Saturday, December 25, 2010

Santa and Sandwiches

Merry Christmas to all! We had a great Christmas with the family. The kiddos were so dang wired up taking them to the park yesterday did not even calm them down. Maybe next year a marathon the day before Christmas or something like that.

We had yummy food and played card games and made all kinds of racket. Hubby was going to attend midnight mass with the guys but they all started dozing off and voted against it. Maybe next year.

This morning we all got up very early and enjoyed a few presents. We are down to a $50.00 limit per person, so the shopping gets harder, yest more meaningful. After receiving all the blessings we went downtown Heredia and handed out meat and cheese sandwiches.

The girlies were awesome and not even one bit scared to approach those homeless people and give them a sandwich. I did feel a little bad when baby told me she was starving because she had only had a tangerine for breakfast and could she have a sandwich.

The highlight was my granddaughter. She came to get another sandwich from me after giving one to a guy sleeping in a box. She said how weird it was that he was sleeping in a box. I told her that was all he had, he had no home or bed or food. Later we were walking and she remarked to baby that when she grows up she is going to build a very big house for all these people to sleep in!

And a humanitarian is born!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Graduation


O.K. so someone did not enjoy the kindergarten graduation today. O.k. maybe he never enjoys anything that does not involve him in the middle of it. He sure was throwing a fit at the ceremony. We could not even get him to smile for the camera.

Whew, she made it through kindergarten! That was quite a haul and now there is just first grade. As they say here, that is the most important grade in Costa Rica. That is the year they learn everything they need for life. Yup that is what they told us anyway.

Two very excited party goers. They are excited also to gift their teachers with their goodies they made them for Christmas.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Picnic in Paradise


There is nothing like a beautiful December picnic two weeks before Christmas to make you so thankful for living in paradise! This little girl needed the sun on her face and the wind in her hair something awful. She was begging for a picnic. As we were trucking our bags of stuff up to the bus to hit the hills my son made the comment how funny would this look in the States? Yeah probably does not happen there.

It is so nice now that the kiddos are all big enough to play on the equipment and not kill themselves. Now we just have to worry about the adults, like the time my oldest daughter caught her pinky toe on the slide, ouch!

Even the teenagers enjoy getting out and playing. Oh wait she is a teenager but I guess he is an old man, and I mean old, won't even go there right now. Different post for a different day.

And don't these two goofy goobers just look like they are having a blast? They are just anxious to get going on the fire, the good part.
Did I mention I love Monte de la Cruz?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Eddie Vedder - Society



I feel like this song best sums up my feelings about Christmas as we know it.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Minimum Sentence

Although I try to keep the news about my son in jail on his blog I have to post this good news. Yesterday I flew into Arizona for his sentencing hearing. After two and a half years in county jail he has received the minimum sentence of five years. He can finally be transfered to prison and will have a little less than two years left to serve his time and price to society.

If anyone is unclear about how I feel about jails and prisons I will make it clear right here and now. I oppose all jails and prisons and feel they do nothing at all to rehab or help anyone anywhere. They are nothing more than schools to learn bad things and bad behaviors. I only pray my son can keep his great spirit through his prison experience and find good like minded individuals in the process.

There are not many people who can come out of the prison system better people than they go in, but I expect to see him do just that. In his two and half years so far he has read over a dozen classic books, as well as written a book and another to be published soon. If he can keep up this attitude in prison I will be so dang proud of that kid.

The only good part about yesterday, besides the minumum sentence of course, was the fact that I got to visit for over two hours with my son. We had a great talk and tried to take each other in since it will be a few months before I am able to talk to him again. He will be in transfer as well as the fact that we cannot talk on the phone or visit until we get approved after our background checks.

Stupidest system ever invented on earth!