It's February

And for this NH girl, this is what February means...

• Shoveling 
• Making plans, and cancelling plans, due to snow
• Sitting in front of my light box, warding off SAD
• Freezing temps
• Pasty white skin
• Long candle-lit evenings
• Wondering if this will be the one year that Spring doesn't show up

Yesterday, as I walked down to the church in the scorching heat, I had another one of those, "When did this become my life?" moments.

Because this year, February is all KINDS of different.

• There is no snow, so there is no shoveling or canceling of plans.
• No need for my light box, because my address is three inches from the sun.
• For the first time in my life, I have a serious flip-flop tan... in the WINTER!
• And the wonderings about whether Spring will show up, have been replaced with, "Will it ever rain again?"

And that other thing that February contains - Valentine's Day.

This year, I was sitting outside on the balcony, drinking root beer floats with Jessie & Shannon. (Tito was inside, blaring sappy Spanish love songs for our enjoyment) And as we sat, I thought... and then said, "You know, if someone had told me that at 34 I'd be living in Costa Rica, still single on V-day (one of the girls then helpfully added, "AND HANGING OUT WITH PEOPLE YOUNG ENOUGH TO BE YOUR CHILDREN!" Yes, dear. Thank you for that.) and be ok with it... I wouldn't have believed them. And yet here I am. And I'm so thankful that this is my life."

God is good. All the time.

Peace

Still Journeying toward 1,000 Gifts

116) Les singing loudly to "That's What Friends Are For" in the car on the way to the bank

118) "My weakness does not trump God's strength." -- Beth Moore
God's plan for Anonos... God's plan for my life... His plans are not derailed because I am human and fail. His strength is greater than my failings.

126) Seeing some of the most beautiful brown and amber eyes that I've ever seen

139) New grace for each day

145) Christmas shopping in San Jose

153) Darren's three page tutorial on how to use the Book of Common Prayer

162) Watching the sunset over the ocean... that never gets old for this Atlantic Ocean girl

172) Christmas Eve - Eri's mom asking about my family, asking if it was my first Christmas away from home, and then sitting on the floor beside me, wrapping her arms around me and rubbing my head as I cried.

179) Opening my stocking (sent without my knowledge from a loving Mama back in Nov) on Skype Mom & Dad

184) Watching the mountains surrounding Anonos explode with fireworks to usher in 2013!

194) My tree necklace... a daily reminder of God's extreme faithfulness

213) "I wonder if God plays Temple Run? It is a pretty awesome game." -- Shannon

224) Fresh mango, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe & strawberries to start my day

229) A bright little flower in the dirty street

238) Having a father who makes it easy to comprehend a loving Heavenly Father

242) Catching little glimpses of why I'm here

254) Meeting someone from KEENE today!!

264) My tattoo <3

278) Seeing Mom in the middle of the crowds exiting the airport

284) Time alone with Jesus to pray for myself and my future

294) Mom's unconditional love

296) Di reading "Streams in the Desert" out loud to us, and then bursting into Bon Jovi's "Shot Through the Heart!"

(Five shades of stunning and flourishing bougainvillea)

Refreshment

A few months ago, I saw a status from one of my all-time heroes, saying "you know you have amazing parents if they drop everything to come to the aid of their missionary daughter, who is dealing with a broken heart." I loved it. And was so deep-down happy for her. And thought wistful thoughts of having my own parents come to see me in Costa Rica.

The past three weeks have been pretty intense in the heart dept, and I was given an amazing opportunity last week to house-sit for Rodney & Cindy while they were away.

I wrote to Mom when I found out, telling her how excited I was to have an entire house to myself, to spend some quality time with Jesus, to pray for wisdom, healing, insight and perseverance. And over FB chat came her wishful, "Wouldn't it be amazing if I could be there?"

And then... the unimaginable happened. The tickets for the right dates were the right price.

And last Wednesday I sobbed as I saw my adorable little mom, walking toward me amidst a wave of Ticos, at the San Jose airport.

Our week together was wonderful.

We laughed. We cried. We prayed.

She let me purge four months of bottled up pain.

And she met my new world. She walked in the community. She went to San Jose in a taxi and came home on a bus. She ate the freshest of fruits and had hours of hammock time in the bright sun. She walked barefoot while a snow-storm pelted New England and the Maritimes. And the most important thing of all... she fell in love with the country and the people that I love.

Sending her home this past Wednesday wasn't easy. But, I'm so ridiculously grateful for the gift that we were given of this week together.

