machu picchu.

when we pause for a moment and think about our lives, it is not hard to think about all the blessings that we have in our lives. there are all the obvious ones that i have spouted off in the past years like friends, family, and health. this thanksgiving, i found myself thankful to be without a job (so that i could be here on this trip), thankful for the hug of a mother (who travelled from countries away to visit) and thankful for a spouse with whom i am blessed to grow, learn and adventure with. thankgsiving this year found us not where it has in years past, sitting around the table overflowing with great food and even better company, but rather, at just about the time most people in the states were probably going for their second piece of pumpkin pie, we were huffing and puffing our way up to the top of machu picchu, one of peru's most visited tourist destinations.

my mom, deciding to cross yet one more thing off her bucket list, ventured to peru two weeks ago to see what we were really up to down here. meeting her in lima was just the start to a very adventurous week in which i'm pretty sure we saw and did more than i think luke and i had done in the previous two months. we were treated to a flight to cusco (rather than spending 24 hours on a bus), where we set up camp for seeing the sacred valley, a lush and fertile valley, and LOTS of incan ruins. after a few days, we took the train to the town of aguas calientes (at the base of Machu Picchu). we went to the (not so hot) hot springs for a soak. the highlight of the trip was taking the bus up to the park, on a windy switchback road. there, we joined the throngs of tourists we had come from around the world to see one of the seven man made wonders of the world. finally, we arrived at what felt like the top of the world. we spent a whole day exploring around this lost city of the incas, learning what life was like back then. it was unreal to be standing on top of the hillside with the whole stone city below. my mom is a trooper for getting to the top and i admire her persistency!

after machu picchu, we headed back to lima for a few days to discover the city there. before we knew it, we were sending here off back to the states. what a quick trip, but it was wonderful to have a touch of home here with us to remind us of all those who love us, those we miss, and all we are thankful for at home. we hope that you find reason to be grateful in each day we are blessed with! want to see more pics? check out my mom's facebook album by clicking here.