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!

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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.

Home Again / Top Ten

After nearly a month in the States, we are back home at our little house in Costa Rica.  It was rather dusty, but everything was just as we left it.

The kids were happy to be home.  Out in the garage, Thomas cleared a construction site in the rock garden for his "backhoes".

As always, Claire, a typical little sister, prefers to play with Thomas' toys.  She's been practicing riding his tricycle while he is busy in other places.  She cannot quite pedal, yet, but she can get around.

We went to the US to renew my passport.  I expected it to take 3 weeks.  It was back in 3 days! However, we made the most of our time there.  I've compiled a non-exhaustive top ten list of the highlights of our trip.  With the exception of #1, these are not necessarily in order of importance.

1.  Father's Day Gift - Braves game and night in Atlanta with Ali

2.  "Vacation" in Thomasville

3.  Vacation from the kids in Marietta

4.  Dinner with the Norris' and Kingsfields

5.  Three Sundays at RiverStone

6.  Good Food! (Woodvalley, Kiosko, Thaicoon, Casa Grande, La Parrilla, French Bakery, etc.)

7.  Aquarium with kids and Ali's family

8.  Having a car / Not getting rained on every day!

9.  Time with family and friends

10. All around "In-Flight Trivia" champ on flight back to SJO (unfortunately there is no prize for this!)

Back in the States

We are in Georgia for a few weeks.  The kids are having a great time with their grandparents.  We are enjoying seeing friends and the freedom of having a car (thanks Suse!).

We had a great week in South Georgia at Ali's parents' house.  Ali's family really takes care of the kids.  It was like a vacation for me and Ali.  It was nice to sleep later than Thomas and Claire.  

While we were there, the kids got their first motorized riding toys.  Thomas got a tractor and Claire a pink four wheeler.  Thomas was a natural on the tractor!

We'll be around for another week.  We would love to hear from you while we are in town.  We are at my parents' house in Marietta.

Dancing Kids

The first video on the left is of Claire and Thomas.  I could not easily isolate their video, so I cannot vouch for any other clip that might show up on that bar.  Sorry!

The Internet

After eight months of waiting, our cable modem was finally installed yesterday!  This was a big day in the Bailey house.  We all talked to my parents on video Skype.  The kids were excited to SEE Mimi and Papa, Uncle Shannon and Aunt April, and, of course, the dogs!  We are looking forward to easier communication with our friends and family back home.

Random News and Quotes

Okay, I know it has been quite some time since our last post.  The family is all doing well here in Costa Rica.  Here is some recent news and quotes:

- Thomas and Claire are going to "school" (the daycare at the project) three mornings a week.  At first, they both cried and cried when we left them, but now they both like going.

-Claire is in the 6 month to two year class and eats the food at daycare.  We told her it was time to go to school and she said, "See babies!  Eat rice and beans!"  That girl loves babies and to eat Costa Rican food.

-Thomas likes school once he gets there.  During their walk to the project on Monday, he tried to convince Ali that school was closed that day.

-Thomas and Ali took the bus to HiperMas this week.  They sat down next to a little girl and her mom.  The girl exclaimed, "It's Tomas!"  Ali recognized her from school, and asked Thomas, "Is that girl in your class?"  He responded, "No mama, she's on the bus."  Thinking he misunderstood the question, Ali asked him again.  Thomas was more emphatic this time, "Mama, no, she's on the bus!" 

-Thomas and I were outside (in the garage) playing basketball.  I made a shot and Thomas told me, "Good job Daddy!  Give me a five!"  Oh, they grow up so fast.

The guard on our neighborhood has three street dogs that he has adopted.  The largest dog is a female with a sagging stomach.  Ali asked me if I thought the dog was pregnant.  I told her, no, but she has definitely has had puppies a time or two.  She thought for a moment and asked, "Is that what you think when you look at me?"

Thanks for checking in on us.  We would love to hear from you.