Merry Christmas!

We had a hard time getting a good family photo this year!

We got some good ones of the kids, though.

Kai James, 7

Ezra William, 5

Jude Paul, 3

Koa Jeffrey, 1

4 brothers

I love this one, too.  But the winning photo is...

Ta da!  Merry Christmas!

From sunny Costa Rica, wishing you a joyful holiday season filled with love and laughter!

Counting Blessings on a Monday

198.  A relatively successful church attendance for the family.
199.  The way Kai takes charge and organizes his day, filling it with fun and productive activities.
200.  Play-fighting with lots of laughter.
201.  The silliness of these boys.
202.  Prayers and advice at women's Bible study.
203.  Hide and go seek at the park.
204.  Writing in my journal consistently again.
205.  Your powerful majestic lightning and thunder.
206.  bookshelves
207.  re-arranging furniture.
209.  benadryl
210.  Walking with my neighbor.
212.  My neighbor starting to homeschool.
214.  Provision
215.  rain, rain and more rain.
217.  Our awesome backyard.
219.  Getting our brakes fixed on the car so quickly.
221.  Christians in Jaco.
222.  Our amazing hermit crabs that are somehow still alive.
223.  Never having to even think about trash or stress about dishes because my husband is so on top of it.
225.  Feeling a flow with homeschool.
226.  Finally, a flexible schedule that Kai likes and sticks to.
227.  Little boys washing dishes.
228.  Koa learning to swim.
229.  Finding a little soccer club for Kai and he loves it.
230.  One-on-one time with Jude.

{this moment}

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

My four boys

Today I'm not feeling well. I'm tired, I'm grumpy. But when I look at these faces my heart is so full. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Who does Koa look like?

I get this question all the time. And honestly, I don't know! He seems like such a mix of all 3 boys. The other thing is I forget what they all looked like as babies. It's so sad how as they grow those memories start fading. So I dug up some old photos and thought I'd do a little comparison.

Kai


Ezra

Jude

Koa

So what do you think?

Found a treasure today

I convinced my family to visit a park that is really close to our house today. I've been wanting to go for awhile, but things have been kind of crazy. They still are, but I was desperate. I know what kind of week we have coming up - a really busy week for my hubby, which means looong days for me and the boys at home. I really wanted the boys to get out in nature and have an adventure! So we did!

Here they are heading off down the trail

We of course had to stop and check out all the bugs and butterflies

This butterfly has transparent wings - amazing!

Koa enjoyed the ride

the boys checking out the view

we got a little bit lost and it started raining -so fun!

I am so excited about this park! It's really amazing and less than five minutes from our house. I had no idea! It is truly an escape from the city and I would love to take the boys on adventures here more often.

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