Order & Efficiency

I go back to the place I've called home for 26 years tomorrow.  

Sioux Falls, I cannot wait to see you.

This is by far the longest I've ever been away from you, 

five months. 

Last time I was with my family we were enjoying a 

beautiful outdoor concert!

This time while I am with my family, 

it will look a little more like this…

Bring on the scarves, mittens, boots, down coats, and long johns!

I seriously cannot wait.

I know it won't be a perfect trip home,

I know I won't fit everything in,

I know I won't feel as rested as I long to,

I know it might feel weird.

But I do know it will be GOOD.  

Because God makes everything good,

and I trust Him.

So, in the name of order and efficiency...

[the motto of my home country]

I have created a detailed list of everything I desire to do stateside.

This way I will avoid spending the entire Christmas break

taking hot showers

& 

drinking mochas.

[although count me in on those once a day…]

2013 Christmas Break!

To Do:

McKennan Park . Ice Skate . Movies At Mom and Dad's 

GG Cards and Dancing at Kaia's . Cheap Seats Movie 

Hot Tub at Mom and Dad's . Shop . YL Girls Bible Study 

College Girls Day . Bake . Church . Massage . Hayward . Red Box  

To Eat:

Bagel Boy . Qdoba . Acoustic . Grille 26 . 5 Guys 

Noddles and Co . Coffea DT and Louise . Queen City . Panera 

Caribou . Scooters . Starbucks . Steamed Veggies

Meatloaf . Italian Sausage . Pancakes . Mexican 

To buy:

Rain Boots . Shoes . Starbucks VIA . Apple Chargers

External Hard Drive . Funky Fresh Shirt . Gift For DR Familia

Exercise Pants . Cardigan . Hair Blow Dryer 

*

I hope you have enjoyed following along on this journey these last few months.  I am able to be here serving because of my friends and family who support me prayerfully and financially.  If you are interested in joining that wonderful team, please let me know and I'd love to meet up with you (Skype or coffee) during my time in the States!  Please do not hesitate to ask.

*

Gracias a Dios

A few things I've been grateful for lately...

for late night chats with the girls in my jammies

and the thought of spending the day with them this Saturday!

for celebrations around the fireplace with my Jarabacoa YL family.

for hot showers and soaking up the simple life.

for breathtaking views that are oh-so-much more gorgeous when you are standing there.  

for winter pj pants, christmas movies, "Friends" in the morning, 

and slumber parties.  

for the unexpected blessing of tropical christmas lights.

for whole days spent at la panaderia and 

the feel of chilly rainy days.  

for the anticipation of spending Christmas at home 

with my family and friends, 

and tall, skinny, and pink Christmas trees.

for Christopher's thoughtful hugs and 

a work place that values doing more than just work together.  

for places to go see movies in English and

friends who save you seats.  

for the hard and beautiful days when I feel like 

the mess will never be clean again.

for chinola mousse, friends who laugh together, and 

a new Dominican shirt. 

for Liam getting his flirt on with Cinderella and 

birthday celebrations that wait for Auntie Morgan to get home.

[happy 2nd birthday Liam Bear!]

for pumpkin candles, kissing pictures, and a Faithful God.  

What have you been grateful for lately?  

Kaia came!

I have really lovely friends. 

Like REALLY lovely.

My friends, both here and there, love me and others well.

I am so blessed.

Kaia is one of those friends.

I lived with Kaia for 4 years before moving here.

I can honestly say, those were wonderful years.

I loved living with Kaia

& it was a extremely sad goodbye when I had to move out.  

She challenges me to know God in a deeper way.

She will forever be my friend

& that is an honor.

Ok, so moving on :)

She came

& we took pictures.

Mostly SHE took pictures,

but here are mine...

Clearly I'm excited.

My parents were also very happy I had her here for Thanksgiving.  

Kaia is so great at reading aloud!  

Seriously, you should ask her to read you something.

So my Dominican/Colombian family decided to move while Kaia was here!

Such a blessing to have Kaia here for that.

More of a blessing for me than her :)

[take note that the under side of my arm is still fully from South Dakota]

I believe Kaia slept in 4 different beds while she was here.  

