Christmas Blues

I love this time of year but it is not quite the same this year nor was it last year when I spent Christmas day in Cuba with my hubby. Don't get me wrong I am incredibly grateful that I have got to spend these Christmases together with my hubby but it just isn't the same without the family and the traditions you have grown up with all your life.

This year I will long for...
~The faces of my sweet nephews as they open their presents and give out hugs and thank yous, and in sam's case spit up! ;)
~The craziness that is my grandparents house on Christmas Eve as our family of 40+ people cram in a garage and enjoy fresh caught and cooked seafood! That's right you read that right! We do it right at our house for Christmas: fish, shrimp, hushpuppies, coleslaw...the works!! It is a family tradition that my family picked up when my grandfather married my step-grandmother and it is the only type of Christmas Eve celebration I have ever known.
~Listening to the outlandish things my cousins have asked Santa to bring them this year. My personal favorite was the year Jenna asked Santa to bring her a hot tub...she was about 7 at the time. haha, wish Santa would bring me one of those as well but I am not sure I would have a place for it, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom would do, I think that sounds fair.

Oh and for the record if it snows on Saturday back home in Georgia I am going to very displeased with mother nature that she had me come all the way to Germany in hopes of a white Christmas and gives everybody at home one!! :) That does not seem very fair of her!! Hehe!

While these little things will be missed, I still remember the real reason we get out all these decorations and shower our loved ones with gifts. I am incredibly thankful for my Lord Jesus Christ who was brought onto this earth to save me so that I may have a relationship with the Father. That is something that is universal and will NEVER miss out on!!

Christmas Day in GTMO

0615 The alarm goes off and Jonathan and I roll out of bed.
0625 People driving by look at us like we are crazy for being at a bus stop so early in the morning on Christmas day.
0630 We notice someone else at a nearby bus stop and begin not to feel quite as foolish.
0700 Begin cooking breakfast for the guys at Jonathan's apartment that just got off work.
0900 Catch the bus back to our hotel room.
0915 Fast asleep in bed.
1000-1500 Lay around watching movies and catching up on sleep.
1900 Begin making dinner with pans we borrowed from the kitchen in the main building.
1930 Enjoy our closest thing to a home-cooked meal we will get for Christmas.
2100 Put on the movie Elf and enjoy the last few hours of our first Christmas together.

For everyone back home, we miss you and hope your Christmas was just as relaxing as ours. We love you all and wish you a happy new year as well!

Love,
Jonathan and Emily Rupard

Merry Christmas from Jonathan and Emily Rupard

In front of the GTMO huge Christmas tree.

Out to dinner.

Well I am sitting in the hotel room and figured I could update this for those few of you that read. I also thought I would put up a few pictures. Jonathan went down to the company because they told him he had a lot of mail. So those of you that sent packages early he might have gotten some of them. The weather has been a little groggy until yesterday. We did get a little bit of rain on Jonathan's birthday but it wasn't too bad. We have been enjoying our time together; swimming, bowling, and just being together. Here are a few pictures to hold you over.

Just a shot of one of the bays.

Waiting on the ferry after seeing each other for the first time in months!!!

Christmas in Cuba

Well it has certainly been a long time. I am sorry I am not very good at this but my sister is usually the only one that reads it anyway. Well as of late, volleyball is now over and I have much more time to dedicate to my work and I finally feel like I am getting organized which is wonderful!! I still have some planning to do this afternoon though.

We went on a field trip last Thursday to Denver Downs. The students all got to pick out small pumpkins, go through PART of the corn maze, feed the goats, and play in the hay barn. They had a blast and wore worn out by the end of the day. They were still tired on Friday. It was funny on the way back to school they saw a UHaul truck with a picture of a zebra on it. The kids thought that meant that the truck carried zebras to the zoo.

Yesterday I carved the pumpkin to go outside our apartment. I hated that Jonathan wasn't there because he is so artistic that he can do anything. I finally came up with a design but it took forever to do and I am honestly not sure it was worth all the time I put into it. It is done now though. I will try to put a picture up.

The biggest news I have gotten so far is that I will probably be getting the chance to spend Christmas break in Cuba with Jonathan. I am so excited that I am going to get to see him and spend our first Christmas and New Years together as a married couple. I am of course sad that I will be spending it away from the rest of our family for the first time but I am so happy about getting to see him, I miss him so much.

We have gotten yahoo messenger set up so that now we can see each other and that has made things a little easier now that I can physically see him every now and then instead of just talking to him. He goes on night shift soon and I am nervous about when we are going to be able to talk once that happens but we will figure it out like we always do- one day at a time.

I will try to do better about keeping this updated.