Been awhile!

HEY!

I have not posted in about 2 weeks. I want to say I am busy, but that word does not FIT in Costa Rica. Occupied maybe?

Well the girls have started their second week of school and are getting into the groove. I do not think it is what they expected, I do know that there is more to come for them. Academically and adventure wise. They walk to school with their Dad everyday and get a ride home in the afternoon because of the heat. I am interested to see how this all plays out.

My clan got into a bit of food poisoning....even after cooking everything well and temping it, it still happened. I did some research, went to the pharmacy and bought activated carbon, and apple cider vinegar. A few days on this, and all should be well!

Sam was diagnosed with Scoliosis before we moved to CR. Last Thursday/Friday she was having terrible back spasms. I iced her back, got her in the pool, and was giving her Magnesium to calm the muscles. Something needed to be done. I had done some research and had discovered Dr. Nick. I got his phone number and called him on Saturday. He said he could see us in the afternoon.

I called a cab since Dr Nick is in the village about 10 minutes away. Not knowing where we are going, or quite what we are doing, I put Sam in the cab and we took off. Never even having a thought about the outcome, only that I needed to get help for my daughter. We drove through the country side, how do I say, not the best of neighborhoods? But our focus was on Sam, and that was it.

We arrived and Dr Nick had his table set out in his driveway. OK! Seriously, this kind of thing has never bothered me...you do what you do, and it all works out. He asked me how Sam's last Chiropractor adjusted her, and he did it perfectly! Lots of popping and snapping! She felt better in an hour. Talk about blessings and Angels showing up! Remember, it is not how, where or why they show up, it is about the knowing that they are here, and that they need to be recognized.

Help and information is everywhere. All you have to do is ask, and it shows up very quickly. I am grateful for every person that has shown up and every situation that has come our way. It is showing us that there is always some kind of solution or another option that is available.

Now that we have opened our bank account, we realize that we do need some kind of transportation to get to certain places. I went to town and did some research. Cars and trucks are incredibly expensive here, even used ones. So, that is off our list right now. I went to check out Beach Cruisers, they would be great for around town, errands, and to get to school! They are very affordable, and pretty cool! The next thing I looked at were Scooters. This could expand our exploring a bit.....and they are also very reasonable and would get us a bit farther. Tomorrow we go talk to a lawyer to see what our options are.

OR....why not just get both!!! LOL! One thing a person has to think about, is traveling lightly, how many material things do you want to collect? Since we are on the go most of the time, and looking at every opportunity, we do not want to be weighted down with MORE material things, we just purged everything when we left Minnesota.

Everyday we go to the beach or the pool....I think I am falling in love with CR....my feet in the sand....the sun on my face.....looking up at the stars every night..... learning how to breathe again, realizing what is important, looking at contrast and it showing me exactly what I truly desire. It is about time slowing down, and taking that lovely breath......meeting new people everyday.

OH! Last week we were leaving the beach. There was a family with a flat tire. I elbowed Kurt and told him, "We need to help!" Barring the language barrier, he got down, supported the jack in the sand, and got the tire changed. We were all laughing and saying Gracias back and forth. It does not matter where or who you are....it is all a Universal language.

It rained last night....and rained HARD! From what I hear, it is the first rain Coco has received in 6 months. The girls and I ran outside and we danced and danced! Big drops, lightning, and the toads came out! Some were the size of softballs, I kid you not! I bet we saw 10 of them total. It was so good to see the girls dancing and twirling in the rain with bare feet! We have not seen that since they were little. Mom even did a little foot stomping. The whole village was celebrating.....you could here everyone stepping outside to greet the rain....amazing......

So, that is the gist of it so far! Exploring, getting to know the area, the happenings, ect. It is all a process, and we are enjoying it!

Pura Vida!!!! and so much love......

Amy

Still learning about this blog thing...please be have patience with me! LOL! We also went to the local fruit market today and received fresh fruit and veggies directly from the farmer. I am loving this. Supporting local farmers and families.

I also found a Megladon Sharks tooth while Sam and I were snorkeling today! Bonus find! Amazing. Here are a few pics of our day!

All for under $40 US dollars....we juice A LOT! 

Hola Everyone!

