Koa's Birthday

As promised... photos from the "BIG" day! 

The birthday boy waiting for his pancake.

Our neighbors had pancakes with us!

 I felt adventurous and took the boys to Parque Carara with my friend Renate, who's visiting from Norway.

 The rainforest is so beautiful!






More neighbors came over to help celebrate and wear costumes.

 

Singing happy birthday!



Koa really enjoyed eating a piece of birthday cake!

What a special day!

a week in San Jose

Sometimes God has surprises for us.  This week was one of those for me.  We went to San Jose to take part in a seminar on marriage and family.  It was a really special time for Scott and me to take time out and focus on what's really important.  Here are some highlights:

While Scott and I were in class, the kids worked on building a club house.

They found scraps from all the construction going on around the base.

They worked together to build their club.

Phew, it's hard work!

Making music with Scott during a rainy afternoon before dinner.



What joy!  I got to hold my little sleeping Koa through the morning sessions.



 Jack Kody shared about marriage and parenting.

It's been so long since I've been able to just sit and receive, I can't believe this actually worked out!

Jude took time out from playing for a nap with mom, too!

Meanwhile, on Friday the finishing touches were being made.

...and - the club house is finished!

yay!

The boys also had fun on the skateboard ramps each day.

Ezzy skateboarding.

Lemuel thinks my boys are his "primos," - cousins!  So cute!

The best part?  No cooking or cleaning or dishes ALL WEEK!  I love the food on the base!


I think we all needed this more than we knew.

Costa Rica, día de la independencia

We spent the week in San Jose last week, while my husband was teaching in one of the Bible courses going on there.  In the middle of the week was Costa Rican Independence day and my friends, Gaby and Karen, convinced me to go downtown with them to watch the parades.  I was thinking it was going to be a disaster!  Taking the boys on the bus, fighting the crowds, trying to hold onto all the little hands... you can imagine!  But, I thought, why not?  Let's go for it!

Gaby holding Koa

Me and Karen - we had seven children with us between the three of us!

A little girl in the adorable traditional outfit

The parade!

We stopped in Plaza de la Cultura to feed pigeons - this is our friend Renate who was brave enough to come with us as well!

Cheap Thrills

My trip home

This month I got to take a trip back to my hometown of Falls Church, Virginia. It's been almost 3 years since my last visit, I can't even believe that. It was such a special trip. It was so fun to just have Koa and enjoy time with him, my last baby. I got to see family, friends and enjoy the goodness of life in the U.S. of A.

It's funny because living in Costa Rica, I kind of tell myself that it's really not that different. I mean, we have a KFC right down the street. McDonald's is only about 2 hours away. We have grocery stores, we have paved roads, we even have sidewalks.

But you know, the truth is, it is really different. It is totally different. I love living in Costa Rica, don't get me wrong, it is such a blessed life that we live. But at the same time, it is really fun to go home and enjoy my home culture and those things that we don't have here.

I especially enjoyed eating. I think I probably gained about ten pounds. My family kept commenting that I was eating like I had never eaten before in my life! My favorite eats included:

tomato Basil soup at La Madeleine
bagels and broccoli cheddar soup at Panera Bread
pita chips and rye tricuits with hummus and spinach dip
freshly grilled hamburger cookout at my Pop Pop's house
deep fried pickles on my mom's birthday
blueberries and rasperries
fresh tomatoes from my Pop Pop's garden
toasted english muffins with real butter
cinnamon bun flavored coffee creamer
chili cheese fritos
7 eleven iced coffee
swiss cheese on a sandwich
salmon

I also enjoyed some shopping. My mom and I hit up thrift stores. I about cried walking into Unique thrift store. Furniture, children's desks, chairs, strollers, you name it all for dollars. I couldn't even look at that section, knowing that I couldn't take anything that big home with me and knowing that I don't have access to anything like that here. I feel utterly convinced that I could live off of the excesses of American culture. That kind of excess just does not exist here. I did enjoy the toy section and book section of the thrift stores and found some awesome stuff for homeschool, including some great books, board games and toys.

