shayngrin

Christmas decorations 2010

2010-11-18T09:41:00.002-05:00

We decorated for Christmas yesterday. We have a very small tree that was my Mama's and I love it! We put some lights on our top front porch and stockings on the stairs and snowflakes everywhere. It is so nice to actually decorate this year. It is the first time in 3 years. In Costa Rica we had paper Christmas trees. The first year here we had an empty house (still waiting on our container) and last year we had just moved and didn't decorate. I am like a kid too I love the lights!!!!

Christmas Pictures 2010 Dominican Style

2010-11-17T09:50:00.002-05:00

We had a little photo shoot with the famous photographer Santiago (Shay) Griffin! They turned out pretty good - Grandmothers should be happy!!

This is the before!~ I can't keep a shirt on Jesse - He likes showing off his 6 pack!!
Sierra had to have her baby in the pics
So Jesse had to have his eagle!

Damie just wants to look as cool as possible. (He's doing a pretty good job) I can already hear the whispers of the teenage years (it ought to be interesting with these three!!)

They really do love each other this much, they just don't always act like it!!

This one was for a "Mom" Frame I have that has a picture of me and Damie and Sierra, before Jesse was even born. So I thought it was about time I updated it!?!? (What? I've been a little busy! lol)

Sierra

2010-09-04T18:12:00.001-04:00

Grammy Sugar brought Sierra this beautiful dress so we had a little photo shoot!

It's been almost a year!

2010-06-24T18:40:00.004-04:00

I realized I need to keep this up just for a journal, since I'm not a scrapbooker or a journaler. So I am going to try to catch up. I know it will be out of order and that will bother some of my friends, but at least it is here!!

This is what's going on right now! RAIN, RAIN and more RAIN!
This was taken by Shay on the way home from the Ranch.
We, as a family, are loving it, but it really isn't good for a lot of reasons. Most homes are not made to handle this much rain. Also Restoration Ranch is in the middle of expanding Fran's (the family that lives at Restoration Ranch) home. They are kind of at a point where they have to wait for the rain to stop to finish. They are very excited for more room and for the first time ever they will have a bathroom inside!!!!!!! We are all so blessed!!!

Our 1st Dominican Birthday Party 12-12-2009

2009-12-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

1st Birthday's are a BIG deal here!! Shay's best friend Jorge's daughter Georgie. The invitatioin said `4:00pm, so like good American's we showed up at 4pm and the team was just starting to set up. Here the starting time of birthday parties, weddings etc... is when everyone starts getting ready for the party!! So about an hour later everyone started showing up and the party lasted until 9pm. The entire time was full of singing, dancing, clowns, cake (a huge cake), food, drink and last but not least the Pinata!!! There were two pinatas - one for the big kids and one for the little ones. It was total chaos, but lots of fun!!

Our new house 12-5-2009

2009-12-05T19:49:00.003-05:00

When we got back from the US we moved! Moving here is not as easy as moving in the US. In the US we have Grandpa and his big furniture truck. Here we literally moved with multiple trips in taxis and a small furniture truck (4 trips). All this aside we are so excited with how the Lord blessed us. When Pastor Tony came to visit us this past summer he came during one of the hottest times and we didn't have power, so no fans. When he left he prayed that we would find a place that was cool and with trees. That is very unusually here, but guess what our God did?? We live in a very spacious two story house surrounded by huge mango trees that shade all sides of the house, a canal in the back and all for the same price we were paying in the little hot house we lived in!!!!!!!! God is Good!

Our front porchJesse's room - there used to be a bunk bed, but since Sierra currently has 6 stitches because of it we took it down. He likes his low bed, but we will get him a frame soon.
School room, Sewing room, Office etc... from up stairs
Damie's Room
Sierra'a Room
Kitchen
Our Room
Dinning Room
Other side of our room - which is also our living room so that Damie could have a room to himself.

When we got back from the US we moved! Moving here is not as easy as moving in the US. In the US we have Grandpa and his big furniture truck. Here we literally moved with multiple trips in taxis and a small furniture truck (4 trips). All this aside we are so excited with how the Lord blessed us. When Pastor Tony came to visit us this past summer he came during one of the hottest times and we didn't have power, so no fans. When he left he prayed that we would find a place that was cool and with trees. That is very unusually here, but guess what our God did?? We live in a very spacious two story house surrounded by huge mango trees that shade all sides of the house, a canal in the back and all for the same price we were paying in the little hot house we lived in!!!!!!!! God is Good!

Our Trip to the US Sept - Nov 2009

2009-11-28T19:26:00.000-05:00

Grammy Sugar!
Grandpa Jack!
Grandmother!
Jesse with his new glasses!
Mama and Papa!

We had to go home to renew the kids passports so we took this opportunity to speak in a few churches and visit with family and friends!
The boys also got glasses!!
They have done pretty good using them, well Damie has, Jesse's are bent, the ear pieces are chewed off... He's 6 what can I say??

Camping at the Ranch

2009-07-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

Shay took the kids camping at the Ranch. Why didn't mom go? Well I am kind of attached to my fan and when the power goes out at the ranch, it really goes out! OK I'm a wimp!! They had a great time!
They were very stinky and dirty when they returned, but very happy!!
We may not have trees in our yard, but I am thankful they have the Ranch where they can run and play!

Reina

2009-05-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

The newest member of our family, Reina (queen). She is just a mix 2 month old. Does lots of sleeping now, but when she is awake she seems very sweet. I think she will be lots of fun.

New Do's

2009-04-20T11:48:00.004-04:00

All the kids got new do's yesterday. Thought I would share.

Jesse has been begging for Shay to shave his head, and since he has tried on his own twice, we decided to listen, he is walking around rubbing his head!!!

Si lost her front tooth!!

2009-04-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

She is offically snaggled tooth! Her grandfather called her that this morning and she liked it. Brook actually pulled it (one of the girls on the team). Sierra had played with it and played with it and she wanted Brook to pull it. They worked on it for about 30 min and finally pulled it and it flew across the room, we had to look for it!!

Our First Team

2009-04-12T13:50:00.001-04:00

This is a team from Wadesboro, NC - First Baptist Church. Brook, Sharin, Callie & Mike. Callie is doing her senior project on missions and got this team together. They are working at Restoration Ranch for two days and then ministring to some children in Polo and then to the beach for one day. Yesterday they spent the day cleaning up the construction site. This is our very first team to host all by ourselves.

Beach Day

2009-03-20T17:26:00.005-04:00

We took a day to visit the beach. We have been here for 3 months and this is the first time we have been. We are only 3 miles from the beach, but it is not a beach to play on. We have heard great things about the beaches at Las Salinas, so we ventured out. We grabbed a guagua (small bus) and took a 45 min bus ride and the bus driver said if you are going to the beach you need to get off here. So we got off and walked about a mile and found a deserted peninsula with a very dirty beach. We wondered if we were at the wrong beach or if this is a good beach?? We went to the other side and it was like stepping into a postcard!! It was calm and shallow and we brought our goggles and snorkles and we saw some amazing things. Lots of fish, starfish, huge conch shells, sand dollars, crabs, sea urchins etc...
It was amazing. Unfortunately even with lots of sunscreen, we are all crispy today, but it was worth it!!!
On our mile walk we pasted a salt deposit, it was amazing to watch them harvest the salt.

Restoration Church Team

2009-02-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

We had the privledge of feeding the construction team from our home church Restoration Church. It was so good to see everyone. We wanted to feed them something special so I attempted a homemade bananna pudding, since you can't buy boxed pudding here. Everyone loved it! We also served my famous Lentil and Rice Casserole - it is one of 5 things I can cook and I know everyone will like it. They all asked for the recipe before they left - even the men!! We had a great time with them and I was so glad to see two of my favorite people - Dick and Ginne Rodermond!!

