Give Thanks

Today we received a very special box from my Aunt Jo and Uncle David. She made us cloths for handtowels and special homemade cloths for dishes. How can I ever really use these? They are so very special. There were many things in this box....a tablecloth for Thanksgiving Day along with cups and napkins. There was a special book just right for the girls to explain what Thanksgiving Day is all about. I have looked in the library at our school for one but they were all too old for them so I am so grateful! There were special little crafts, markers, coloring book, drawing pad.....ohhh so many special things. But one thing was for sure.....this very special box brought tears to my eyes....maybe Lottie gets this from me but the smell of everything inside made me cry. You see, I used to spend every summer at my Aunt Jo's house and at my Mimi's house. As soon as I opened the box the aroma of their homes overwhelmed me and I began to cry. I know it is so very hard for the people we have left behind......but it is also very hard to be the ones without your family nearby. I know Aunt Jo that you were a military wife and home is always where your family is....this I understand.....thank you for all of the very special items and most especially for the smell of home.

P.S. We felt our first earthquake today....very strange feeling.

Woo Hoo!

Look what I have....and I have TWO of them! My sweet neighbor Stacey's Mom is here for Thanksgiving and as a surprise Stacey had her smuggle.....I mean bring them into the country! I can hardly wait until tomorrow morning to drink one......I haven't had that much caffeine since I left Texas so I'm afraid I will be up all night if I drink it now! I am sooooo excited!

Today I had a small conference with the girls teacher at school. Emma had a great evaluation. Teacher Monica said that she has great skills with using scissors and has incredible fine motor skills. There was only one area to work on.....her listening skills. Shocking huh? Not really, I am being sarcastic. lol Here is a story to describe Emma's listening skills:

Mommy: (after the girls had already taken a shower) Emma, go to the bathroom and I will meet you in there to help you brush your teeth.
(Mommy arrives in the bathroom not even a minute later and Emma is completely naked)
Mommy: Emma why are you naked?
Emma: Because
Mommy: Because why? Do you remember why Mommy sent you in here?
Emma: Yes....to brush my teeth.
Mommy: Do we ever brush our teeth naked?
Emma: No maam. (It was extremely hard not to laugh!)

She is truly the sweetest child. Lottie had a great evaluation also and her teacher just praised and praised her on her ability to understand Spanish. She laughed because they rated them on her counting skills and Lottie could count higher in Spanish than in English. I am thankful she is so interested in learning this language. She corrects us often on our pronunciation;)

We called the Childrens Home today and the woman was out of town until Sunday:( We are praying and hoping and praying and hoping that they will let us volunteer soon!

Lottie's Birthday and the little things in life

The four amigos...Emma, Lottie, Ruthie and Eden. All in the same class. Three are adopted. Lottie & Eden are from China and Emma is from South Korea. Ruth is homegrown;) There has been so much talk in school on the playground about where everyone came from that Ruthie came home the other day and said, "Mom, I think I'm from China and I think I was there when Lottie, Eden and Emma were there". LOL

Ruthie, Eden, Joy, Emma, Sydney, Lottie and Sidney (Lottie and Sidney believe that people will think they are twins in these dresses;)

Lottie had a fabulous birthday party after school today! All of these silly, giggly, squealing girls came home with us and thankfully my precious friend Felicia came home with me too! We played games and of course had a pinata.....Lottie's favorito! I can't believe my baby girl is five years old and then on Wednesday, Elisabeth will be 22 and James will be 26....Yikes...where does the time go? Happy Birthday to all of my babies!

These are three little things that have made big differences this week! The Dr. Pepper is Greg's favorite and we just happened to see it at Hipermas this week....they never have Dr. Pepper here and we bought all four cans! (Yes, they only sell cans individually) Then, we found this huge tub for the girls to bathe in while they are in the shower. The shower just wasn't getting them clean enough....they love it! Then as a special treat for me.......we found this large dish drying rack! Isn't it awesome and really orange? lol Since we have to wash all of the dishes by hand the other rack was just too small......I had to dry them halfway through before I could finish washing the rest from the meal. See how you can hang the cups on the side so they take up all of the room in the middle! Way cool!

We find out Tuesday if we will be allowed to volunteer in the home for children down the street. There are ten children who live in this house. They are from the ages of 5-preteen. I don't know anything about them except they have been removed from their homes because of abuse. I think Greg and I have decided to volunteer there separately and not take the girls in the beginning. I think these children deserve some one on one attention and I wouldn't want my little ones to take any of that from them.

