Home for the Holidays: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And this Thanksgiving was extra special because it was our very first year to celebrate in our own home! When living in the U.S., we typically traveled to visit family over the Thanksgiving holiday. The year we lived in Oregon, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner for both sides of our family, but because our group was so large, we had it in the fellowship hall of the Eastside Church of Christ. And when we lived overseas, Thanksgiving was usually a big potluck that we celebrated with other Americans. I have such fond memories of our first 3 Thanksgivings as a married couple, in Mito, Japan -- Americans and English-speakers packing into the Mito Church along with our favorite holiday dishes and spending the whole day eating, watching movies, scrapbooking, playing games, and just hanging out. And while I love large gatherings, I really enjoyed the intimacy of being able to host a smaller group in our home this year.

We invited Josh and Julie and Kent and Sharla (and their families of course!) to join us for Thanksgiving this year, and at the last minute, our party swelled to include a fellow missionary from Cuenca who was in town to pick up some visitors later that day, and an American pilot who just happened to be in Quito over Thanksgiving and didn't want to spend the day alone in his hotel room. It was a lovely day, filled with fellowship and good conversation, delicious food, and a Thanksgiving devotional. I ended the day exhausted but with a full belly and a full heart.

A few pictures:

No Thanksgiving is complete without football!

The kids worked busily on their Thanksgiving placemat activity sheets.

The Thanksgiving table. There was so much good food that we overflowed to the piano bench and the card table! And I think there were 7 different kinds of pie for dessert!

A time of singing and prayer after the meal.

Our Thanksgiving Tree. Everyone who came was required to place at least one leaf on the tree -- or they didn't get any pie (for real!).

The leaves had verses of Scripture on one side, with the other side blank to write something you were thankful for. Free printable here. This is the third year we have done a Thanksgiving tree and it is such a meaningful tradition. Our tree stays up during the entire month of December, to remind us of all we have to be thankful for.

Home for the Holidays: Halloween

This past year, for the first time, we celebrated the entire holiday season, from Halloween through New Year's in our own home. What made it doubly special was that it was our first time to celebrate the holidays in Ecuador. We were able to continue some traditions as well as start some new ones. Here's a little peek into how we celebrated Halloween (posts coming about Thanksgiving and Christmas as well):

We have started meeting monthly with other Operation Ecuador missionaries for a time of worship and fellowship. Rusty and I hosted October's "Praise and Potluck." In addition to the meal and the devotional, we decided to plan some fun Halloween-type activities for the kids. We invited them all to come in costume and let them trick-or-treat in the house by stationing adults with candy behind closed doors. Rusty also built a totally cool box maze, using old cardboard boxes from our move. The kids had the best time in it!

The maze took up all of our school-room, plus most of the hallway

Benjamin loved playing in the maze!

English devotional

All the kids, ready to trick-or-treat

A couple of days before Halloween, we carved some jack-o-lanterns. Round, orange pumpkins are not to be had in Ecuador, but Rusty found 3 big green ones at a little green grocer near our church. We carved them up for Halloween, and then later, I baked and pureed them so we would have pumpkin for holiday baking. On Halloween night, we made pizza and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special. I made cheese and ham pizza for the boys, but I used roasted pumpkin and red onion on ours, and it was really yummy! (I have been cooking my way through a book called 1 Crust, 100 Pizzas, and this was a recipe from there.)

Alex helping me carve the pumpkin

The finished product

The other pumpkin we carved. I needed a design that allowed me to carve out a big rotten spot in the side, and this is what I came up with!

I wasn't expecting very many (if any) trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, so we weren't really prepared for the inundation of children. Rusty had to run to the store to buy candy, while I turned kids away and told them to come back in an hour. I was pretty embarrassed, but I guess I'll know better next year, and they didn't seem to mind. We actually had more trick-or-treaters here at this house than we've ever had anywhere in the U.S.! When Rusty got home, the boys put on their costumes and he took them trick-or-treating up and down our street. Who would have thought they would get to trick-or-treat while living in Ecuador?

Soothing

That's the word that comes to mind when I think back on the Continent Care Connection (CCC) Conference that I attended in October . CCC is put on each year by Great Cities Ministries, one year for the women, the next year for the men. This year, it was my turn to go to Brazil and spend a week on a beautiful beach near São Paulo, and Rusty's turn to stay home with the three boys. I'm thankful that Rusty recognized my need for this week away (probably more than I did, actually), and encouraged, no insisted that I go, even though the cost, what with the plane tickets and the visa, was much more than we had anticipated.

