It is 6: 43 a.m.  The sun has just tipped into the crater and the first rays are lighting the tips of the banana trees and making the huge, apricot coloured bell flowers of the Bella Donna tree glow in the morning mist.

I’m up, enjoying the last moments of quiet for the entire year.

I hear the first boat on the lake and I know who is on it.

Dennis, who struggled all day yesterday with delayed flights and missed connections to wing his way south for what might just be the most epic surprise ever.  Certainly the best one of the holidays in our house.

Dennis was here a few weeks ago, you might remember, the first time we met our backpacking friends.  But then, he flew home, for many good reasons, only to discovered that he missed this country and his new friends as sorely as they missed him.

We’ve spent a little over a week quietly whispering back and forth across five thousand miles, planning the surprise and this morning, it’s all coming together, and no one suspects a thing.

We slept very little last night.  Went to bed late, Elisha was up vomiting at one, dogs woke us at two, Grandpa at three and as the sky yawned from black to silver, I gave up hope of any real rest.  Instead, I lay awake, bursting with the anticipation of the surprise.

Ruthie sneaked out the door and down to the hammock about half an hour ago.  It’s her favorite place to watch the sunrise over the lago.  David is still snoring.

Elisha, who spent the second half of the night on the sofa, where he has kindly recovered instead of continuing the puke-fest, has been given strict instructions NOT to scream or make any noise when “a big surprise” arrives in a few minutes.  We hope to sneak Dennis down the path to Ruthie’s hammock for the first round of joyous reunions.

Stay tuned… the party is just about to start…