We are so blessed

I am speechless because of your love. All of you who reach out to make my babies feel more comfortable in their surroundings....to make them feel even more loved....to make them feel at home. All of the gifts we have received are so so special. Lottie and Emma can tell you where each and every thing came from.....you cannot even imagine the love they feel pouring out from your hearts. We have our good days and bad days with missing home. When we are really missing home...on the bad days....the girls and I make a list of what we miss at home and what we love about Costa Rica. The list at home is always the same....this is Lottie's....Sissy, Bubba, my friends, my family and my swimming pool. lol. Except for the swimming pool, I believe her list is very accurate. The only thing we can't replace here is our family and friends.

Lottie received her birthday box from her Aunt Jan, Uncle Steve, Ryan and Gordon in Hawaii! Of course, Aunt Jan can't JUST buy presents for Lottie..lol! They both received these precious ponchos, little bitty princess phones....Cinderella for Lottie and Princess Aurora for Emma....she never even asked me "who liked what princess" but she got it right! (Well, Lottie loves Tinkerbell too;) And they also received the cutest Hello Kitty book bags and Lottie got her very first big girl bible....a purple one too!

Then yesterday, we received this Christmas box from Kim and her family (This is Flat Stanley's family too;). Kim and I went through school together; stayed in touch for some years and then fell out of touch with each other. She found me on facebook right before I left for Costa Rica and has done nothing but reach out to my family. So, I am wiping tears away this morning at the people God has placed in my life or back into my life at just the right time. This box is incredibly amazing....she did not want the girls to be without Christmas decorations and let me tell you.....we will be decked out! There are crafts......ornaments....lights.....cookie cutters...you name it...it is in this box! She also sent six stockings because she knew James and Elisabeth were coming. What a blessing you are my friend. I am truly at a loss for words for all of you who bless my babies. They are already wearing their reindeer antlers and their Christmas socks. lol

I have a prayer request! I have been praying and praying and praying for a ministry. My mentor, sweet Annette, called me last night and she has an idea. There is a home for children right near my house and there is not a missionary presence there that she knows of right now so she is thinking of taking our family there this week. We will bake some cookies and go over there and see if they will let us come once a week or twice a month or whatever and tell stories to the children. I don't think we have enough Spanish to go by ourselves the first time, but then if they say yes....we can fumble our way through it and even probably increase our language. I know love can be shown in all languages! I have been praying so hard for a ministry that our entire family could do together and I think this is so wonderful.....oh I am praying for Him to give me an answer. Please pray with me.....I desperately need to serve someone!

How to bless God by Rick Warren

"I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you . . . and you will be a blessing to others" (Genesis 12:2 NLT).

The Bible teaches that we should use our blessings to bless others: Our blessings should flow to others The Bible teaches us that we are blessed not just so that we can feel good, not just so we can be happy and comfortable, but so that we will bless others. God told Abraham, "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others" (Genesis 12:2 NLT). This is the first law of blessing: it must flow outwardly. When we bless others, God takes care of our needs God promises that if we will concentrate on blessing others, he'll take care of our needs. There's almost nothing that God won't do for the person who really wants to help other people. In fact, God guarantees this blessing. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth . . . no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life" (Luke 18:29-30 NIV). When you care about helping other people, God assumes responsibility for your problems. And that's a real blessing, for he's much better at handling your difficulties than you are. Our blessings to others will come back on usThe more you bless other people . . . the more you help others, the more God blesses your life. Luke tells us, "Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity" (Luke 6:38 MSG). You cannot out give God. The more you try to bless other people in the world around you, the more God says, "I'm going to pour blessings out on you. We'll play a little game here. Let's see who will win. Let's see who can give the most. The more you bless others the more I'm going to bless you in return." The more we're blessed by God the more He expects us to help others. Jesus said it this way: "Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given" (Luke 12:48 TEV). Would you agree that based on the blessings of your life you probably have a greater responsibility than other people in the world? If you live in the United States, I'm sure you’d agree, because it's obvious we've been given freedom that many people don't have. We've been given opportunities that many people don't have. We've been given material and physical and spiritual abundance that a lot of people around the world simply do not have. Think this through with me. If I've been blessed more than the rest of the world then it would stand to reason that God would want me to care about the rest of the world. Does that make sense?

All creatures great and small.....the Lord God made them all!

A picture of the family after a long sweaty hike

Mommy: "Umm.....Lottie Li there are crocodiles in this river....please stop sticking your hand in the water!"

