Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here are a few pictures from the Belin Christmas Cruise. We decided to celebrate Christmas in a very untraditional way this year and spend it together on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a wonderful treat from my parents and we had so much fun spending time together on the ship. We cruised 3 days and took it all in. We participated in anything and everything the cruise had to offer! From trivia nights, salsa dancing, and shows, to an art auction, excursion to Atlantis, and Bingo, we did it all! It was a wonderful time and we were able to make many, many memories! :)

The House Divided

As most of you know, although Roy and I are both Troy University alumni, we live in a house divided. Yes, the love of college football runs deep within our roots, but our football ties are to two different teams. I grew up in the Florida Panhandle as a Florida Gator fan. On several occasions we'd get football tickets from season pass holders, usually the Auburn / Florida game since my Papa played football at Auburn many years ago.

Roy, on the other hand, grew up 45 minutes from Tuscaloosa, AL in Livingston, or, "God's Country" as he often refers to it. Alabama football is a way of life in those parts and it beats anything I have ever seen. To make an incredibly long, one-sided blog entry SHORT, you need to see these videos to understand our ties to football and how "different" it is:)


I love my Gators and the Gator Nation!




Roll Tide, y'all!

Joy to the Hood!

Please take a few minutes to watch the video below and prayerfully consider giving financially to the Lord's work in inner-city Newark, NJ. In order to keep this wonderful ministry running, $20,000 needs to be raised in the next 4 days. Also, check out Joy to the Hood at
for more information!

City Church: City Groups

One of the wonderful things about the church we go to (City Church) is the City Group we have been involved in. Our small group has been a source of Gospel community for us, a place where we can go and share our hearts and lives with and bask in grace and mercy. Our City Group has allowed us to feel more at home here in Orlando and we are truly grateful for the friendships we have with the members of our group. Here is a recent video made that gives great insight into how valuable these groups our to our church... Roy is definitely in it and you can see me a few times with the focus Diana and Ramiro who are in our group. Enjoy!

http://www.citychurchorlando.org/CityGroups.html

The Belin Disney Trip

Last year Disney offered the "Give A Day, Get A Day" program as an incentive to get people to volunteer. In return, Disney would give the first 1 million participants a free ticket to a Disney theme park. Living in the Orlando area, we jumped at the chance for free tickets, as did my parents. We planned a Belin Disney Trip for November and it was such a wonderful day. We had not been to Disney as a family in 14 years, if I did my math correctly. The park opened at 9AM and closed at 11PM and you better believe we stayed the entire time. It was such a treat to walk down memory lane, enjoying time together like we had many years before.

What a month!

It has been an incredibly busy month for us. October came and went before we even realized it. In October we celebrated our 2nd Anniversary! It was wonderful to think back on the past two years of marriage, rejoicing in how God has been so incredibly faithful to us. We moved 3 weeks ago into a new apartment in Oviedo, less than 2 miles from RTS (where Roy is in seminary). It is about 3 miles from where I work so it has been a tremendous blessing. The move would never have happened without some amazing dear friends of ours who spent hours packing up all of our belongings and helping load and unload them. We are so thankful for such faithful friends! We are finally getting to the point where we feel like our apartment is becoming home. We have been blessed to get to know our neighbors and many of the kids who live in this apartment complex. It is opening up many doors to build friendships with, love on, and serve our neighbors.

This past weekend Roy attended the PCA Global Missions Conference in Chattanooga, TN. He worked at the booth for RTS, recruiting students to come to receive theological training. He had a wonderful time!

While he was in TN, I attending a ZUMBA Fitness Instructor Training Workshop that was held in Orlando. After 9 hours of learning popular ZUMBA moves and how to combine them to create a routine, I am a ZUMBA FITNESS INSTRUCTOR! I actually began teaching today at the school I work at and had 14 ladies attend. I am so excited about teaching!

Pawelkop Family Reunion 2010

Honestly, one of the highlights of my year is the annual Pawelkop Family Reunion. This year the reunion was held in Homosassa Springs, FL.

The weekend was fantastic, as usual. We rented pontoon boats and spent the day on the water. The weather was perfect! We spent the afternoon swimming in the springs, going off the rope swing, eating yummy food, and enjoying each others company. After a day on the water, we all went to the local state park, which was more like a zoo. It was wonderful! The night consisted of watching football, yummy Cuban food, s'mores, and games. How blessed we are for such a wonderful family!

I am already looking forward to next year's reunion!