Brrrrr.....

No, Ecuador isn't experiencing record temperature lows but the Cannon girls are! This is Becca. Sean mentioned that I took our girls on a little trip, here's some news from me!

Madison in her carseat wearing the new stocking hat Aunt Carrie had waiting for us at the airport in Colorado Springs....she looks like she's in a bit of a shock, don't you think?

Brooklyn enjoying Grandpa Ecord's horses. The best part about going out in the cold to feed the horses with Grandpa is the reward of riding one of the horses for a little bit. Brooklyn was about a year and a half old when we left Colorado so everything here is a novelty - snow, horses, chores outside in the cold, grandparents' old and new toys, new dogs to meet and big, fast cars!!

It is hard to believe we are really here in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. In many ways it feels as though we never left...and yet so much has changed in the two years we've been gone! There are new stores, restaurants, and buildings and yet so many things are unchanged that I somehow expected to be different. What has changed the most? Me! Guess living outside your home country will do that sort of thing to you.

Things I've noticed:

• Space! Even in the city, things don't seem nearly so crammed together. And there isn't a jungle blocking my view of anything for miles and miles around.
• HUGE parking lots for GINORMOUS vehicles! WIDE highways with lines painted on them! Police officers and State Patrol....
• Speed. You people drive way too fast. I got up to just past 65 mph and about passed out for fear...of course, there weren't any potholes or even any stretches of road where a landslide or lava flow took out the road. No overloaded trucks wobbling their way around tight curves trying to pass a slower wobbly, overloaded truck. Nice!
• Blue skies...Colorado and especially the SLV are famous for that. We don't see so much sky in Shell, even on a "clear" day.
• Options. Most of the gas stations here have more available than the best little grocery store in Shell. And Target....oh, my. Super Wal-mart? Don't get me started.
• Sniffles, sneezes, stuffy noses, fevers, dry, scaly skin. Oops. We hit Colorado right during cold season. Brooklyn's already been down with a fever and I've been stubbornly battling the beginnings of a cold. Maddie's nose is stuffed just from the dryness of the air.
• Quiet. Aaaaaaaaaah.
• Cold. We were getting quite adjusted to the warmer weather in Shell. I love the snow but the cold is just so...well, COLD.
• Time. I have to admit, I prefer Latin time - late is right on time! Seems people go much more by their watches here in the States - had to buy a watch first thing!
• Strangers. They don't talk to you here or say something kind in passing or admire your kids or ask you why you are here. It can be annoying at times to be so conspicuous in Ecuador but here, I feel invisible. Don't know which I prefer - maybe a little of both in the perfect balance?!
• Milk in a jug, dishwashers, hot water in every sink, Mountain Dew, Sun Chips, Salad-in-a-bag, laws that I understand, bathtubs and bubble bath, manageable hair, watching KU basketball games with my Dad, the comfort of relaxing in the house I grew up in...

And the number one thing I've noticed about this trip...

• I love Ecuador. I love what we are doing there and the life that we live there. I am completely content in the calling that God has on our lives. I know that our time in Ecuador will not last forever...and what will happen after that or where we will go is a mystery but there is just nothing like being smack-dab in the center of God's will for your life. Yes, this visit to the States has been a HUGE blessing and I praise God for the opportunity to come like this but this little trip has only confirmed for me that we are right where God wants us (and right where I want to be), rather than make me desire "what used to be" or "what could be" here in America. LOOKOUT SEAN I'M COMING HOME!