I have not been away by myself for more than a night since 2004 when Rusty sent me to a scrapbooking conference as part of my birthday present. Since kids came along, we have been able to get away together for a night or two to celebrate our anniversary almost every year, but it has been a long time since I have gone somewhere alone for an extended length of time. Certainly not since I had children. So it was soothing to just be me for a few days, to not have to think about anyone else's needs or the demands of life, ministry, educating my kids, running a household, learning another language. Sometimes I almost feel like I'm losing myself in what life and my small children require of me, so it was nice to be able to step back from all that for a little while and find the "me" beneath all those externals.

All week long, my senses were soothed by warm ocean breezes, pounding waves, barefoot walks on the beach, birdsong, the familiar, lilting sounds of Portuguese, delicious food that I didn't have to cook, and the skilled hands of a massage therapist. The CCC team who facilitated the conference included two licensed massage therapists, and every participant was treated to a half-hour massage. I swear it was the shortest 30 minutes of my life! They also pampered us with two gifts each day of the conference -- everything from books and music to fun lotions and jewelry -- and snacks and treats from the U.S.

And my soul was soothed by beautiful seasons of praise and worship (in English!), the blessing of new friendships, the comfort and clarity I found in talking things over with a counselor (and with my sister), and the reassurance that I am not alone in my struggles. There was extended time set aside for silence and solitude each day, and I spent a lot of time writing! Writing is cathartic for me, so this in itself was extremely soothing.

I'm thankful for the nourishment and refreshment that this week provided me, both physically and spiritually. Times like these are so important for missionaries, and I am grateful for all who make the CCC Conference possible each year, whether through their financial support, or serving as part of the Care Team, or through the hours spent in planning and preparation. This matters. This is important. Thank you.

A few pictures below:

A hug from Dottie Schulz

Worshipping God with my sisters

Writing

My Connection Group

So glad I got to experience this with my sister. We were even roommates!

Happy New Year!

I'm over here today, on my brand new blog, Writing Project 365.

Don't worry, I still plan to continue posting updates on life and ministry here at the Campbell Chronicles -- I have several posts in the works right now, actually! But I've been feeling the need to "stretch my wings" a bit more in my writing, and this new blog is where I'll be doing that. Additionally, I wanted to take up the challenge of writing a few minutes each day for an entire year!

Come on over and read my first post for January 1, 2013. I'd love to have you follow along as I "write my way" through 2013.

A Visit from the Fords

At the end of September, we were blessed by a visit from Craig and Jeri Ford and their family. The Fords are good friends from our Harding Grad days and have been serving as missionaries in Papua New Guinea for the past six years. They recently transitioned out of that, moved back to the States, and are now living in Wyoming. For the past several months, while they have been "in between homes," they have been literally traveling around the world. We were so thankful that they made Ecuador one of their stops! It really was great to see them again after so many years. The Fords had the honor of being our very first overnight guests in our new home (although, I'm not sure how much of an honor that really was, since we were still getting things in order)! They were very gracious, though, and we enjoyed having them around. Alex and Stephen enjoyed making some new friends and keep asking when Hannah, Caleb, and Elizabeth are going to come back and play. I just tell them I think it's our turn now to visit the Fords!

Highlights of the Fords' visit included:

A day trip to soak and play in the termas (hot springs) at Papallacta...

Going to the Mitad del Mundo...

Dinner at our house with the Marcums...

And a trip out to Kumanii (actually, just Rusty, Alex, Craig, and Hannah went -- Jeri and I stayed home with the younger kids)

Thanks for coming to see us, Ford family!

Ben's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Benjamin's first birthday in mid-September. Our container had arrived a little less than a month prior, so we had been unpacking and organizing for about a month at that point. We were able to host his party in our own home, around our own table (actually, a table that belonged to Rusty's grandmother), eating food off our own dishes, and that was a good feeling! Ben also got to wear the "First Birthday" hat that both Alex and Stephen wore at their first birthday parties. I don't know why, but this was really important to me!

