Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt like you needed a cup and coffee and some time to relax? Well, this month has been like that. We had a missionary family come and visit us. They are moving here the end of July and so they came from Costa Rica on a bus to spend two weeks with us. They ended up finding lodging for themselves free of charge. Our good friends the Jacksons are going to be going back to the states for 6 months to help get their kids adjusted to college life and they offered the Jacobos their house for those 6 months. That will help both families as the Jacobos will have some time to save up for their move to Campamento and all of the household things they will need to buy at that time.
The Jacobos ended up staying a few extra days because we all (Matthew was the only one who escaped) got sick with Rotovirus. It makes you very sick for a few days and destroys all of the good bacteria in your intestines so everything runs right though. We had to be put on a very strict diet and some recovered faster than others. I was the last one to get sick. I thought maybe I had dodged the bullet, but I was not so lucky. I was sick for almost 3 weeks. I finally had an appointment with a specialist, but was able to cancel it when I started feeling better. The plus side of this sickness is that I have lost a lot of weight. I am down 17 lbs at this time. I only lost 13 on the sickness, but have lost the rest because I am not eating as much as I was before. Hopefully I can continue to lose weight. I would love to wear size 10 again. :-)
A few weeks after the Jacobo family left we had a group from the states come in. We had a great time with them. They just left. We have another group coming in a few weeks and so we are rapidly trying to finish school before they get here. Hopefully once our summer vacation starts I can feel a little more rested.
Please pray with us about the kids' schooling. We have a courier service to get our school materials, but we were just advised by them that the Aduanas (customs agents) are confiscating all packages over 4 lbs and charging a "holding fee and inspection fee". We already have to pay $4.00 a lb (last year for two kids we spent over $100 just on shipping) to the shipping service, but this new "fee" can be whatever they feel is fair. We haven't purchased the kids' books and videos yet, but are dreading the cost to get them here.
My kids use the Abeka video school and I love it. Audrey was the only one last year, but Jordan will be joining her in using the videos this year. Since we are missionaries we get to keep the videos for future kids. This year we have to buy two complete grades which is a huge upfront cost, but this is the only year we will have to do this. We are praying that one of the missionary groups that is coming down this summer could bring the books down for us.
This past week we had an earthquake. It was located about 200 miles north of us in the ocean off the north coast. It didn't cause any problems where we live, but it seemed like it lasted forever. I was up feeding Matthew at the time (yes, he is 5 months and still doesn't sleep through the night). It is a good thing because if I had of slept through it, I would have never heard the end of it. Everyone has been email making sure we are okay.