The Griffin Curtain

2009-02-25T15:06:00.002-05:00

This is the curtain that the Griffin's made. We all had a hand in it. Sierra woke up one morning and said she wanted a curtain for her window that looked like the quilt I had made for her. The same night I had decided I wanted to make a quilted curtain for my kitchen. She won, so I started cutting the squares and Sierra helped pick the colors from a pile of scrap material I had bought at a yard sale. Shay, Grammy, Sierra and even Grandpa along with me (gwyn) sewed it. It's not perfect, than neither are we, so we are very proud of our family curtain! It was fun and as grammy always says we made a memory!

Grammy & Grandpa's Visit

2009-02-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

Grandpa is my reading advocate! Everytime they would get roudy or bored, he would say bring me a book! They read a lot this week
Grammy loves pictures with all the same color!
Grammy and the kids had tea!!
Shay and Grandpa built us more book shelves which we needed badly!!

We had a great time with them.

Random Happenings

2009-02-10T17:33:00.007-05:00

This is Sierra's new bed - which is over 100 years old. This was the bed (headboard/footboard) that my mama tapp (my dad's mom) was born on!! She would have been 93 this April.

Sierra and I are very blessed to have a master barber living in our house! Our hair is finally long enough to braid!!

School has begun! We got this table and great doublesided bookcase for free! In Marshville the schools auction off their old stuff and after the auction anything left in the yard is free!! You have got to love our crayon holders - pear cans and my filing systems for our ABC's - a shoe box! You learn to be resourceful!! Also notice, in the DR it is OK to come to school barefooted!!

I am so glad to have my tea stuff!! It has been packed up in my mom's attic for over 2 years!! I missed it sooooo much! The top shelf is Shay's grandmothers china, the 2nd shelf is part of my teacup collection and the 3rd shelf is a set that my in-laws brought back from England!

The fun of getting our stuff

2009-02-03T19:50:00.003-05:00

We aren't finished unpacking, but we are having some fun while unpacking! The highlight for me (Gwyn) so far, is washing clothes anytime I want to (as long as the power is on)!!!!!!!!!!! And I can put a load in and walk away!!

The kids have rode their bikes almost non stop since they got here and they are using some of the packing materials as ramps!
They are enjoying their outside picnic table!
Shay is loving his tools being here!!!
We can actually eat on a table - now that is nice!!!

It's HERE!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-03T19:10:00.004-05:00

BEFORE AFTER

After many many days in the port and more money than we wanted to spend, but less than we could have spent and with much help from God, The Burge's & The Stone's and a very influential friend of both we have our stuff!!!! It arrived in Bani around 7:30 pm and that's when the fun started. The power lines in the town are very low, so one of the guys had to ride on the top of the truck and hold up the power lines with a broom while the truck drove under them. They only broke one line! With each block the crowd grew and people were saying things like OH the Americano's!!! When it finally got down our little street we had quite a crowd, but they didn't stick around long after we opened it, they must have thought we would put them to work. 3 guys came with the truck and our good friend Greg Burge, Fran - the farmer who lives on Restoration Ranch and a friend of his (his name sounds like Lily, but I am sure it is spelled different).
Those guys worked non stop for 1 1/2 hours and unloaded all of our wordly goods. It was quite amazing when they left and we looked around and thought maybe we shouldn't have brought all this stuff, but we will either find a place for it or give it to someone. We are so thankful we are so blessed!! Thank you to everyone who prayed!! Now the fun part - unpacking!!!

Fun with Cousin Eden

2009-01-21T10:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Grandmother

2009-01-11T11:56:00.002-05:00

Jesse figured it out!

2008-12-28T09:32:00.001-05:00

We have this wonderful lemon tree in our back yard! I love lemons and lemonaid. This morning the kids were collecting the lemons and Jesse likes to line them up and count them and then juggle them. Anyway this morning he put one on the back of his neck and said Mom, I know what my hole is for!!! (He has a very deep indention in the back of his neck and I tell him it is to collect my kisses) The lemon just fits in it!!

Little Kids Christmas

2008-12-28T09:06:00.004-05:00

Christmas was of course a little different this year, but we all had one of the best Christmas's we can remember. This is what we bought with the money Mama & Papa gave us. Yes, that is a real working Barbie sewing machine, it will be so much fun sewing together!!
These are presents from Grandmother and Grammy Sugar!
Little Miss Priss!
They boys got these cool tracks you put together like a puzzle and the car runs along the track.

Then of course the BIG gift - THE Wii!!!
Who knew this thing could be soo much fun, oh and the kids liked it too! We literally played all day - I did have to turn it off and make everyone eat lunch, but that was the only time we stopped. We also got the Outdoor Adventure that comes with a mat and it will wear you out! Damie played this at a friends house and has talked about it non stop since. We got up Christmas morning and Shay read them the Christmas Story and then said "Since we had to bring Christmas in our suitcases you only have a wee little present, it is wee." Damie got it and started jumping up and down!! Check out Jesse's form - Uncle Rodney and Granpa Jack would be proud!
We also had so much fun making Mii's - you make the little person you play with look like you. We also made a Mii for everyone in our family and when we play baseball they all play on our team, it is soo much fun! You don't have a lot of options, but we made one that looks so much like Grandpa, it makes us laugh everytime we see him!

Big Kids Christmas

2008-12-28T08:55:00.001-05:00

Shay and I didn't get each other presents for Christmas, we are just happy to be here! But due to our delayed container we were getting tired of cold food and sandwiches. Shay went on a search for a grill, because it is something we didn't bring with us and we would use later. He found the only one in Bani. After a few days of haggaling over the price he came home with it! Now you have to remember we are in the DR, so it came with no screws and missing a side. We are trying to have a new side made and we found an owners manual on line and got the sizes of the screws and Shay found a hardware store and bought them and it is sitting on our sinks in the back yard.
This is our first meal - Hamburgers of course! They were delicious!
We have lots of pots and pans coming so we didn't want to buy any, but since it has a little burner on the side we decided to buy just one pan. So it has been used for everything from boiling water for coffee (soooo good to have coffee again) and turned upside down to make pancakes (isn't my husband a genius!!).

Do you see the little jar of water on the grill? When we were in Costa Rica the little grill on campus kept a plastic bag of water hanging in the door way of the kitchen. When we asked what it was for they said to keep away the flies, we thought they were crazy, but it works and here in the DR we see glasses of water in the stores and resturants. So we have started doing it too and it is so funny to see the flies go away instantly!!
Needless to say Shay and I love our Christmas present to each other!!

What a difference 3 years makes

2008-12-25T16:07:00.004-05:00

Last year we spoke of Christmas without all the trappings and then we thought life was spartan with paper Christmas trees and two suitcases of toys courtesy of my mom. And 3 years ago we wept as we "suffered" in a well appointed fully equipped compound while serving in Santiago, DR with Tim and Trena Johnson. How 3 years have changed us! Now we are not just content , but truly happy with NO furniture (except 4 cots, 1 airmattress and 2 plastic chairs), we only just got our inverter and batteries installed last week and thus ending the twice daily power outages. Inspite of no stove we were able to purchase a gas grill from a second hand store on which we are now cooking in the backyard. I can only say that we are fully resting in the grace of our Father who has brought us here for this purpose and has filled us with His joy. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Do we have some stories to tell!

