Unforgettable week with God

This is the second year in a row my husband and I have went on the KLOVE cruise.  This was our second year in a row to go and it does not disappoint.  We flew from DFW to Miami to get on the ship.  I snapped this with my iPhone on the way over there.

This year was even sweeter because our friends Josh and Courtney joined us as well.

I've never been on any other trip in my life so far that is more uplifting than this one.  All of the big christian artists get on the ship just like us and its one concert after another. Every. Single. Day! We stayed up till midnight every night so we actually got less sleep on this trip than we normally do at home but its worth every second. The best way I can describe it is Heaven on the Sea because the worship is just so amazing! 35 people gave their lives to Jesus on the ship and were baptized in the Infiniti pool.  It was Incredible!  Check out this video posted by the KLove Cruise.

Andy Savage did the devotions every morning and Meredith Andrews did the worship music.  AH-mazing! We got to spend a little time talking with Andy and his wife Amanda.  We definitely had some things in common with them.  Their second son's name is Cooper which is the same for us. Kinda Neat!  Not to mention one of their children has Down syndrome as well.  We got to hear how that special need brings so much light into their family.

The truths and challenges they spoke as they shared their talents to deliver God's word was unexplainable. It filled our tank with so much truth, promise, hope, love, and more. There aren't enough words to describe how encouraging and inspirational this week on the deep blue sea was.

The first stop was the Bahamas. Tyler and I have been there already but we knew we would get off the ship for a little to show Josh and Courtney around.

Here we are ready to get off and explore.  Josh....LOL!

We visited the Atlantis and and took in its grandeur and admired all the yachts.

 Then we walked along the beautiful beaches. The water was chilly so just getting our toes in the sand and walking where the ocean waves break across the sand was perfect. The water in the Bahamas is just a beautiful caribbean blue.

Then we went to the best place recommended by several locals to eat. The Fish Fry.  We enjoyed an outdoor lunch in a perfect 78 degrees and then walked through downtown before heading back to the ship.  It was a great way to experience The Bahamas and of course there were laughs.  So many laughs, stories and just being silly which does nothing but soothe the soul.

Here we are walking back to our ship.

I can't recap each concert but after every night we would say, that was my favorite!!! Each day, dinner was at 5:30 and then our concerts would start at 8pm in the big theater.  Then at 10:30 pm the outdoor concert would start. Talk about experiencing church in a way I just can't explain.  Kind of like church camp for adults.

Heres a list of the artists we saw:

Francesca Batistelli, Michael W. Smith,  Blanca, Josh Wilson, Finding Favor, Rend Collective, Big Daddy Weave, Natalie Grant, Matt Maher, Newsboys, Crowder, Building 429 and For King and Country.

For King and Country was AH-Mazing!!!!!  I would go see them again in a heartbeat if I get the chance to.  Each performance we were right in the center at the perfect distance away.   

They are all so different and brought something unique that I'll never forget. 

Crowder is my favorite and this my giddy, excited and star struck smile in this picture.  I got my picture with several of the artists on board.  Woo hoo!!!

You would ride the elevators, eat with the artists, lay out next to them.  It was so so neat!!!! I highly recommend this cruise.  We may not go next January but we are definitely going to try and go the following year in 2019. Its always in January though so its a nice time to cruise.  The destinations aren't crazy hot! I honestly could care less about the destinations on this cruise.  The music and whole experience blows any other cruise I've been on out of the water.

The 3rd night was formal night so we got dressed up. :) I can't share what our dinner conversation was but it was hilarious.  Here is Josh's Creeper face with his escargot which he didn't like.  Yuck!!!

We only ate dinner twice in the formal dining and since we were dressed up, we had to document it.

Look who won on Roulette? My lucky #21 really came through for me on this trip! I couldn't believe it. 

The next stop was Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. It is actually a port that wasn't built very long ago and it's specifically for cruise ships and its owned by Carnival.  We signed up for the Mega Truck and Beach Day excursion.  It was an unforgettable drive through beautiful mountains.  Remember Jurassic Park?  It was filmed where we were and it was beautiful.  

Check out these views on our drive to the beach.

The beach had a cozy feel nestled in the cliffs and mountains. 

The restaurant sat up high so the view was breathtaking.  Here we are after lunch overlooking the ocean. Isn't it gorgeous?

It's so much more fun having a drink inside a pineapple and coconut, right? We thought so!

We couldn't resist a picture with the monkey. :)

Just relaxing and taking in all the beauty before it was time to go and having no idea what was about to happen to us!

Remember when I said, we took a Mega Truck to get there? Well....due to the rain and a dump trunk getting stuck right in the middle of the muddy road that we needed to go down......We got STUCK!

Here is Courtney and I just smiling and thinking this little bump in the road will get figured out in no time.  Man, were we wrong? LOL!

Here is our scared face but we are still trying to enjoy this extended adventure.   We made some good friends in the process though.  Got to always look for the silver lining right?

This was our current situation for about 3 hours. :(  Stuck and going no where!  I even had to jump off the truck and pop a squat in the mud to go pee.  UGH!!! 

Finally a bulldozer chained up to us and pulled us out.   I have never been so relieved.  

We made it back to our port and were all smiles again!!!

Little did we know that the ship was about to leave just as we got on board.  That's too close for comfort friends.  Praise the Lord we didn't get left in the Dominican Republic. 

The next day was a full day at sea and it was perfection.  The guys met the lead singer from Building 429, he was laying out right next to us.  We would pass along Mission Regan hats and shirts and swap stories and testimonies with those we met.  It was nothing short of amazing.

Our last night listening to music and the sound of the ocean.  Right before we hit up the pizza buffet at about 11:30 pm.  We did that every single night!!!!  It's vacation though....Right? 

That's all folks! The KLOVE 2017 cruise with our friends will be one for the books!!!  Then coming home to our babies was even sweeter.  

XOXO