I had two extra days of quiet in the house by myself, to spend some concentrated time with my Jesus.

Now I'm refreshed and ready to take on what these next ten months have in store.

An Amazing Moment

This little dude flew into our living room today, and panicked because he couldn't get out.

I had the awesome opportunity of climbing the stepladder, holding him, and bringing him outside.

And when we got outside, he just sat in my hands for a couple minutes... and then, turned around and looked me right in the eye before he flew away.

Incredible.

Sixty-Six Things About The Birthday Boy

Celine Dion might sing it as a love song, but to me it's about the man I get to call "Dad."

Happy birthday to the man who makes this true in my life... "I'm everything I am, because you loved me."

Ten Things That Describe My Dad:

• Kindness personified
• Patient
• Great driver - still no tickets, right Dad?
• Ethical worker
• Brand new retiree
• A willing father figure to anyone who needs it
• Prayer Warrior
• Pillar of support in whatever church he attends
• Gentle in his spirit, and with his words
• A man of character

Ten Things That I Love Most About My Dad:

• As a little girl, he prayed with me in each night, sitting on the edge of my bed... And he still does it every time I go home to visit
• He tells me often that he's proud of me
• He said "I love you" every day of my growing up... and still does in emails or phone calls now that I'm far away
• The feel of his beard on my cheek when he give me hugs
• The way he loves my Mom
• He's one of my biggest fans
• When I Skyped him from far away, sobbing from a broken heart, he cried with me
• He sent me a Spanish/English Bible as soon as I made the decision to move to Costa Rica
• He and mom both broke family cycles to create a solid family foundation for our family
• The way he has adopted so many of my friends who saw a solid father-figure in him

 Ten Things That My Dad Loves:

• His God
• Mom
• His kids
• His grandkids
• His iPad
• Singing "All Your Anxieties" with his reluctant daughter
• Lolo and hot dogs
• To sleep during movies
• Jeremiah 29:11
• Serving at church

 Ten Things That Remind Me of My Dad:

• Tweed suit coats
• Light green Tic Tacs
• Original scent Chapstick
• Homemade egg rolls
• Irish Spring soap
• Tenor voices
• Black fine-tipped ballpoint pens
• "World's Best Dad" paraphernalia
• "World's Best Grandpa" paraphernalia
• The Canadian Flag

Ten Random Things You Might Not Know About My Dad: 

• He was born a preemie
• His knees do horribly awkward and backward things when he walks double-jointed-ly
• He had a callous on the inside of his right middle finger for years, from all the written accounting he did as treasurer of the church we grew up in
• He knows he got an amazing deal when Mom said yes to the letter from Mr Abram that said, "Phillip Jones would like to cultivate your acquaintance."
• He shaved his beard when we joined a strict home school group, and started growing it back the day we quit
• He loves watching the nightly news
• He didn't start drinking coffee until a few years ago, and now he's a big fan
• He did CPR on a man at the Garden Tomb in Israel, and saved his life
• He's the best Boggle player I know
• He gave perms to many of the women living on Chestnut Hill for years

Sixteen Things That My Dad Does Really Well:

• Rubs Mom's feet every night
• Makes the best waffles around
• Math
• Respects his parents
• Hugs
• Cherishes my Mom
• Plays Solitaire
• Telling those in his life "I love you"
• Points others to Jesus
• Grow a beard.
• Snuggles with his grandchildren
• Makes people feel safe
• Loyal friend
• Shows genuine interest in other's lives
• Makes waffles... I'm sorry, but it deserves to be at LEAST two of the sixty-six things

And the final thing that this man does really well...

SUPPORTS and LOVES his daughter who is writing this today.

Little Faces

 Yershuah, newest member of Viña Anonos -- came to church at two days old

Genesis, loving on her gallo pinto

Monse and her kittie

Deawyn, keeping himself occupied while Mom & Dad play soccer

Argerie and her little curly-haired cousins

The bigs helping the littles get their dance on

All buddies like cake, no matter how small

The Interchangables

I love this puppy. So much.

And it's a good thing I love her so much.

Because our names get switched All The Time.

"Lindsay - it's time to go outside potty."

"This is our newest intern, Lindy."

"Whose a good girl?? Lindsay's a good girl!"

"Lindy, do you want to sing this Sunday?"

 

Here's how we make it work... I let her use the bathroom outside and she lets me sing on the worship team.

 

And we split being the good girl!