big dinners/lunches) just makes it more fun, lay around and hang out (and prob play wii) and just be together.

BUT the thing i'll probably miss the most- is hearing little ben sing UP from the grave He rose!

Be excited today. He did rise from the grave. UP he rose. UP UP UP!

love & peace
d


let me say this tiny thing. as i was writing this i realized it could have been brother R. my memory is failing me. im like 99% sure it was little ben, but mom correct me if im wrong. either way. there was a loud UP involved. and it was funny.

precious moment

my favorite guatemalan boy was this guy...
ok one of my favorite. i had 2 or 3.
anyway. this guy was beside on up there.
i dont really know what his name was... but it sounded kinda like "deiddre" or something. thats the point.
he was always around- i dont think he went to school all week- he just hung out with us.
so one of my favorite moments was a time i was with him. i was quite frustrated because I felt like I could not do a thing- since i was so weak and sick.
about that time D and I were hanging out when a girl told me i should read him some stories in spanish from the Bible...
she handed me a pile of around 20 books that were children's Bible stories in spanish.

i asked D if he wanted me to read them to him and he was so excited. he gathered his little friends around and for a good 45 minutes i read story after story in spanish to these guys. it was such a wonderful experience.
It was so neat to see how God can use us even if we are sick and miserable. God can take a simple task and turn it into an afternoon treat!
these boys were such a blessing to me.
their smiles. the love they showed me. and the excitement they had to hear Bible stories. It was a fun afternoon and one of my favorite moments of the trip.

::update on the illness- who knows. my stomach has settled down a bit, but im still not eating much and far from 100% keep the belly in your prayers. its all over the place.
in other news... im heading to savannah this weekend for a snider family easter. looking forward to it. hopefully the tummy will hold up.

hope you are all well out there in blog land.
love & peace
d

story numero uno

here is my first guatemalan story... and it happened exactly a week ago.
its a bit graphic. beware... remember.... i am a nurse.

last monday as i was soaking up the rays of the guatemalan sun- i started to feel just a little funny. we had a "lovely" lunch of fish. whole fish. head and eye included.
ask anyone on the team... i "LOVED" it.
i did eat it though... bc we were in a village. these amazing people treated us like royalty and i was going to eat that beast... so i ate most of it. or some.
anyway.
next up was dinner.
at the hotel we sit down for dinner and lucky us.
we have fish for dinner.
again whole fish. head and eye included.
at the hotel we paid for our meals so i did not in the least bit- feel bad passing on my fish to a hungry male teammate (lets just say i did that a lot).
moving on. by bedtime i was feeling a lil sour, but not too bad.
until midnight. terror struck.
to be non-graphic ill just say i was sick.
very sick.
alllllll night long.
so that continued and i laid around the hotel the next day (due to the sickness)
after this i never quite felt 100%
i mean i had NOTHING in me.
it was hot.
and my stomach was a disaster.
after this i pledged not to eat a thing until we were back to Antigua and were cooking our own food.... and by golly i did just that. well i ate rice. lots and lots of rice.
and crackers. and special K bars.

ok. this is dragging sorry.
anyway. i stayed a bit sickly the rest of the time.
my stomach never got better... i thought it was on its way to improvement,
until last night.
after dinner i started feeling funny.
and again. at midnight terror struck.
exactly 7 days after the first time.
i was miserable all night...
after (somehow) working 8 hours today... i made it to a doc apt
where the obvious was put into stone...
i have a nasty guatemalan bug.
hopefully some cipro (big strong antibiotic) a little nausea med, some pepto & powerade will clear up this lil infection quite soon.

oh gosh i hope.
if not i might just be drinking gatorade forever...

so yeah. pray this clears up quickly. i have to work thurs & friday. and by have to i HAVE TO.
hope you enjoyed the first guatemalan story... many more will come.
love & peace.
d

top 10...

here are todays top 10 guatemalan pics...
work tomorrow. hopefully ill remember how to be a nurse... :)
jk.
im off to bed.
love & peace.
d

me & some kiddies
water coming out of the well!

the team & the pacific

glitter=germs

te amo

dirty to clean

dimples

cup & sun... this has a long explanation- but for now... its so beautiful isn't it!

did i mention i love children?

im alive...

& doing great!
home and catching up on laundry and sleep.

i have many stories to tell, and many pictures to share...
once i get my pictures- which is a story in itself.
the last night (at our "last supper") i got out my camera to snap some shots, when it flashed "error" followed by corrupt file. woah woah woah i thought. ive just taken a good 400pictures... are you telling me they are gone?!

i was relived and encouraged by a team member who is a computer genius for exxon- who assured me he can get my pictures if i can't figure it out.

today after playing around i couldn't get it to work. i think what if we just stick my card in one of those machines like in cvs?!! ry and i go and try it out... thank GOODNESS it works, but since there are 1,000 picutres (no really. 1,000) on my card it took way over an hour to get them put on CDs... who they will be ready tomorrow. hopefully.

anyway. the trip was wonderful.
living water is an INCREDIBLE group. amazing organization doing incredible things.
we built a well- and provided clean water in the name of Jesus.
unlike anything ive ever experienced.
plus guatemala is beautiful... as you will see.

anyway this is all for now... these were taken the last day on my "back-up" camera.

thank you all so very much for your love and prayers. really. without you this would not have been possible.

love and peace-
d

my favorite guatemalan 3 year old... Jackie (her parents work for LWI and live at the base camp in Antigua. she was fabulous. upon my entry into the room she woudl say "DANIELA!!!")

the "younguns" of the trip-
the 26 year old soon to be dad, 31 year old dad of 2 kids with one on the way , me the soon to be wife and B the 26 year old (another in country LWI worker) for el salvador

the volcano outside our house. no really. this was my view every day in antigua.
the first night i had a dream there was an earthquake and lava started spewing out.
i was then assured that lava spews out of it all the time.
WHAT?!?!