On our 5th full day of cruising we arrived in St. John and had a delightful time exploring the city which I shared about HERE. After exploring the quaint city of St. John in the morning we boarded a bus for one of the excursions that Carnival Cruise offered entitled, "St.Martin and the Bay of Fundy". 

Our drive out to St. Martin's was a bit of a drive that allowed us plenty of time to see the beautiful Canadian countryside.

The Canadian land against the grey skies was truly a beautiful site to behold.

The drive to St.Martin's took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to from our cruise ship.

The drive into St. Martin's allowed us some close up views of some of the homes that have been in existence for many decades and allowed us closer views of the sea.

As we drove into the quiet fishing village of St. Martin's our tour guide shared with us how the tide changes radically throughout the day.

One of the things that St.Martin's "boasts" as a tourist attraction is that this is the only place in the world where you can take a photograph with two covered bridges in one picture. Our tour guide built this up so much that there was a big group of us that wanted to take this picture. As a photographer I love having a little bit of time to capture a memory of what I am seeing but that is definitely not what happened here! Before our tour guide let us off the bus she made the announcement that we had exactly 15 minutes in St. Martin's and then she would ring her cow bell and if we weren't on the bus she was leaving us. I am giggling as I am writing this remembering how a whole group of us was running around like crazy people trying to snap this "important" picture and then all looking at each other like "wait, is this all that it is?" and sure enough the cow bell started to ring so we all ran back as fast our legs would carry us! hahaha!

After our quick stop in St. Martin's we drove out to the St. Martin's Sea Caves.

The Sea Caves were beautiful to see!

I had a lovely time picking up rocks along the coast collecting them for us and some friends and family members. As we collected I suggested that we spend some time praying for each of the people we were collecting them for and for our trip that was such a lovely adventure!

I know that some of you reading this many be curious if I would recommend this particular excursion. This excursion was approximately 3 and a half hours and since we purchased it ahead of time it cost us $65. Honestly, I think that there is a reason for the mixed reviews that you will find on the website. While I loved seeing parts of Canada that I might not have seen otherwise, I really don't feel that I could recommend this excursion as much as the one from Portland that I talked about HERE. In the other excursion we had a fantastic tour guide, felt that we were able to see a lot of Maine and learn a lot along the way and have some adequate time at each of the spots that we stopped in. Unfortunately this was not the case with this excursion. Our tour guide unfortunately portrayed a very strange attitude as she talked down to those of us on the tour, wouldn't speak loudly enough for some of the people in the back of the bus to hear her (or would literally scream when someone asked her to talk loudly) and seemed to pride herself  on sharing about her house (which she pointed out to us and kept talking about) and about her daughter's book (which she kept mentioning as the thing to purchase at the small gift shop). Neither of these things are bad but combined with our other experiences with her it definitely gave a strange vibe as it made it seem like she was more interested in sharing her life instead of the tour information. Unlike other tour guides that I have had in my travels this one was definitely the exception and it definitely affected my review. Most of the excursion was spent riding in the bus to St. Martin's and the time at both St. Martin's and the Sea Caves totaled approximately 35 minutes. After we left the Sea Caves (where the tour guide threatened to leave Michelle behind and I was literally standing in the doorway to prevent this from happening as she kept ringing her cow bell in my ear!!hahaha!) we drove back to our cruise ship. The definite positive part was seeing some of the Canadian countryside but the negative was that there was such little time where we were at and the tour guide. 

At the end of the day though I truly believe every experience is what you make of it and my favorite part of any trip is having the opportunity to spend it with friends and loved ones! I had so much fun laughing through this tour and had a blast because we chose to make it fun! 

Have y'all visited the Bay of Fundy before? I would love to hear your suggestions of places to see if you have!

a pre-designed "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" altered journal, 

an adorable mini-altered journal that would be perfect for the traveler in your life, 

a couple of orange and green altered journals with special covers, and 

a couple of these lovely "believe" journals that are perfect for this time of the year!

Don't forget: Only 3 more days to use the coupon "christmasjoy" with your order! Head on over to the shop by clicking HERE! 

Merry Christmas friends! 

