Perpetual Planning

As is well-documented on this site, not all of our plans come to fruition. When we decided to embark on a trip to Thailand in December, we figured that either we would go, which would be awesome, or it would get canceled to welcome a baby, which would be awesome. When it was canceled and we still didn't welcome home a baby, we were not feeling very fulfilled in our attempts to move on from our California trip and plan a new adventure.

Some people eat ice cream when things don't go their way. Some people wad up in a ball and rock themselves. Some become obsessed with their work or sports or some other productive distraction. I plan fun things, down to the smallest detail.

A number of you have heard me say recently that I'm fully aware that I'm planning simply to prove to myself that the plans we make can really come to be. It's not a subconscious coping mechanism. I know I'm doing it and why. Not everything is out of our control, darn it, and I'm determined to prove that to us. And, I'm grateful that this is my outlet. Enter El Salvador...

We spent 5 quick days in the loving hospitality of
our host family in San Pedro Puxtla, El Salvador.

Night one brought the much-craved pupusas!

We toured the countryside to see volcanoes and coffee plantations,

stopped off at a Sunday food festival to try a few new things,

hiked through National Park El Imposible and one of us jumped into the waterfall pool...

...while one of us practiced Spanish with the guide.

We got up early (mostly because of confused roosters) to check out the sunrise,

and met some new friends.

Josh helped build a new home for our host's son, responding to the work chit chat
 about how big our family is with a confident "we have chickens" in Spanish.

And Tiffany just relaxed while the rain came down.

We flew home on Valentine's Day after hearing midnight serenades and
receiving a bouquet of fresh flowers from our host for the Day of Love.



 

On the point of our efforts to grow our family...

We found new 100+ year old trees to meditate on when we need to stay grounded in patience.

And we found beautiful inspiration to plant new seeds of hope in the garden.

Up next? Weekends in the mountains, climbing, gardening, painting in the nursery, camping, who knows what else! But, I can tell you that it will be well-thought-out ahead of time as long as there are no baby distractions on the horizon.