After work today, we all went to the beach to cool off. Since the full moon, the tide is actually high in the afternoon, instead of being at low tide. This is all so interesting.....Sam and I went snorkeling while Hannah built sand castles. Well, we ran into a couple of these on our adventure. A bit concerning since we did not know what they were. Now we do, they are not poisonous. So tomorrow, back to the water!

Tiger Snake Eel


Kurt and the girls went to the market today and found us a treat!  Called a Guaba Bean and they are so sweet. The texture is a bit fuzzy, but then it melts in your mouth. They call it the Ice Cream Bean!

Guaba Bean

The Sun had just dipped behind the mountain

Hubby trying out his new video camera

Hola!

One week as of today we have been in our new home. I want to say time flies, and it does in certain ways, daily time moves slow, which is good! This whole experience shows how much we need to appreciate every moment, not get caught up in worry, or what is next, just be. There is no other option.

The Holiday is well on its way! Many people have traveled to town to celebrate, take a beach vacation, and worship.

We headed up to the pool at sunset last night, it was beautiful. We could here signing coming from the town below. The community had gathered at the local church and they were singing hymns. It was the most wonderful sound I had every heard. The town usually being noisy with bustling people ending their day, dogs barking, and music playing, it was silent except for the church service.  My family and I were also silent and joined in from our vantage point.  To say the least, it was a holy night for everyone.


Getting used to  a new country and climate can be a challenge. The heat here has been extreme. I still get moments of "what the hell did we do?" I also trust in the process and go back to the place where everything is falling perfectly into place.
My thought is, when the girls go back to school, the whole family will get back into a rhythm. A person has to admit, when there are only four of you together 24/7, you start to question yourself! LOL! 
So, what it comes down to is trust, seeing what is new everyday, and finding your OWN rhythm, no matter where you are!

PURA VIDA! 

Full Moon Last Night

This is what we purchased yesterday at the local Farmer's Market. All for less that $20.00 US Dollars....pretty amazing! The white package in front is homemade cheese. Does anyone remember Squeaky Cheese? Well...that is exactly what it is! Meat is pretty expensive down here, which is fine, a bit less protein is not going to hurt, more veggies and fruits! I am a bit disappointed in the Grocery Stores, they have a lot of prepacked food for sale, saying that, my adventure skills come in to find the local sellers, and harvest wild.

We spent our Saturday at the Beach. Sam and I went snorkeling and saw a Puffer Fish, Baby Stingrays, a school of yellow and black fish, I bet there was over 100 of them! Got a bit sunburned and ran to the market for Aloe Vera.....I will personally search it out as we get used to our surroundings, and pick it wild. You can actually cut it up, freeze it, use it for sunburns and eat it. Amazing plant.

Sleeping so hard at night, all of us. We have so much activity during the day that by 7:00pm we are wiped out. Taking it easy today, cooking, unpacking the rest of our things.....OH! And by the way....decreasing our life to 12 suitcases total???? We still have STUFF!!! UGH! I think it just multiplies by itself....LOL!

My challenge in all of this is the money exchange, from US Dollars to Colones......math is not my best subject.....going to the bank on Monday to make an exchange.....it seems that a person gets charged more when they are running around with US Dollars. ;-) Oh well...lesson learned....

I hope everyone like Hannah's post this morning...I left it AS IS....she was so excited.....

Pura Vida!

Hannah's Blog:

Hi it's me hannah,this is my part of a blog about my family in Costa Rica.
So we've been here for 5 days.It's nice,warm,and espeshely NO SNOW!!If you read what my mom typed you would know that we moved from Minnesota.
That's right folks,from land of the cold to were it it sooo hot.Coasta Rica is inbutween Panima and Niceragwa.It's so cool going down here because,the farest
i've been from home is florda,so this is a preety big change.So far we've gone up to the pool[which takes 8 flights of stairs],and we whent shoping,walked around town,
and my favorite whent swimming in the pacific ocean.I know it's a big change,butit feels like we havent moved.Hopefuly all my frends read this,I miss them all soooo
much.So heres a shout-out for Morgen,Charlean,and Leah-I MISS YOU ALL.PLEASE READ THIS. Love hannah XOXOX  <3  <3

Ola! We arrived April 8th at the Liberia Airport and now reside in Playas Del Coco Costa Rica!

