Everyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely LOVE birthdays! I like to stretch my birthday celebrations out as long as possible and the more surprises the better. I’m so grateful for all the beautiful people in my life who made me feel so loved my entire birthday week and especially to Cadence who was the birthday surprise orchestrator. I have the best friends!! I was able to have a wonderfully delicious birthday breakfast with the Ruiz family, surprise party at my house with my New Song family and all my Chichigalpa favorites, egg cracking craziness with my teenagers, and the most adorable birthday surprise from my little Santa Matilde loves. Plus a ton of other little gifts to my heart and treats for birthday week. These people sure know how to make a girl feel loved! 32 is off to a very good start.
Cadence and I got to start the month off spending a couple of days in the mountains of Matagalpa with Rosita. We love her so much! We went to Matagalpa to get her help ordering all the backpacks for the new school year, but when that wasn’t possible we just had some great time to rest, talk, and soak in these gorgeous mountain views! Oh, and if you haven’t already heard, later that month Rosita got hit in the temple with a baseball as she coached one of our baseball teams at New Song. Thankfully, the doctor said their would be no long-term damage to her brain, but the last half of November was filled with a lot of emergency medical care and bed rest. Please keep her in your prayers because recovery from head injuries is a long, slow process.
There are a few sweet girls that the Lord has placed in my life as daughters of my heart. I love any opportunity that I have to spend with these girls and just love them like a mom would. Two of my girls, Juanita and Yubelkis, both celebrated their birthdays in November. I was able to to take them along with Yessica and Anyeling out for a day filled with celebrations. We traveled to Leon, went out to lunch, played for hours at an awesome pool, and then went to Kiss Me for the best ice cream in Nicaragua. It was such a beautiful day with my girls! I love to see them feel so special and loved. And it was incredible to see their bravery, joy, and compassion as we adventured and played together. These days are my favorites.
Cadence and I were able to make another trip to the mountains of Matagalpa to spend some time with our dear friend Ixil and her precious baby boy, Joshua. I am thankful for her wisdom, life, and joy. It was such a beautiful day roaming around Selva Negra with these lovely ladies.
Our school year is coming to an end and I have been so proud to see how well many of our students are doing. I love to see kids like Justin who are thriving. At the beginning of the year, Justin’s teacher said that he often caused trouble in class. Through this year of encouragement and having people who believed in him, Justin’s grades have raised each grading period and his teacher said that he has made drastic improvements in his class behavior. This sweet boy has fallen completely in love with books and is growing so much! I am so incredibly proud of him and our other hardworking students.
We ended the month (and it was actually my last day in Nicaragua before flying to WV for Christmas) celebrating Thanksgiving up in the mountains of Nicaragua. Linda cooked a delicious Thanksgiving feast and we gathered with other expats and missionaries for everyone to share and eat together. I love little tastes of home in our new home.
