Thankfulness

Daniel and I have much to be thankful for. As I've spent that past few days preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, I've been contemplating the many things that I am grateful for. I thought I'd share a few of those things with you:

Daniel - I'm so thankful to have a loving and supportive husband to walk through life with.  Daniel is my best friend.  We have been through our ups and downs and I can't imagine not having him by my side.

A home - I feel blessed to have a warm house and a roof over my head. I have thoroughly enjoyed having a house of our very own. And it's more than just a house, it's a home.  It's that feeling that I get when I arrive home, of being where I belong.

Our jobs - Even though my hours have been cut back at work, I'm thankful to have a place of employment. I love going to work and interacting with students, their families and the teachers and staff. I'm also thankful for Daniel's job. He has been blessed with a supportive director and supervisor.

Family - As we've been away from family the past few years I have come to cherish the time spent together and have learned to not take family for granted. I'm thankful for phone calls, emails and Skype.

Friends -  The friendships that we have formed here have been a blessing to me. In fact, some of these friends have become "family".  How special it is to have friends to enjoy holidays with!

New life - I give thanks to God every day for the new life that is growing inside of me. I feel blessed beyond words as Daniel and I prepare to become parents. It's been a long journey with disappointment and heartache. But God is faithful!

Minnesota Road Trip

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I packed up the car, loaded Makwa into the back and started our loooooong journey to Minnesota. We left home at 4am and drove 14 hours to Elkhart, IN where we spent the night. The next morning we got up early and drove the final 10 hours to Minneapolis. We hadn't done the drive since we moved to the Boston area over four years ago, so we decided to make the drive this time. We were looking forward to a good road trip. Daniel insisted on bringing his golf clubs (since there was space in the car) and got to play a couple of rounds. I was able to schedule some time with a couple of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. We also had a great time visiting with family, celebrating birthdays and the 4th of July, and just hanging out together.

Makwa was ready to go!

Foggy drive through Massachusetts

Chicago before morning rush hour

Hello Minnesota!

 

Makwa's excited to be back in Minneapolis, too!

Celebrating a special birthday

More birthday celebrations!

 

4th of July fireworks in Minneapolis

Back on the road

Almost home!

The Blizzard of 2013

The snow began to fall yesterday morning and didn't stop until this afternoon. Strong wind gusts up to 50 mph blew throughout the night. Thankfully we didn't lose any power. By the time "Nemo" moved through, we had over two feet of snow on the ground! Daniel and our neighbor, Bill, spent much of today snowblowing and shoveling, digging us out from under the deep snow. Here are a few photos from our Winter Wonderland.

Our 4th Anniversary

Last week Daniel and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. Since August 2nd fell on a Thursday, we decided to have a special dinner that evening and then do something more over the weekend. Daniel took the afternoon off work and surprised me when I got home from work with a bouquet of roses. We drove up to Newburyport, where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner outside overlooking the river at our favorite fish place, Bob Lobster. Daniel had the fish and chips and I had the steamed lobster. We finished the evening off with a cone of Richardson's ice cream.

On Sunday, Daniel and I got up early and headed to Gloucester for a morning of whale watching. We had a fabulous time! We spent time watching 10 different humpback whales, including a mom and her calf. We also got to see two finback whales and a large school of dolphins! Our biologist guide told us that it's rare to see dolphins this time of year. We also had beautiful sunny weather and calm waters. We definitely had the perfect whale watching trip.

Visiting Newport

While Mom and Dad Koski were visiting us in June, we spent a weekend in Newport, RI. We joined up with Aunt Karen, who was working in the area for a while. We had a wonderful picnic lunch overlooking the ocean, spent a few hours touring the Green Animals Topiary Gardens and enjoyed the spectacular views along the three and a half mile Cliff Walk. Here are a few pictures of our time.

Memories of Kenya

Daniel and I spent an amazing two and a half weeks in Kenya over Christmas and New Year's. We had been planning this trip for the past four years and were finally able to make it. We stayed with Daniel's brother, Jonathan and family at their home in Nairobi. His parents also stayed at the house and his sister's family joined us for a few days as well. It was great to get to spend the time together. While we were in Kenya the whole family traveled to Ngilai, in the Samburu region in Northern Kenya. Daniel's family lived there for three years when he was little. We visited Kitich Camp, where we went hiking in the mountains and also spent a night in the house Daniel's dad had built and they lived in. We then flew to Malindi, on the Indian Ocean and stayed four nights in a guest house. While we were in Nairobi, Daniel and I were able to visit the giraffe center and fed giraffes, and the animal orphanage, where we saw orphaned elephants and a rhino. We toured the hangers for both Africa Inland Mission (AIM) and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and Daniel showed me around Rosslyn Academy, where he attended school. We also camped at a game park in Nakuru and went on two safari drives. It was an incredible trip! Kenya is a beautiful country, with beautiful people, animals and landscapes. It was special for me to see where Daniel had grown up and where the rest of his family currently live. I can't wait to go back!

Our Home - Part 2