I also cleaned out a bunch of stuff I have in mom's attic.  Wow, boxes of photos, letters, journals (I've kept a journal consistently since I was 10 - that equals a lot of journals), an extensive china doll and rag doll collection, which will now never be passed on to a daughter, but I was able to give them to my niece.  I wish I had more time to look through all the memories.  All I did was condense everything down to a few boxes and put them back in the attic for now.

But all of the fun of eating, shopping and digging through memories aside, the best part by far of my trip was spending time with the people I love that I do not get to see nearly often enough. And there were so many more people I would have loved to see, too.

Seeing Ellen, such an important person in my life, and meeting her son Charlie was extra-special!

Old friends are the best friends.  These ladies and I have known each other since before I even can remember.  Seeing them just feels like coming home.

At Panera Bread with one of my favorite families!

Hanging out with Laura, and meeting my precious godson, Jackson meant so much to me!  This is one of those friendships that stands the test of time and when we see each other it feels like no time has passed - I love that!

Sister time is the best!  Especially hanging out in mom's tent in her backyard!

My Pop-Pop and cousins.  What a special day to have all his grandchildren together in the same place at the same time.

My adorable niece, Sadie.  Just wanna squeeze her!

 Koa and Sadie enjoying their breakfast on mom's beautiful backporch.  Koa was one happy baby on this trip, being held constantly and getting so much attention!

My momma's birthday.  I love my family!!!!

Homecoming - lots of love!

Coming home has been harder than expected.  I've been getting some "payback" this week from the boys I left behind, especially from Jude.  Emotions running high, it's taken us all a little time to settle back into our normal patterns of relating and functioning as a family.   But we're getting there.  And Scott did so great taking care of three boys by himself.  He's such a superdad!   

Making Changes

I'll confess something.  Sometimes it's hard for me to leave the house.  I know that sounds crazy, but it's just the effort of tearing myself free from my children and chores and when I do have a chance to go out I'd usually rather just rest and read and be quiet.  But I know my hermit tendencies are not healthy and in reality make me unhappy.

I read this article last week called "The Trouble with Motherhood" and it brought me to tears.  It made me realize I need to make some changes.  So I sat down and just sort of wrote out how I was feeling and what I thought would help. Basically it involved sitting with my hubby and making a more detailed schedule of our lives.  We're at a phase of life where if it's not "scheduled" in, it won't happen!  So now I have 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. scheduled for me before Scott goes out the door at 8.  Scott does breakfast and Bible with the kids and I get to have a little time.

This week I went walking on the beach, just me and God.  I played tennis with a friend.  I even went to a women's fellowship Saturday night, even though I didn't want to and I was tired.  My husband actually prayed for me going out the door!  Isn't that silly, but so sweet?  I ended up staying until 10:30 pm and laughing so hard I was crying.  I feel better, I feel more alive, I feel more creative and joyful.  I think for us moms it's the little things.  Small choices can make such huge difference.

Steady Mom's 30-minute blog challenge 

Getting there...

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." Genesis 50:20

Getting to Jaco has not been easy. In fact it was one of the hardest things we've ever gone through as a family.

There was so much confusion, miscommunication and misunderstanding in finding the right home - even to the point of almost damaging important relationships in Jaco.

Then we struggled with our landlord to be released 15 days early from our contract so we wouldn't have to pay rent in two places. The stress of waiting to find out and not knowing what to do was overwhelming. We finally heard from our landlord the night of the 31st that we would have to be out by the morning.

We had to remain in San Jose for another week to finish up the children at risk school, but had no where to stay.

Scott severely injured his knee.

We all got hit - the WHOLE family - with a major stomach bug involving vomitting and diarrhea and sleepless nights going through that with all the children.

"...but God intended it all for good."

Yes, you could say it's been a rough few weeks. But in all these hardships and what feels like a spiritual battle, we have not been defeated. We win. And this is why.

In the midst of the confusion of finding the right home, God gave us peace and showed us clearly the house He has for us. He gave us a price that is unheard of in this area. All relationships are intact.

Even though we found out that we had to move at the last minute, we called friends from YWAM and over 10 people showed up the night of the 31st and packed our whole house up. They stayed til the job was done. A friend had a friend who has a moving truck and it all worked out. While Scott was with the moving truck in Jaco, other friends had the boys over to play. 7 more people showed up to help me scrub and clean the house so we could get our deposit back. We were never alone.