This was our last night at my old house.

Doulos does Thanksgiving well.

All the staff gathers together on Thursday evening celebrate!

This is Camil being photobombed by Kaia :)

Our first night in my new house!

We went to the beach for a long weekend

& it was wonderful.

Sadly, I have only one picture to prove that because my iPod died.

Take my word for it…

there was good food, worship, and beach strolling.

Kaia surprised me with lots of fun things,

this Sioux Falls mug was definitely one of my favs. 

[10 days!]

After school chinola popsicle treat!

The kindergarten family totally fell in love with Miss Kaia!

Celebrating Kaia's birthday with a little dessert and laughter.

I love ya Kaia.

It was SUCH a huge blessing to have you here in the DR.

You, my friend, are a treasure.  

Tour [Kindergarten Insect Expedition]

 Where to start?  Where to start?…

As I've mentioned before, 

Doulos is an Expeditionary Learning School.

Every grade has different focuses…

The topics range from poetry to recycling to Rafael Trujillo.

It's pretty cool if you ask me :)

The kids dive into their theme for 6-10 weeks

and it all climaxes on Expedition Night.

The learning is celebrated and the knowledge is shared.

The Kindergarten Family has been 

exploring insects for the last 6 weeks.

It has been an adventure to say the least!

I've cried, laughed, sang, and cried some more :)

Wanna take a look-see at our insect adventure??

We began by "building our background knowledge" [bbk]

 We explored literature!  

We examined pretend insects and drew what we saw.

We played with plastic insects and used clay to create our own!

 This was our original word splash for everything we knew about bugs.

I'm humbled to say, they know much more now.

God is good, and He works through my weakness.

Here is where things get crazy… and awesome.

EL is all about getting out into the field.  

Hands on, get dirty, camp, experience life.

It's good. 

But hard.

As a teacher, you have to let go

and let them lead the learning.  

[above is a picture of the kids exploring and searching

 for bees near the back of the Doulos campus]

We learn from real life experts!

This is Mr. Chad who is a bee expert.  

Chad has bees up the mountain and sells organic honey!

 Next we jumped into 2 large vans and headed to the butterfly farm at Rancho Baiguate.

It was so fun to watch the butterflies flutter around our heads!

The employees did such a wonderful job walking us through 

the life cycle of beautiful butterflies.  

[sidenote: while studying butterflies my kiddos learned the word

"beautiful" and they LOVE using it every chance they get]

jaw-dropping field experience in November :)

The last few days of our expedition were filled with 

final preparations and creating.  

Every student designed an insect costume using cardboard boxes.

Miss Kaia was the lead designer :) 

Thank you thank you thank you Miss Kaia.

On Expedition Night family, friends, and community members

gather at Doulos to be a part of the learning and celebration!

Butterflies, Bees, and Ladybugs were all present :)

The Kindergarten Family shared their new insect wisdom,

2 English songs, and 1 Spanish song.

But most importantly they shared their 5 tips on how to prevent Dengue,

a sickness spread by mosquitos.

It was a beautiful night I won't soon forget.

And after the long weeks come to an abrupt halt

the staff gathers at Pica Pollo [a classy chicken joint down the street]

to celebrate finishing well!  

If you support me in prayer, finance, or encouraging words

please accept my deepest thanks.

This WOULD NOT be possible without you.

This wasn't just an expedition about insects,

it's a journey in changing the world.  

Thank you for being part of it.

Gracias a Dios

I have so much to be thankful for...

for friendships that span all aspects of life 

&

after school strolls for ice cream and chinola juice 

for moto trips to the beautiful campo 

&

new friends who make life a little sweeter

for fall smells

&

relaxing nights at home

for coffee cupping during my planning time

&

homemade honey with stingers

for thoughtful gifts from my kiddos

&

my mama's loving heart

     for Expeditionary Learning 

&

a beautiful classroom 

 for Christmas craft time with thoughtful friends

&

hot chocolate with whip cream and Elf

for beautiful friends who inspire me

&

the chance to celebrate Chad, Krista, and the dream of Doulos

It's Thanksgiving week friends!

What are you thankful for?