Christmas Morning

I am so grateful for mom-in-law. I don't know how I could have pulled Christmas together this year - with having a baby, and having no budget to work it was going to be tough. Well, when Scott's mom came to visit she brought extra suitcases filled to the brim with presents (not to mention a Christmas tree and decorations). When she arrived she quickly wrapped the presents up and hid them. So when we got back from the beach all I had to do was just pull the packages out, stick them under the tree and voila! Instant Christmas! You can see by this picture above the boys were totally thrilled. Thanks Arliss, I love you mucho! Also Lisa, my mom and Liz who contributed to this pile of presents under the tree! I just wish you could have been here to see their faces as they opened their presents.

The Smiles on these Faces...

...are what vacation is all about!! We are such a beach family - it's crazy. We spent our days heading to the beach by 8 a.m (9 at the latest!) and staying until the sun started to set. That is truly my favorite way to spend a day. Koa did so great - as long as he had shade he just snoozed the day away. Ezzy and Jude alternated between sand and water, but Kai was in the water the entire day every day.

flying high with daddy

sharing a coconut

the man with the coconuts gave Ezzy a ride on his horse

catching a wave

Me with 3 out of 4 boys

It was such a blessing to have this time together as a family and a great way to end the year. I love how God just takes care of us and gives us times of refreshment when we need it. It's amazing, though, because fighting between these boys can ruin even the most idyllic setting. I read a new book on this trip, "Siblings without Rivalry." An excellent read. Scott is reading it right now too and we're really trying to change our ways. The book just gives us some skills of how to talk to our children and things we can do to encourage them to get along and solve their problems. I'll probably be writing more about this topic, because I think it's one of the most challenging aspects of parenting, but for now I'll close with this awesome video of Kai surfing! I'm so proud of him so I have to show off just a little bit!

We're on Vacation!

Yes, that's right. The Freeman family is on VACATION! This is pretty amazing for us, because on a missionary budget, let's just face it - vacations are not a priority. It's also hard to find the time to get away. So how did this vacation come about? Well, my dad decided to come and visit and he wanted to take us away to the beach for a week - he also brought my little brother along- bonus! So we're here on the Caribbean side (my favorite side of Costa Rica) in the little town of Puerto Viejo enjoying the beach and sunshine. What a treat! You might have noticed I changed my blog theme back to my original - it just doesn't feel very "christmasy" right now, so I thought I would embrace my surroundings and enjoy a very tropical Costa Rican christmas!

The hotel - Villas del Caribe - isn't it beautiful?

We can walk right to the beach

I love all the green!

Jude! What a little chubby cutie pie





We found hermit crabs this morning - they're so cool!



We made a little hermit crab habitat

Ezzy with the hermit crabs

Baby Koa enjoying the view from the balcony

The sweet season of advent

Look what "Not Me" and "Nobody" did to the chocolate advent calendar that Grandma brought us. Woke up early, snuck to the advent calendar, opened every door and ate all the chocolates!! So much for that! Or "So much por dat" as Grandma would say in her Filipino accent!

This is going to be hard for me...

Look at this boy. Just look at him! He's one month old and he's grown and changed so much already. I was looking at him yesterday and felt a twinge of sadness that his just-born newborn stage is gone. I can't remember exactly what he looked and felt like when he was first born. I wish I had just sat and stared at him more!

This is my last baby - the last time I'll hold a teeny tiny newborn of my very own in my arms. Don't get me wrong - I am very happy with our decision and I love it that he's growing. He's filling out and getting cuter. Each stage that he will go through this first year of life will be so much fun and so adorable. But, I have to admit it is bitter sweet. And knowing he's my last, it's going to be harder than I thought!

It's Christmas at the Freeman House

Three little rudolph the red nosed reindeer

We've been checking the mail everyday waiting for our Christmas tree to arrive. Scott's momma mailed us a tree and it arrived this week so we had a fun afternoon putting it up and decorating it and decorating the house a little bit. This will be our first Christmas that we're staying in Costa Rica. Usually we alternate between Virginia (my family) and California (Scott's family). This year would have been Virginia, but it's just not possible with a new baby - even if we wanted to - to get his passport and everything. So we're excited to be here and have our first Costa Rican Christmas!
I wanted to do a little Christmas background for this blog - I'm not really loving this one, but I wanted to pick an easy one where I wouldn't have to change any of the text or anything. So we'll just keep it up for a little bit to spread the Christmas cheer!

My big, giant baby

Jude has been doing pretty good adjusting to having a new baby brother. But now since family left he's decided he wants "mommy" for everything. Daddy just won't do. He wants ME to change his diapers, get his food, put him to bed, etc. I am the preferred parent at this moment. It's kind of cute and I know it's related to the fact that I have a new baby that is taking so much of my attention.
This week Kai and Ezzy are attending a Christmas club in the mornings with their best friends, Lukey and Izzy. This is turning out to be a really good situation because I have the mornings free to spend with just Jude and Koa. Jude gets some special time with just me and the baby and I think we're both really enjoying it. He really still is a baby afterall.