First off, I’d like to thank many of you for your thoughts, prayers and kind emails regarding the health of my family. My dad is doing much better, and healing great. My stepfather, on the other hand, found out he had cancer shortly after his quadruple bipass surgery. He has since started chemotherapy, and is doing as well as expected. He hasn’t been sick from the treatments, so we are thankful for that. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Secondly, Billy did a great job holding down the fort and taking care of the kids while I was gone. I knew everyone would be safe and fed, so I wasn’t hesistant about leaving. Returning, on the other hand, is always hard for me. From the moment my kids were infants, they would get angry with me if I left them, even for a day. They wouldn’t let me hold them, wouldn’t talk to me, and would fully ignore me until they got over it. Not a good feeling for a mother! This trip wasn’t any different. When I returned, the kids and Billy had their own routine that worked for them. I was out of the picture for almost 3 weeks, and they managed just fine. During the first few days of me being back, tears were shed from the kids, and comments flew like, “Why is Mom so strict?” and “Mom, can’t you go back to Texas”? GULP!! My heart broke, but I totally understood. I really did. Billy had to work, so the kids got through the day, pretty much on their own. They did a great job, then…………….. Mom came home, and had rules. LOTS of rules. It was a hard transition for us all, but we took it in stride, and kept ticking. After about a week, all was good, and life was back to normal. Whew………….the trials and tribulations within a family. It makes us stronger, right?
As for my visit back to the states, it was good. I was glad to be there for my family. I knew they needed me, and I wanted to be there for them. Do I miss living in Austin? No, not at all. I cherished the time spent with my family and friends, but was ready to get back to my simple life here. I must admit, I’m already a bit anxious about moving back in 6 months. I’m not ready, but God has always taken care of my nerves, and we’ll be just fine. As long as Billy, the kiddos and I are all together, life is perfect.
Lastly, our 6-month lease is up this week, and we are moving on. I can’t believe we are 1/2 way through our adventure! Even though we’ve enjoyed Manuel Antonio/Quepos, we feel like our time here is done. We’ve met alot nice people, some honored to call friends, some family. We are moving North to a small surf town called Nosara. When we originally decided to move the family to Costa Rica, we planned on living in Nosara. After visiting some friends in Quepos, our plans changed, and we knew the kiddos would like to live here first. We were right. This was a great place to start our adventure: it’s touristy, lots of Americans, easy to get around by bus or by car, many places to eat, and absolutely beautiful! It’s time for us to experience a smaller, more remote, and less touristy part of Costa Rica.
One of our goals for the next 6 months, is to travel more throughout the country. Every part of Costa Rica is completely different, and it would be a shame if we didn’t see each region. We are fully aware of our blessings to be living here, and want to take full advantage of this opportunity. So much to do in so little time. How fun!
Here are some of our favorite pictures from November and December:
I hope 2011 brings you excitement, opportunity, simplicity, exploration, peace and lots and lots of love!
Tiffany
Dear Tiffany, Kaitlyn, Shae, Hunter, Piper and Billy,
I was delighted to find your blog on the internet – We so enjoyed meeting you during our holiday at Villas Tranquilas, and wish you well with your upcoming move and ongoing adventures. Thanks for making us feel so welcome – we miss you, and miss Costa Rica!
We’ve had a huge snowfall in Edmonton since arriving home, with about 2 feet of snow, and it’s freezing cold outside, so we’re all day-dreaming about Costa Rica!
It’s great to see the photos of your beautiful family. I hope that Kaitlyn, Shae, Hunter & Piper are still having fun playing cards – Kaitlyn: Katie’s looking forward to wearing her beautiful new flip-flops once the snow melts!
take care, & thanks again,
Helen (from the tall Canadian family!)