it's been too long...

It's been over a month since I have posted and I can't even count how many times I have said some form of these words... "I'm going to blog today."  But the days have been busy and the weeks have passed by quickly and the moments have been full of life and with each passing day the blog gets pushed aside once again.  I wish I could write down every detail of the past month or so because I would love to relive those moments through memories, but for now, here are a few pictures that don't do justice in showing what life has been like...

Visiting one of my favorite families in the world with Terrill before heading back to the States.  I met these girls almost 6 years ago when they were still babies and they have grown up so fast.  Every time we get to see them is such a special blessing.

Luz Maria getting ready to head to her Christmas party at school.

Joanni

Nena

Christmas Eve :: Words can't express how amazing it was to be home for Christmas.  It had been far too long and I enjoyed every minute with my family and friends.

Christmas day :: Nick's present... best gift everrrr.

Love them.

Snow!  Before I even made it back to the States I had been hoping it would snow... and I woke up one morning to this!  The Lord knows my heart :)

My amazing mom.  I can't describe how blessed I am to call this incredible woman my mom.  She knows me and my heart and loves me so well... even enough to walk around in the cold just to appreciate the snow with me.  Thanks for showing me a glimpse of the unconditional love of God, for teaching me what it means to be a mother, and for always fighting for me.

And my awesome dad.  I will be forever grateful for his endless support of me and the dreams God has placed on my heart.  Thanks for taking care of me so well, for always making me feel special, and for loving mom, Nick, and I with your whole heart.

New Year's Day :: Julie, Nicol, and I... together... in Kentucky!

Terrill and I... lighting candles for my dad's birthday!

Like I said, the pictures don't do it justice, but that's as close as I can get to summing up life recently.  I'm bursting with excitement and anticipation about this new year and all that God is doing and will continue to do.  He is so faithful and continues to surprise me with immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine... always making all things new.

living with expectancy.

It's incredible how easy it would be to just coast through life merely existing.  To let the days pass by without intentionally living and appreciating the little moments.  To be distracted by the tasks that need to be accomplished and forget about the gift it is to simply be alive and breathing.

Because the truth is, each new day is full of possibilities and wonder.  If we could set aside our problems and anxieties for only a minute, we would see that God offers us a new chance every day to receive the gift that is life.  We have the opportunity to truly live and find joy in each and every moment if we just open our eyes.

God has given us a world full of beauty and gifts and grace.  If we stop and appreciate, we’ll find that there have always been reasons to be grateful.  Starry skies and wrinkled faces and freshly brewed coffee and food that is grown from dirt.  Sunrises and smiles and rain and deep conversations and laughter. 

Each and every day we wake up being given one of the greatest gifts: the gift of today.  It’s our decision how we choose to live it.  We can choose to trudge through each day, just trying to make it through.  Or we can choose to take advantage of every single minute that we are given and truly live.  To walk in the freedom and love that Christ has given us and accept all the grace and goodness that He hands us.  For Christ came that we may have life and have it to the fullest.  (John 10:10)

I just don’t want to wake up one day and realize that I have wasted moments in my “one wild and precious life.”  I want to live fully alive and grateful for all that I have been given.

So let’s wake up tomorrow with expectancy, shall we?  Expectancy for all that God is going to do and expectancy for all the joy to be found within that which is seemingly small.  Because I know that what we will find is a life full of love and awe and beauty and grace that has been given to us by the One who loved us before we ever entered this world.

So here’s to living with expectancy and eyes wide open to what God has for us in every moment.

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The little tree that is brightening up our living room :)

special.

Special doesn't even begin to describe yesterday.  Early in the morning, some incredible people came over to the house to visit.  I met these boys young men over five years ago when I came to the Dominican for the very first time.  It has been humbling and honoring to watch them grow up over the years and celebrate milestones with them.  They are talented men with huge hearts and I'm so thankful for the gift it is to live near them.  

Yesterday morning...
 

These pictures were taken in 2007... 

Look how young they WE were...

5 years later...

Jochi, Rafael, Leonel, Kelvin, & Argenis

...words just can't describe how special it was to see them.

lately.

Here's a little glimpse of what's been happening around here these days...

Our neighbors eating ice cream on our front porch.  They are awesome and crazy about playing cards and dancing dembow.

The four of us met Julie in Jarabacoa, an incredibly beautiful mountain town in the center of the country.  We spent two nights in an amazing hostel, complete with a fire place and front porch :) The church we went to met under a tent next to the river pictured above.  Jarabacoa was refreshing and good for the soul and we were all sad to leave.  

Cappuccinos!

 

 Emilee and I at a bakery we found in town.

Walking around near the hostel.

Beautiful :)

...

Spending the weekend in Jarabacoa was a much needed gift for all of us.  It was a few days full of laughter and good friends and coffee and church and mountains and cool weather.  I felt like God perfectly planned out that weekend for my heart.