Y'all I am so humbled and excited to share some comments that people have been saying about my book, "When Light Dawns" on social media! I am so touched, humbled, and overwhelmed by the kind words that some people have said:

"Super excited to start my new Advent book just for people with Lyme. It is not an easy season right now and I was so thankful to see that there is a book just for this season."

"I started mine last night and it was so so good! I caught up from Nov 27 to Dec 2- I couldn't put it down!"

These words meant so very much to my little heart because this is such an answer to my prayers!! THANK YOU so much to ALL of you that have purchased the book, have sent me encouraging emails, and have passed this book on to others fighting Lyme Disease. If you have read the book would you mind writing a review and sharing it on Amazon? As a new author this type of thing helps spread the word to others! Thank you so much!! 

Most importantly, my prayer is that every person reading this book will be drawn closer to the heart of God. Would you please join me in that prayer? Thank you again! If you are looking to purchase the book you can buy it where books are sold and find it on Amazon HERE. 

Thank you again! Happy Wednesday Friends!

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."

-Isaiah 9:2-

I have always loved the month of December! *smiles* It is filled with the HOPE of Christmas and the birth of a baby who is everything. There are so many beautiful things to ponder: days filled with family and friends, delightful sunsets and sunrises, precious quiet, laughter, and beautiful snow. But more than any circumstances there is the opportunity to step back and remember once again the most precious gift of the season does not come wrapped in a gift but in God's great love. Truly we who walk in darkness due to earthly pain are reminded of the beautiful light that has dawned, our baby King and Savior. 

Praying that you have a wonderful December dear friends, reminded everyday of the beautiful light that has dawned and the hope that has come!

Happy Monday y'all! I hope that y'all had a wonderful holiday weekend! I am so excited to be sharing about a website that I was recently introduced to: swimoutlet.com. This unique outlet store has so many wonderful items for those that you know that not only love the water but also love being active in their lives. 

I was so to check out the holiday gift guide page that they have on their website (you can check it out HERE) and to explore the many gift options they have for the upcoming holiday. 

I was offered a chance to try a product on their website and I was excited to choose the Garmin vivofit band! As a lady who is trying to do everything that she can do get better and beat Lyme Disease completely I am very interested in keeping track of my heart rate throughout the day, count the number of steps that I take in a day and also note the distance that I walk. All of these things are extremely important to me and even if I wasn't sick these would be things that are important to monitor! Another great thing is that this is water-resistant! 

For a limited amount of time Swimoutlet is having a HUGE sale on tons of products like this and so many others! Head on over and check it out today!!

As some of you saw on my instagram feed, I announced a coupon for my shop for "shop small saturday" for 15% off any order! I am so excited to share that this coupon will be good through December 15th! Simply use "christmasjoy" to receive 15% off your order!! All of the proceeds go to help pay for my medical treatment! (Click HERE to go to the December Caravan shop!)

Happy Sunday friends and happy shopping! 

Even as I am sitting here writing this I am humbly thanking the Lord for His strength in helping me complete this project. This was a book that resonated deep in my heart and was written out of a love for those struggling with Lyme Disease and this journey of walking this difficult and painful path specifically during the holiday season. I started writing this book over two years ago ... writing on slips of paper, napkins, medication bags, pharmacy bags, magazine pages, etc... and in a variety of different places... in hospitals, doctors offices, the IV therapy sessions, detoxification protocols, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, etc. Finally after several months of writing out these reflections of my heart and precious Bible verses I combined everything into a book that is a heartbeat and passion of mine throughout this illness... When Light Dawns.

This 40 Advent and Christmas topic devotional is the first and only Lyme patient specific book for Advent and Christmas. When Light Dawns features daily reflections that will inspire, encourage, and give hope to Lyme Warriors. Containing a daily reflection for each day (from the last week of November through the first week of January) "When Light Dawns" can be used as a simple encouragement to the weary heart or as a guided devotional study. Either way, "When Light Dawns" will provide spiritual encouragement and give new meaning to the popular phrase "holiday preparations". 

 I am SO excited to announce that it is OFFICIALLY released as of yesterday!! You can purchase it where books are sold or on Amazon (also available in Kindle form) and you can click HERE to purchase it! 

Thank you to each of you that have already purchased it!!Thank you so much to ALL of you that have been walking this journey with me in prayer! TRULY you are a blessing!!

With Love,