PHOTO SHOOT

The kids have been so drained after spanish school - trying to do anything constructive has proven to be very difficult. Sydney is also in a dance class taught by a very vibrant Itatian dancer, who was trained in Milan. Theresa (the instructor) ends every word with an "a" and speaks Italian, English and Spanish sometimes all in the same sentence! Syd loves to dance.

Josh is now taking quitar lessons every saturday and bass lessons with Paul and is loving it. He is working toward becoming the bassist for a boy band he is part of. So, the kids have been very busy and have been needing time to decompress. Joshua's preferred ways are trampoline, wrestling with Mama on the trampoline, lego and computer. Mind you, he did have a nap one day! Syd's way to decompress are shown below. As you can see, I got into it as well.

Love all these photos. We took over 100! I have to say, I do miss working at the hospital and getting a paycheck. Yesterday I got a lovely e mail from a family I cared for last year. Made me remember all my co workers and the families I have grown to love through incredible challenges. Then I look at my children and feel overwhelmed at how much I not only love them, but I really like them. I feel fortunate I get to be very present during this phase of their lives. We have been spending so much time together, and yes, some day we want to scream. But seeing them become such incredible little humans does my heart good.

Enough mush.

Until I blog again.

Linda

SPANISH SCHOOL

Sydney and Joshua started a Spanish class 2 weeks ago. When we registered them in January we were told the classes started on Jan 20th and would run from 8 AM until 12 noon -Monday through Friday - for 5 weeks. Fair enough. Well, the Friday before classes were to start, I heard mumbles that the classes were starting on Monday the 19th, not Tuesday the 20th - and would running from 1pm until 3pm - Monday through Thursday. Mmmmm! That is quite a difference in hours. I got a bunch of calls from other Moms who are also confused. I looked at my registration form, and sure enough, it indicated Monday through Friday, 8am-12pm, starting on the 20th. Well, in order to cope with living here I have learned to lower my expectations, especially around anything that needs organization. I decided to just show up Monday at 8am and encouraged the rest of the Moms to do the same. We showed up and were told that the class was indeed from 1pm-3pm Monday through Thursday. There was a rumbling of upset, but we said, "no problem", but requested that we get ½ our fees back as the classes have been shortened by 50%. That got the director out of her office and involved. The director decided that since we had 10 students on site ready to learn that we could hold a class starting now. This lowered the rumblings of upset considerably. A Spanish teacher suddenly appeared, brought everyone into an class that wasn't set up and started teaching. But this was only to last until 10, when we were told a new decision would be made. Paul and I left and headed over for a quick date over at our favorite coffee place. (Ahhh, 2 hours alone!) When we returned, we were told that 3 different solutions, all of which do not work for anyone, were available to us. By the end of the discussion, it was finally decided - Monday through Thursday, 8am-12pm. Are you exhausted by this entry?Imagine being there. All this work and mix up, and the result? What I was told originally minus Fridays. The kids have just completed their second week, and you should hear them speaking Spanish. The first week they came home with their brains oozing out their ears. I asked them what 2x2 was and they had to think for a bit, and then said 22! They are not as exhausted now, after their second week, which is great seeing as we still have to keep up with homeschooling. Last night they had written all that they had learned on our white board. These brains amaze me. Today, Josh was reading aloud to me in English, but was using the Spanish pronunciations of certain words! We were reading about John Cabot. Josh read this name as “Juan Cavote” as the letter “v” is a soft “b” in Spanish. Made me laugh out loud.

Sorry no pictues on this blog.

Love Lin

SPECIAL DAY

It has been 2 weeks since I last blogged. Here is an update on our lives here in Panama:

Two Sundays ago we had church by a local river. It as a very significant day for two reasons. First, Sydney and Joshua had decided they wanted to be baptized along with three others. Secondly, Paul was the one to baptize our children. It was wonderful having our church group there to support the kids. The weather was sunny and warm, the water cool and clear. It was a day to remember. Here are some pictures.

Sydney and Josh getting baptised

Church by the river, I highly recommend it!

I know, wouldn't be much fun in minus 25 degree weather!

Until I blog again.

