A Year of Changes

Sunday marked the 1 year anniversary of our arrival in Costa Rica.  Over the year, it's been amazing to see how much the kids have grown.  In October of last year, Claire was still such a baby.  She could not yet walk and just had a little bit of hair.  See for yourself...

Thomas has grown, also.  The transformation physically and mentally from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 is incredible.

More later on our year in another country with little kids...

"I Always..."

I don’t know about general rules that I live my life by but I do have some “I always…” statements.  Hope you enjoy this rare glimpse into my strange life.  Ali

I always look at my children sleeping before I go to bed.

I always subconsciously cross my big toe on both feet over the toe next to it and slightly wiggle them off and on with rhyme but without reason when I’m sitting down.

I always laugh at commercials where people either fall down, get hit in the head with something, or both.  It gets me every time.

I always count while I pee…it’s true.  I’ve done it since childhood.  I cannot explain.  (okay, I might have to delete this one…tmi.) 

When eating in a restaurant, after factoring in being left handed and being able to sit next to Claire so she can eat off of my plate, I always sit in the seat where I will be least likely shot in the back.  I am a strategist. 

I always save the best bite for last.  Always- whether it is a bite of cake with the most icing, dorito with the most cheese, or part of the pancake with the most syrup and butter on it.

I always get internally irritated when someone takes a bite off my plate and they choose what I had deemed from the beginning the best bite.  I just don’t know where to go from that point especially since I always eat the second to the best bite first.

I always have the ability and desire within me to sleep for fourteen hours a day- but I rarely get the chance- which is probably good.

I always feel better no matter what happens when Kyle tells me “Everything is going to be okay” whether or not it really is going to be.

The Project

The ministry we work with in Costa Rica is called the Abraham Project.  Facilitated by the Lighthouse Community Church, this community outreach ministry has five main functions:  1)  Homes for at-risk and abandoned children, 2)  Daycare center for children of working families, 3) Job skills training center, 4) Multi-purpose Building for church services and evangelistic outreach, and 5) Consultation offices where professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) will donate their service to members of the surrounding marginal areas.  The consultation offices will be housed in the Multi-purpose Building, which is currently under construction. 

The Abraham Project is a debt-free ministry and trusts God for financial and material provision.  One way God has provided over the years is through an ongoing donation of scrap lumber.  This wood is used in shipping crates for an international glass company.  At one time, all of this wood was discarded after the glass was imported.  However, the project director convinced the company to donate these used crates to the ministry, instead of sending them to the landfill.  This donation has saved the project tens of thousands of dollars.  The following pictures give an example of how this scrap wood is reused at the project.

The wood is delivered to the project as used packaging crates.  These crates are disassembled, and the nails, screws, and staples are pulled from the wood.

The lumber is sorted, sized, planed and sanded.  This wood is used in every stage of construction, from form boards to finish carpentry.  Right now, for the construction of the Multi-purpose Building, the workers are piecing together massive ceiling trusses.

These trussed are then installed, by hand, to make the roof structure for office section of this new building.

This lumber has been used in each of the current buildings on the Abraham Project property (children's homes, daycare, life-skill workshops, and cafeteria, now used as a church building).  Through a donation of a company's trash, God has given the project a resource to build a center to reach and transform the community.

General Rules

I was on a long walk today and I saw something that made me think.  In the window of a video store, there was a poster for a movie starring Larry the Cable Guy.  I thought, "As a general rule, I don't watch movies with Larry the Cable Guy."  That phrase, "as a general rule," stuck in my head and I began to wonder what other "general rules" I live by.  The following is a non-exhaustive list, and not in any particular order, but these are just a few things that came to mind:

-  As a general rule... I do not watch movies starring Larry the Cable Guy.

-  As a general rule... I do not read newspapers with red titles (international joke).

-  As a general rule... I do not spend time alone with members of the opposite sex who are not my wife or daughter.

-  As a general rule... I do not listen to or watch anything with Barbara Streisand.

-  As a general rule... I do not vote for politicians who support Abortion Rights.

-  As a general rule... I do not read magazines about celebrities.

-  As a general rule... I do not agree with the positions of the ACLU.

-  As a general rule... I do not read paperback books from the grocery store.

-  As a general rule... I do not eat food in bed.

-  As a general rule... I do not like fluorescent lights.

Does anyone else have a list of "General Rules"?

Claire is Two!

Our baby girl is two years old!  She is now officially and little girl, not a baby.  We had a small party and Claire was thrilled with her cake and gifts.  Her big present was a tricycle...

..., but her favorite gift was a new baby doll.  We call her Maria Jose.  Here, Claire is feeding her "baby":

Claire LOVES babies, and walks around the house rocking her toy babies.  Not only Maria Jose gets this special attention.  She will also wrap Barney or Elmo in a blanket and pretend to rock them to sleep.

Claire is a beautiful girl, full of energy and life.  She loves to laugh.  She loves to dance (more on that in another post).  She loves to play with her brother.  She is my delight.  

Happy Birthday, Nadia Claire.  It's been a wonderful two years!

Normal Saturday

It's raining in San Jose this afternoon. This is an every day occurrence here for about 8 months a year, but this is a hard driving rain that is seeping through the exterior concrete block wall of our house (see below).
Fortunately, this is living room/kitchen wall and there is a house connected to the other side of the house. It would be rather disconcerting to have water coming through our bedroom wall!

*******

In other domestic news, two weeks ago, the power went out in half of our house. Our landlord and an electrician (well, two electricians) came on Saturday to check it out. The first guy inspected the wiring, inside and out, but couldn't find the problem. Later in the afternoon, the owner returned with another electrician. He pulled off the meter and found this:

A wire from the power service line had shorted out and melted the terminal and back of the meter. They do not know when it happened, but kept saying (to each other) that it could have been worse. We were without electricity for a few hours until the power company could come and replace the service wires and the meter. Around 7:30pm, the lights were back on, and were conspicuously brighter than before. To say the least, we are were all very thankful to have power again and everything working (and that our house did not catch fire!!).

Have a nice day!

My good friend Amy Norris says that God speaks to her best through nature.  I think I have finally grasped what she is talking about.  Even though it was 6:30 at night as I was preparing chicken fajitas and cutting up chile dulce, the Lord was clearly saying, "Have a nice day.":-).  After Kyle took a picture, I considered putting it on e-bay until I realized the fajitas just wouldn't be the same without it.