Feliz Navidad!

So yesterday was Christmas, I was going to wait to post until I had gathered the information needed to write about homeschooling but thought I'd share how our day went. On Christmas eve, eve we set out early in the am and spent hours shopping for presents and ingredients.

 (See our bus coming?)

We decided that we would give out loaves of banana bread to our friends, neighbors and local merchants. For two days straight my 15 year old baked a whole lot of bread, don't worry she loved every minute of it. On Christmas eve hubby and a few of the children set out to deliver these treats wrapped in clear bags, tied with bows and mini xmas cards. The recipients would not let them walk away empty handed, so they returned home with two bags full of Tamales! They were banana leaves stuffed with masa or rice, chicken or turkey, carrots, garbanzo beans, raisins, etc. depending on the person who made it.

We were told to boil them in water for about 15 minutes and enjoy. We had never eaten them before and enjoyed every bit of them! We went to church that night and enjoyed a wonderful service. One of our fellow sisters in Christ walked half way home with us as we discussed how chilly it was that night. She spoke of her home being very cold as it was made of mostly metal and right beside a river. She said that she was believing that the Lord would provide a better home for her and her children. So for my believers out there, please keep Marisol in your prayers.
When we returned home, the older kids began their tradition of baking sugar cookies as I read Christmas stories to the younger kids and put them to bed. We were up cleaning the house around 11:59 when all of a sudden a myriad of fireworks began to go off. We looked outside of our windows to see the most spectacular fireworks show I had ever seen. It was beautiful! From the view in our dining room, you could see miles and it was a grand way to bring in Christmas day!
Christmas morning was wonderful as we celebrated not only the birth of Jesus but of my 10 year old daughter also. The kids were up at the crack of dawn as usual. Didn't matter that I told them that santa made Costa Rica his last stop, so they were welcome to sleep in a bit. (smile)
We kept gifts to a minimum this year and I was happy to see them enjoy the little that they did receive.  Though we could have, we saw no need to give ipods, ipads, laptops or cellphones. Instead they received much wanted clothing items, journals, craft items, beaded jewelry and the most prized gift of all... an am/fm/cd radio. I'm not bashing anyone who did opt for the more high tech, expensive gifts... but for us, we have decided that there are way more important things for them to value.
What an awesome day God gave us.
As we near our time to travel to Nicaragua next month, I am increasingly excited to see what God will do. We have been in touch with an orphanage with 14 children, of which 6 are babies! If the Lord wills it, we will go and minister to them in whatever way we can. I pray that we stay in God's will now and forever, Amen!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
More to come...

Hard to understand friendliness...

So, I sat down certain that I was going to write about mishaps on our way to Costa Rica. Sure that I was going to tell you about missing the bus to the airport, paying an outrageous amount for my luggage... that did not fly free, asking for a glass of water on the plane and being told to pay $3 and getting lost in the airport where no one spoke English. How do you say...."Where's my husband?"

But, Today We were picked up at the airport by the owner of a beautiful little bed and breakfast who spent his day talking to us and giving us all sorts of advice about moving here.

 After relaxing a bit, we were picked up by the owner of the first house on the agenda....stop... I'm from Brooklyn and have lived many years in Miami. This young man drove us clear across town, spent a generous amount of time showing us the property and the neighborhood. Before we left, he asked if we would all like to grab dinner, which sounded wonderful to our hungry bellies. We then drove to an open/patio style restaurant and we ate and laughed for hours. By the time he brought us back to the Bed and Breakfast, we still hadn't told him if we wanted the house or not but it was like we were the best of friends, hugging and kissing cheeks. Kind of weird, but kind of nice. 

Tomorrow we will be driving to Playa Avellanas to see the second home on the agenda. It is 4 hours away and the owner of the bed and breakfast has offered to take us for a very small fee... What can I say? Pura Vida!

More to come... 

And away we go!....Well, not quite yet.

It was always my intention to begin school as late as possible this year but my overzealous children had other plans. They were up bright and early on Monday morning Aug 30th and sat waiting at the kitchen table. Who are these children?!? Unfortunately for them, I had a final bible study class scheduled that morning and had to leave. Didn't deter them in the least, they were waiting (not patiently I may add) and ready to begin at 2:00 in the afternoon. I still didn't have my act together. Schedules were not made, books not picked up at the library and my laptop charger had died 2 night before hand. Great! Well, Next best thing! We dumped the 4 bags full of school supplies on the kitchen table and divided them up. Passed out the Teaching Textbooks math, Apologia science, Tapestry of Grace (history,geography and literature) and a sprinkling of other grammar and spelling books . We then talked about what our year will look like, traveling through Central America and learning a new language. I ask them to pick the one thing that they were interested in the most and write it down. They would then learn as much as they could about it, along with other subjects and then be ready to present or teach it to their siblings at the end of the year. In the next two weeks we will be picking out a place to call home in Costa Rica. In the next two weeks Tony's job will officially end. In the next two weeks I will be watching and waiting for God to do amazing things!
More to come...