2008-12-20T08:41:00.009-05:00

The airplane rides were interesting because the first one was the smallest plane we had ever been on and we were all serperated expept Gwyn and Jesse were together. Damie and Sierra did great sitting alone and even made some friends and the boys got to see the cockpit. The second flight was a big plane and there was not an empty seat and we assume the bottom of the plane was full too because when we got to the DR and we found out our luggage didn't make it with us. But by the end of the day we had all of our stuff! We spent the first 4 nights with Greg and Melynda Burge and The Stones feed us and took us to church. They also took us to see our new house and Restoration Ranch. This is a picture Denise took during our trip. It was wonderful to step foot on land that we have talked about, dreamed about and prayed about for so long. It is really coming along well! Since Monday, Dec. 8 we have been living in our new home in Bani. Bani is about 1 hour from the Capital where the Stones and Burges live. We have not gotten our container yet, so we have 2 plastic chairs 3 cots and 2 air mattresses. We don't have any appliances, so have a cooler we keep a bag of ice in and 2 lanterns for when the power is out. We are basically camping. We are very blessed with a sweet neighbor who has given us some great advice about Bani and given us numbers of trustworthy taxis. We also don't have a washer and our dirty laundry was piling up and we ask her about a laundry mat and she didn't know what we were talking about, but she said we could rent a washing machine. So we did and this is what came. One side you fill with water and soap, with a hose if you have one, with buckets is how we had to do it and we had plenty of help. Then you put soap in and it agitates for about 10 min. Then you drain all the water out and fill it with clean water for the rinse. Then you drain that water and put the items in a little container and it spins them - Shay calls it a glorified salad spinner, then you hang them out to dry! It fills a day to do laundry this way, but we don't have a lot of other things to do so it was kind of fun!! We have also been forced to be creative with eating. We have made sun tea and we warmed our food on a tin roof.
Everyone but me (Gwyn) was sick the first week we were in our house. We got to know the pharmacy on a first name basis, but everyone is now well. There are about 15 other kids that live on the street and when the power is out everyone goes out side, so the kids have made plenty of friends. This is one of our neighbors his name is Junior, he is 8 years old and very sweet - his mom is the one that has been so helpful! This is our kids sitting on our front porch, just watching the world go by.

on the road again

2008-11-30T21:14:00.003-05:00

sorry for the long dry spell. We have been up to our eyeballs in worldly goods and this past friday we waved goodbye to our shipping container and booked our flight to the DR for 12-4-08. yeah God we are on our way!!!!!!! more information on our stay in the Good 'ol USA when I have time.

What have we been up to??

2008-09-30T13:08:00.004-04:00

We don't have internet access at either of our mission houses, so it is difficult to keep the blog updated. We will do better once we are in the DR. We have been speaking at a few churches - Shay preached in Spanish this past Sunday!! This was quite an accomplishment, he did such a great job! I (gwyn) will be speaking at a few WMU and GA groups. We also went to the beach with Shay's family and have some family days planned with my family. We have gone through all our stuff and getting it ready for the container. We are homeschooling a K-5, 1st grader and 3rd grader and they are doing good! Below are some pictures of our weeks in the US.

My "heart" language

2008-08-29T09:35:00.005-04:00

Among missionaries there is often a distinction drawn bettween languages a person knows and there "heart language". Heart language is the language your born into and therefore the one that most deeply touches who you are. This is the reason why good people like the Wycliffe Bible translators work so hard to translate the Bilble so that people can read God's word in that language which most profoundly touches there lives.
Last Sunday I was rather disinterested in the worship service though it was my first in a year in English. Then, I began to sing the songs by translating them into Spanish. suddenly my heart swelled and tears came to my eyes and I felt the Spirit washing over my heart. I asked the Lord to help me to feel His Spirit in my "heart language" too. (thinking English) The responce which came to my spirit was "I did! You've given your heart to Spanish and the Hispanic people I've called you to serve." It is, now, the "language of my heart" though it is not my "heart language" from a tecnical standpoint.
Shay "Santiago"

What a beautiful dream!

2008-08-29T09:17:00.002-04:00

Last week I woke up in a house in Peachland, North Carolina from the most beautiful dream. I've heard how people sell tapes that you play while you sleep and when you awake your smarter, nicer, or better in some way or another. Well, I awoke from my dream with the ability to speak in pretty good Spanish. Believe it or not it's true.
My dream was beautiful, horrible, exciting, boring, difficult and yet easy. I dreamed at first I was in a strange country surrounded by strange people with unusual customs and langauge. Then suddenly they transformed before me into a beautiful and generous people with a language no longer mysterious, but powerful and lovely. I gave my heart and my frenship to many of them and today I am sad that I am not still in the land of my dream, though I am so very thankful for the journey and that little stretch of road that I like to call "language school". If ever the faculty or staff of ILE read this blog know that you have my deepest heart felt thanks for you love, patience and skillfull labors. with tears of joy and rememberance, Shay "Santiago" Griffin

We are here

2008-08-28T19:44:00.002-04:00

We are in Peachland, NC, staying in a beautiful home provided by Peachland First Bapt. Church, we are also in Boiling Springs, SC staying in a home provided by Boiling Springs 1st Bapt. Church. We are going through our worldly goods and getting ready to pack our container. Our computer is in the shop for about 3 weeks. We will be able to check our email every few days and you can reach us at our Vonage phone number. We are all doing well and enjoying time with family and friends. More later!

Jesse - 5 years old

2008-08-14T07:55:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 5 years old! There's this little store close to us that has the best cinnamon rolls - so this was his birthday cake! He loves them! We will have another party in the states very soon!
Wasn't it just yesterday we got the call that we were going to have a 2 day old new born. We brought him home, all 5lbs of him and couldn't believe what a miracle he was! He was the perfect baby, slept well, ate well and always wanted his Mama(which I loved!) He has grown up so much this past year and I guess I need to accept the fact I no longer have a baby. I have a nickname for him that I am keeping even if he is growing up, Bundle. Every morning when he wakes up he comes to me with his blanket wrapped around him and I scoop him up and I started telling him he looked like a bundle and it stuck. When he is being diciplined and he isn't happy with me he'll say "I am not going to be your bundle anymore!" but moments later he is curled up in my lap. He has a smile that is contagious. Here in Costa Rica you don't see blonde hair much, so everyone that passes him has to touch his head! He also has a very tender heart! Usually 2 or 3 times a week the kids color me and Shay and anyone else they know pictures, so one day I colored some and gave Jesse one and he was so touched he got a tear in his eye and hugged me and said Thank you so much! I have my guesses, but I can't wait to see what God has in store for this little miracle! We are very blessed to have 3 miracles!

