Elliot's 4th B-Day!

I must have done a really awesome job with the Rainbow theme for her 3rd birthday, because this year Elliot wanted a rainbow theme again.  That, or she was so sick with Hand Foot Mouth the year before, that she thought to really enjoy the skittle cluttered cake she would need another go.  There were no skittles to be found for the cake, but I got creative and she still had a rainbow.  We filled the gym room with tons of balloons and had pizza and lots of rainbow fruit.  It was just what she wanted.  Did I mention we planned it the day before?  Glad I have friends that like spontanaity!  Happy 4 my big girl Elliot!

Hope

I feel like Tom and I have worked really hard since we arrived in Costa Rica. We have put in more than three years doing 'whatever it takes' to make our life here. Sometimes things have been pretty rough and sometimes life's been a beach. So much has lined up for us now; Tom has a dream job, I have a gym in the house, the kids are finally at La Paz, we live in a great neighborhood in a " big girl" house. So, it's interesting that as I enjoy these life events and comforts I also face some of my greatest personal challenges. On this particular day I was feeling like a bit of a hopeless mess. At dinner Tom looked up and pointed at one of the most beautiful and pronounced rainbows I have seen in a long time. We snapped photos of the image but a camera cannot capture the more impressive feeling it left in my mind and heart. I'm sure a lot of God's children needed to see the rainbow that day, and I was one of them. I felt a warmth of love and hope as I recalled my Bishop from back in my college days reminding me that after the storms of life come our personal rainbows. It has become one of my life's major slogans. In many ways Tom and I are experiencing great satisfaction for all of our previous efforts, but for the matters that were pressing on my heart the rainbow gave me a renewed strength and determination. I feel very grateful that my God writes these little messages of love on the canvas of life he created for me.