Likes

A list of the things I enjoy here, so far.

• The mountains. We are surrounded by gorgeous views in every direction.
• The weather. With the exception of days where it rains all day, the weather is generally great.
• The market. I love going to market on Saturdays. The produce is great, but really I just love the environment. Getting to see people I otherwise would never meet. Going to the same stand to get those little bananas every week, and seeing the lady recognize us. She laughs at my Spanish, but I think she likes that we try.
• The children. With very few exceptions, the younger children here are so sweet, and very friendly. This is great for Olivia, and I look forward to the day when she can communicate enough to really have some good Tico friends.
• The need. I don't mean that I like the fact that there are very needy people here. I mean, not in the typical "like" way. I just love the fact that God has sent people here, and sends people here regularly on teams, etc. to minister to HIS people. Our God is so caring and compassionate. Even though I don't get to go out as much as I would like, I love hearing about peoples' lives being changed. There have been so many instances where God has drawn people to Himself through a physical need, such as a home or medical care being met.
• Teams. This one is such a huge part of our ministry here in CR. Teams come and go on a regular basis, and while it's hard on our family in some ways, it is so wonderful to constantly meet new people, and to be able to see God at work in their lives. I love to think about how they go home and change the world around them, wherever they may live.
• Prayer Partners. It's such a blessing to get an email, like we did today, from someone just stating how they are praying for our family. It is so encouraging to know that people care about our family, but also that they care about people they've never even met who live here with us in Alajuelita.

Indian giver

I'm officially taking back my promise to post a list daily. Two reasons - I physically cannot some days (i.e. we are gone from sun up to sun down, our internet isn't working, I'm brain dead, etc. You get the picture.), and I think it borders on annoying... especially when I have nothing important to say.

But, speaking of nothing important to say, on to today's list.

Things I've heard broadcasted from a loudspeaker in CR. (Most of the time, the loudspeaker is attached to the roof of a car, truck, etc. Many times the loudspeaker is the same size, or bigger than the vehicle it is attached to. Seriously.)

1. "The Egg Man" - A guy that drives through the streets of Alajuelita (and other towns?) advertising that he has eggs for sale, from the back of his truck.
2. A clothing store that has a sale going on.
3. Political ads.
4. And of course, to be expected, the guy who wants everyone in the neighborhood to know he spent a lot of money on a sound system for his sweet ride. This is usually the same guy who spent more on his "dubs" than the car is worth.

I think there will be more posts to come on this topic, but I need to learn more Spanish so that I know what they are saying...

Character Traits - Part One

Been thinkin' a lot today.
Here's a list of the things I hope we can teach/model for our daughters.

1. Patience
2. Faith - trusting God completely, even when it seems foolish to others
3. How to Forgive
4. How to be forgiven
5. Kindness
6. Compassion
7. Selflessness
8. How to obey, even when you don't want to (Parents, those in authority, most importantly - God)
9. Modesty
10. Confidence in who they are - not tempted to give in to peer pressure
11. How to laugh at yourself
12. How to deal with disappointment in a healthy way
13. Self-Control
14. (And most importantly) LOVE

I think I will keep adding to this list. Do you have any suggestions? I'm sure there's lots of "good ones" that I've forgotten. This are just the ones I've been dwelling on today.

A Day at Home

What I've heard today, in the four walls of our home:

Whining
Crying
Laughing
Backtalk
Whining
Whining
Screaming
Crying Louder

Get the picture? Please tell me other people have days like this... I am ready for bedtime, and it's only 7:30.

Childhood Movies

Tonight we borrowed the movie, The Aristocats, from some friends. Jeremy nor I had either seen the movie, but it did get us talking about favorite movies we watched as kids. Here's a list of a few of ours... I think when we go home in a few months we'll have to try and find some of these for our girls to watch.

Pollyanna
Mary Poppins
Jungle Book
Robin Hood
Lady and the Tramp
The Fox and the Hound
101 Dalmatians

There are probably many more good ones that we'd like to share with our daughters. What were your childhood favorites?

five things I do daily.

1. Clean-up baby poop.
2. Wipe spit-up, bottoms, faces, hands, feet...
3. Bottles: make 'em, wash 'em, boil 'em (reminds me of Bubba Gump)
4. Pick up toys.
5. Squash flies. Yes, I'm serious.

I know, I know, it's a glamorous life I lead. I wish I could blame where we live, but let's face it - with the exception of the flies, it's pretty close to the same daily list I had in Jax.

But it's all worth it.

Nightstand

Here is a list of all the books I'm "currently" reading. As in, most of them I have started but not finished. If I've actually read the entire book, I'll put it in bold. What's on your nightstand?

"Radical" by David Platt [i just started this last night, but i am planning on reading along with our home church as they go through this book for the next several weeks. looking forward to hearing the sermons that will go along with each chapter! - thanks ape]

"Have a New Kid by Friday" by Dr. Kevin Leman [i actually read this entirely before, but now that we are dealing with some new discipline issues, i thought i might skim through it again. i highly recommend it, he has a very practical, no-nonsense approach to discipline that i love.]

"Bringing Up GIRLS" by Dr. James Dobson [i started this book about a week or so before ava was born, and i really love what i've read so far... but that was to be expected. after all, it's dobson.]

"Living Abroad in Costa Rica" by Erin Van Rheenen [we bought this with a gift card just before we moved to cr, but i love all her insight on living here, although i haven't read more than a few chapter so far.]

"Go Into All the World" - a mission journal [this was a gift given to us by a dear friend, and we have loved reading through all the various scriptures and quotes that apply to our current 'job'. it is a great gift for anyone that has a heart for missions, or is preparing to go on a mission trip. we both love it.]

"A Wife After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George [i think i may have read this entire book when we were engaged, but i can't remember if i finished it. i pulled it out on my nightstand again, looking forward to a re-read soon.]

"Covenant Child" by Terri Blackstock [this was left here by a mission team, and i haven't started reading it yet - it is a christian novel, which i'm typically pretty skeptical of. but, since we don't have lots of christian bookstores here (none, that i'm aware of) i thought i would grab it before it was thrown out. i'll let ya know how it is.]

"The Parent You Want to Be" by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott [i started reading this book when i was pregnant with olivia, yes, olivia. i don't think i ever finished it, but i remember thinking how great it was - focusing on who we are verses what we do... going to read this after i finish the first parenting book on the list.]