This took many months of planning, making connections via email, and my husband coming down in December to check out the school, Green Life Academy, meeting with realtors, lawyers, and introducing himself to the community in general. Getting the feel and the lay of the land. He was down here for 5 days, never having been out of the USA.

We choose this area primarily for the school for our girls who are 10 and 14. The small community feel with the locals and the expats also from the US and Cananda.

The cost of living was right in line also. I tele communicate, so I take my computer and hit the ground running with work.

We have now been here 4 days! Hot hot hot! Not going to lie! It is the end of their summer which is dry season, Guanacaste Province receives very little rain, if any during this season. The tourist season is wrapping up also. BIG Easter celebration coming this week. I would compare it to Labor Day Weekend in the States. The town fills up with families from San Jose for a week long celebration. Then things will quiet down. Looking forward to stepping in and watching all the action!

Cars are expensive down here, so we have been walking to get necessities. When it gets a bit too much, we can grab a cab for $2.00 and get a ride home. Getting a golf cart today, so we can get our major errands done! Whew...what a relief!

The people here are kind. The Expats are kind.

First earthquake yesterday! Registered 6.6 in Nicaragua! We are an hour away from the epi center.

Pura Vida!

The volcanoes by Granada Nicaragua 

Our new little friend!

The view from our pool! 8 flights of stairs! LOL!

Our International Move 4/8/14

This is what we left a few weeks ago. 6 feet of snow and minus 30 degree temperatures. 2nd coldest winter in recorded history. Love the changing seasons, but 40 plus years of it was enough.

Our search for warmer climates, improved quality of life, and to be able to take a breath was top on our list. So the story begins......


Our Transistion from Duluth Minnesota to Playa Del Coco Costa Rica

My husband lost his job in August of 2013.  He had worked in upper management for 15 years and we thought this would be his retirement job. Before this, the stress was making him physically ill, he was having chest pains, and an assortment of other issues. He ended up on major pain medication and anti depressants. To say the least...I was NOT happy about this, but, knowing that everyone has to be on their own journey, no matter how much you love them, it has to be. THAT is a tough lesson.

I had been searching for quite sometime before this of somewhere WARM to live.  I have Chronic Lyme's and when it flairs up, I am in the shit.  I looked at Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, even Australia!  Costa Rica kept showing up time after time.  I did not even know where it was.  Ok Universe! I will check into this!  So the story goes.....

Finally we agreed that it would be best for him, myself, and our two daughters to give up the resistance and let the job go. OMG! Then what? Everything we had worked our asses off for would be gone! We have paid it forward our whole lives, even given the shirt off of backs, and I mean in the REAL sense of the terms to people who were in need. There is nothing we have not done for others.

Where was OUR help??? Our family members dropped away, friends that we had for years....it seemed like we were contagious. A very sad and angry time.

We had a choice....sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, which I am sure no one would blame us for, but there was no one left. OR we could pull ourselves up by our boot straps and CREATE a new life. The second option worked! And that is where the Imagination came in!

Bankruptcy was filed, our house is in the process of going back to the bank, and we have been purging material possessions like no other! It is AMAZING how much stuff we hang on too because we think it has some value or meaning....it is just STUFF! Along with the material things, many emotions that have been stuffed deep down inside have surfaced and demanded to be recognized, healed and sent away.  NEXT!

There has been many conversations about this process within our little family of four. Both of my girls are Empaths and wonderful healers in their own right. I have learned so much from them. I have been truly blessed that they chose me to be their Mom. I will forever be grateful. We have decided that our work here has been done and it is time to go on a GRAND ADVENTURE!

We will move into our new home April 8th 2014 with 3 suitcases a piece and the clothes on our back. The material world has fallen away and we have never felt so much freedom, excitement and joy! No more robbing Peter to pay Paul. We will be able to live on 1/3 of the income that we had been living on.  We will have warmth, fresh organic food, and much much playtime. I am so grateful for this opportunity to spend with my girls before they go off to start their own lives.  What a blessing!

So many hard, deep lessons learned is such a short time. The Universe has showed us the endless opportunities that we all have with just a change of a thought.  It has shown us that everything is a blessing......

Faith in yourself, loving yourself, and trusting yourself........feed that little spark......let it grow and BE the Lighthouse that needs to be seen......

So the end is a new beginning.....more to come!