A 2008 Re-Cap
It's amazing to me to realize that 2008 is nearly over. It has been such a crazy, full year. Actually, though it has been such an insane year, I'm a little saddened to say good-bye to 2008. It was a good year, if not the busiest of my life! As I see things settling down, I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing our next year won't be nearly so tumultuous. But the adventurer in me is also greatly disappointed...I'm hoping 2009 will bring a few fun trips at least. I am NOT disappointed that we have no huge international moves on the horizon...but I'm also already looking for a little adventure :-) I know it. I'm a glutton for punishment.
Anyway, 2008 was good and full. Here's a look at what happened in 2008
January 2008: This was a very busy month for us. Still in Shell, Ecuador, we enjoyed lots of visitors. Sean's family came and we had a blast at Casa del Suizo in the jungle as well as a quick trip to Otavalo in the Andes mountains. We renewed our passports in Quito, then came home for a few days before heading back up to the capital city to pick up my parents and a work team from Valley Church of the Nazarene. What a week of HARD work - but so much fun. Then came a couple of days in Otavalo with my parents before they went home.
February 2008: After saying good-bye to my folks, we began shifting our minds towards the big move to Oaxaca, Mexico. Sean worked his last day at the MAF hangar near the end of the month and we began the process of selling and packing our stuff.
March 2008: This was a whirlwind month full of yard sales, final good-byes, and last hurrah's in Ecuador. Our MAF team threw a despedida or going away party that still means so much to me. We left Shell on March 17th. I won't ever forget that last trip up to Quito. I cried a good part of it. Turns out, leaving that old jungle town was the hardest thing I'd ever done. We arrived in Oaxaca on March 2o. What a fun trip. Our first impressions of Oaxaca were that it was so dry, the sky so blue, and there was so much available to us there! We spent the last two weeks of March getting our home set up - a big chore since that house was so big!
April 2008: Sean started the process of getting licensed to fly in Mexico. And we found out we were expecting another baby! I spent the next several months throwing up. Aaahhh, memories.
May through August 2008: Puking, lots of puking. My worst morning sickness ever. Not the best memories of Mexico, huh? I still can't look an authentic Mexican taco in the face. There were highlights, though, like trips to see ancient ruins, shopping and strolling in downtown Oaxaca, daily walks at the Parque Tequio, a trip to the beach, even trips to a real movie theater. Sean began flying regularly, we settled into life in Oaxaca and found a church, and things began to look normal for the first time in a long while. Until we began to feel led to return for good to the States...then things got interesting again. More packing. More selling. More good-byes. Leaving Shell was hard. Leaving missionary-hood? Even harder.
September 2008: We arrived in Idaho for a few days at MAF Headquarters. We love MAF and saying good-bye was hard. Our friends at MAF encouraged us, though, as we followed the path God had for us. Then to Colorado! I'll never, ever, ever forget the awesome feeling of landing in Alamosa. It was good to be home. We immediately began searching for a home to buy. We got a dog. Experienced reverse culture shock. Reveled in all the family-love we had missed while overseas! Sean went back to Mexico with his dad and they had a great adventure driving our car back here to Colorado. We found a home we loved and signed a contract on it.
October 2008: More moving! With the finalized purchase of our home came lots of work - painting, mostly - as we readied the house for our family. A few trips to Pueblo for furniture and we had a home. Of our own. With no moves in sight. I had great fun unpacking everything and swore I'd never pack or unpack again! We enjoyed a beautiful fall. Brooklyn started preschool.
November 2008: We settled in. Sean wasn't working yet, so he found lots of little projects to complete here at home. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house.
December 2008: A very good month. Sean began his new/old job working as an aircraft mechanic. Sean also began flying again, brushing up on his instructing skills so that he could start flight instructing again (one of his favorite things, and a great source of extra income). Baby Paige joined the family :-) We savored every Christmas treat, played in the snow, celebrated Christmas and squeezed every last drop out of it.
The cool thing about a blog is that you can take a trip down memory lane very easily. I won't bore you with links to all my posts over the past year...but feel free to take a look back yourself, if you have lots and lots of time on your hands.
Anyway, 2008 was good and full. Here's a look at what happened in 2008
January 2008: This was a very busy month for us. Still in Shell, Ecuador, we enjoyed lots of visitors. Sean's family came and we had a blast at Casa del Suizo in the jungle as well as a quick trip to Otavalo in the Andes mountains. We renewed our passports in Quito, then came home for a few days before heading back up to the capital city to pick up my parents and a work team from Valley Church of the Nazarene. What a week of HARD work - but so much fun. Then came a couple of days in Otavalo with my parents before they went home.
February 2008: After saying good-bye to my folks, we began shifting our minds towards the big move to Oaxaca, Mexico. Sean worked his last day at the MAF hangar near the end of the month and we began the process of selling and packing our stuff.
March 2008: This was a whirlwind month full of yard sales, final good-byes, and last hurrah's in Ecuador. Our MAF team threw a despedida or going away party that still means so much to me. We left Shell on March 17th. I won't ever forget that last trip up to Quito. I cried a good part of it. Turns out, leaving that old jungle town was the hardest thing I'd ever done. We arrived in Oaxaca on March 2o. What a fun trip. Our first impressions of Oaxaca were that it was so dry, the sky so blue, and there was so much available to us there! We spent the last two weeks of March getting our home set up - a big chore since that house was so big!
April 2008: Sean started the process of getting licensed to fly in Mexico. And we found out we were expecting another baby! I spent the next several months throwing up. Aaahhh, memories.
May through August 2008: Puking, lots of puking. My worst morning sickness ever. Not the best memories of Mexico, huh? I still can't look an authentic Mexican taco in the face. There were highlights, though, like trips to see ancient ruins, shopping and strolling in downtown Oaxaca, daily walks at the Parque Tequio, a trip to the beach, even trips to a real movie theater. Sean began flying regularly, we settled into life in Oaxaca and found a church, and things began to look normal for the first time in a long while. Until we began to feel led to return for good to the States...then things got interesting again. More packing. More selling. More good-byes. Leaving Shell was hard. Leaving missionary-hood? Even harder.
September 2008: We arrived in Idaho for a few days at MAF Headquarters. We love MAF and saying good-bye was hard. Our friends at MAF encouraged us, though, as we followed the path God had for us. Then to Colorado! I'll never, ever, ever forget the awesome feeling of landing in Alamosa. It was good to be home. We immediately began searching for a home to buy. We got a dog. Experienced reverse culture shock. Reveled in all the family-love we had missed while overseas! Sean went back to Mexico with his dad and they had a great adventure driving our car back here to Colorado. We found a home we loved and signed a contract on it.
October 2008: More moving! With the finalized purchase of our home came lots of work - painting, mostly - as we readied the house for our family. A few trips to Pueblo for furniture and we had a home. Of our own. With no moves in sight. I had great fun unpacking everything and swore I'd never pack or unpack again! We enjoyed a beautiful fall. Brooklyn started preschool.
November 2008: We settled in. Sean wasn't working yet, so he found lots of little projects to complete here at home. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house.
December 2008: A very good month. Sean began his new/old job working as an aircraft mechanic. Sean also began flying again, brushing up on his instructing skills so that he could start flight instructing again (one of his favorite things, and a great source of extra income). Baby Paige joined the family :-) We savored every Christmas treat, played in the snow, celebrated Christmas and squeezed every last drop out of it.
The cool thing about a blog is that you can take a trip down memory lane very easily. I won't bore you with links to all my posts over the past year...but feel free to take a look back yourself, if you have lots and lots of time on your hands.
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