Costa Rica - what have I learned

2008-08-12T10:58:00.002-04:00

As the time quickly approaches for us to leave the wonderful country I have been thinking about what I have learned during my year here. Carla our empleada has taught me how to get out any stain - hot milk! I am serious - heat a little bit of milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds and soak the stain. I have seen it take out ink, blood, grass and spaghetti sauce. The only stain it or anything else won't take out is the sap from the banana tree in our back yard, anything it touches it turns black and stays black! She also cuts a hole in a hand towel and fits it over the broom and she mops with that, it is so smart because you just wash it each day - I have always hated dirty mops.
I learned to quilt this was definitely a GOD thing. I literally woke up one morning and had this desire to quilt. I thought I haven't sewn since Jr. High and I don't have a machine!?! I searched the internet for quilt and found a shop and the nice ladies taught me how and I am in love with the process and the results. I plan on getting a machine and taking some classes while we are home. I want to sew clothes for us and make more quilts!
Another thing I have learned is Ants are our friends, we tried and tried to rid our house of them, but have learned to live with them and even enjoy their strength and resourcefulness. (that is a string from a banana they were carrying it up the wall!) We just count it as a little more protein in our diet!
I have learned there are lots of things you can do without and life goes on and you adjust. A/C - most of the time you don't need it here, but on those days you do, you just open more windows or turn on more fans.
Dishwasher - we do have Carla, and I feel very blessed to have her - the school ask all of the students to employ an empleada (maid) they use it as a outreach and have a bible study each week for them and it is great Spanish practice - she doesn't speak English! It is very inexpensive and she is here 3 days a week. But we still have 4 days and Damie has become a very good dishwasher and it has been good for him.
A Car! - This is a big one, but also a blessing! People drive crazy around here and there is no where to park. I have come to love riding the bus and it is nice to use a taxi on occasion. It is also nice not to have to worry about the crazy gas prices - over $5.00 here.
Wal-mart & Target & grocery stores - Oh this one hurt!! I didn't realize how much I was spoiled to hop in the car and go get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. We have only purchased 5 or 6 pieces of clothing since we have been here and we are OK, we are all sick of the same 6 or 7 outfits we have worn for a year, but no worse for the wear - although the clothes are worse for the wear because of the other thing we lived without - A DRYER!! I love clothes hung out in the sun, they smell wonderful! But when the towels can stand up by themselves - free exfoliation!! The dilemma comes when it is rainy season - which is a lot of the time here - so you get used to having clothes hanging all over your house!
Toys - this kids have had the same toys and we only brought a few things. They have gotten things with grandparents came and 3 things each at Christmas, but they have learned to be happy with what they have or make some new things out of trash or empty boxes.
Now that it is time to go home we have to decide what to bring home only to pack and take to the DR and what to send to the DR. What do we need, what things are important? We have always been surrounded by STUFF (shay is a self confessed pack rat) and this year we have very few things and it is very freeing!
I hope none of this has sounded like complaining, I have loved my year here and wouldn't trade it for anything. Everything that seems like it would be hard has turned out to be better or a blessing. I have always like simple things, I like to experience things as they were meant to be, I don't like imitations, short cuts, fast food - yes they make life easier but you miss something, I feel cheated. This may sound silly, but this wraps up what I have learned in Costa Rica - Take the time to do something thoroughly, completely and you are rewarded by the process and the outcome. I think the more we can live like our grandparents did the happier, healthier and more content we will be.

Packing

2008-08-01T10:46:00.004-04:00

OK, I need some help! If anyone has any suggestions, advice anything, I'll take it. I have about 2 weeks to pack an entire house. We have 16 suitcases. How do I pack and weigh while we still have to live? What is worth taking or what should I leave, what should I sale? I have friends that have had nervous breakdowns over clothes hangers, I handled that one yesterday - they are all staying here! One breakdown down and hopefully no more to go! My goal is to pack one suitcase a day and I did one yesterday, but it was everything I could think of we didn't need, today is going to be a struggle!?!

We have a house in the DR!!

2008-07-29T08:24:00.004-04:00

Shay took a 5 day trip to the Dominican Republic to see Restoration Ranch - the children's home we will be working with, to look at some houses for us, check out the city of Bani, where we will be living and work with a team from our church Restoration. As usual God did more than we could ever ask or think!
We have a house in the DR!!
Nicer than we could imagine, the rent is ridiculously low and it is in a very nice neighborhood! We don't deserve the grace and mercy given to us everyday! PRAISE OUR MOST GRACIOUS GOD!
Thank you to everyone who prays for us and gives to support us, we could not do this without you!
There are more pictures in the slide show at the top right!

Check this out - Our God is Good!

2008-07-28T10:14:00.001-04:00

Check out the website for the story behind the song - it is as good as the song.
http://healer.integritymusic.com/

God can do ALL Things!!

What a great story

2008-07-25T11:44:00.003-04:00

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the old wicker basket was empty before he returned home. out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it was clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out."

Moral of the wicker basket story: Take time to read a portion of God's word each day; it will affect you for good even if you don't think you've retain a word.

I need to be changed from the inside out!

Grace Livingston Hill

2008-07-17T08:42:00.005-04:00

I don't know how I have missed this great Author all my life, but I have. My best friend Kelly suggested them and I am in love! Here in Costa Rica it is not easy to find a book in English especially older books, so I turned to the web and found a website with some books online and I printed out a short one, The Mystery of Mary and read it in a weekend. Then I had Shay check the library at school and they have about 6 of her books so he brought me Head of the House - read it in 3 days. So he will be getting me another today. I can't put my finger on what I like about them so much except that the characters act like I would like to act and how I would like my children to act. The characters inspire me. I can't wait to get the next one.

Beach Trip

2008-07-15T09:38:00.004-04:00

We went to the beach this weekend! It was on the Caribbean coast and it was beautiful! The kids had a great time in the ocean and Jesse of course was always on the look out for animals - we saw a slough, huge crab, lots of little crabs, birds, fish, and his favorite was this log close to the ocean that was full of little snails, he sat their for a long time! Sierra was very brave, she is usually very afraid of the waves, but played and played in the ocean. Damie had a great time swimming and building sand castles!

Lord permitting...

2008-07-14T21:18:00.005-04:00

"By the Shores of Silver Lake", By Laura Ingalls Wilder
chapter:"The Wonderful Afternoon"
As Laura and her Pa watch the railroad men at work this exchange occurs.

Suddenly she asked, "Pa,was that what made the very first railroad?"
"What are you talking about?" Pa asked.
"Are there railroads because people think of them first when they aren't there?"
Pa thought a minute. "That's right," he said.
"Yes, that's what makes things happen, people think of them first. If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it's pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting."

I'd like to add to what Pa believes with the thought that it will only happen: Lord permitting TOO!

This reminds me so much of our work with the Restoration Ranch. It began with a thought and now with enough people catching the vision and working hard and "Lord permitting" we will see this great work come to reality.

The Great Debaters - Movie

2008-07-05T13:39:00.007-04:00

Memorable quotes from "The Great Debaters" (2007)

Who is the judge?

The judge is God.

Why is he God?

Because he decides who wins or loses. Not my opponent.

Who is your opponent?

He does not exist.

Why does he not exist?

Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth I speak!

James Farmer Jr. - We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.

We saw this movie the other day and these two quotes seemed quotable. Often Christians become so focused on the enemy that they become ineffective. As for the second quote. I have already used this quote in my own life and the lives of our children. So often we lose sight of the prize which lies just beyond our faithful labors.

Shay

Finally, It is finished!!

2008-07-01T08:56:00.002-04:00

I finally finished my quilt! The top was done by hand and I really enjoyed doing it, so I was going to quilt it by hand too! Well, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! So I went back to my class and quilted by machine, which was quite an experience too - I broke two needles on the machine, I think (because it was in Spanish) they said it wasn't my fault that it happens all the time. Then I came home and finished the edging by hand. I think the edge (or is it called the border??) I need to study up on my terms, makes it. I have the hardest time matching things and when they told me to choose something that wasn't in my quilt for the edge I thought that was weird, but I think I like it! I have a few more projects in the works for friends and family at home, but since they're presents I won't be posting pics until after I get back to the states!

A Day in the Life of Jesse

2008-07-01T08:45:00.000-04:00

This is my first time making my own PB & J - I have eaten 1000's (that's not an exageration) but this is the first one I made by myself.
Then I was so tired I took a nap!
Then my mom was going through my clothes and look how I've grown, these fit when I came to Costa Rica!! I guess it is the PB&J's!

