School's Out!!

Yay for Summer vacation!! Yay for great girlfriends. Boo to having to say good-bye!! Working in an international school often means changes of jobs, countries, schools, etc. for both studuents and employees. This year seven teachers of Sojourn Academy are moving, returning to the US, changing schools, or for some similar reason not returning to teach in the fall. So to celebrate our friendships, five of us went on a quick week-end getaway the Saturday that school got out!!

Now let's face it, if you are going to go on a quick week-end get-a-way, Costa Rica is the place to be!! Just a couple hours from the crazy hustle-bustle of the city, you find this:
Ahh, blue skies, palm trees, the sound of the waves crashing into the shore!!

We ended up here: Does this look familiar? Yeah, I've been here before and posted pictures (with these same gals too!!) But it's definitely worth returning to!
Here I am on the front porch, in front of the pool. Ahhh, vacation: no make-up, messy hair, slightly sun-burned and with a big smile because I'm so relaahhhhhhhxed. :o)
Girlfriends!
And more great girlfriends!
During our three stay we did a lot of this: (what can I say, we're all teachers and it had been a looooong semester!)
A lot of this: Mmmmmm---chicken, avacado, beans, tortillas, cheese, salsa = perfect beach lunch (or supper or breakfast and lunch again!!)
And of course a lot of this: Sitting by the pool. We mixed in some walking on the beach, watching movies and a lot of girl talk.
On the way home we took a slight little detour to go to Marisqueria Leda in Mata Limon. Well worth it!! Right by the edge of the water and with the yummiest freshest fish you can imagine. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The best ceviche I've ever eaten (sorry Fran, yours is a close second!); I had yummy jumbo shrimp in garlic butter. And Karol had these to die for breaded calamari rings with a yummy dipping sauce. Everything was great.
So very good. I'm just looking for an excuse to go back again!! :o)

All in all, a great couple of days. Much needed rest. Much appreciated girl time. Fun. I've sure enjoyed getting to know these gals and have been so blessed to work alongside of them!!

Congratulations Chloe!!

Can't believe it. Chloe had her sixth grade graduation last night. She has worked hard this year, and I am so proud of her and the sweet young lady she is. Here are a few pics. A friend of mine recently said that parenthood is "long days and short years" So true. We tend to talk sometimes of the "big kids" and the "little kids" meaning Zach and Austin as the "big" or older kids and Chloe and Wyatt as the younger or "little" kids. Z & A have looked older for quite awhile now (and both are taller than me!) But to see our "little" ones looking so grown up is still quite the shocker to me. So the "long days, short years" seems very appropriate!!

Chloe and a few friends

The two King gals!

Miss Faulk, Chloe's homeroom teacher

My sweet family -- all together, all looking at the camera, all clean and with smiles. It's a miracle! :o)

Compañeros del Trabajo

Staff photo at graduation (above)

I love this group of people!! Working day in and day out next to these guys and gals at Sojourn Academy has been a blessing and a privilege these past three years. I couldn't ask for a greater group of people to lock arms with and work along side of!!

My Secondary Department friends and hall-mates:

Girlfriends!!!

But alas, the year is coming to a close. And as happens often in a school with a lot of international employees, many people are going different directions at the end of the school year. I'm included in that list because I won't be returning to teach next fall. I am going to miss my students like CRAZY but for several different missions and family reasons, it is definitely the best decision for us right now. So graduations like this are a little bittersweet because you realize its one of the last times we'll all be together this way!

This week has been even more difficult because there is a lot of sickness going around the school -- at least 7 or 8 sick teachers. Yikes. My cough still lingers from the bronchitis I'm recovering from, but I'm up and moving. Now my heart rate is going crazy and we're trying to figure that one out with the doctor. (My guess -- this lingering chest cough and STRESS!!) We all just need to make it one more week!! Next week is finals, then all the teachers can hibernate away under the covers for a few days and rest up!! I can't wait!! :o)

Scrapping Fun

I had a little bit of scrapping fun come my way last month!! My friend Tammy asked me to be the guest designer for June for her Scraproom Montly Kit club. It was fun to have a good excuse to play with paper all day!! :o) I was given this kit for June:


(Pink Paislee: 365 degrees; WRMK: 72 Degrees and Sunny; My Mind's Eye: Quite Contrary Little Miss Muffet; and Webster's Pages: Lullaby Lane)

And here's what I came up with:


I took the twill pleated trim and swirled it into a little flower (that was in the separate embelishment kit I didn't show in the picture.) Also made a little rolled photo mat with the two sided paper!

