Weekend Adventures and Prayers Needed

Friday, February 15

The sun was shining so we decided to go on an adventure in Tuis.  The problem is: we got a late start.  By the time we headed out the door, it was almost noon and the clouds were coming.  We were already ready and on our way, so we continued.  We were joined by Ryan and Kirsten and family.   Amanda had told us about a spot that Diana showed her, so we headed that way.  It was about a 35-40 minute walk up the road past Tuis.  We met José Pablo on our way, and he went home to change into his swim suit and caught up with us on his bike. 

We had to cross the river to get to the spot, so this bridge was our only option.  

4 adults, 4 kids, 1 teenager and a bike all made it safely to the other side.  No grandmothers need to worry.  Once we got across, we followed a path along side a sugar cane field.  Who knew that the leaves of the sugar cane stalk could be so sharp.  

None of us were hurt, but we were sure to be careful of those prickly leaves.  Once we arrived at the spot (which none of us had ever been before) 

I...we sat down for a peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwich-picnic-lunch.  

Ocean enjoys his PB&J.

We worked up a sweat and an appetite on our way there, so it was a perfectly refreshing lunch. 

We caught a glimpse of these
tiny little frogs... they were
about the size of my pinky fingernail! 

Then, we all started to venture into the cold water.  Sadly, the sun was hidden behind more and more clouds.  We knew that the rain would soon be upon us, so we cherished our time until we just new we needed to head home.  While we were there, José Pablo jumped of the rock into the pool several times.  All of a sudden, Kirsten decided that she wanted to jump.  She convinced me to go with her.  She braved the leap into the cold water first, and came up screaming… which lead to a slight panic as she realized she lost her watch (the very same watch she had just purchased a new battery for only a few weeks ago).  Well, the leaves at the bottom were all stirred up from her jump, but we all tried to help her find it.  It was sad when we had to give up and claim defeat.  But, she didn’t let that stop her from jumping again.  This time, her 4-year-old brave little boy joined her.  After she jumped in, he didn’t hesitate to follow.  Of course, I finally made the leap, too.  It was cold, but not freezing (it is Costa Rica afterall).  After we dried off a bit, we decided it was time to head home.  We encountered a group of long-boarders risking their lives as they sped down the hill past us.  A friend followed them in a car to honk his horn and to warn others and to pick them up at the bottom of the hill. 

We had the knowledge of and “ice-cream-reward” in our freezer at home to motivate the kids all of us to keep walking.  We arrived back at our house tired but full of a sense of accomplishment.

We let the kids play, chatted with Kirsten and Ryan, and let Jaden and Ocean take a nap.  Then, for dinner we took a walk in the rain to Rancho Monteverde.  We wanted to visit Freddy and Samia anyway.  Of course, we were the only ones there, so we had a blast hanging out with them and eating some good food.  I have just learned this week what a Chuleta is… and I ate 2 yummy ones for dinner.  Freddy gave us all a ride home, and we even picked up Amanda as she got off the bus from her trip to Panama. 

All in all, it was a great day and I am sure we will all sleep well tonight.

Saturday, February 16

Early morning reading time with Titi!

After a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, platanos, toast and pineapple, Jaden was not his normal happy-self.  I decided to let him rest in his bed for a bit, to see if he just needed an early nap.  He surprised us by getting out of the pack-n-play all on his own!!!  You see, over the past few weeks, I have noticed a hole in the side of his pack-in-play.  I should have fixed it when I first noticed it and it was only about 3 inches long.  Now it is over a foot long, and Jaden has figured out his exit strategy.  It needs to last us 5 more weeks… so we pushed his bed up against the wall in hopes of deterring him.  We will see if that works.

We were running low on food this weekend, so we knew we needed to do some shopping.  Amanda was sick of being on a bus, so she kindly agreed to watch the boys at Kirsten and Ryan’s house while we went to Turrialba.  She got off the bus with Jaden as they got on at the bus stop near their house.  They also had Stephanie along.  She is a new student from Germany. 

Our first stop was the bank, and then we showed Stephanie around the city.  We stopped along the way for some Dutch cookies and some ice cream.  Then, as we walked through the farmers market, she bought a ¼ watermelon and asked the vender to cut it into 5 pieces so we could eat it right there.  After shopping for our fruits and veggies, we walked to Cosechas for some smoothies and headed to Maxi Pali.  We wandered around that zoo for a while and then called a taxi to get everyone and our purchases home.  How exhausting it is to shop!!!

After cleaning up the house a bit, we ate a delicious dinner and got ready for an evening of Youth Group at our house.  There were 12 of us tonight, and we had lots of fun.  Josué was basically in charge of the evening, but of course Eddie was there to keep things interesting as he always does.  The night consisted of the girls drawing a giant picture of a dream-boyfriend or husband and the boys drawing their dream-girlfriend or wife.  It was entertaining to say the least. 

After ice cream and cookies, Eddie had to initiate another ridiculous challenge to entertain the teenagers… well, more to entertain himself.  He laid the pillows on the couch and free-fell face-first onto them.  Check out Amanda's Facebook for several videos...

We had fun with the youth tonight, and I appreciated the fact that Jaden was able to go to bed on time because we were hosting the group in our home.  He has been exhibiting some angry faces and attitudes in the last few weeks.  It is quite obvious when he needs his bed.

