Summer 2010 Vacation, Part 2: Arenal Volcano Day 1

Here are the highlights of our trip to Costa Rica! This post was a daunting task. We had eight days in paradise, and each day was amazing! We took almost 300 pictures, so weeding through for the highlights took some time. There's a lot to write about (and for you to read)! Because of that, I've split the trip into daily posts to break things up.

Day 1: Arrival and Journey to La Fortuna
We arrived in Costa Rica around 5:30 Saturday morning and caught a taxi to the public bus station in Alajuela. Costa Rica has an amazing public transportation system, but it's not centrally operated, so there are several companies driving all over the country—slightly confusing! We searched the numerous bus schedules, and eventually a friendly tico (Costa Rican) told us the next bus to La Fortuna would arrive in 10 minutes. That was 10 minutes Costa Rica time, so more like half an hour.

Eventually the bus arrived. There were no open seats, so we rode the first hour or so standing, which was quite exciting! The ride was four hours long, and thankfully we eventually got seats. During the trip we enjoyed beautiful views as the bus climbed higher on the narrow roads.

Finally we arrived in La Fortuna, the town next to the Arenal volcano. Fortuna is such a cute town! We were surprised by the number of tourists, but there was still plenty of local culture. We ate lunch and had our first authentic meal of the trip: casado! Casado ("married man's meal") is meat, rice, beans, plantains, and salad (or some combination of that) and is found everywhere in the country. I was beside myself at being back in Costa Rica and eating Costa Rican cuisine!

casado—note the volcano-shaped rice

After lunch we took a quick trip to an Internet cafe (where we spent most of our time trying to figure out how to type the "@" symbol on a Spanish keyboard), then caught a taxi to our hotel.

Our hotel was about 20 minutes away from La Fortuna, on the opposite (active) side of the volcano. The grounds were gorgeous! They had a large area of land, landscaped with beautiful tropical plants. We checked into our room and took a nap, after being awake for over 24 hours.

the view from our room

We spent the evening relaxing, scheduling our tours for the next few days, and saying over and over again, "I can't believe we're really here!" (OK, that may have been mostly me.) Our trip to Costa Rica was already proving to be an adventure!

Summer 2010 Vacation, Part 1: Faith's Lodge

We are back from two weeks of vacation, and it could not have gone better! We feel refreshed, renewed, and (at least on my part) better than I have felt in a long time. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and this trip—it was everything that we needed it to be, and even more.

I'll try to keep this concise (ETA: I think I failed at that. Oh well, you are warned!), but I want to share all the highlights of our two weeks off! Part One was our stay at Faith's Lodge. Faith's Lodge is a nonprofit retreat center for families and couples who have lost a child, or are dealing with the terminal illness of a child. It allows couples time to relax, process, and remember and honor their child(ren).

The lodge itself was gorgeous! 12,000 square feet, 4 floors. It includes a large commercial kitchen, eating area, wraparound porch, library, craft room, "Eagle's Nest" with beautiful views, and plenty of cozy areas to sit and read or talk. The lodge is in the north woods of Wisconsin, surrounded by tall pine trees. It was also nice and quiet!

the library

our suite

While there we met 5 other couples who have lost babies. No two stories were alike, but for the first time we experienced a community of others who have truly "been there." It took a little time for everyone to warm up, but we left with new friends and the feeling that we'd known some of the couples for years, rather than days.

There were a few activities planned each day, but we were free to do as much or as little as we chose.

We created a bird house and a mosaic stone to add to the boys' garden.


We hiked the Inspiration Path.

one of the quotes posted along Inspiration Path

We canoed on the pond. We spent lots of time reading and reflecting.

There is a bridge at the lodge that is surrounded by small, heart-shaped stones. Each of the stones has been decorated and placed in memory of a child. It was actually pretty overwhelming—like stars in the sky, more and more stones stood out to us the longer we looked. We decorated a stone and placed it under a tree to honor our sons. It was a very meaningful tribute to them.




Faith's Lodge was so good in so many ways. It was also difficult in some ways. Some parts were both good and hard. It was a time of sharing, processing, and healing. We are so very thankful that a place like this exists, and that we had the opportunity to visit.

¡Felices vacaciones a nosotros!

We are on vacation! Ahhhhh...... (giant sigh of relief/relaxation)

You know those stress assessment tests where you check off the events that have happened over the last year, and that determines how stressful your life is? I was thinking about some of the events that normally appear on them, and how many I would check off. Serious illness? Pregnancy? Death in the family? Check, check, check. The list goes on. Needless to say, we are more than ready for a vacation.

The way things are working out this may also be the best "progressive vacation" ever! We have had a long weekend at home to relax, pack and settle into "vacation mode." Next on the itinerary is some time at Faith's Lodge. There we hope to reflect and process some more of our experience, and relax even more. Finally, we'll be spending a week in Costa Rica, full of adventure, the beach, and oh yes, MORE relaxation! We have always wanted to visit Costa Rica together, and feel very blessed that everything has come together to make this trip a reality. From our bosses' understanding and flexibility to allow us two weeks off, to the financial side of things working out, we are very grateful.

We'll be back in a couple weeks with stories, pictures, and (hopefully) nice tans!

Anndddd... We're Back

Wow, it's been almost a full year since we last posted on our blog! So sorry to let you down, faithful readers. Things got very busy and crazy, and then things got very bad, and now things are... well, they are slowly getting better. I've wanted to resume posting for a while now, but it's taken some time to figure out what to write to summarize the last almost-year of our lives.

In short: we became parents, and suffered unimaginable loss. All on the same day.

Most of you reading know the whole story, but it didn't feel right to start blogging again without recognizing our boys, Asher & Evan. So we have created a page just to remember them and tell their story. You can find it in the links at the top of this page, or by clicking here.

I have good intentions to start blogging again regularly, so stay tuned. And please check out Jason's new blog The Grieving Father, where he shares more of our story, and provides resources for fathers affected by loss. We are beginning to heal, ever so slowly.