Costa Rica

In February I (Jeff) had the opportunity to go on a trip with a bunch of men to Costa Rica. It was a Students International men's trip. For the first time, in a long time, I was a participant not a leader. It was a great trip! Imagine a men's retreat and a mission trip combo and that is pretty much what it was like. We worked alongisde the missionary SI partners with in Shiroles (a small town in the south east part of Costa Rica in the Talamunca region). We were involved in various projects ranging from a medical clinic to a water project in the jungle to supply water to the town. It was refreshing and rejuvenating for me personally and a chance to regain perspective.


Above is a picture of the group.

After most of the team left five of us spent a few days in San Jose exploring opportuntites for SI to expand what we are doing in Costa Rica. God was good and there are many open doors and opportunites. Pray for us to be able to clearly here God and how he would have us move forward from here.

A Good Reminder

Last night I had the privilege of speaking to the InterVaristy chapter at Fresno State. As part of the time there a couple of students shared testimonies about their experiences at Urbana (the tri-annual student missions convention recently held). One of the students shared about how Urbana in conjunction with other experiences, one of them being a Students International outreach, had cemented in her a heart for the poor and a calling to work with them. Because of that she recently declared Social Work as her major.

It is easy for me to get bogged down in the “little” day-to-day things involved in my job and to forget the big picture. But hearing a testimony like that from a student who truly encountered God on an outreach is a good reminder about why I do what I do and how God is using it. He really is transforming lives! Praise God!

Sawyer's Tricks

Sawyer says:
I can crawl,

I can sit,

I can pull myself up to stand,

I can even be a polar bear!!

Not too shabby for 7 months!!

Olivi-isms

From the mouth of Olivia:

"Mom, can I have some yum-n-nums?" (M&Ms)

"Sawyer popped awake!!"

"I'm still a big girl. . .AND a baby."

"Olivia went pee-pee on the pot-TEE!! Ok, now I need a Jell-o Bean!!"

"I want too much of that."

"I got Owen, an' Alyssa, an' I got TWO Williams and TWO Rachels--no, too MANY Rachels."

"Alyssa's seeking (hiding) in the favily room. I don't know where she is!"

"Daddy, you go seek. I'll count: 2, 4, 2, 6, 1, 8. . ."

"Jesus loves me, all the children. . ."

"Dear Jesus, Thank you Mommy, Daddy, Sawyer, Olivia, Bob the Builder (giggles). Thank you all us sleep good. . ."

Thanksgiving in the DR!!

The week of Thanksgiving we went to the Dominican Republic on a family mission trip. All in all there were about 50 people there from CA, CT, and my parents from CO. We had a great time working with those on the team as well as the SI staff in the DR.

These are pictures from an evening we spent with my parents at Dona Negras house in Los Higos having dinner. We had a great evening and the kids enjoyed themselves, once they warmed up a bit.

What Else Can I Disinfect????

It has been about 6 weeks that we have been fighting infectious diseases around here. It started with a scratchy throat and sniffles when I was on Women's Retreat in September. When I took the kids to the doctor on Monday, the culmination of a month of some flu-type virus (at least I HOPE it is culminating!) was an ear infection for Sawyer (with an extra prescription of Nystatin, in case the antibiotics produce a reccurance of the thrush we finally got rid of), an undiagnosed (Is is shingles? Is it impetigo? One cannot tell.) rash for Olivia, and pink-eye for both of them. I, also, was diagnosed with pink-eye the next day, and given the instructions NOT to wear my contacts for 5 very long days. I cried. Pink-eye has long been one of the greatest fears in my life for the very reason that I HATE my glasses. It is vain and perhaps silly, but I HATE them. I have HATED them since I was old enough to realize they got thicker with every visit to the eye doctor. I guess the time comes when we all must face our fears. I actually went to work in them today, and survived, of course. Jeff took me there, however, because I didn't trust my depth perception enough to drive. Ah, the trials we face. :)

This is why I ask, what else can I disinfect?? --Tracey

Welcome to Our Life!!!

And so begins the official blog of the Dixon Family. I guess since it's "official," I'll start with the facts. We live in Visalia, CA, and have been married for over 6 years! Currently, Jeff is the Program Director at Students International, and I, Tracey, have recently gone back to work with Visalia Unified School District as an Early Childhood In-Home and Preschool Educator (whew!). We have two adorable children; Olivia Sojourner is 2 and Sawyer Gabriel is 4 months. Unfortunately, I am completely going blank as far as anything close to creative writing goes. So, I will leave this first official posting as it is, with the facts, and with much room for creativity in future entries!