The second we set foot back in Monte Cristi, we entered into one of the most draining weeks I have had here.  I'll spare you all the details, but needless to say, I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained.  I felt like I had nothing left to give.  Normally it's second nature for me to find joy in the little things... whether it's a smile or fresh juice or hot coffee or hearing someone's story... it's pretty easy for me to smile about the littlest of things and the biggest of victories.  But last week, I had to fight for that joy.  Fight to remember that I have so much to be thankful for.  Fight to remember all that the Lord has done and will continue to do.  Fight to see past the present moment and yet still be grateful for the present moment at the same time.  Fight for hope.

And then... our house flooded...

This was Thursday, when the rain first started.  We all thought it was crazy that the street flooded and that the water was rising into the garage.  We never imagined that the water level would keep rising and eventually flood the house.  Several hours later, the house was covered with a couple inches of water.  When the storm finally stopped and the water level went down, we all grabbed brooms and mops and swept all the water out of the house... finally finishing at 5 in the morning.

This is what our street looked like the next day... a muddy mess.

 

 Our neighbors playing in the water.

We never imagined that the second night would be worse than the first.  Once the rain started, the water level rose extremely fast.  We piled all of our belongings on our beds and simply waited it out until the almost knee high water started to go down again.

This was Friday night.  Needless to say, we spent all day Saturday cleaning the house... hearing word from the neighbors that the same thing would probably happen again that night.

 

Saturday night, thanks to some amazing friends, we blocked ourselves in the house with sand bags and cinder blocks, hoping and praying that the house wouldn't flood again.  While it rained Saturday night, it wasn't much, and we woke up to a completely dry house!

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It's hard to believe that a week ago we were in Jarabacoa.  Although I would never choose to do last week over again, God used the circumstances to remind me once again that this place is not my home and that possessions are merely things.  He has drawn me back again to a place of desperate dependence on Him because I surely couldn't make it without His sustaining grace and love.  So I'm resting in a deeper place of trust and living out of an overflow of His love and not my own.  

Mostly He's reminding me of the power of the Gospel and that hope will never cease to exist even in the most difficult of situations and hardest of hearts... because He makes all things new.  

...

And as far as the rain is concerned... the sun is finally out and we are about to get busy cleaning this house!

love does.

I just read this little gem...

If you haven't already read it, I would highly recommend picking yourself up a copy.  You won't regret it :)

The book is reminder to love deeply and to love well.  To fully engage in this beautiful life that we have been given.  That our words are powerful and that encouragement makes the world of a difference.  That I want to leak Jesus and love out of an overflow of what the Lord has done in my heart.

Here's a little bit of goodness from the book...

"He's asking us, 'Will you take what you think defines you, leave it behind, and let Me define who you are instead?'"

"There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I'm tempted to turn it down all the time.  I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does.  It doesn't come in an envelope.  It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen.  It's the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day.  Nobody turns down an invitation to the White House, but I've seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live."

...

And here is one of my favorite pictures from the week...

Carolina and Yazmin's little baby :)  He is absolutely precious!

full heart.

Sometimes I start feeling restless if I can't just jump in a car and drive somewhere with good music and a large cup of coffee.  It's a little more difficult living somewhere where I don't have a car and where, even if I did, I'd be scared half to death to actually drive it.  So yesterday, instead of hopping in a car with a large cup of coffee, I grabbed my ipod and caught a bus to Jaibon, a place that always has this special way of making my soul feel more alive.  

I sat in the kitchen with a dear friend while she made lunch for her family and I curled up in a chair with coffee in my favorite mug and we talked about life and what had happened the past couple of weeks.  I made the familiar walk up the long, dirt road that leads to the orphanage and hugged precious little ones that have stolen my heart and spent time with the older boys who have grown up so much and remembered a time I treasure when I used to live there too.  

And by the time I got back on the bus to head home, my heart felt so full.  I found myself staring out the bus window, with a smile on my face that I couldn't hide.  Some moments when things are really hard and I'm missing people from my other home, I forget how much of a gift it is to live here... but in other moments, I can't contain my smile because I'm so blessed to be here and walk through life with these incredible people.  So there I sat on the bus, all by myself, staring out the window, with a silly smile pasted on my face. 

And it was even more refreshing than my own car and a large cup of coffee.

...

Here's a glimpse of life around here...

 Ari, one of the twins, who has grown up SO much!  Ari's tooth has now grown in, so unless you know their personalities extremely well, it's even harder to tell them apart :)

One day last week school was dismissed early and all of our students ran out of the gates in one giant stampede.  This picture was taken after the running stopped :)

Coco sent us Starbucks packets to make pumpkin spice lattes... we were more than excited!

Carolina and I at the house.

Celebrating the birthdays of two very special women :)

Jochi

Jonel... trying to get Dobi to look at the camera.

...

Loving these words...

"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

Job 9:10

around here...

Friends from the completely opposite side of the island came to visit!


 Ari and Yessica... two incredibly special girls.

Ari... SO grown up!

We taught emotions at school last week... this is definitely the best "scared" face.

Francisco Javier :: our 2nd grade English class.

Ronny and Jose... Ronny's smile might be my favorite toothless grin right now :)