California

And, finally, we spent our busiest 2 weeks in Visalia, California. And wouldn't you know it--we didn't take any pictures there! Isn't that terrible?! Not that I'm the best photo document-er anyway. . .oh well. If anyone took pictures. . .maybe we can work something out?

A big thank you to Mike and Carol Alipaz for letting us stay with them; it was a blessing to have a home-away-from-home. They also watched Olivia and Sawyer A LOT while we ran around doing all we needed to do. A big thank you, also, to the Savior's home groups, and Carrie Konig for organizing them; they helped purchase MANY of the things on our 'list.' Thanks for being a practical part of our lives in Costa Rica--Olivia and Sawyer are lovin' those fruit snacks and lunch boxes!

So what all did we do in CA? (Warning: this crude summary doesn't begin to do justice to the quality of time spent!) We connected with 3 supporting churches and 2 of their mission boards, and spoke at 2 of those churches, plus Savior's youth group. We had another open house, visited with MANY amazing friends, popped into the SI office, and did a lot of shopping (Thanks Tricia for accompanying me!).

CA was kind of a whirlwind, but it was so wonderful to see everybody. The same can be said of MN and CO. We so love and appreciate each one of you! Your influence on our lives is immeasurable. Thank you to each of you for the part you have played in who we are and who we are becoming. And thanks to all of you who attended one of our open houses, or listened in some other capacity to what we have been up to and what God is doing in Costa Rica. Your prayers, moral, and financial support mean the world to us. Jeff and I both agreed after our trip that we were exhausted from all our travels. But more than that, we were BLESSED and ENCOURAGED so much by each one of you! It's very easy to feel alone out here, and to become discouraged--but you all reminded us of the truth--we are not alone; YOU are connected to us here--and a big part of why we are here, and how we got here! The body of Christ is so mysterious and amazing; thanks for helping us understand it a little better! We love you all!

Colorado

Our next stop was Colorado, where we also enjoyed family and friends, and temps that were a bit warmer. :)

Tasting Snow

From Trip to the States

So many clothes to go outside!

From Trip to the States

Olivia and Thomas

From Trip to the States

Getting ready for another "Christmas"

From Trip to the States

Bob and Tracey

From Trip to the States

Princess Olivia

From Trip to the States

The Sand/Snow Castle

From Trip to the States

Helping Grandpa Organize/Shred

From Trip to the States

So Tired

From Trip to the States

Grandma pulled this wagon for a LONG time. . .

From Trip to the States

Minnesota

The first stop on our month of travels was Minnesota. We were fortunate to see many friends and family there, and arrived just in time for -20 F temps! Thankfully, Olivia and Sawyer were able to go play in the snow enough to satisfy their desires, in spite of the cold. We also had an open house and were able to go up to my grandpa Rosell's farm one weekend and visit Rose City Church and share about Costa Rica there. Here's some pictures from our time there:

Cousins

From Trip to the States

Rosell Relatives

From Trip to the States

Roub New Year's Breakfast

From Trip to the States

"Christmas" Dinner

From Trip to the States

Games with Grandpa Tic Tac

From Trip to the States

Playing Trains

From Trip to the States

Exercise with Uncle Ethan

From Trip to the States

Silly Picture!!

From Trip to the States

Everybody was looking AND smiling!!

From Trip to the States

Way Behind!

We have been back in Costa Rica for a week now. . .and let's just say we have a lot of blog catch-up to do! Suffice it to say we had a super time in MN, CO, and CA. It was great to see so many of you! We wish we could have seen EVERYBODY, so we're sorry if we missed you. Next time. Or, we have a great spare room and enjoy visitors. . .just let us know when you're thinking of coming so we can coordinate around teams and help with all the details!

More later. . .I promise!

Dessert with the Dixons!

We have been greatly enjoying our time in the States visiting friends, family, and supporters. And Olivia and Sawyer have LOVED playing in the snow! We are amazed and encouraged by the amount of incredible people God has brought into our lives. We have been blessed.

For those of you in CA we are having a dessert to be able to connect with you and to share what God is doing in Costa Rica.

When: Friday January 22, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Savior's Community Church (in the Mill)
515 E. Center
Visalia, CA

If you need directions please email us.

We hope to see you there!

In the States/Open Houses

On Sunday we traveled from San Jose to Minneapolis where we are enjoying spending time with Tracey's family and friends. Olvia and Sawyer are enjoying the snow! At every opportunity Olivia wants to bundle up and head outside. Sawyer was a little nervous about playing in the snow, but now that we are here seems to enjoy it. From MN we head to CO and from CO to CA.

We would like to connect with as many friends and supporters as possible during our time in the States. So we will be having open houses. We have ones scheduled in MN and CO and will let people know the details of the one in CA when we know them. Here are the details for the two in MN and CO:

Minnesota
When: Saturday January 2, 2010
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Where: Tracey's parents house in Ham Lake, MN
For directions please email us

Colorado
When: Sunday January 10, 2010
Time: 2:30pm - 5:00pm
Where: Jeff's parents house in Littleton, CO
For directions please email us

2009 Video

Below is a video slideshow that recaps 2009. We realized that we don't have a lot of great pictures of the various ministry sites we are involved in, but the ones included in the last section should give you a good idea of what we are up to. The first section shows some of the beauty of Costa Rica and a few shots of our family. Enjoy!