Lin

BIG DAY

Yesterday we returned from our visa required 3-day (exit) trip to Costa Rica. We had a great time. The weather was terrific. And thank goodness, we had a pool at the hotel. Our daily schedule went something like this: wake up, eat, swim, do some school work, swim, eat a snack, swim, eat lunch, swim, do some more school work, swim, a little quiet reading, supper, you guessed it - swim, then watch the "National Geographic" channel - and then - crash. And do it all over again 10 hours later. We don't have a TV at our place in Panama, so it was a real treat to have Direct TV when the kids got tired of swimming. They also loved playing "Marco-Polo" which they renamed, "Marco-Pollo", meaning - Marco-Chicken, in Espanol.

My "super kids". If you think they look bigger, you're right! Syd is 5'1". Josh is 5'. Both have out grown many of the clothes we brought from Canada!

Pool side fun

Crossing the border back into Panama only took 30 minutes! Last year it took 6 hours, but the computers were down, so each passport had to be called in! This time we approached the process with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. After we got through so quickly, I told the kids, maybe they should pray that Pricemart would have a trampoline in stock. Things were going our way that day!

Here's the backstory. The kids decided that they wanted a trampoline as their Christmas gift. We went before Christmas, but of course, there was no trampoline in stock. We told them it could take months and that they could change their mind about what gift they would like. Syd and Josh talked it over and decided to wait. They really wanted a trampoline. As is the theme here, I expected a trampoline in February, maybe even March. (It is all about managing expectations here). Guess what (as if you haven't read anything before this sentence)? We got a trampoline! The kids were so excited. So early this morning, Syd called all her friends to come and "raise the trampoline". Kind of like a barn raising.

There is such as thing as too much help!

Getting there. Please note - most of the interest in the set up process is now declining rapidly.

At this point, the kids are having more fun playing with the box. Above, Zion, Alayna and Ellie.

Merry Christmas Syd and Josh!. And yes, we removed the little one from beneath the trampoline!

This is my friend, Jenni and her daughter, Alayna. I often refer to her and I love this shot of her and her daughter. Syd and Alayna are fast friends.

This week is a big week. Tomorrow - Josh is getting baptised in a local river. Monday - the kids start a month long spanish course at a local school. It runs from 8AM until noon - Monday through Thursday. Should be fun trying to fit in home school, dance and basketball! Amazing how normal it feels to be here.

So, until I blog again.

Linda

76 DAYS LATER

76 days ago we boarded a plane leaving the life we knew to pursue a new calling for our family.

It took two days to celebrate our first party (turns out there is an expat from Seattle also living in Boquete who has the same birthday – October 31 - on the same year, as I do – what are the odds?), a couple anxious days to get access to our bank accounts, nearly a month (and two interim rentals) to find a house to rent, then another couple weeks to make some needed repairs and improvements (with the help of some very appreciated highly skilled friends), less than a month before I was playing bass with the Apollocians (a local blues-rock-country band), just over a month before getting an invite to play bass with a local jazz band (known as The Fantasy Jazz Band), then another couple weeks to get an invite to play bass with a local blues band (believe it or not, known as The Paul Day Blues Band – it was formerly named the Bud Smith (the former bass player) Blues Band), almost two months before I could get out to the Comarca (it’s always a weather permitting and river-level passability decision), about two months before we could start constructing the aquaponic farm (check out some of the pics at www.deadwheat.com under the media tab and “hydroponic model project” – more pics to come soon), almost 2 months before we got Dead Wheat International Foundation formally approved and operational, just over 2 months before being asked to speak a local faith gathering.

It feels like I’ve done “lots” and “a little” all at the same time. Maybe it’s the result of not living in the world of deadlines, or living in a world where there is always “manana”. Or maybe it’s the result of leaving a life as a pastor and psychotherapist for the life of a humanitarian, musician, and apprentice handyman. Or maybe it’s the result of leaving suburbia for the tropics, or the manicured lawns for stunning vistas of the ocean from the mountains. Or maybe its leaving the complexity of life in the first world, for the simplicity of the rest of the world. Whatever it is, this life is actually starting to feel more and more like “home”.

Through it all, I’ve learned to trust God more than ever before. Still got a ways to go, but I’m grateful for the slow and unsettling growth curve God has invited to me - and more grateful that God is proving to faithful to us in our new life in Panama.