UPDATE....

Beautiful Laguna Beach, CA

      Much time has passed since my last entry in January so I’ll try to get you somewhat up to date.  First of all, we entered the dry season here in Costa Rica, which has been very nice.  Locals say it is not as hot, dry and dusty as usual.  We’ve even been blessed this summer with a few pleasant rain showers.

Laguna Volleyball with friends

Kelsey, growing in her Faith

Secondly, over Feb and March I was in California for a month.  I thoroughly enjoyed a strong dose of all my 3 adult children by staying in their home.  Thank you so much Kelsey, Kagen and Alex!!!  A family friend has blessed them with an affordable place to live in a safe community with other benefits that include walking to the beach and store, and enjoying the club house and pool amenities.  Life’s Rough!!!

           

Good for the Core and the Soul

Yum...Grilled veggies
and tri-tip!

        My in-laws sacrificed and graciously gave me use of their car—Thank you Bertie and Bob!!!  This was a huge unexpected gift for me to have my own wheels in the OC and enabled me to visit with many friends.  I regret being unable to visit with you all!!  I spent the bulk of my time with my “fun coordinator”, Kelsey.  She kept me busy and even took me paddle boarding for my first time, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I was able to spend a bit of time with my mom and her husband and enjoy their company as well. 

Tuesday Women's Bible Study, CVC

    
       I was also invited to attend a weekend at Murrieta Hot Springs on a women’s retreat with my old church CVC.  These amazing women were kind enough to give me the privilege of speaking about the Bible and my current life experiences the last morning of the event.  Public speaking is always nerve wracking for me, but it is also so humbling to experience the influence and encouragement you can give to others from behind a podium.

California Hiking

Gotta use the hands
 when speaking!

                  This was the first time I didn’t type out notes of what I would say, word for word.  I wanted to use this opportunity to trust God that He would help me speak from my heart and His word.  Now don’t get me wrong, I DID have an outline to follow!  That would be scary, as many of you know, for me to just talk without guidelines, because you know how many tangents I can go on.  How many times have many of you heard me say… “now why was I talking about that??!!”  The entire weekend was awesome, even the “accidental” 9 mile mountain hike (it was supposed to be a 3 mile hike).

Love to all,
Kristi

I have been back home in Costa Rica for 3 weeks now, which really feels like three months because life is so different here and so far from what I experience in CA.  My strong dose of my kids only lasted through the first week of my return.  But I have found some other things to do to keep me focused on positives, not on my loss of touch with friends and family in the States.  I will share some of these in my next blog.  But for now, I’m back and readjusting to the two speeds of Costa Rica, slow and stop…