Peanut butter, jelly and sea salt.

a perfect day

Yesterday I sat on Haiti's gorgeous shoreline. Through the droplets on my sunglasses, I watched my dear friends from 3cords splash and swim to a chorus of endless laughter that I echoed back again and again. Beyond the blue where the mountains rolled out to the sea was a crystal cloud horizon that our cameras could never justify. 

In my lap sat two-and-a-half-year-old Ned, Elphine's son, who chewed on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. With the waves sweeping up over our legs and then sliding back out again, the white bread between his fingers continued to absorb more and more saltwater until I'm certain it was soaked through, but he didn't seem to mind as his small bites gobbled it up in no time.

Tossing beach balls with the kids, scanning for fish in a leaky rowboat, and basking under thick palms to the sound of Christmas music were other mentionable highlights of the day, but most of all, I thank the Lord for letting me spend the day with such an inspiring group of individuals - each one of them affected by more loss, pain and unrest than I may never fully know, but who choose to live with a contagious amount of courage and joy... Even the paradise around me wasn't enough to outdo that kind of beauty. 

beautiful friends

elphine and her son, ned

loving the sea!

group photo complete with homemade sun visors!

blessed beyond measure.

Snow and such.

Of all of the years I wish I had snow outside for my students, this is the one! Joshua, Olivier and Joseph have never experienced nor learned about winter before, so today's story about snow quickly 'snowballed' into explanations about building forts, catching flakes on your tongue, and frozen rivers. I pulled up a youtube video that showed people skating on an outdoor ice rink and they were totally mesmerized as we watched them coast around. 

Due to our limited 'cold' resources in this 90-degree weather, we then made paper snowmen as a part of our study on shapes. The whole concept of piling the balls and dressing it up like a person was very amusing for them. I am still chuckling at Olivier's earnest question, "the nose is a carrot!?!?"

I can only imagine how fun it will be for them to make one with real snow someday!

And as an added perk to this 'winter theme', there is an unusually gusty wind blowing outside my open window this afternoon. A giant grey cloud has blocked the intense afternoon sun from radiating in, enough that I can get away with lighting candles in my apartment. If I close my eyes, I could almost be tricked into believing that there is a snowstorm happening outside. 13 days and counting until my dreaming of a white Christmas is a reality... At least I hope so! :)