Our baby girl graduated today

2008-06-18T19:27:00.007-04:00

I am afraid I will be saying this for real sooner than I care to think about. Today Sierra graduated from the greatest kindergarten class I think I have ever seen. Her teachers
Teacher Victoria
and Ms. Lauren have taught her so much. She has learned how to speak Spanish, she has learned how to read, she has learned some great songs and games in Spanish and English, she's learned the Costa Rican national anthem and is very respectful while she sings it, she has made some great friends and has decided she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. I can't imagine a better kindergarten experience for her. We are so proud of her and how hard she has worked. Teacher Victoria says she is going to make a great teacher!

I can't get enough of this song

2008-06-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

I found this on another site and I love this song, her voice and the message. Enjoy!
Posted by gwyn

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:45:00.002-04:00

Today is Father's Day and Shay is sick! At least he will get to spend the day in bed and as his present we are going to try to be quiet or maybe leave and go to the park. Hopefully we can celebrate tomorrow.
My three children are very blessed to have Shay as a Father. He loves them, protects them, looks forward to their futures, plays with them, tells them the greatest stories, teaches them with his amazing wealth of knowledge of everything, speaks in Spanish with them, shows them the world and most important how to serve God!
We love you and pray you get better soon!

Career Day

2008-06-06T09:11:00.001-04:00

Today is Career Day for Sierra at school. She started out wanting to be a ballerina, then a doctor, then a teacher. We couldn't figure out which one to do... This morning it occured to me she loves pretending to be a mama and a mama has to be a teacher, doctor and we threw cook in there, because she loves to cook for everyone. So this is her ready for school this morning as a Mama/teacher/doctor/cook. The baby for the mama part, the pencil behind the ear for a teacher, the apron for a cook and you can't see but she has band-aids in her apron pocket for the doctor part. Her teachers will probably think we are crazy, but I really hope she grows up to be all the above and I wanted her to know being a Mama is first and you get to do all those other things when you're a Mama!

Sierra's New haircut

2008-06-02T09:28:00.000-04:00

Sierra got a new haircut this weekend. It is short in the back and longer on the sides. She really likes it and I think she looks adorable!

"We don't have problems we have opportinities."

2008-05-28T07:57:00.011-04:00

This is my Dad's favorite saying and I guess it's mine too, since I say it all the time when life gets frustrating or things are not going as planned. Brilliant Bible scholar that I am fell across James 1:2 this morning and realized that this is scriptural. I'm not sure if Dad got it from the Bible or life, but now I can back up my optimism with scripture.

James 1:2 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity
for great joy."

Shay

Our favorite new picture software

2008-05-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

This is the last set of pics. Our friends the Drums (who we miss sooo much) told us about this great software for pictures called Picasa it is a part of Google. It is a great way to sort your pictures and it has some great ways to enhance your pictures. This is an example of one of them. Just Google it - it's free!!!

More updates in pics

2008-05-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Our favorite new pastime in the mornings - we have built quite a few cities
Damie playing soceer - this is his coach
Sierra and her baby had a picnic in the back yard.
Jesse doing what he loves best - watching a bug he caught! This child really needs a pet - we will hopefully take care of that when we get to the DR!

Update in Pics

2008-05-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

I haven't been updating the blog like I should, we have had a guest over the past month (Grammy's been here) so I thought I would just show you what we have been up to.
Grammy loves pictures and she has a picture of Noah (our cousin) like this so we posed!
Just playing - yes Grandmother that is Tang on my mouth :)

I made Sierra a quilt out of my scraps for her baby doll.

Bubbles from Grandmother

2008-05-27T10:33:00.000-04:00

Grandmother sent us a package and it had these great bubbles, when the rain finally stopped we got to play with them! Thanks Grandmother!!!

My First Quilt

2008-05-14T08:22:00.001-04:00

I am addicted! I went to a quilting class last Thursday and by last night I had finished the center of the quilt and I need the do the border, backing and edging. This was a very simple quilt - 9 squares which had 3 pieces each and then you sew the 9 squares together. I have done it all by hand (no sewing machine here). I have to say I have enjoyed doing it by hand and think I will do the next one by hand as well. This one was to remind me of Costa Rica - the reason for the bright colors and it is just something to put on the couch to cuddle with. All of the quilts I make will be USED not put up. Being here this year without our Stuff has taught me something. I don't want to put away the things I love, I want to use them, I want to make memories with them. My next quilts will be one for each of the kids - I think I am going to use the same pattern and let the kids pick out the material. I'll post a picture of this one when it is completed.

Ode to Faith, a Dog, and a Cadillac

2008-05-14T07:50:00.005-04:00

Many years ago, I saw perfect faith in action. It was not a monk in a tower or a widow feeding the hungry. The source of my inspiration was a Maltese dog. Don’t laugh; faith comes in many shapes and sizes. I was traveling north on Interstate 85 when a dark green Cadillac came cruising passed me. The only passengers in the vehicle were a large man and a little pile of fur standing motionless by his side. Some time later a thought began to take shape in my mind; that fine little animal was the embodiment of what faith in God should look like. I have listed a few of the attributes that he demonstrated.

1. The dog was happy just to be with his master.

2. He was not busy, but he was still heading to a destination.

3. His master was the only one who knew where they were going.

4. The view never changed (dashboard, sky; dashboard, sky). However, he was content with his circumstance.

5. His master could see obstacles ahead and avoid them. Yet, he was unaware of even their existence.

6. His purpose for being there was simply to adore and bring companionship to his master.

7. If he were to attempt to control the vehicle certain disaster would result.

8. He does not need to know how a car works or what makes it go in order to reach his destination. He simply climbs in beside his master and worships until he gets there.

Let’s all just cuddle up to “The Master”

and enjoy our ride to wherever “there” is.

Romans 1:20

What to do when life gets hard.

2008-05-12T07:37:00.000-04:00

Title: The Path to Blessing

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Source: Streams in the Desert
Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 1:36-36
"To him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon because he hath wholly followed the Lord" (Deut. 1:36).

Every hard duty that lies in your path, that you would rather not do, that it will cost you pain and struggle or sore effort to do, has a blessing in it. Not to do it, at whatever cost, is to miss the blessing.

Every hard piece of road on which you see the Master's shoe-prints and along which He bids you follow Him, surely leads to blessing, which you cannot get if you cannot go over the steep, thorny path.

Every point of battle to which you come, where you must draw your sword and fight the enemy, has a possible victory which will prove a rich blessing to your life. Every heavy load that you are called to lift hides in itself some strange secret of strength. --J. R. Miller

"I cannot do it alone;
The waves run fast and high,
And the fogs close all around,
The light goes out in the sky;
But I know that we two
Shall win in the end, Jesus and I.

"Coward and wayward and weak,
I change with the changing sky;
Today so eager and bright,
Tomorrow too weak to try;
But He never gives in,
So we two shall win, Jesus and I.

"I could not guide it myself,
My boat on life's wild sea;
There's One who sits by my side,
Who pulls and steers with me.
And I know that we two
Shall safe enter port,
Jesus and I."

Happy Mothers Day?

2008-05-11T21:39:00.001-04:00

This morning Gwyn asked me to help the boys make cinnamon toast for her and Grammy for Mother's day. 30 minutes later this was the results. In my defense I put it too far away from the broiler and then realized it and moved it too close to the burner. oops! Later, as Gwyn and Mom prepared more cinnamon toast, it occurred to me that I had really made a masterful play for Mother's Day. I had made them feel needed which I believe is an important thing for any mom to feel. They need to know that without them in our lives we will never survive! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Gwyn! We could not live without you!

