Summer Fun

Chris and I recently returned from the Dominican Republic where we celebrated our 6th anniversary (1 week early) and also celebrated our friend's Jason and Stephani's wedding on June 10, 2011.
It was a beautiful beach wedding in Puerto Plata, DR. It was a fun week of gathering with old college friends, telling stories, laughing, lounging, and simply having a good time. While we were there we went to the 27 Falls National Park, and hiked up to the top of the falls and then jumped and slided down to the bottom. It was so much fun!! Definitely one of the ways I love to vacation.

While we were there we also got to meet up with our friend Jessica Ensing, who is now teaching English at a Christian School in Jarabaoca, DR. The picture below was taken at Jimenoa Falls 2. We had a great time meeting up with Jess and learning about the many awesome things God is doing in her life. I feel like it's rare that I get the chance to see how God has been at work in the lives of my former youth group students as they have gone off to college, graduated, and taken new adventures in their lives. I am blessed to continue to have Jessica in my life and see how God is using her to touch the lives of others.
It was definitely an adventure for Chris and I to get to Jarabaoca to see Jess. It was a 2.5 hour bus and taxi ride from Puerto Plata, and our Spanish was a bit rusty! But thankfully we made it and felt like we really got a chance to see the country side of the Dominican Republic... something we didn't really get to see while staying in Puerto Plata.

All in all we had a fun adventure together. It was the first time we had left Malia with her Grandma Nelson, and Great grandma Yuriko, but even she had a fun mini vacation at home without mom and dad. It was great to get away, but we sure missed Malia!

So now we are home. No major trips planned for the remainder of the summer. I have two months left of my CPE residency so I continue to pray that God will keep me going strong so I can finish well. It's been a crazy but rewarding year in many ways. Obviously I have not blogged much about it... hmmm... between motherhood, and full time work, it has been a tough year. God has given me a lot of insight as to the direction of ministy He is calling me, and I've learned a lot about myself in the process. But I'll save those thoughts for another day!

Malia's Room

We finally finished decorating Malia's bedroom. At lest for the most part... we still have to paint over the white spots that we covered some holes with... and then we'll be done! But in the meantime Malia loves the look of her room and so do we! We had so much fun decorating it and we were so thankful that Uncle Andrew could help us finish painting!

CPE Residency

I am officially a Chaplain Resident at the Penrose - St. Francis Health System. That means I'm a chaplain at Penrose Hospital (pictured below) and at St. Francis Medical Center. So far my first week of work has been filled with orientation and lots of technical things that come with training in a new facility. Next week I will be on rotations and able to visit with patients again, which I am very excited about!

Beginning this new job has been both exciting and somewhat sad. Exciting because it's a ministry that I love, but sad because I no longer spend my days playing with Malia. Thankfully we are all adjusting to this new time. Malia has done amazing at our friend Bridget's house (she spends four days a week there) and she had a great first day at the Hope Academy Montessori School (one day a week). When I picked her up from Hope Academy the teacher told me she did great and was so happy throughout the day. Before we left she was already making new friends and sharing the book she had in front of her with another little kid. The picture below is Malia sitting at the table in her little chair.

I definitely had a much harder time leaving her at the school than she had with us leaving. When we left she was already climbing on the stair structure and exploring the new things around her. Although she's doing great, I think it will still take her a little time to fully adjust. In September my rotation time is from 1:00pm - 9:30pm at St. Francis Medical Center, so I'm thankful that I will be able to spend the mornings with Malia, but sad that I won't be home for her bedtime. Chris has already said they will come eat at the hospital cafeteria with me for dinner some evenings! So I'm already looking forward to those evenings.

I really feel blessed to be starting this year of residency. I know there will be tough moments both in the ministry and in adjustments to my home life, but I feel confident that this is where God desires me to be. I am thankful for all He has done to get me this far, and pray He will continue to strengthen me, lead me, and even carry me in my weaknesses. I know God will show me amazing things during this year of residency.

Malia's Ouwie

On Tuesday Malia took her first bad fall. She was at our friends house playing with her girls when she tripped on the sidewalk and fell on her face. She bloodied up her nose a bit, but thankfully she was fine. When Chris and I arrived to pick her up, her nose was all red and scraped up. I told her maybe she could help Rudolph this year since her nose was so red, but that it would probably be healed up by then. Below is a picture of her first ouwie on her nose.

Luisa's Visit

This past week my old college roommate and good friend Luisa came to visit us. It's been 5 years since we saw her last, two of those years she worked with the Peace Corps and lived in Turkmenistan. It was so fun to see her, get caught up, and talk for hours. I loved that she finally got to meet Malia, and Malia was super excited to meet her as well.

One of the days we went to Garden of the Gods, and another day we hiked Ute Valley Park. All in all it was a relaxing time getting outdoors, talking about old times and future plans! Hopefully next time Chris, Malia, and I will get a chance to visit Luisa and her husband Steve in Washington D.C.

Goodbye Breckenridge

Our last morning of vacation was spent packing up, eating breakfast, and taking one last walk out by our little creek. Malia played hard every day on vacation from the time she got up in the morning until she fell asleep at night. Here is a short video of the sleepy Malia just before her morning nap time as she climbs off the stool she had just climbed up onto.

Breckenridge Day 3

Day three in Breckenridge was our day of playing by the water. The condo we stayed in backed up to Sawmill Creek. So we decided to hike the path alongside the creek. It was a beautiful shaded path along the creek with lots of beaver dams to look at... although again we didn't see any beavers. Along the way we stopped to play. Malia loved playing in the water!

This is Malia standing beside the creek, although I realize that you can't see the creek in this picture.

Of course Malia had to work on her jump shots too!

Here is Malia and Chris playing in the creek. Malia giggled so loud. She loved hanging above the water and splashed her hands in it every time she got close to the water.

Finally Chris decided to dunk her head in! She loved it! Her head was nice and wet on the top. She didn't want to stop playing. As we continued to hike up the trail we eventually came to a reservoir. The views of the mountain were breathtaking. We decided to take a little break again to play in the water.

This time we decided to take Malia's clothes off her just in case she wanted to get really wet. But she enjoyed playing in the gravel alongside the water and getting her hands and feet wet. At first we didn't know if she would want to play, but it wasn't until we decided it was time to leave that she decided to protest that decision. Thankfully once we started hiking again she decided to quit crying.

One fun thing about Malia's backpack is the little "rear view mirror." It's fun to be able to look in the mirror to see her, and she loves to look into the mirror as well.

After we finished our hike we rested a little and then went back into town for dinner and playtime by the river. Chris took Malia down to get her feet wet, but by this time of day I think it was too cold for her to play. Right as her feet hit the water, she climbed up the rocks to get out. So that was the end of our evening in town.