We kept things pretty simple as parties go: the Marcums were our only guests; we ate dinner, had cupcakes for dessert, took all the obligatory photos, and collected a few items for Ben's first birthday time capsule -- in keeping with tradition! Here are a few pictures:

Ben in his birthday hat. He wasn't too keen to wear it and kept taking it off, so this was the best picture we could manage!

Yum! Cupcake!

All the cousins... and you can see how our living room is starting to take shape

Musings on Life... and Death

I have been silent for awhile, I know. I'd like to use the excuse that I've just been too busy, and while life has been pretty hectic and crazy these last couple of months, being busy isn't entirely to blame for my neglect of this space. When weeks and months go by between postings, it's usually because I'm at a loss for words. Yes, really. I've always found it easier to express myself in writing, but lately, I've struggled to give voice to what's on my heart -- or maybe, more accurately, I don't know if it's okay to share what's on my heart. Because this blog is public, and we encourage not only our friends and family to follow along, but also our supporters, and anyone with an interest in our work, I find myself engaged in an internal censoring process when I blog. Politics? Probably not the best topic for a missionary blog, even though I have my opinions, just like everyone else! But beyond the obvious no-no's, I often wonder... is it okay for a missionary to admit in a public space such as this that she has fears? Doubts? That at times she feels sad or lonely or that she can never quite measure up?

Even as I write these words, I know the answer. Yes, of course it is alright for a missionary to admit these things. We are only human after all. We aren't some super-spiritual breed of human beings. We struggle in the same ways that every Christian struggles -- with our pride and with our selfish human nature. But old habits die hard... I think I will always feel the pressure (largely self-inflicted) to present myself as stronger, more capable, more sure of myself than I really am. And so I typically stick to blogging about "safe" topics like what the kids have been up to, or a recent trip we've taken, or how we celebrate the holidays. But every once in awhile, something will happen that will nudge me to write in a way that's more internally focused. This is one of those times. And maybe that's why it's taken me so long to get it out. It's easy to slap up a few pictures, write a few newsy anecdotes, and call it good. It's much more difficult to write reflectively and vulnerably.

In the last couple of months, and actually within about two weeks of each other, two faithful servants of God went to their eternal reward. The first was Laura Reppart, long-time missionary to Kenya, and mother to one of my very dearest childhood friends. I knew her as "Aunt Laura," even though we were not related by blood (actually, I am now vaguely remembering that our family is somehow very distantly related to the Repparts!). This is how it is on the mission field: your teammates become your "family." In many ways, the Repparts were more "family" to me than my actual relatives in the U.S., who I rarely saw and always struggled to connect with. Laura died of a brain tumor, similar to the one that claimed my mother-in-law's life over 6 years ago now. As I followed her story via her Caring Bridge site, I often felt like I was reliving that awful time, due not only to all the technical similarities in how the disease progressed and manifested itself, but also to the emotions described by her children in the updates they posted. It was heart-breaking... and yet it was also a beautiful thing to see how her family gathered around her and lovingly and tenderly cared for her during her final weeks and days.

Laura passed away on October 23. Just a little over 2 weeks later, Ryan Woods died, also of cancer, though a different type. I did not know Ryan well, but we have many mutual friends and acquaintances and I have been following his blog and praying for him ever since I learned of his diagnosis last spring. He and his wife and 2 small children were part of a thriving, incarnational ministry among the people of Vancouver, WA, and they made a conscious decision to invite people into their story as they walked the cancer road -- a road filled with pain, difficult questions, and heart-wrenching decisions. And they did this with truly admirable grace and authenticity.

Death has a funny way of forcing you to step back from the minutiae that typically consume your days and evaluate your life from a big-picture perspective. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the generosity of The Hills Church in Dallas, I was able to view a livestream of Laura Reppart's memorial service all the way from Ecuador. It was a beautiful tribute to a life well-lived, a life that brought honor to the King, and as I sat watching the slide show of pictures that closed out the service with tears streaming down my face, I remember thinking, I wonder what they'll say about me? Will my children, my husband "rise up and call me blessed" as Laura's did? What is the legacy I'll leave behind? How will I be remembered? How do I want to be remembered?