A Shared Trauma - Good-bye to Billy and Laurie

2008-05-10T14:41:00.014-04:00

I've always heard of how soldiers or victims of natural disasters are often bound together in deep friendships by their having shared a stressful situation. This phenomenon has now become personal to me! The stress of leaving all, moving your family to another country and breaking through the language barrier for example; not to mention all the other stresses of life in general are shared by all of the students here at school. But, for me one couple in particular found their way deeply into my heart.
Billy and Laurie Drum are wonderful people from the Great "country" of Texas. They graduated after 2 trimesters and will be serving the Lord in Peru after 6 weeks in Texas. Billy is a tall skinny teddy bear of a man that cries about as easily as I do. I must say that I love him most for teaching me to make his Mexican salsa. Laurie is everything you expect a good Texas woman to be strong, independent and highly intelligent. She and I had a break at the same time each day (2nd tri.) and we had some great talks between class. She was never afraid to tell me when I had a bad case of stupid and I greatly appreciated her for that.
They have 2 older sons Ryan and Miles and a daughter Sara who is their crown jewel. She is 4 and was in Jesse's class at school. They were totally cute together and great playmates. I have a not so secret desire that they will meet in college and fall in love. I asked Billy and Laurie how they felt about arranged marriages and they did not seem entirely opposed to the idea.
I'm not sure how life here will be without them, but God had a plan for our time together and I'm sure He has a plan for our time apart as well, but, I hope that we will be together again on this side of Glory. May the Lord bless them in all they do!

Proverbs 20:6
"Son muchos los que proclaman su lealtad, ¿pero quién puede hallar a alguien digno de confianza?" (NVI)

"Lots of people claim to be loyal and loving, but where on earth can you find one?" (The Message Bible)

I found not one but two and I will not soon forget them! For they have carried a piece of me with them.

Learning to sew

2008-05-05T10:56:00.005-04:00

I (Gwyn) have the sewing bug. I am taking a quilting class here and want to get a sewing machine when we come home. I got Sierra a my first sewing kit and I bought me one too, so we could make the things together. She has done pretty good, it is good practice in patience. We made a pretty little bag and now we are working on stuffed animals.

Grammy's Here

2008-05-03T23:28:00.003-04:00

Grammy Sugar is here for a month. We were all glad to see here and of course she brought presents. Shay has always loved music and so do our kids, we have finally entered the 21 century and Grammy brought everyone MP3 players. The kids love them, even Jesse has this little bitty one and they dance around. If they are by themselves they really enjoy it and sing and dance, but if they are all in the room together they keep asking what song the other is listening to and saying listen to mine.. Damie has loaded his with Toby Mac (a little of his mom's influence) and the other two love praise and worship music.

More pics

2008-04-30T08:29:00.000-04:00

We are on vacation this week and we are just staying around the house - waiting for Grammy Sugar who is coming today. They were pretending they were taking a bath!! Our kids have always loved to take baths! They are so funny!!

Pics for Grandmother

2008-04-30T08:25:00.000-04:00

Mom was wanting some new pictures. This was Sunday morning before church and they were reading on the couch! Maybe I should dress them up everyday, so they will just sit on the couch and read!!

When Pigs Fly!

2008-04-24T08:44:00.002-04:00

Today is our last day of class for the 2nd. trimester. I was reminded of the movie "Charlotte's Web" when Wilbur watched the baby spiders fly away. I'm watching all my friends fly away to new adventures while I watch longingly from the "barnyard". Then it occurred to me that in 17 weeks this "pig" is going to sprout wings and fly too.

Popsicle Sticks are so much fun

2008-04-17T17:52:00.003-04:00

Mama's plan was to let the ninos make little treasure boxes out of Popsicle Sticks. They had other plans, they decided they wanted to make swimming pools (I think they miss theirs) and people to go in them. Who wants an old boring treasure box?? So this is the fun we had with a little bit of yarn and cloth and lots of Popsicle sticks.

AMAZING!

2008-04-08T13:29:00.005-04:00

Sierra, who by the way is 6. Had to do a 5 min presentation on Butterflies (Mariposas) in Spanish for her Kindergarten class. We made a lapbook to help her out and she had a new Butterfly outfit her Grandmother had sent her. She was a little nervous and I know her well enough to know if I was there she would keep looking to me if she forgot something. She speaks such great Spanish that I knew she would just get up there and rattle off in Spanish. That is exactly what she did. Teacher Victoria said she got up in front of the class. Settled herself and just rattled off everything she knew in perfect Spanish. She said she looked just like a little teacher - which is exactly what she wants to be. I made her do it for me at home so I could get some video. They were interrupted by her brothers so there are few. We are very proud of her!

The Cows have come to Costa Rica

2008-04-08T13:16:00.003-04:00

There is an exhibition of art cows in San Jose Costa Rica and they are really neat. Some of our favorites are:

The Holy Cow

The Pigeon Cow

The Quilt Cow

The Animals of Costa Rica

"We and They"

2008-03-24T22:02:00.006-04:00

I was reading a book titled "The Art of Crossing Cultures" by Craig Storti. In it I found this quote by Rudyard Kipling which so reflects my feelings about living outside the US because I find that "we" are becoming more like "they".

We and They

Rudyard Kipling

FATHER, Mother, and Me,
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And every one else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While We live over the way,
But—would you believe it?—They look upon We
As only a sort of They!

We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf
Are horrified out of Their lives;
And They who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn’t it scandalous?) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!

We shoot birds with a gun.
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un—.
We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They

We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!

All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!

I promise this is the last Easter post

2008-03-24T18:46:00.002-04:00

Our friends the Pettengill's did this video and I wanted to share it! Thanks guys!!

A few more Easter Pictures

2008-03-24T09:20:00.004-04:00

We started the day by Shay reading the Easter Story and the kids putting their Resurrection Eggs in order.

We had to get a little creative with our Easter Baskets this year. There is a great place here called Pequeno Mundo - it's like Big Lots. We bought some kitchen looking baskets and then they had these cloth napkins for .50 so we bought those and tied them to the handles to make them a little more colorful. The kids loved them!

They were all chomping at the bit!!

Checking out all the SWEETS!

This was the crew! Aren't they adorable!

Damie's newest project

2008-03-22T12:15:00.003-04:00

Damie made another project. We are reading Charlotte's Web and this is Mr. Zuckerman's Barn. Jesse has had a good time playing with it.

We worked on an Easter Lapbook

2008-03-22T12:00:00.004-04:00

We made eggs that told the Easter Story. We got them here.

One of our friends brought ME (Gwyn) these beautiful Lilies when they came over for Shay to cut their hair. Life of a Barber's Wife is pretty good!!!
The boys also got a new hair cut - Cute - Very Tico. Don't worry Grandmothers it doesn't always stick up like that!

Easter in Costa Rica

2008-03-22T11:51:00.004-04:00

We dyed eggs today. We found a few new ways to do it. We put stickers and made polka dots, we used masking tape and made stripes and we used crayons to write on them and the wax keeps the color from sticking. The kids had fun, Mom and Papa had fun too!
Enjoy the pics!

One of the missionary families has organized an Easter Egg Hunt for tomorrow. It should be lots of fun!
Have a great Easter!

Gallo Pinto

2008-03-21T10:31:00.005-04:00

This is a subject as hottly contested as southern BBQ. I made my first batch yesterday and it was good. The base ingredients of Gallo Pinto are: rice, black beans, onions, garlic, sweet peppers, and "Lizano salsa" ( a local bottled sauce).

Gallo Pinto is a typical part of a Costa Rican breakfast.
(they drink Coffee, have toast and the salsa on top was my idea because it's sort of bland.)

The diet is going a little too well?

2008-03-21T10:27:00.003-04:00

THIS IS NOW!