At the same time, a family welcomed us into their home and asked us to stay as long as we needed to. They cared for us when Scott injured his knee so I wasn't on my own taking care of everyone. They cared for us when everyone was sick. They loved us and our children and treated us like their own family.

Two friends volunteered to go with me to Jaco and help me set up the house ahead of time so it would be ready when we arrived with our boys. When I got sick in Jaco and passed out on the bathroom floor, they unpacked for me and when we couldn't finish, they even made the trip with me a second time so we could finish up.

I think the enemy was really trying to discourage us in any way possible, but God, using His body, the body of Christ, showed us love through these friends that were there for us in our time of need. It's humbling to be in such a place of need. But I am left completely amazed and overwhelmed and thankful. God used these trying circumstances to show us His love and power in an amazing way - through the love and care of those around us. We're home now and we're settling in and we're at peace.

Gratitude - today more than ever

I need to do my gratitude post today. While inside I'm in turmoil and freaking out, I need to take time to get back to a place of thankfulness.

56. my husband being the strong one for me when I need it.
57. so many people offering to help.
58. details being worked out beneath the surface by the hand of our mighty God.
59. small victories day by day.
60. patience to wait, trust and move in faith.
61. roasting hot dogs over a fire at a friends' house last night.
62. a "sleepover" in mommy's room while scott was away this weekend - complete with sleeping bags, popcorn, some wrestling and a movie.
63. a new home to move in to at the price we asked for.
64. a new adventure waiting on the horizon - so many unknowns and so many possibilities.
65. living a life of faith - without a salary - we have to trust God for our every need, we are so dependent on Him. It's scary, but the reality is, it's a blessing.
66. Scott, before heading out the door, just grabbing me and breathing a prayer over me. I love him.
67. Knowing that God is good.

Multitude Monday at Holy Experience.

Gratitude

I'm lifting my heart in thankfulness and finding the gifts - sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden - in each day. Counting my way to 1,000....

23. the sound of distant thunder rumbling.
24. a cool breeze.
25. A great time processing with a friend who came from very far away to help us. So thankful for the input in our lives.
26. Thankful that I had a very helpful friend stay with me this weekend while Scott was away.
27. My husband who helps me get perspective when I have a stinky attitude.
28. Kai is doing so great with his writing we're able to move forward with copywork and math.

Gratitude community is here

Sibling Love

me and my sis

Having four boys spaced so close together in age, the topic of "sibling rivalry" is a huge one for me. Seeing my boys play together nicely is one of the things that warms my heart the most. At the same time, nothing irritates or frustrates me more than listening to arguing, screaming, crying, hitting and fighting.

This topic is so important to me not just for my own peace, but also because I believe that sibling relationships have a pivotal role in shaping a child's life and view of themselves. In addition, I believe the home is where children begin to develop the skills they will use for all the caring relationships in their life. There's so much they need to know! Problem solving skills are essential - not just for sibling relationships, but for all of life. Unconditional love, respect, kindness, sharing, listening and empathy are other characteristics that need to be developed. But how? Maybe I'll ponder on these things in another post, but for now I wanted to share one simple little thing I do that helps with sibling rivalry and I think other moms might enjoy this too. I tell my boys stories from my childhood growing up.

My older sister and I truly were best buddies and so I share with my boys how special that was for me. I tell about games we used to play, adventures we had together, jokes we thought were funny, and on and on. Especially at times when fighting is at a high point, I'll start throwing in stories casually at random times throughout the day -for instance while eating lunch, bathtime, or bedtime. They find it so fascinating! Down to the smallest, silliest story, they think it's just great! I get frequent request to, "Tell about when you were little." I'd like to think that maybe these stories inspire them to get along and be friends.

I think this idea could work for any parent, no matter how you grew up. If it wasn't so ideal, you could share about that and how hard it was and things from that perspective. You may find, like me, that your children are more interested in your childhood than you would expect and that they can learn from our experiences - positive and negative. As for me, I'm having fun digging up old memories and sharing them with my little ones. What about you - have you found the same to be true? Do you have any tips to share for dealing with sibling rivalry?

More 30 minute blog challenges at Steady Mom