Christmas happenings!

We have had a fun week. We started the fun by spending the afternoon at our good friends the Abdallah's last Saturday. I forgot to take any pictures, but it was good to talk and visit and watch the kids play. Then on Sunday afternoon we went to our friends the Perle's house. They moved to Costa Rica about the same time we did. They are from Vienna, Austria and so we spent the afternoon making typical Austrian Christmas cookies. Such fun!!

Nela and I after making cookies!
Nela and I with all the kids!
Silly boys! The Perles and Kings.

On Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day here at home making more cookies and tidying up a bit. Then in the evening we went to the home or our teammates The Guerra's where we talked and laughed over supper. But we didn't' stay out like typical Latins until 3am ringing in Christmas. We came home around 10pm so we could have the very North-American tradition of sending the kids to bed so that Santa can come! :o)
Jessenia and I: Merry Christmas!
Jessenia and Grecia-- our hostesses for the evening!
Edwin and Jessenia--our team mates and friends!

I finished some wrapping and then got a very exciting phone call from my sister, Amy, who upon opening her stocking stuffers received an engagement ring!! So a big congratulations to Amy and Jeremy. I am so excited for her. And for us-- Jeremy will be a great brother-in-law and a very fun uncle for my four kiddos!!
Yeah!! Congrats you two!!

Then came Christmas morning. Love the pictures of the kids in their new jammies, with their puffy "I-just-got-out-of-bed-eyes" and of course their excitement and smiles! Such fun.

Christmas evening we went to the Twitchell's house as their youngest also celebrates her birthday on Christmas day. So we exchanged Christmas gifts. And then had a birthday party too!! What fun!
The Twitchell and King kids--the best of pals!!
Chloe with the birthday girl! Best friends forever!!

A good, good weekend full of friends and family!! What a wonderful Christmas!!

Feliz Navidad

Merry merry Christmas to all my dear friends and family.

I hope that you will take time in your busy day to stop and remember the true reason we celebrate.

" For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

May the Prince of Peace bring you both peace and joy this Christmas!!

Much love to you and yours!! Chrissy

La Paz

Our family at the entrance to the orchid gardens in 'La Paz'

We decided to get away from the crazy traffic and hustle and bustle of life in a city of around 2 million people and went on a day trip on Tuesday. We headed off to go to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Darrin had been a couple times, but the kids and I had never seen it yet. It was beautiful. It is in the middle of nowhere-- a lush green valley and sloping hills as far as the eye can see. As the name suggests, there are five beautiful and large waterfalls on the walking (and climbing---lots of steps-- my calves are still sore!!) trail. But it there is much more than that. They have created a bird sanctuary, a butterfly garden, a frog house, a hummingbird gathering place, an orchid farm, a snake house (yuck!) and a typical Costa Rican house from back in the early coffee plantation days. It was so interesting. So we spent the whole day wandering around and enjoying the quiet and nature. If you visit us here in CR, we'll take you for a day trip. It's a fun day away.

Here are a couple shots of Darrin and the kids and then the kids with me in front of one of the falls. The sound of the water is so pretty. (Couldn't focus very well, as all the spray made it so hazy!)

This was fun!! The kids were able to take a ride in an oxcart. These brightly painted carts are very typical of the early coffee plantation days in Costa Rica. All the coffee (and bananas) were transported from the fields to the railroad in these carts pulled by oxen. Each owner would paint their carts in these bright typical designs. The story goes that it was done to attract the ladies attention. True or not, I don't know. But they are beautiful. And oxcarts--from tiny little magnets to full size replicas--are one of the most common souvenirs sold here!
So many pretty butterflies and flowers!
Beautiful peaceful surroundings as you can see in the next two pics.
(remember when I mentioned lots of stairs!!!)

Also, since my husband doesn't read my blog, I'll share some pictures I took for him. His office has some great pictures of the kids but they are several years old, so yesterday we spent the day taking snapshots in the backyard to update his picture frames. Here are some of my favorites!!

The four kiddos-- can't believe how big they all are!!
Another shot: I think I'll be taking a few of these for my classroom desk as well!
Daddy's two girls:
and his boys:

December = BUSY!!

Hi all. If you are a family member or a friend who loves me dearly read on. If not, I warn you that this will be a long post and you might rather skip on to the next blog on your list!!

Wow. Where do I start. Wyatt's birthday? Chloe's ballet recital? Wyatt's pre-school graduation? Zachary's Christmas choir performances? Austin's graduation? A visit from my parents!!!!!! (yay!!) School finals to create, copy, administer and now grade? A 22-page project for the government of Costa Rica and our school's accreditation project!? Trip to the beach? Trip to the volcano? End of the school year for my kids? End of the teaching year (almost) for me? Zach and Austin's big youth group banquet? My school Christmas party? Wow! All of this has happened in the past few weeks and I have been so busy enjoying it (well--not enjoying the paperwork and grading) that I haven't had time to blog it!!

Truly though, it has been an absolutely overwhelmingly busy month. And I am more tired than I think I have ever been. But I have also had so much fun. And have so many good memories of the last few weeks, that it just about makes this dark circles under my eyes worth it!!

Here are some pictures to fill you in a bit better!!

Wyatt on his SEVENTH birthday!! Can't believe my "baby" is getting so big! (Still missing his front two teeth. I love the way he looks!!)

The now famous family- group- shot- taken- by-Mom's- outstretched- arm- so- she- can- be- in- the- picture- too photo from Wyatt's b-day!!
My sweet Chloe looking beautiful in the outfit she wore for her ballet recital!
Wyatt playing Joseph in a Christmas play
Wyatt at his pre-school graduation.

Look who else got here in time for Wyatt's graduation!!! Grammy and Grandpa! YAY!!! My sweet family!!
Me before our formal banquet at work.
The boys before their Christmas banquet with their youth group.
My Mom and Dad (yay!!!) with my gang at an area volcano.

And another great picture of my parents in bright green pretty Costa Rica (the same day the ice and snow and cold hit their home in the Midwest!!) It was such a joy to have them here. It just went way too fast!! I miss them already!! The door my 7th graders decorated for Christmas at our school. So, as you can see, my life is full of wonderful people and wonderful events. I am so blessed. Tired, but blessed!! Thanks for taking time to check in on us. I'll try to post a little more often when I am on vacation. (almost here!!) But if I don't, know that I am sleeping in late, playing with my kiddos, and making Christmas goodies instead of blogging!! Merry Christmas to each of you!! XXOO