(my sweet nephew Christian, who I can't believe turns one tomorrow!!!)



Here's another view because it opens up kinda cool. (called a joy fold for you cardmakers!)



SO much fun!! Here's the link to the store blog where Tammy talks about how we met:
Scraproom Blog

:o) Good times!!

You are Magnificent!

Have you seen this yet? You really need to.



I showed it to my English classes today. We laughed; we cried; we watched it again. :o) It's a short independent film called "The Butterfly Circus" and is only about 20 minutes long. But it's worth watching. Some really good things to think about.

And as someone who loves photography-- the lighting, the colors, the cinematography, the period costumes and sets are all so beautiful.

You really should watch it.

"You are magnificent."

I told my kids today that God's purpose for their lives might be a whole lot bigger than they every imagined. It's the end of the year. Many are leaving. It's a good thing to stop and think and reflect. I like thinking of the "beauty that can come from ashes" Makes me smile.

PS If the above link doesn't work or is too slow, go directly to this site:
The Butterfly Circus

They're growing up. . .

They are growing up fast, these kids of mine!! Here are the three oldest with me before our school banquet last weekend. Can't believe how old they are. . .

Here's a close-up . .
Best of pals. . . my friend and co-worker Tricia and I at the banquet. . .
and of course, my sweetie, Chloe-- having fun and loving life!! Can't believe how beautiful she looked-- what happened to my little girl?? :o)
I love each stage of being a Mom. Each age brings its own rewards and challenges, but I have loved each and every one. Wouldn't change a thing!!!

Winding down. . .

The school year is officially winding down. Unfortunately, all the rush-rush and busy-busy has taken its toll on me, and I'm sick. I don't get sick very often. Really rarely, to be honest. So I'm not a very good patient. I tried to work last week, but finally went to the doctor and was sent home for the rest of the week. (Costa Rica has socialized medicine. So the school has a doctor that comes in free for all teachers. The doctor then not only treats you but decides if you should or shouldn't work and for how long. He signed the forms to say I couldn't work the rest of the week. I just have bronchitis but it is kind of deep and nasty. I think if the government has to pay for your medical care they are also very interested in you getting better quickly. So I was put on mandatory rest. :o) So what can I say, I have had a forced four day weekend!)

The only bummer is that I really have no energy. So I have a zillion things to get done for the end of the year as well as life stuff around the house, yet I have just laid around in bed all day. I guess that is the meaning of rest. But it is hard for me!! :o) Maybe that's why I'm sick. (By the way, the fella in that picture at the top of this post has been really patient with this gal who's lying around bemoaning her state of late!! I love that picture!! It's from our 18th anniversary a few months ago!)

Anyway, I decided to take advantage of sitting around and update you on some recent activities in the King household!! And of course a pictorial update is more exciting than just my words, so here we go:

A few weeks ago was Teacher Appreciation week, and I made these super simple little post-it note holders for the Student Council to give to all the teachers in the school. Super easy, but they seemed to really appreciate it! I made about 28 in one evening, so it's not too hard!! I love this kind of thing! :o)

