Greetings! I just realized I failed to send out cards/letters last year before spending the holidays in Costa Rica, so I have some catching up to do.
Let’s rewind to 2010. In February, Oved and I were engaged to be married. And on July 3rd, we tied the knot. We decided to have our wedding at Springdale Church, the church I grew up in. My brother officiated. Sarah was my maid of honor and Katrina (my sister-in-law) was also in the wedding party. Tyler’s daughters Ella and Kayla were our flower girls. Oved’s brother, Jonathan, was the best man and his father gave the benediction. I loved including so many family members. It was a beautiful ceremony and a fantastic reception.
We honeymooned in Key West, which was great. The weather was beautiful! In fact, it only rained on us one day (and that only lasted about thirty minutes). The food was fabulous. And the touristy stuff was pretty cool, too. I especially liked the six-toed cats at Ernest Hemingway’s house.
The following Christmas, Oved, Sarah, Mom and I all traveled to Costa Rica. We spent two weeks there. It was very special to meet all of Oved’s family and see where he grew up. Also, we were able to experience the holidays in a completely new culture, with entirely different customs. Christmas included fireworks and BBQ. And New Year’s Eve was quite different, as well. Instead of going to parties (like I normally do), we went to church. We spent the service hearing from its members. Each reflected on the past year’s blessings. We concluded with prayer as we counted down to the New Year. It was a unique and humbling experience.
In January of 2011, Oved and I started our own business. We decided to sell Costa Rican coffee under the name, La Cumbre Coffee. The first half of the year was spent filing papers and building the website. Then in July, we launched. It has been a lot of hard work. But, it’s slowly beginning to grow. I’m excited to see its progress. For those interested: www.lacumbrecoffee.com
I also returned to school last January. I was accepted into West Virginia University’s graduate program, Integrated Marketing Communication the prior summer. The classes, so far, have been challenging, but fun.
And if that wasn’t enough, in February of 2011 we learned of some exciting news. I was pregnant! On October 7, we were blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Lucas Oved (Luke) Jimenez. Now at two months of age, Luke is smiling and cooing all day long…when he’s not sleeping…or eating. And, his most recent discovery is his fists, which he’s decided taste pretty good. He also loves staring at lights, and of course, watching TV.
As you can see these past two years have been very exciting for us. I can’t believe how drastically my life has changed, for the better. I have so much to be thankful for. God is good! I hope each of you find yourselves equally as blessed this holiday season. May all that He is bring you all that you need this Christmas! Much love to you!!
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
