the final countdown

first and foremost, my apologies for the impromptu post. i usually try to have things well sorted, with photos to highlight important points or cuteness that must be shared.
but with a mere 17 days remaining in belize, there is truthfully no time for that. we've been literally running around, trying to prepare this and sort that, as well as making sure we say goodbye to just about everyone.
rest assured that a full update will come eventually, with pictures of adorable children playing chess and lounging in coconut trees. (see, i even have the pics mentally selected already!)
as for this post, my intention is to share with friends and family two bits of information:
1) we will be back in the states december 20th. we'll be based out of pa, of course, but have over two months to share hugs and smiles with you all!
2) and this is the big news: WE ARE GOING TO COSTA RICA!!!!! we just received the email from our country director, which states, "Congrats Melissa and Coy. Your transfer extension to Costa Rica is official." many of you may have known that we were administratively cleared a while ago, but now all is official and i hereby make it public. if we weren't so busy being overwhelmed with closing shop here, we would probably be giddy. there is plenty of time for that after december 20th.
we hope that everyone is well and recovered from the recent overeating that surely took place on thanksgiving. we did indulge in some turkey ourselves, and it was almost like being home with the family, but not quite. we are just thrilled to have the chance to spend christmas at home with so many of our loved ones. please send sweaters and scarves to help ease us back into that pennsylvania climate!