To be Thankful = Agradecer

I have much to be thankful for, and for this I feel very fortunate!  I have had this strong sense of thankfulness for several days now, maybe even for the past two weeks since we returned from our vacations in the states.  We had three glorious weeks packed full of wonderful memories of times with friends and family in very special places!  It was our first real vacation since we've been in MCC.  On the 22^nd will mark our 10 months of being in MCC.  This feels like a long time but really it has gone by so quickly!  We had not planned to return to the States so early in our time here in Nicaragua, but the opportunity arose and we happily accepted the idea.  We left June 11^th for three weeks to Colorado, Kansas and North Carolina. 

Highlights in Colorado—Boulder, Denver, Lafayette, Palmer Lake and Colorado Springs!

Becky, Jess, Liz & Erin at Vine St.

• Getting picked up at the DIA airport by our favorite Colorado aunties—Nan and Nadine!! What a great way to start our vacation!  We immediately went to Nadine and Norm's house for a BBQ in their beautiful backyard and patio.  Complete with a campfire in the evening.  In my first Colorado evening, I had to break out the jeans and hoodie with the climate change from tropical Nicaragua to a cool, dry Colorado evening.
• Seeing dear friends at our church and sharing our experiences from our time thus far.
• Walking around Wonderland Lake, our old stomping grounds, with Becky and enjoying an iced chai at my favorite coffeeshop in North Boulder!
• Spending time with Laurien and Henri in their adorable house in Lafayette.  Their home is so cozy and comfortable and we loved the time we had (although too short) to pick up where we left off!
• Enjoying all the flavors of our favorite restaurants in Boulder and in great company of course!! (Ohh, how I missed goat cheese and Mountain Sun french fries!)   
• Reuniting with our small group friends and catching up with wonderful people!
• Hiking with Nan in Pike National Forest and Monument Rock while being outside in the fresh, pine air!!  (I truly feel at peace and at home in the Colorado Rockies!)
• Eating delicious Mexican food with Gillis, Marika and there 1 year-old, Jack!  It was great catching up with them and seeing their beautiful house in Colorado Springs.
• Walking around City Park in Denver with Jess and her crazy dog, Kojack!  He's a nut, but we fell in love him at our first meeting!
• Wonderful times with awesome friends on the Vine Street patio in Denver.
• Our final gathering on Nadine & Norm's patio with friends!  
• Being taken to the airport by Jessica and her two boys, Benjamin and Philip.  Benjamin was more excited to see a police officer in uniform than he was to see us leave.  We asked the police officer to wave at the boys before we left and they loved it!!  Doesn't take much with a 4 & 3 year-old!

In Kansas—In Newton!

Dwayne, Ruth, Mark, Amanda, Nate & Kaitlin-BBQ Time!

• Spending time with Nate's family at his parents’ homestead.  They have a beautifully landscaped yard with trees and flowers, which we enjoyed!
• Many wonderful home-cooked meals by Ruth!  Bread, bierocks, lasagna, stir-fry, apricot cobbler, homemade ice cream (like four times), cinnamon rolls, and more!!  We gained about five pounds each in one week!
• Rain storms and cooler weather....yes, in Kansas and in June!  We had beautiful weather all week!  (Note:  The week following it hit the triple digits and I don't think they've seen much relief since!)
• Time spent with grandparents!  Sitting on Ethel's patio in her back yard and enjoying the lush greenery, flowers, birds and fountain.  Not to mention paging through her newest scrapbook of quilts and past projects.  She is so creative with a million more projects in mind!
• Eating thresher ice cream with Papa and Grandma Regier and all the Regier family!  Not to mention Grandma's burnt butter icing on her famous Italian Cream Cake!
• Swimming with Kaitlin in her pool as a thunderstorm slowly rolled in.
• Catching up with Mark and Amanda, who came down from St. Louis to see us.
• Nate playing music with his dad, sister and brother (the first time all four of them had a jam session together!)
• Time spent at the farm with friends Phil and Katie.  Paddle boating, walking around the pond and the boys playing guitar.
• Nate returning to the farm the following day for an early morning fishing trip with his dad and brother

In North Carolina—Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks!

Alison, Lindsay, Erin, Zach, Sydney & Emma!  The silly six!

• Getting picked up by my goofy siblings, Tim and Beky at the Norfolk airport.  They pretended they didn't see me as they drove by!
• Spending a night in a hotel with an outdoor pool complete with a perfect East Coast sunset!
• Arriving at the beach with almost a full extra day...so worth it!
• Ten adults and six children in one beach house = a fun-filled, action-packed week at the beach!
• Relaxing on the beach with the sounds of the surf.
• Breakfast with Dad and Kay at a local Pizzeria.
• Siblings breakfast out—never a dull moment when you put us four together! 
• Braiding all five of my nieces hair!  They loved their special ‘dos for the beach!
• Nate making Emma into a mermaid on the beach when she fell asleep in the sand!  Pictures are too cute!
• Playing games and watching movies in the evenings.  New favorite game-- “Ticket to Ride”
• Having time to chat with all of my family!
• Dance party with the kids when their parents were out to dinner...they have the moves, not too mention A LOT of energy!!
• Celebrating Sydney's 8^th birthday and Emma's 5^th birthday!  Johnny Cakes were awesome, Beky!

I returned with a sense of rejuvenation and piece of mind to start anew!  Someone special mentioned recently that we should keep things into perspective about our time here and not get homesick for all that we “miss” in the States.  I couldn't agree more!  I feel like in the scheme of things our time here is really short, and we need to make the most of it by being fully here and not missing the things we left behind, because chances are it will still be there when we return. 

I was telling Nate the other day that it's been refreshing to have a “vacation” from our lives in the States, in order to take stock of what our lives were like.  To see where we would want to make changes, to see what is really important and to be more intentional in our daily living.  In other words, I realize how impermanent our lives really are, and because of that we should make each day count.  It may not feel like a vacation here, but my point is that it is nice sometimes to be able to take a step back in order to have a deeper sense of our life situations, with (hopefully) a fresh perspective.

Continued prayers for safety during the rainy season and clarity within our work with AsoFénix are always appreciated.  We feel so loved by you all.  Thank you for your hospitality, for your love and for your support!  It was a great vacation and we will always remember it!  If you want to see photos on our special vacation blog site, send us a personal e-mail and we will in return give you the link to our photo site.  Additionally, I have updated our photo blog with 11 new albums from April through June.  Enjoy them at your leisure, and remember to stay in touch with us when you have a moment.  We always appreciate your e-mail updates and photos if you have them!