Naples, FL...again!

Hi Friends...we finally left Naples, FL after 4 weeks! Here's our top ten reasons for staying in so long:

1. The weather is awesome

2. Crystal Lake RV Resort is beautiful and the people are friendly

3. We had a tennis court in our front yard

4. There is a brand new Whole Foods Market right down the street

5. Naples is really a beautiful town

6. The weather is awesome

7. We didn't have to be anywhere until January 25th

8. We liked the 2 mile walk around the lake

9. We felt like kids there...we were the youngest by far :-)

10. Did I mention that the weather is awesome?

Over the past couple weeks, we visited the Naples Zoo, played tennis, took two classes at Whole Foods (Cooking with Kids and a Raw Food class), watched a sunset at the Naples Pier, and held a lemonade stand. It was a bit too chilly that morning for lemonade slushies...we should have been selling hot chocolate - but hey, live and learn, right?

I am also very excited to report that our wheatgrass experiment is underway. If you remember, we learned how to grow it from the smoothie guy in Charleston, SC, but up until now, we did not have a wheatgrass juicer. We finally ordered the juicer and the sprouting has begun...I'll report on our progress next week.

What else have we been up to? We were so blessed to meet up with some dear friends from MN last week - Michelle Thompson, her two girls, and her mom, Mrs. Lee. What a treat to spend some time with familiar faces! We took a nice long walk down the Fort Meyers Beach, saw pelicans on the pier, enjoyed some hot chocolate, took the trolley back to their condo, and then Mrs. Lee treated us to a delicious meal of Lentil Soup. Michelle is the founder of Hand In Hand - the homeschool academy where Ashley and Jake attended for six years. We miss you guys!!

We ended our stay with a visit to the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. It was inspiring to all of us to think about the way Edison thought outside of the box in order to come up with the many inventions he is credited with.

We are now on the next leg of our journey making our way out west. First stop? The Florida panhandle near Destin, FL. God continues to refine us individually and as a family as we journey through our days. He is definitely more interested in our character than anything else and we have been talking lately about our deep desire for the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities You are giving us to be transformed to be more like You. Be glorified in us, Jesus! We pray that for each of you too.