Sunday, February 17

Today was Amanda’s last Sunday with us here in Costa Rica.  Hector allowed Eddie and Amanda to sing a song that they wrote (in English).  Before they sang it, Amanda explained to the congregation what the words meant.  She did a really good job of explaining the song in Spanish, and they sang beautifully together!

...and Ryan got to play the part of "God" because he is the tallest.  Poor Macha was demonstrating the humble publican and Adrian is the Pharisee.  Hector was continuing his sermon series on the 7 deadly sins, and this week was pride.

We were able to meet some new people at church this morning.  4 more new students arrived yesterday.  They are living in Gatica’s house and they will be attending CISA for just two weeks.  The couple’s names are Bruce and Vicki.  Their children’s names are Ben and Anna.  They are about 13 and 12 years old.  They are from Illinois about 15 minutes west of Chicago.  Bruce is a doctor and he works on Ogden Avenue.  He has had a chance to practice his medical Spanish because about 50% of his patients are Hispanic.  He and his wife studied at a language school in Mexico for a month, but that was 15 years ago. 

After a quick lunch of banana-cinnamon pancakes, it was time for Jaden’s nap and time for us to study.  Eddie really wants to help me study and catch up with him.  Unfortunately it was a short nap for Jaden, and then Eddie felt like he needed one.  I tried to study outside while Jaden played in the front yard, but he was more interested in drawing in my notebook or playing with my phone, both of which I was using to study.  Needless to say, I didn’t get much studying in.  I did get a few photos though:

It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.  It was hot and sunny until 4 pm (of course it was a day we didn’t plan a trip to the river).  Eddie had to get out of the house so we took the bus to La Suiza to play at the park with Jaden.  

Kirsten and Ryan and the kids joined us just as it started to rain.  I decided that we must be a cold front and they must be the warm front because every time we come together for an outdoor activity, it rains!  

We waited out the rain, and then Ryan and Eddie played basketball for a while and the kids played on the very wet playground where Ocean was practically launched off the end of the very slick and very fast slide.  The poor boy landed about 4 feet away from the end of the slide!  

Finally, we decided to head home.  We ordered hot chocolate while we waited for the bus at the local “soda.”  We got home just in time to eat the tacos that Amanda made for us.  After dinner, Eddie and I cleaned up the kitchen while Amanda got Jaden ready for a shower and bed.  We have been putting Jaden on the potty before he takes a shower, just to get him used to it.  Well, tonight, Amanda must have had perfect timing.  Jaden peed and pooped on the potty for the first time!  We all cheered for him and I gave him a Skittle as we showed him what he did.  That is when he freaked out!  I am not sure it was a successful night… it may have scared him away from the potty for a while.

Monday, February 18

After breakfast today, I got a phone call from Hector.  He told us that our nanny, Diana, is sick and needed to go to the hospital.  Please pray for her!  She started with a UTI, but Kirsten thinks it has gone to her kidneys.  She is in pain and even started vomiting.  Hector asked Gatica if she would watch Jaden today while we were in class.  Jaden was not too happy about being left behind while we went to school.  He loves being around people and playing with the other kids.

Deidre and I started class with Patricia again this week.  After their evaluations, the new students were placed in their respective classes.  Bruce is in our class.  Stephanie and the rest of Bruce’s family are in a class together with Sonia. 

Patricia has her work cut out for her this week.  She has been instructed to try to catch me and Deidre up with Eddie because next week we will all be in class together.  Today, we learned another past tense form.   Thankfully, it was not too complicated.  The hardest part about it is pronouncing it, but it is fairly easy to remember how and when to use it.  Finally, something that is not complicated!

After lunch, we decided to go to Kirsten and Ryan’s house to use their internet because Eddie had an important telephone call that he needed to make.  I tried to get Jaden to take a nap there, but it did not go over too well.  We hung out there for the afternoon and then came home for dinner.  That is when Jaden’s tiredness caught up with him.  After meltdown after meltdown, we showered him and put him to bed just after 6pm.  I hope he sleeps at least until 6am!

Please pray for Eddie and me as we are seeking direction for our future.  Our time here is coming to a close in less than 5 weeks, and we are seeking where our next step will be.  God has already opened a few doors and Eddie has just started sending out applications.  Our vision is Miami, but we are still waiting for God to confirm that that is where He wants us.  And if it is Miami, we are trying to figure out where in Miami God is calling us.

I was trying to figure out why I am not yet looking forward to returning to the States.  Sure, there is plenty that I miss from the States; but I am just not feeling ready to leave this beautiful country.  I think I figured out why: it has been almost 6 months since I have had to do laundry my own laundry!  Also, I rarely have to cook or clean here.  Who wouldn’t want to leave?  I guess it is my lazy side coming through!  No really, though, I do not quite feel ready to give up the Tico life-style.  I am just getting used to life here.  I am starting to enjoy the simplicity of life.  When I think about moving back to Florida, all I can think about is getting caught up in the American life-style where you are too busy to even breathe!

And this may not be for the mushy-gushy, but I am really going to miss spending almost every waking hour of the day with my wonderful husband.  When we go back to the States, he will have to get a job and spend his days at work.  Now, I don’t want to sound like I am complaining.  I will be very grateful that he has a job and that our family is provided for, but a part of me will be sad to see him go each morning.  It was one of the things I looked forward to most about moving to Costa Rica in the first place.  I knew that I would be spending a lot of time with my husband, and I thought that after almost 6 months it would be enough.  It is not.  I still love to be in his company all day everyday.  Well, not all day, but everyday!