When Ryan passed away, the self-examination took a bit of a different form because Ryan was my age (actually, several years younger), with kids close to the same ages as my own. So I found myself wondering, How would I handle the knowledge that I was dying? Would my faith stand strong? Would I be able to continue to minister to people as he did, even in the midst of battling a terminal illness? I also thought a lot about things from the perspective of his wife, Jessica: What must it have been like to watch her husband, her soul-mate, her life partner waste away before her eyes? Could I have found the strength to tenderly care for him for those weeks and months? To help my children understand what was happening? To take care of all of the details of life and of running a household when my husband was too sick to help out?

I think more than anything, the death of someone who has really made a difference with their life, as both Laura and Ryan did, makes you stop and consider whether or not you are doing anything eternally significant with your own life. And that's what it all boils down to, all my ponderings and musings over the last several weeks: I want my life to matter. When I come to the end of it, I want it to have meant something.

For more of Laura's story:

• Read the write-up in the York College Heritage Magazine (on page 16).
• Visit the Caris Foundation website

For more of Ryan's story:

• Watch The Ryan Woods Story
• Watch My Last Days: Meet Ryan Woods by Soul Pancake
• Read the news article in The Columbian.
• View the news story on KOIN 6 News.

Click here if you would like to help the Woods family. There are still a few days left!

The First Year

Just one year, but so, so many changes:

September 1, 2011 - 5 days old (Lisbon, Portugal)

And one year, two international moves, and three continents later...

September 3, 2012 - 1 year, 1 week old (Quito, Ecuador)

Happy first birthday, sweet little Benjamin!

Top Ten: Container Day

Almost four weeks ago, our container finally made it to Quito, exactly 4 months and 5 days after we ourselves arrived in the country! Four months isn't that long to wait, really (in comparison, the Angola Team waited nearly 7 months for their container), but honestly, there were times when that wait seemed interminable! I think because we just never really knew right up until the very end, how much longer we were going to have to wait for it! It seemed there were little hang-ups and delays at almost every point along the way. But our things are here now, and we are so thankful, and of course so busy with the work of unpacking and settling into our home.

I'll write more about our whole experience with shipping our things across the world later, but for now, I just wanted to share a few pictures of our "Container Day," August 18th, 2012:

This first picture was actually taken a couple of days before, when the container was still in port in Guayaquil. Rusty traveled down to Guayaquil, along with our customs broker, to clear the container through customs.

Rusty is waiting to cut the seal on the container so they can open it up for the inspection.

After the container had cleared customs and all fees had been paid, our customs broker arranged for a truck to bring it to Quito. This picture was taken the night before the container arrived. We were giddy with excitement -- I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve!

How our house looked the night before the container arrived -- bare and empty!

Finally, August 18th arrived. And so did the truck with the container!

About 6:30 a.m. -- it's here!

Rusty built this ramp to make it easier to carry things off the truck. Later, he used the wood to build himself a workbench for his workshop.

We had a great group of helpers from the EQEB who worked tirelessly from about 8:30 to 11:30 to unload everything. Josh was there, too. Julie helped out by taking the older boys to her house for the morning so they wouldn't be underfoot.

Benjamin and I helped, too! We made breakfast for the driver and his helper, who had been driving all night and were hungry. I also directed traffic in the house, and after Ben went to sleep, I helped carry things off the truck.

The last item to come off the truck was my piano. It was a team effort!

A FULL house -- quite a contrast from the night before!

Since the container arrived, we have been busy unpacking, organizing, and trying to find a place for everything. The boys are eager to help, of course!

Benjamin "helping" Daddy put together furniture!

It's fun to play in the packing paper!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I made the comment to Rusty this morning that "The light at the end of the tunnel of transition is growing ever brighter." This was in reference to our container, which is due to arrive on our doorstep bright and early tomorrow morning! It is hard to believe that by this time tomorrow evening, our empty house will be full of our things and we can begin making it feel like home. I don't mean to suggest that the arrival of the container will bring an end to the process of transition, but it will sure go a long way to helping me feel settled and in a more permanent place, which I desperately, desperately need right now.

In some ways, it feels like the last 6 years have been one long transition, from the time we left Japan in 2006 and returned to Oregon to take care of Rusty's mom until now. We were settled in our own home in Memphis for a little less than a year and a half while Rusty finished grad school, but at the end of 2008, we packed up most of our things and then made a series of temporary moves -- to Michigan, to Nashville, then to Portugal, then back to Michigan. When we were in Nashville, we lived in a house provided by the church, but even then, we only unpacked what we needed to live comfortably. We didn't spend a lot of time decorating... we didn't even hang curtains! So some of what we'll be unpacking starting tomorrow we haven't seen in almost 4 years, since before Stephen was born! Crazy...