2008-03-15T20:55:00.008-04:00

I've lately been reading the kids to sleep at night. We read the first two and a half books of the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis until Sierra began to have bad dreams. So, I changed to the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We finished the first book tonight and it ended in a way that left me thinking of how quickly life is moving.

"Little house in the big woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

"She thought to herself, 'This is now.' She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago."

That was the 1870's and THIS IS NOW!

We are losing many people from the group of friends that we started school with in just a few weeks. NOW will very soon be THEN. I really had no intention of letting myself grow too close to anyone. However, the effect of culture shock is sort of like a war and human nature binds you to those with whom you share difficulties. I'm certain that many of these people We will never see again this side of Heaven. However, I am glad to be able to count these quality people as my friends and I'm glad that they will have been a part of our story. We're better for sharing the adventure with them!

We got a little more than we paid for

2008-03-06T21:13:00.006-05:00

Every week we go to la feria (farmer's market) to get our fruits and vegetables. Things are usually still dirty because the were just picked the day before. It is nice to have such fresh food, but, we have to soak our food in bleach water (a few drops to a gallon of water) because of the dirt and sometimes bugs. This Sunday I was getting some lettuce out to wash and this bag had been in our refriderator for A WEEK! I opened the bag and this was staring at me!
I threw the bag across the dining room and screamed! It was slow moving I guess because of the cold temperture. The kids had a blast with him until Shay released him. Needless to say we didn't have salad that night!

Creative Outlet

2008-02-29T10:27:00.006-05:00

Shay has always encouraged me to find a hobby and I have tried a few things, but never found anything I really like, until now. There is a book store downtown San Jose that has some English books and yesterday they had a big sale. I found this watercolor painting set and it came with a how to book, paints, a brush and watercolor paper. So last night I tried my hand at it. It took a few steps, they have a picture and then a grid is over it so you can figure perspective. So you trace it onto the watercolor paper with a pencil then you paint it in layers, some of my layers were heavier than they were suppose to be. Being my first time I think it came out pretty good. There is a new student here that is an artist and he is going to do a class on watercolor. I know it looks like a 3 year did it, but I had fun and surely I will get better!

The Earth's Core

2008-02-29T10:21:00.002-05:00

We are studying about the Earth and the planets and Damie made the earth out of play-doh. It turned out pretty cool just made a small ball then wrapped anther color around it etc...

God Speaks to little ones

2008-02-20T19:09:00.005-05:00

Damie and I are studying the 7 wonders of the Ancient World and yesterday we studied about The Lighthouse of Alexandria. When we got through he said "Mama, do you ever feel like God is talking to you?" I said "Yes." He said I think God is telling me when I grow up I am suppose to go to Egypt and rebuild that lighthouse (it was destroyed by an earthquake around 1480). He told me three of four times that day, "Mama I really feel like I am suppose to build that lighthouse, do you think God is telling me that?" I told him anything was possible and he just needed to always keep his ears and heart open and God would tell him what to do. It amazes me that at such a young age that he is really thinking about the future. I hope he is always that quick to hear God's voice and respond! Tonight the kids were playing outside and Sierra comes running in and says, "Papa, come look there is something in the sky." So Shay went out it was the sun shinning through the clouds, we call it the Glory.
Jesse said, "No, Papa it is God talking to someone!" Mama said, "You could be right He is always talking to someone!"
I love seeing things through my kids eyes!

Good Friends

2008-02-15T16:13:00.002-05:00

Sierra has a good friend at school named Isabelle. We call Sierra Si and Isabelle's family call her Is. Is made this drawing for Sierra and I thought it was really cute and then we noticed their names were opposites, isn't that funny! Sierra has made some really good friends at school!

Just like his Papa

2008-02-15T16:07:00.003-05:00

Jesse came in yesterday with this stick and said I want to make a thing that throws rocks (slingshot). I said you can talk to Papa when he gets home, that's his field of expertise (making something out of nothing). He came back a few minutes later and ask me for one of my scrunchies, I told him where he could get one and he came back with this!! Thank goodness it won't throw rocks too far, but he still had fun with it. I used to love to play with my Papa's (my mom's dad) slingshot!

Our little tiger!!!

2008-02-14T14:08:00.001-05:00

Our little tiger!!!
Originally uploaded by shayngrin

Jesse came back from church like this last Sunday. He is spoiled rotten at church. He is usually the only child in his class and his teacher is a young girl that thinks he is the cutest thing ever. Needless to say we never have a problem with Jesse wanting to go to church.

Another lost tooth

2008-02-14T13:31:00.002-05:00

This is a first for Sierra! It was barley loose yesterday morning and by the time she got home it was out. She said her best friend told her to just twist and pull and she did ALL day. Unfortunately this speaks to Sierra's impatient streak, oh well, I'm sure that persistence will come in handy one day!! She was very excited!!!!

I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING

2008-02-14T09:26:00.009-05:00

If you would have ask me about homeschooling anytime in the past, I was always "If God tells me to I will", but now, I am loving it! I believe God puts the desire in your heart for the things He has called you to and I am so grateful. I hope Damie is learning, but I am learning so much. I'm sure I learned some of this stuff in school, but I wasn't very interested I guess, now it fascinates me! I am doing this as sort of a record of our schooling so I can look back next year, but I also thought the few people that read our blog might like to hear what Damie is learning. This is a typical Day: He loves to listen to music while he is writing.
We read a short devotional from his Bible
We work on our memory Verse - right now we are learning Psalm 23
Math - we are working through his workbook from school - he also loves to work with a calculator and so I print out these huge problems and he does them on the calculator.
Spelling - also working through his workbook from school-He writes them a lot, we make sentences with them and we have a spelling test every Friday
Spanish - Rosetta Stone - 30 min. It is amazing to me how much he is learning and even reading in Spanish almost more than in English????
Reading - we are doing Hooked on Phonics and I am sold, his reading has rocketed since we started this program, he still gets frustrated, but he pushes through and is really getting excited about reading.
History - We are going through the 7 wonders of the world and learning about the places, people and time that surrounded them. Who knew there were so many wonders of the world, but I think we are going to do them all: Ancient, Natural and Modern Wonders of the World. We are making a lapbook out of it. We read about it on Wikipedia then we print out some pics for the lapbook and we also look it up in our ChildCraft Set (What a blessing that was - Shay comes home from school one day and said they are cleaning out the library and have a lot of free books do you want some (dumb question) yes, get them ALL! He came home with a FULL set of ChildCraft Books these are from 1965, but most of the information is still accurate and they have the best stories in them. This is such a testament of how God always provides, we were struggling with having books to read, because most everything here is in Spanish, but as always God provided!)
Science - This and Art are Damie's favorite - we were going through his science book from school (BORING!!) So I decided to let him decide what he wanted to learn about and make a lapbook. He has always been fascinated with Eagles, so we are learning about the Bald Eagle and making this Lapbook.
Art - This changes from week to week - So far we have made a city, a 3-D box (he wrote a story to go along with it. He cut out a picture of Shay's face and glued it to the scuba diver-how sweet!)
We also have made a game - it is a game we saw an old man playing in Downtown San Jose and we loved it. So sometimes this goes with what we are learning and sometimes it's just for fun!

Shay had a friend tell him one time that he always wanted to do a pull up and so he just started trying one a day until he could do it and then would do more and more. So Damie is doing that he is trying a pull up a day.

He is also responsible for water the flowers everyday since we are in the dry season.