While I've been sick this week, I've done some scrapbooking. Since school is ending for this year, I decided it was time to get our back-to-school pictures from fall scrapped! :o) Once again using a kit from The ScrapRoom (that's a link if you click on it). I hadn't used the Bella Blvd. Man of the House set from my March kit yet, and I thought the bright colors looked great for a school layout. Can't believe how quickly this year flew by!
Just to keep it real, here's what my little crafting corner of the room looks like right now. Sigh. I miss having my own office/room for all my craftiness. Darrin is a trooper to put up with this. :o)
On a happier note, I found these adorable green heels on sale the other day. Love them. They are my favorite teaching shoes right now!!
And on a much, much, much happier note, my sweet Chloe girl has been reading and studying the Bible and decided she wanted to be baptized. We are so proud of her!! We invited the ministers from our church, her Sunday school teachers, and some friends of ours and had a special little service just for her. She has a really tender heart, and I can't wait to see what plans God has for her life!!
She also has a bit of her Mom's craftiness. She has been studying bones in science class. And she decided that reading them out of her notebook was a boring way to study, so she got out the paper and glue and scissors and made a much more fun study guide, labeling the names of the bones as she went. Love it!
And since you couldn't see her face in the above picture, here she is. And here is Bella, one of the two little kittens we recently adopted. (Bella and Trixie are becoming beloved members of the King household. And growing so fast from the little kitties we had just a few weeks ago!!) And I didn't realize it at the time, but they kind of match in this picture don't they? :o)
Here is a group of people I sure love!! I truly enjoy my job: teaching English and spending time with this great group of people. I've missed them being gone last week. (and rumor has it they've missed me too!) This is from a recent field trip.
And of course having boys in the house, brings new uses to so many ordinary things. My Wyatt had a friend over a week or so ago and they discovered that cloth book covers also make really cool super hero hat things. Who knew?
Warning: the following information may caused a definite increase in the caloric consumption in your household. (but boy is it worth it!!) I found this recipe online last week and just had to try it. They at first just look like simple chocolate cookies, see. . .

But then you bite into them and find this. Mmmm, yummy soft peanut butter surprise waiting inside! They are so good. (Mom and Amy you need to try these!!)
Finally, as I know you have a life to get back to, the rainy season is starting up again in Costa Rica. Right now it is only here and there, but it is beginning. Now everything will turn back to the really, really vibrant green. Can't wait! (It really is beautiful here. ) By the way, these little palm trees are in all my pictures. This is the view from my bedroom window and we always step outside here for all our pictures. It's still fairly green now, but wait a few months. And that green will POP from all the rain. I'm spoiled aren't I?

Just what the doctor ordered. . .

A few days away to catch our breath. . . a few days just the six of us. . . Austin's birthday. . . some sunshine. . . a little rain . . . a lot of sand and waves. . . a great family resort. . . Ahhhhh. . . ready to join the land of the living again!!!

(This collage is tiny on here -- but if you click once on the picture, you can see it larger!)

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter from our house to yours:

The Easter tradition of getting new clothes and dressing up for church doesn't really exist here, nor is it a popular Sunday for even going to church (everyone goes out of town to the beach for Semana Santa and so many are traveling home on Sunday). There is no tradition of Easter bunnies or Easter eggs or jelly beans or yummy Reese's eggs (that I do miss). So many of the ideas of Spring with pastel colors and little chicks, etc do not exist here.

In Costa Rica, Easter falls at the end of Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Due to the strong Catholic history of the country, the entire week is a holiday week here. All schools are closed and most businesses. Thursday and Friday are required holidays and nothing is open. It also marks the end of summer and the sunny season -- so most people take one last trip to the beach. Actually like most of the country goes to the beach!! Traditional foods are the chiverre (pictured below-- and yes, Tammy, I'll eventually explain!!) as well as other candied fruits and many different kinds of fish.

In the past, we too, have taken advantage of the break to head to the sun and beach. But this year, I've been so tired and overwhelmed with work, that we decided to just stay put. I've slept in late, drank about 10 liters of diet coke, watched TV, played with the kids, etc. It was heaven. :o) (Oh and I also made a huge mess all over the patio by pulling out ALL my scrapbooking supplies and making cards all weekend.)

Today on Easter, we celebrate that Jesus has risen!! Not with new clothes or Easter Eggs or a fancy lunch. But we did go to church with the few left in town and worship with other believers. And I did make the kids take the obligatory family Easter pics. It started when they were wearing new Easter outfits, but now I just like to have it to look back and remember and compare.

The King Kids -- Easter 2010 in the front yard

Zachary, our 16 year old. . .
Austin, who turns 15 this month. . .
Sweet Chloe girl who is 11 and becoming quite the chef in the kitchen these days. . .
and my sweet "baby" Wyatt. Who, at 9, doesn't really qualify as a baby, but since he is still my youngest, I'm afraid will always hold that title!
And yes, in case you were wondering, Darrin and I are also alive and well. Picture of us taken by Chloe! :o)

No matter where you celebrated, no matter how, I hope you took time today to be thankful and celebrate the reason for Easter!! Love and hugs from CR!!