...and a Happy New Year

Clinton helping with a Simmons tradition--sweet rolls!

My goal is to get a post up at least once a month....so far I think I've been pretty good at that.

Clinton and I spent a great two weeks at home. We flew into New York with no problems and were picked up by Priscilla and Mark (Clinton's parents). We spent the next 5 days with the Simmons family in Pennsylvania where we celebrated Christmas, had family time, and visited with friends. It was a relaxing whirlwind (I realize that's an oxymoron)...but wonderful all the same.

When we were in PA, we drove to New Jersey to have lunch with GP

My sister, brother-in-law, and niece came down to Pennsylvania and then together we drove to Indiana. Clinton's aunt and uncle graciously allowed us to use their van for the trip, so we comfortably crammed 4 adults, a baby, luggage and christmas presents into the vehicle. It would have been a disaster if we tried that with a car (= We spent Christmas day with the Yoder family, enjoying watching my niece celebrate her first Christmas. During the week in Indiana we enjoyed family meals, watching movies, and spending quality time catching up. We did manage to pass along some colds within the family, a sickness which I am still recovering from (needless to say it made the flight back to Ecuador a bit painful!) Overall it was an extreme blessing to finish off the year with loved ones!

Mikayla with her Ecuadorian hat

With Uncle Clinton and Tante Tina

So here we are, back in Ecuador. We had one day to “recover” and then it was back to the classroom. The semester is finishing up in a couple of weeks, so I spent my weekend creating finals and mapping out my plans for finishing up. I have some new challenges coming next semester. I'll be teaching two new classes! Right now my semester classes, Creative Writing and Comedy and Romance, will change to Tragedy and Advanced Composition. I'm hoping/praying for an easy transition.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. With the help of my mother-in-law, we'll be sending out a belated “Christmas” letter. If you think we don't have your address or if you moved...please make sure to send me an email with that so we can include you in our mailing list!

Blessings!