How we spend our days

We have been in Costa Rica for one month! It seems like we have been here much longer and at the same time it seems like we just arrived since so many things are still so new and different to us. We are finding our way, settling into a schedule, and adjusting to the changes.

We are up at sometime between 6 and 7am each day, depending on the road noise and when Tanner comes to our bedside to say, "It's morning!" Once we are up, we do the normal stuff like eat and get ready for the day. Laura does the first half of her Math assignment for the day and we read and discuss a chapter from Laura's new Story Bible. The kids play, I go for a long walk, Tim checks e-mail, we have our personal quiet time and if there is time Tim may play his guitar and I work on chores like laundry.

Language school starts at 9 am and we walk so we are out the door by 8:40ish. It is a nice walk and we pass many people who must stop and tell us how cute the kids are. We all have class from 9-12 each day and then we walk home. After lunch we all have a siesta for one hour. Tanner usually sleeps longer and Laura never sleeps, but plays quietly during her siesta.

Laura then does home school. We are working on her Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Math until the fall and then we'll add English grammar as well. Laura is eager to learn though often doesn't like to be taught.

By 4 pm the kids are playing, Tim and I are studying Spanish, doing chores, or Tim plays the guitar, checks e-mail, etc. Life runs at a much slower pace here and life is also much more simple. We are home most evenings, except that we have cooking class at 4 pm on Tuesdays and church at 4pm on Sundays. On Wednesday evenings we listen to a sermon in English at our house.

We are all to bed by 9 pm though sometimes it is earlier and occasionally it is later. Last night the kids and I were all asleep by 7:30 or 8 pm.

Sound boring? We are loving it, though I must admit that at times I am bored. What I am learning is that my home is not here on earth so it is ok if things don't feel like home to me. I am just a pilgrim here for a short time before I go home to my "true" home. It is difficult to feel the impact of this when I am in the States because I am so "at home" there. Here I realize what it means to be a pilgrim. Another thing I realize is that in the States I fill up my time with so many things just to keep busy when God desires me to slow down and spend more time with Him and be content to just "be".

Cindy