Updated Pic of Banana Tree

We are a little obsessed with our Banana Tree! It is so much fun watching it grow!

Grammy Sugar is here

Grammy Sugar is visiting us for two weeks. She is getting used to all the rain and all the extra walking. She is a real trooper.
The kids love to play games and Grammy is here to please!

Banana Tree

This is a picture of the Pod on our banana tree. Banana trees only produce one pod each year and there are many layers under each layer is a bunch of bananas. We can't wait to eat these, it will be a few weeks before they are ready. To see some really cool pictures of the tree check out our flickr pics -http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaygwyngriffin/

Mama Tapp

This is my Mama Tapp (my daddy's mom). She is very sick and has been placed in a Hospice home. I am going home to see her this week. She has always been such an inspiration to me. She is a hard worker, a prayer warrior and tranquila. Tranquila is a word that we have learned is necessary for life in Costa Rica. It means calm, tranquil, relax - and that is the only way to live here. Mama Tapp doesn't get upset about much and she is always sure things are going to work out. She has encouraged me many times to not worry and things would work out and they always have. I had the pleasure of living in her house for a few years before we had the kids and I will always treasure that time. I have so many great memories of the time I spent there as a kid. One of the words that she always used is "Precious". When you ask any of my kids about Mama Tapp they will say "Precious". I love her and am very glad I am going to be able to spend some time with her.

Children's Museum

Last Saturday we took the kids to a children's museum. It had tons of different rooms about different professions and different hobbies like music and art. We had a great time. It is in an old county jail. The country is very proud of it, the say it speaks to the direction the country is moving - less criminals and more kids.

Flowers

My sweet husband brought me these flowers from the Market last Saturday. It really made my day! He is very good to me!!! Do you like the vase. It's a vinegar jug, you have to be creative around here!

We have started school

We are here!! We did make it here and are adjusting well! The kids have started school and are doing well. Shay and I have started school and are actually doing well. We have taken 3 test and on 2 we made 100!! The other we haven't gotten back yet, but we know we didn't make 100... Our normal day goes something like this:
4:30 - Shay's up for his quiet time
5:30 - I'm up we do breakfast, I make lunches for all the kids, we bathe everyone, get them dressed with back packs and lunches and our goal is to be out of the door by 7:10am. We have about a 10 min walk to school and we ALL have to be in our classes by 7:30.
12:00 - Shay, Jesse and I all get out of school and we come home and eat a bite of lunch and lay Jesse down for a nap and Shay and I do homework or if their are errands to run Shay does that. Grocerys are about a 15-20 min walk, we have to go get money out of an ATM in one place and get it exchanged for colones (Costa Rica's currency) at another.
2:30 - Damie and Sierra get out of school and one of us walks back to school to get them and on Tues and Thurs Damie stays after for 1 hour for soccer practice.
3:00 - Sierra takes a nap ( a must)
3:30 - 5:00 - more Homework, play etc...
5:00 - we eat supper
by 7:00 - kids are in bed
by 8:30 - We are in bed - It gets dark about 6pm and we were advised to not go out after dark. Actually by this time we are exhausted.
Cutting new neural pathways and living at a higher altitude while trying to maintain a positive attitude really zaps your energy.
On Saturdays we go to the Ferea - It is an open market where they have fresh fruits and vegetables.
On Sundays we go to a church that is about a 10 minute walk and we have to be there at 8am. That is usually no problem since Jesse wakes up around 5:30 am every morning!!
That's how our week goes and will go for the next year.