Can you imagine singing a solo in front of about 150 people? I can't either but my 14 year old did tonight. Now imagine doing it in another language. That too! She sang a song in Spanish at a special program for young girls. I was very proud of her. One man asked her in broken English if she was the next Hannah Montanna!
We were always very commited to having the kids learn at least one instrument or some kind of music. She chose childrens choir and has been singing every since she was 8. When she sang her solo she did not use the mike because she has a very loud voice.
One man asked us if she took after her mother. I had to tell him all of our children play or sing, I listen, and my husband said he pays! So far it has gotten one scholarship and hopefully made lots of happy memories for my children.
I still remember the night we went to pick up one son from Juvy because he and his violin buddies had tried to steal a decoy deer out of the front of someones house, oh yeah good times.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
WEEKLY SERMON
I found an awesome blog site yesterday and would highly recommend it to anybody who has, will or is adopting a child. It is A4everFamily.org. I learned a lot from it about some of Maleahs behaviors, as well as my reactions.
After raising six children you would like to think you have it somewhat figured out. Guess what, I just keep being amazed at how much I do not have figured out! Just when I think I have it figured out the rules change, or the kid changes, or the world changes, or I change! You get the idea, there are no rules, there are no constants except the values and principals we live by.
The real trick I guess is learning to apply our principals on every situation we run into with our children as well as ourselves. A good example of this is the belief I have that it really does matter who your friends are and who you hang out with.
My daughter is just starting to believe me on this one, but it is really difficult to learn. She would like to believe that as long as she is doing what she knows is ok it is all good. Unfortunately it is not like that anymore.
She has an older brother who is going to be in prison for at least five years because he did not believe this concept. He thought and actually still thinks that it is ok to go along with the group, as long as you don't "inhale" so to speak. Not true as he has very painfully been made aware of.
I guess this is my soap box for the week, and why I love blogging! I get to choose who I check out and who I hang out with! There are so many blogs and so little time. I have a great new word for friends who blog "frogs"!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
COSTA RICA SCHOOL OF INTEGRATIVE MASSAGE GRADUATE
This is our first graduate of the full 500 hour massage program. We were thrilled to work with her and enjoyed her very much. She is going to be an awesome massage therapist, ah heck she is already an awesome massage therapist! We wish her the best and hope all our students continue to be as smart and make us look as good as she does.
It was a long six months for her but she worked through a lot of obstacles to get her certificate. She had to travel from Jaco beach every week to do her hands on work. She was also our first student who completed her book work online. It worked out great for all involved and she feels very ready to take and pass her national exam.
We will be begining another class in just five short weeks. I am looking forward to getting to work with more than one person as it will be easier to have them practise when they have each other. Massage is great and it is even more fun to teach it and see people really enjoy it, I guess that is true of anything you teach.
It was a long six months for her but she worked through a lot of obstacles to get her certificate. She had to travel from Jaco beach every week to do her hands on work. She was also our first student who completed her book work online. It worked out great for all involved and she feels very ready to take and pass her national exam.
We will be begining another class in just five short weeks. I am looking forward to getting to work with more than one person as it will be easier to have them practise when they have each other. Massage is great and it is even more fun to teach it and see people really enjoy it, I guess that is true of anything you teach.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
INTERNET
I have been thinking all day about the miracle of the internet. For the two years that we lived in Costa Rica we had to do all of our internet business at the internet store. It is really cheap here, but it was a real hassle.
When we bought our house the first thing we wanted to do was get hooked up to the internet. We started the process. The first thing you have to do here is get on a waiting list with ICE. After six months of waiting we were ready to go. My husband went with my son-in -law to talk to the people, after waiting in line for 2 hours of course.
They were told that because here in Costa Rica the original owner of the home also owns the phone line we could not get the internet without the original owners permission.
Enter Darwin, the original owner of our house. He was also a gringo and gave us a smokin deal on our house. He is a decent enough guy and we figured we would have no problems with him. Well he was not the problem, his wife was. For some reason unknown to us she did not want to give permission for us to get the internet.
Enter our good friend Jens. We told him the whole story and he went to ICE with my husband and went to a different office, with no waiting by the way. They met with a guy who told them pretty much the same story we had heard the first time around. This time Jens told them the truth, he did not know where the heck the owner was and he could not be reached by us.
The next week we had the internet. That is the perfect example of the way things work here in Costa Rica, kind of weird. We love having the internet in our home, and because of having the internet we can now get a voip phone, which makes it possible for us to keep in contact with our kids everywhere.
Just one of the many things we have come to appreciate on our adventure here in Costa Rica!
When we bought our house the first thing we wanted to do was get hooked up to the internet. We started the process. The first thing you have to do here is get on a waiting list with ICE. After six months of waiting we were ready to go. My husband went with my son-in -law to talk to the people, after waiting in line for 2 hours of course.
They were told that because here in Costa Rica the original owner of the home also owns the phone line we could not get the internet without the original owners permission.
Enter Darwin, the original owner of our house. He was also a gringo and gave us a smokin deal on our house. He is a decent enough guy and we figured we would have no problems with him. Well he was not the problem, his wife was. For some reason unknown to us she did not want to give permission for us to get the internet.
Enter our good friend Jens. We told him the whole story and he went to ICE with my husband and went to a different office, with no waiting by the way. They met with a guy who told them pretty much the same story we had heard the first time around. This time Jens told them the truth, he did not know where the heck the owner was and he could not be reached by us.
The next week we had the internet. That is the perfect example of the way things work here in Costa Rica, kind of weird. We love having the internet in our home, and because of having the internet we can now get a voip phone, which makes it possible for us to keep in contact with our kids everywhere.
Just one of the many things we have come to appreciate on our adventure here in Costa Rica!
Monday, December 8, 2008
CHRISTMAS SPIRIT NUMBER 2
If the first and best way to get into the Christmas spirit is service, then making cookies is a shoe in for second place. Of course that is coming from a true "cookie monster". I love cookies. They are my number one comfort food and I turn to them frequently these days. When I went into labor with all my kids I always made a batch of oatmeal cookies. My thinking was that the kids and hubby would have a somewhat healthy snack for a few days until I was back up and around. I don't know why buying a box of granola bars never really entered my mind!
They passed this test for sure! She was a little disappointed though because when she saw me put them on the pretty plate and get the milk she thought it was for Santa! Soon enough.
These cookies have a history. I learned to cook when I was nine years old. My mother put me into 4H and there I learned to cook and sew. The first thing I ever cooked was this cookie, snickerdoodles. They bring back fond memories and they are fun to make with the kids. I just have to relax and not worry about them being symetrical!
SNICKERDOODLES:
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter
4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. almond flavoring
Mix everything into a stiff dough. Roll into balls.
Roll in a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1Tbls. of cinamon.
Place on a cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly browned.
Cool on a paper towel and enjoy!
They passed this test for sure! She was a little disappointed though because when she saw me put them on the pretty plate and get the milk she thought it was for Santa! Soon enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)