Shay is also reading a chapter from the Narnia series to the kids before bed each night - We finished the Magician's Nephew and now are on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Sierra and I are reading Little House in the Big Woods and doing this Lapbook - I am excited about this too! I never really liked Little House on the Prairie (sorry Kelly) but reading the book is really changing my mind, to bad they don't show Little House on the Prairie in Costa Rica.??

Well that's our homeschooling - next year when there are 3 to home school I'm sure it will be a little different.

Races

2008-02-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

At the picnic Jesse found a great partner! He did a great job for such a little fellow!

trip to the pool

2008-02-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today I took Jesse and Sierra to a local park with a pool it was muy devertido (lots of fun)!

2008-02-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

So are these 3 trees pictured alike or different?

They are quite different!
The only thing which changed was MY perspective!
In life it is often not our circumstances which need to be changed, but rather our PERSPECTIVE!

Art Attack

2008-02-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

Damie's favorite TV show here in Costa Rica is Art Attack. We decided to do a project from one of the shows. We built a city! Damie has always loved making stuff out of boxes or anything else we would normally throw away. So we kept every box we had for a few weeks and started making it last week. It took us about 2 weeks. First we glued (actually we resorted to duck tape because the glue just wasn't holding) all the boxes and then we made some roads out cereal boxes, then we covered the whole thing with glue and paper towels and another coat of glue, then we painted it. I think we did pretty good even with a mom that is very challenged in the craft area. Once it dried it was hard enough for the kids to play on with their cars. I hope it last at least for a week!!!

The way to the Cross

2008-01-31T21:13:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday Damie and I did a little bonding trip to the mountains. The mountain behind our house has 3 crosses on it. There is a trail which takes you past all 3. The final cross at the top is 80 ft. tall and can be seen from almost anywhere in San Jose. It took us over two hours of climbing straight up the side of the mountain. (no switch backs like in the States) Friends of mine had their GPS and as you can see the top cross was at 6723 ft. San Jose is around 3500 ft. above sea level so we climbed over 3000 ft! I was the last up and the last down but it was well worth the exertion.

LAPBOOKS

2008-01-31T20:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I have never seen these before, they are Lapbooks! I found out about it at http://www.lapbookladies.com/what_is_a_lb.htm I needed a free way to homeschool and this way we research everything on the internet and put it together in a book and they can look at it anytime they want to. It is a creative way to display what you have learned. It's just a manilla folder folded a little differently. Damie and I are working on one about America and I thought I would try this simple one with all three kids - it is about Days of Creation. They did a great job!

Two in one week

2008-01-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

Damie has been very late losing his teeth, he lost his first two just this past year and now two in 3 days - isn't he a cutie. It is bad timing - we are working on TH and CL in Hooked on Phonics and he doesn't have anywhere for his tongue to go. He is still doing great with his reading.

Damie

2008-01-26T07:09:00.001-05:00

We had a party tonight to celebrate Damie finishing the 1st box in Hooked on Phonics. We are homeschooling Damie this tri and he has always struggled with Reading, but this system has really got him excited about reading. He would wake up every morning & ask to do reading first!! He read 14 little books in this first box and we celebrated by him reading them ALL to Jesse and Sierra. I felt like I was dreaming while I was watching him - I have always wanted him to love reading as much as his Papa. Speaking of his Papa he is reading the Narnia Series to the kids at night before bed and he started with the Magician's Nephew - the kids sit motionless and listen and ask questions - they are really into it. He reads a chapter a night and Jesse and Sierra are usually asleep before he finishes, but Damie hangs on Shay's every word. I hope this is the beginning of a life full of reading for him. I am so proud of him and so thankful for the opportunity to see him grow and learn.

Riding bicycles and other easy things that are really hard to learn.

2008-01-09T20:16:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of classes in our 2nd. trimester. My linguistics teacher is a joy to be around because she is always smiling. Today she told us that we have two choices as language learners. We can learn all the rules and regulations and depend on our text books or we can throw ourselves with abandonment out into the culture and learn to hear and speak well; which is after all what we are here for. Then she gave us the greatest illustration: You can take the risk of falling and indeed fall often but ultimately learn and enjoy the freedom of riding a bicycle OR you can walk beside your bike with a arm load of notes, text books and dictionaries that tell you how to ride the bike your PUSHING. It has occurred to me as I'm writing that I've spent most of my life living a "textbook" life afraid to throw myself to the ground enough times to learn to fly! Our journey to the mission field has been a lesson in falling and learning to get up again and again. I would like to encourage all who read this to consider where in your lives you are "pushing your bike" because your more afraid of falling than succeeding!

So who took the volcano?

2008-01-09T19:52:00.000-05:00

My parents ,sister and her son Noah came to visit us for the holidays. We have been told by many that the number one must see place in Costa Rica is the Arenal Volcano. (We don't have live volcanoes in the Carolina's) We went and it rained the entire time so we could not even tell where the Volcano was. ( I wonder if there really is a volcano or is it a hoax contrived by Ticos to get gringos to drive to the middle of nowhere and spend money.) The only bright spot was that the resort had a pool fed by waters heated by the volcanic action. Imagine a pool as warm and comforting as your bathtub with a giant water slide too.

note: the painting pictured above was on the wall in our room and is the only evidence we have to prove the existence of the Volcano.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

2007-12-28T12:52:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Break - no extra money - these walls are coming in on us!! The kids want to go to McDonalds - it would cost taxi fare and us paying triple the prices for chicken nuggets. Just for fun I put "recipe for McDonalds chicken nuggets" in google and look what I found!
A blog where she was looking for the same thing! http://forfood.rezimo.com/?p=432 So we had time to kill and chicken so we gave it a shot. We don't have a food processor, so we 1st tried a little processor that you turn by hand - doesn't work - then we tried the blender - we let the magic smoke out of the blender!! So my strong husband went to it with a knife and after a lot of chopping we had the mush you need to make the recipe. It does take a little extra time to make the balls and dip them 3 different times - but trust me - IT IS WORTH IT! We had McD's nuggets for lunch. The kids loved them and of course I didn't make enough. We will definitely be making these again!!

I'm dreaming of a "wet" Christmas

2007-12-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

We have no snow obviously, but the Lord did bless us with a rain cloud which cooled things down enough to at least make it feel like fall. I've pretty much been a scrooge most of my adult life. I've never liked to decorate and generally felt that a Christmas tree was a waste of money and time. However, this year with only finger painted Christmas trees above the sofa; I felt "Christmas". NO commercialism here just Jesus in the manger and my kids playing around me.

Christmas 07

2007-12-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

I know these are long - but not too long for Grandmother's and Grammy Sugar's. Enjoy!

Our Christmas Trees

2007-12-23T09:56:00.001-05:00

If you know me very well at all you know one of my favorite things in the world is Christmas Trees. I love seeing the first truck load roll in around Thanksgiving and I love picking it out and decorating it. Well this year has been a challenge, because you can find one, but how do you get it home and what do you decorate it with - because in August when we were packing Christmas stuff wasn't high on the list. So we got some poster paper and finger paint - Shay drew a Christmas tree and our little artist painted them. I think they are the best Christmas trees I have every had!!

Ox Carts

2007-12-23T09:46:00.000-05:00

Shay took the kids to Sarchi - this is where they paint all of the famous ox carts. It was a long long bus ride, but they loved it. I was Christmas Shopping!!!

Merry Christmas from Grandmother

2007-12-23T09:25:00.000-05:00

My mom sent us to the beach for Christmas. We went to Punta Leona, it was wonderful! The kids swam in the ocean or the pool all day everyday. They had a butterfly farm on site. Each morning we ate breakfast with monkeys, iguanas and lots of other animals. They would actually come up to the tables and steal food from the tables. The kids loved it. Thanks! Grandmother