Monkey's in the tree

I just love all of the different man made bridges.....so unique

A swing bridge.....this is the only picture I took as it swayed....I was worried the whole time they were going to fall through the bottom of the bridge....the fence wasn't connected to the bottom of the bridge!

Emma Jane and Mr. Ronnie

This is a picture of a Jesus Christ Lizard (this is what they call this breed because it walks across the water!) Too funny!

Emma Jane and Mr. Kenny (He and his wife Elizabeth lived in our quad when we were in Virgina

A big monkey!

Lottie's dirty feet as she relaxes on the boat

Lottie and Mr. Ronnie

This is Lottie with her two new Webkinz that her Aunt Karen sent to her. Aunt Karen also sent them Halloween cards with money inside for ice cream. Aunt Karen sends them a card with money and stickers in it for every single holiday. When Lottie opened the card she said, "I love Aunt Karen, she always makes sure I have plenty of stickers and money." lol

We spent the day on a boat ride through the rain forest. I can never get enough of God's creation in this country. Where we live in San Jose, it is not that pretty.....it is a huge city! But once you get out and go over the mountains....oh my...you can't help but think of God and sit in His presence. We went with the Henderson's and the Williams family, this was our last trip with them as they are leaving San Jose to go to their countries where God has called them in December. We will miss them. The Ziglars leave in December too....we might experience our first bout of culture shock after they are all gone:(

School has been very hard lately, we are learning reflexive verbs. I am very excited though because my grammar teacher says that we are moving along well and she is planning to introduce past tense to us before this trimester is over....Woo Hoo! Like I have said before it is difficult sometimes to always talk in the present tense. I mean, seriously.....the Bible is in past tense even!

Lottie has being doing amazing.....maybe it is because she will be five in one week....who knows but it is because of your prayers and God's extra dose of grace. We feel both and please continue to pray for her. A couple of cute things about the girls that I just wanted to journal so I wouldn't forget them.

The other day, my neighbor who LOVES to bake Stacey, made us some cookies. Lottie took one bite and said, "I love Ms. Stacey Mommy, she cooks gooder than you".

Last Sunday in the girls classroom they made pendants with pencils and on the pendant it said,
"Eschuchemos a Jesus". I was a little irritated with Lottie because she wouldn't walk and it is a long walk when you are carrying an extra 30 pounds. About halfway home she said, "Emma, hold up your flag really high so everyone will know about Jesus!" (After that, it was hard to be upset with her;)

Emma had on a necklace and it was pulling on the little hairs on the back of her neck and she said, "Mommy, could you take this off....this necklace is biting me?" (she is so precious!)

Okay...last one! I was studying one afternoon and listening to the girls play with their new stuffed puppies that their Aunt Karen sent to them. Lottie said to Emma's puppy, "Let me tell you about Jesus, he is our King in heaven and he needs to save you so if you watch me every day you will see my light shine and you will learn about Him" (She really is listening....just hoping the children are watching on the days her light is really shining...lol)

Oh how He loves you and me!

“Love,” Paul says, “never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8 NIV).

The verb Paul uses for the word fail is used elsewhere to describe the demise of a flower as it falls to the ground, withers, and decays. It carries the meaning of death and abolishment. God’s love, says the apostle, will never fall to the ground, wither, and decay. By its nature, it is permanent. It is never abolished.

Love “will last forever” (NLT).

It “never dies” (MSG).

It “never ends” (RSV).

Love “is eternal” (TEV).

God’s love “will never come to an end” (NEB).

Love never fails.

Governments will fail, but God’s love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out, but his love never will.

How could God have a love like this? No one has unfailing love. No person can love with perfection. You’re right. No person can. But God is not a person. Unlike our love, his never fails. His love is immensely different from ours.

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous.

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10 NIV).

Doesn’t this thought comfort you? God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you. (Deut. 7:7–8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

**A very old picture of Lottie and Emma but there are not many opportunities here to take pictures of them and be safe. I love this picture for so many reasons....I used it on our Christmas card last year for one reason. It shows a love between two sisters. I love the way Emma Jane is gently holding Lottie's hand...she loves Lottie and looks up to her (sometimes that is not good...lol)....this is the same way they both look up to James and Elisabeth. We all have the ability to exhibit God's love for other people. My prayer lately has been, "Please Lord use me...send me someone to love on and show them how important they are to You...use me to help them see how lost they are without You in their life".......care to pray this with me and see how much we can expand the Kingdom together?