I spent the month of May traveling all over the United States. It’s been good to be home and to see so many people, but it has definitely been a crazy month.
This
trip home was filled with World Race reunions. It was so 
wonderful to get
back together with at least a few of my World Race family. I was able to
surprise Mel in Ohio and then Steph and I spent a couple of days with her
catching up on life. While we were still in Ohio, we all went to lunch at
Brian and Stacy Alonzo’s house (pictured right). There is just something so special about World Race community that really just feeds my heart and makes me feel just as close to them after more than a year apart as I did when we finished our Race. 
Then at the end of my
time at home, I made a trip to New Jersey to see my lovely Kiatera sister,
Lindsay Groenewald (pictured left). It was so good to see her! She moved to South Africa
about the same time that I moved to Nicaragua. This was the first time
that we have been in the United States at the same time. I was so excited
to get caught up and to hear all about her life and ministry in Africa.
I have missed her so much!!
I’m an aunt again!! My
niece, Clover Adelaide, was born on May 15th. She’s so
precious!! I loved getting to meet 
her and to hold her. She is really
beautiful! I wasn’t able to make it home in time to be there when she was born, but made it home in perfect timing to be there the day that she arrived home from the hospital. I love her so much already!!! One of the hardest parts of living overseas is missing out on getting to see my nephew and niece grow up, but I am really thankful for the time I get to have with them. I just love holding this precious little girl in my arms.
One of
my favorite parts of being in the States is always my time with my nephew,
Cosby. He 
is seriously the cutest thing ever!! He is now getting old
enough that he loves to run around and play with me. Every time I
enter a room, Cosby will break into a huge smile and come sprinting to me
ready to give me a huge hug. It makes my heart so happy!!! I loved getting
to spend so much time with him this trip home.
My family loves to play games. It’s one of our favorite things to
do 
together as a family. One of our favorites is dominos. My parents’
house burned down last month and they had lost all of their games. Thankfully
some of my wonderful World Race sisters bought my parents a ton of games
(including dominos). We had several domino nights while Steph and I were
both home.
Another great thing about this trip home is that I was able to see several of my girls from King College. It was great to have these college reunions (especially because I hadn’t seen some of the girls in years). 
I was able to see two of my very best friends from college during this trip. My beautiful friend Mel (pictured above left) lives outside of DC and so I was able to spend time with her when I came to the United States and again when I left. It was great to spend a couple days with her talking, laughing, eating great food, drinking coffee, and finding out how we can be praying for one another. Also, my friend Bev (pictured above right) came down from Parkersburg to spend a couple of days with me. She and I always make time for a few days of best friend fun when I am in the country. This time that meant lots of long conversation about what the Lord has been doing in our lives, lots of lunches and coffee dates, and hiking at Beauty Mountain which was beautiful and tons of fun (even if my directional challenges kept us from ever actually making it to the overlooks). I am so thankful for both of these lovely ladies and their friendship over the last 10 years!! 
I also took a day trip to TN to see two of my wonderful college friends that I hadn’t seen in a couple years. I had breakfast with Meg (pictured above left) and her daughter Callie. It was the first time that I had met Callie. We had a great time talking about our families and work and I also had so much fun playing with Callie. I left my breakfast with Meg to go and meet Katherine (pictured above right) for lunch. I LOVE my lunches with Katherine! She just radiates Jesus and speaks so much wisdom from the Holy Spirit. It was really good being able to talk to someone who really understands what it means to dive into, live in, and minister within another culture. She spoke so much peace and wisdom over my life in our afternoon together. Katherine- I’m still praying about several of the things you said to me and what they will mean for this next year!
Sometimes I forget how absolutely gorgeous WV is. I
loved going to Beauty Mountain and walking through the forest and sitting
by the river. After all of the heartache of last month, I found so much
healing just sitting by the gently flowing waters with the Lord. There were several times where I would just grab my journal and head to the nearest river or creek. When I didn’t know what to pray or read or write, I would just sit by the waters in the Lord’s presence and receive His peace and healing.
Every year on Memorial Day, my dad’s entire family goes to Watoga 
State
Park for a weekend together of card playing and family fun. It was a
beautiful weekend and we had a great time hanging out together. This has been a family tradition for 12 years now. We always look forward to our time away in the woods, hanging out with the entire family, and lots of card playing fun.
Everyone who knows me well knows how much I love a good coffee shop. When I lived in the States, I spent nearly as much time in coffee 
shops as I did in my own apartment whether I was there to read, work on lesson plans, have coffee dates and chats about life with friends, or spend time alone with the Lord. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than curling up in a comfy chair at a coffee shop with a delicious cappuccino in my hand. Now, I do get to spend some time in coffee shops here in Nicaragua, but only when I am traveling to larger cities which significantly cuts down on my coffee shop time. So, of course, I had to make the most of my time in the States by drinking as many cappuccinos as possible and visiting as many coffee shops as I could.
Sleepover:
Every time I come home, I have a sleepover with my 
cousin’s two daughters:
Emma (5) and Katelynn (2) (The girls and I pictured left). They are so precious!! I always look forward to
my sleepovers with them. This year we had a big girls’ night sleepover
with Emma, Katelynn, Amanda and Stacy (my cousins), my Aunt Bee, and my
momma. We had such a good time together! Love nights with the girls!!
Steph and Amanda have been my best friends since
elementary school. For 10 years now, we have had a tradition of going to
the 
General Lewis Inn for the best potato breakfast ever!! It’s one of my
favorite traditions. This past year, Steph wasn’t able to come in for
Christmas so we had to reschedule our Christmas breakfast for May when we
were all in the same country. I am so thankful to have two such amazing
best friends for over 20 years now!! You ladies are the BEST!!
Wow! You have so many wonderful friends! Your time at home must have been so refreshing to you after the deep sorrow of the mission. I know they are all looking forward to having you “home” in Nica! Jennifer
I LOVE that you have two best friends of over 20 years… I have been blessed with two best friends since first grade and I know what a gift that is! I am so glad the three of you got to spend time together! Sounds like a very wonderful month although I know you missed your new home as well! Love you, Lisa!!!