As the day of their departure was drawing more and more near, we started spending a lot of time with Javier, Kerem and the kids. Never a dull moment, and always ridiculous amounts of laughter and joy. One day (shamefully all the way back in early November) we packed into the truck (Guadalupe) and headed to Sigua to enjoy a change of scenery for the afternoon. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and the drive out there was so pretty. I love that there's always something new to appreciate about the views here. We went to Javi's favorite place for cake and coffee, and he gushed about their cake so much I was definitely excited to try it. The cake was a perfectly plan vanilla, moist and delicious, and their coffee was soothingly strong. Mmmm now I'm ready for another trip to Sigua!
So bear with me here, but the bathroom at this place was pretty incredible. I don't remember anything overly fancy about the actual bathroom, but the little room that led to the women's and men's rooms was like this hidden oasis. I didn't have my camera (and why would I carry it to the restroom?) so you'll have to close your eyes and try to imagine. These double doors opened to a heavily windowed room with a pretty fountain covering the right wall. I heard some birdy chirpings and thought they must have one of those nature sound cds. Or a room full of free-flying birds, so brightly colored and wonderfully cheery it almost brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, I know, it doesn't take much. I remember these branches across the ceiling, and either really high windows or some glass in the ceiling, and I was stopping to appreciate the calm of the fountain when I saw a baby macaw flying around! It was such a cutie, and there were more like him! All sorts of baby birds flying around, singing their chipper songs and flaunting their vibrant feather. I don't know enough about birds to list all the types, but there were at least four or five differently colored cuties flying around in there. When I got back to the table I told everyone about it, and they were all surprised when they got back saying they thought I meant there were birds in cages. Cage free baby!
The rest of the day was great too. We found a merry-go-round that I think Maryann enjoyed more than anyone, and a swing set that was fun once the world stopped spinning. I'm not sure how kids handle being on merry-go-rounds for very long. I was bien mariada after a short time spinning, but it was so fun to hear the kids laughing and see how crazy their faces got when they realized how dizzy they were getting. At one point I was sure Ana was going to get sick, and I think Marvin was just trying his hardest to hang on until Maryann finally gave in. Unfortunately for Marvin, our sweet Maryann is some type of super-human who can spin in circles for what seemed like hours and never stop laughing. She made the most ridiculous pouty "heck no I won't go" face when we told her it was time to leave...I need to get with Kerem for that picture too.We had a mini photo shoot on the swing set, and then wandered around Sigua's mall for a bit.
The mall was funny to me because I think it held a total of eight stores, and two little eateries. We wandered around the stores for a bit and eventually realized how late it was getting--we hadn't had lunch and it was crunching in on the time to leave to make it back for church. We gorged ourselves at the pupusa place (yummm) and I think everyone was ready for a nap on the ride home. It's so nice thinking back to this day I can't help smiling. I remember I had been "in my head" a lot that week, thinking and over-thinking and letting myself fall into former patterns of stress and worry. This was right around when I was really starting to bud spiritually and understanding more of the seed I was planting inside my heart. On the drive home I talked to Kerem about how meaningful the day had been to me. Not just because it's always so great spending time with them, but it also had a liberating effect. I've been developing a lot spiritually, and thinking back to November I can remember jotting down the importance of starting each day giving thanks for all of your blessings, and deciding not to be stressed or anxious over anything but rather let Him fill you with the sweet fruits of love, patience, joy and kindness. There was something so freeing about being on the swings and smiling up at the sky (it helped that it was a lovely blue that day :) receiving comfort knowing there's someone up there who wants to be in control, so why not let Him?
That night at church Pastor Alfonso's preaching really touched me, and was so perfect for the state of mind I'd been wearing. I have written that we talked that night about baptism, but what stuck out most to me was when he said to let the seed of the word into your heart, and it will grow quickly. I find something poetically calming about that.
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