The Home Stretch

I can't believe it's almost been one year since I began my CPE Residency journey. I've made it to the home stretch, one week to go. Hopefully then I will have and make time to blog again. It's been quite the journey. I'm exhausted, excited, sad, and thrilled to be finishing up. I promised God one year of residency, now I'm wondering what HE has for me next. Soon I'll know, or at least continue on this journey that's ahead of me.

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!