I'm anxious to begin "making my nest," to sleep on my own bed again, to do my laundry in my own house, to cook with my own pots and pans on my American-size stove. I'm looking forward to doing some scrapbooking again, to hanging pictures on the walls, to surrounding myself with visual reminders of people and places near and dear to us. Rusty is excited about having all his tools at arm's reach again and making coffee in his Starbucks coffee pot. The kids of course are excited about seeing their toys. Alex kept asking me all day about specific toys, like his light saber and his collection of plastic dragons. They have been getting pretty bored with the few toys we brought with us in our luggage. Some of the toys we'll be unpacking Stephen has never even seen or played with. I'm sure it will seem like Christmas to them!

Okay, it's going to seem like Christmas to all of us!

The Eleventh Month

Benjamin is now 11 months old. In just a couple of weeks, we'll be celebrating his first birthday. It's pretty surreal to me. His first year has passed in a blur of packing and moving internationally (not just once, but twice), changing direction, saying goodbye, road trips, fundraising, language study, and more. We've packed more into the last year than most people do in five. And Ben has been a part of it all, and mostly blessedly oblivious to the fact that his world is completely unsettled and his mother is a basket case.

Ben now has 6 teeth, 3 on the bottom and 3 on the top. The top 3 teeth all came in within a few days of each other, but he didn't seem that bothered by them this time, in comparison to when he cut his first two teeth. He is active and curious and quite the little explorer. He has finally figured out how to go down stairs backwards, which means he can go up and down from our living room (which is set down two steps from the rest of the house) safely. He has also discovered the bathroom and loves to play in the toilet (gross!) or unroll the toilet paper all over the floor. I am trying to train my family to keep the bathroom doors closed, but every now and then, one will get left open and Benjamin will find his way in there.

He is sleeping through the night (finally!), but I usually have to get up once or twice in the night to help him find his paci. No nighttime feedings anymore, though! He is still taking two naps a day, but I have been wondering lately if he is showing signs of being ready to transition to one. Both Alex and Stephen transitioned to one nap a day when they were around a year old, so maybe it's time for Benjamin.

Ben babbles a lot, says things like "ma-ma" and "da-da" and "ba-ba," but I'm not sure if he is associating the sounds with things yet, or just making noise. We are trying to teach him a few baby signs like "more" and "all done." He waves bye-bye, claps his hands, and has started giving kisses, which basically means that he butts his forehead up against your cheek. It's precious. He is cruising and sometimes standing briefly on his own, but he has yet to take his first steps. I think it will be soon, though!

I'm hoping our container gets here soon so we can celebrate his first birthday in style at the end of the month!

Summer Learning

Back in May, I officially began homeschooling. I packed the first half (six weeks worth) of our phonics and reading program in our luggage, thinking that surely by the time we got through it, our container would be here with the remaining materials. HA! Here we are, nearly four months after arriving in Ecuador, and we are still waiting on the container -- although the good news is that it is now sitting in Guayaquil, so all we have to do is clear it through customs and get it here to Quito. Needless to say, we completed the first half of the phonics and reading program several weeks ago, but learning has continued while we wait for the rest of the curriculum to arrive. Here's a little of what we've been up to:

Rusty and I started Spanish lessons again. We ended up hiring a private tutor to come to our house because it was just easier than traveling back and forth to a school and trying to figure out the childcare. Our tutor has a daughter who is a Spanish teacher for children. She agreed to teach the boys for a few weeks while she was on her summer break. She always came prepared with fun games, crafts, and yummy snacks:

I used the Fourth of July to teach a little about American independence and the design of the U.S. flag. We made this handprint/footprint flag, as well as patriotic wands and patriotic Rice Crispy treats. Then we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows in our fireplace and watched fireworks on the Internet. Here are the boys showing off all their Independence Day creations:

Rusty took a trip to Kumanii in July to spend some time with the evangelists and see the progress being made on the new meeting hall. He took Alex with him, and they had a great time! Flexibility is one of the oft-touted advantages to home schooling, and for us, it will mean that the kids and I will get to join Rusty more often when he goes out to the jungle than we would if we were locked into a traditional school's schedule.

