Tag Archives: Life
Tiny Dancer
19 Feb
Look at this 4-year old sugar pie! Kyah’s class held a dance recital in December. I couldn’t wait to see it and I wasn’t disappointed. She was fantastic! Her teacher is superb and so good at teaching skill and technique. Unfortunately, we have moved farther south and added 30 minutes each way to the dance lesson commute. It might sound silly (and it probably is in the grand scheme of life), but please pray that we can find a new dance class closer to our new home. Since returning from the states Ky asks on a daily basis when dance class is and I haven’t had the heart to tell her she isn’t going back to that studio. It would crush her.
A lot of parents sign their child up for dance class because it’s cute to watch them in their little leotard. We have taken classes, in the states and Costa Rica, and watched parents peel their child off and give them a love shove to go through the door. Not the case with us. There is just no denying the joy of dancing in the life of my sweet girl. She dances wherever we are. In a store, the airport, at school, in the park, or at home, it doesn’t make an ounce of difference. While we’re waiting to pay at the grocery store she’ll hear a tune and can’t keep herself from jazzing up the place a bit. I’m definitely not a “Dance Mom” (what the heck is wrong with those women?!), but I love to watch my girl dance. She’s a natural.
Her teacher gave them all a certificate and flowers. She was stoked!
No excuses. No regrets.
12 FebOur time back in the states flew by. We were blessed with 5 weeks between SJO-DEN-DFW , DFW-ICT, ICT-ARK- and ICT-DFW-DEN-SJO. There is never enough time to spend with the people you cherish. A wonderful family from our home church allowed us to borrow their car while we were in Kansas and we cannot thank them enough. There are so many selfless, giving people in this world and we were beyond blessed. We are now back in the groove of the life we left on pause to be refueled by so much love from home.
A year is an incredibly long time in the life of a child and an elderly person and both of these things were brought to my attention in my time back. My grandparents, whom I adore with my whole heart, have really aged over the last year….really since our big move in 2010. I treasure every single moment I am able to spend with them knowing that the next time could be completely different. The differences in Kyah since our last visit to the states are remarkable. She is at such an awesome stage and I just want time to slow down and be able to breathe in every second of her being. She brings so much joy to our life and we can’t wait to bring another bundle of fun into our family soon. It was wonderful to share our joy and excitement with friends and family in person instead of over skype.
Since a ridiculous length of time has passed since I last posted, and my main goal with this blog is to collect a few memories before they are forgotten (and to keep the grandmas happy), I’m going to document our time in the states with pictures. Here is a snapshot of our last few months.
Kyah's note to Santa. 
Christmas morning
THIS is what makes you the best Gigi in the world!
Chase and Kyah (& Frenchie) had lots of time to play together! Little buddies.
Meeting up with more cousins!
We won't show this pic to my brother.
NYE firecrackers with the fam
At the Alley with the Johnsons.
Her favorite friend, Owen!
She was pretty stoked on her clothes matching her doll.
Look at this picture! If your mouth doesn't start instantly watering something is wrong with you. Love me some Grandy's.
Reunited and it feels so good! We miss our big guy every day.
Grandma Texas (as Kyah calls her) had an endless supply of cake pops.
Frenchie visiting the states for the very first time!
After accepting the fact that EVERYBODY (even little girls) have to wear the blue coats, she was ready for the 9 degree Shrek ice tour.
Everything is made of ice.
Once you can get past his sweet gangsta face you will notice he is using Ky's coat to keep his hands warm. It was that cold!
This was one of the many ice slides they had inside.
K went down this with Big Daddy a few times and then she wanted to go solo. She is sooooo much like her daddy! Scared. Of. Nothing.
Her favorite face to make when taking pictures with mommy. Silly girl!
The wait for Santa at the Gaylord was long, so we went exploring. She saw the sled and just had to get a picture!
Such a poser.
Christmas in Texas!
Jackpot
3 DecI’m pretty sure I won the lottery of life. I get to share my days with the funniest, cutest, most sincere and enjoyable people I know. I get to love them and they love me back. Life is not always easy, but it is always good. I am one blessed, blessed little momma.
Amigos
12 NovIn our small barrio we have met some of the most wonderful people. People we will stay connected with throughout the remainder of our lives. We have developed true friendships – the kind where they just pop up at your house to hang out – no invitation needed. We had friends like that in the states (and we miss them like crazy!), but here it has been more difficult to find heart friends. Why? At first we didn’t know Spanish well, so that was an obvious barrier. I also think being here as “missionaries” put a flashing light above our heads. It’s unfortunate, but many missionaries will enter a place and try to convince people they need to become more like them. i.e. wear certain clothes and don’t wear others, fix your hair a certain way, do this, but don’t do that. We have always had the mentality that God would change the things that need changed and we are going to live a transparent, authentic life.
Some of our new friends live just a few houses away. Robert and Cody both have a love for fishing and he was the first one to invite Cody to hunt lobsters at night with a water pistol. Swimming with crocodiles and/or sharks at night would freak me out, but not Cody. I love my manly man. As you may or may not know, I also love to fish. One of the many things that Cody loved about me when we first met. Haha! Many women don’t fish and I don’t enjoy being the “only female” so I usually stay behind. Luckily, Robert’s wife Rudy is a fisherwoman. So, as couples (with our small daughters) we get to hang out and fish every once in a while. Then we usually have a big dinner and enjoy the day’s catch.
- Kyah and Ester ready to roll.
We took the boat down a back river that comes off the ocean. These trees lined both sides of almost the entire thing.
One of Cody's fish.
Robert cleaning some of the fish. We caught 11 that day!
FINALLY getting to swim!
Who’s been here?