On the river

Alex and his friend Joscar watching the roof going up

Also in July, we enjoyed a three-day weekend in the town of Papallacta with several other homeschooling families we've recently connected with here in Quito. We played games, ate lots of yummy food, and spent time getting to know each other. And we of course we enjoyed the termas (hot springs)! I didn't take very many pictures this weekend, but here are a couple of the boys at the termas:

Alex and his friend Micah

Stephen

The last few days, we have been following the Olympics pretty closely. Alex is old enough this year to understand what it's all about and to enjoy cheering on the athletes. I found lots of great ideas for crafts and games related to the Olympics on the Internet, so I have been trying to do some of those with the boys over the last few days. On the day of the Opening Ceremonies, we made flags of all the countries we have either lived in or traveled to since 2006 (the year Alex was born). There are 12 in all (if you count Gibraltar) -- how is that even possible? The boys enjoyed coloring the flags and then waving them during the opening ceremonies. Alex is now able to recognize most of the flags and their countries when he sees them on the TV.

And finally, we have done a little book work. While in the States, I bought this Brain Quest Kindergarten workbook from Costco, and we worked on a few pages at a time until he finished it. Now, we are working on sight words and using some beginning readers from A Beka just for a little reading practice each day. Alex loves that he is able to read these books all on his own, and is quite proud of his new talent! Here is is showing off his Brainiac award for completing his Brain Quest book:

The Tenth Month

Benjamin was 10 months old at the end of June. I love this picture of him because I feel like it captures his emerging personality. He is turning into quite the little clown and loves to interact and make you laugh. He is also super affectionate and gives the best little hugs, using his whole body to hug your shoulder when you pick him up. He must get that from his daddy because I've never been a very huggy, touchy-feely person!

During his tenth month, Benjamin cut his 3rd tooth, so we now have 3 teeth on the bottom, and none on the top! I finally gave up on nursing since it was just becoming so frustrating for both of us. I think the stress and strain of this past year really affected my milk supply. I am glad I was able to nurse him as long as I was, but I am also thankful for formula... and I will also be thankful when I can switch him over to cow's milk because formula is stinkin' expensive here! Ben is already taking a lot of milk products like cheese and yogurt with no problems so far, but I am going to wait until he's a year old before giving him milk to drink.

Ben made his first trip to the beach in his tenth month. (Technically, I guess he went to the beach in Spain when he was one month old, but since he spent the entire time snoozing in his car seat, I don't really think that counts!) He loved the sand, but he wasn't too sure about the waves! That surprised me because he normally loves playing in the water. So maybe it was too cold, or maybe it was the sound of the waves -- I don't know.

Ben has also started sleeping much better at night. He started sleeping until about 5:00 a.m. and then having a bottle and going back to sleep for several hours. It's been a long road, but I think things are finally improving in the sleep department! He is still in our room for now. I plan to move him to his own room soon, but I have been hesitant to do it until he was sleeping all the way through the night because we don't have a baby monitor right now (it's coming in the container).

One final note. I find it interesting the way certain nicknames emerge as babies grow. With a name like Benjamin, there are so many to choose from -- Ben, Benny, Benji (which Rusty hates, but I think is kind of cute). The boys, especially Stephen, called him Benjermin at first, adding an "r" where there really shouldn't be one, and that has turned into the nickname "Benjers," which I find just adorable. I find myself calling him "Ben" or "Ben Bear," more often than not! Rusty sticks with the full "Benjamin." This poor kid is going to be so confused!

Happy 10 months, my little Ben Bear!

Beach Bums

At the end of June, we enjoyed a few days of r&r on the coast of Ecuador. It was exactly what we needed after Rusty had been gone for 2 weeks out of the previous 4 on short-term campaigns to Kumanii (see pictures of those campaigns here on Facebook). We recently connected with another homeschooling missionary family here in Quito who has a condo at a beach resort that they rent out. We stayed at the condo for 4 nights, enjoying the sand and the waves, the great swimming pools, delicious seafood, and some down-time together as a family. On Sunday, before heading home, we worshipped with the church in Esmereldas. It was a perfect little mini-vacation -- I just love the beach!

View from our balcony

The sunsets were fabulous!

Benjamin loved splashing in the hot tub

And he loved the sand

Alex learned to boogie board

This picture cracks me up (pun intended)!