Interesting living in another country with children.  It's all so interesting...  I am trying to keep an open mind and trust that learning the differences in the world is important and powerful too.  Why do I keep getting so caught up in the race????  Are they falling behind? So many standards and activities to keep up with.  We are such a generation of keeping busy , providing for our children has become everything, keeping them active and stimulated seems to be the American way- I am conflicted with these differences here , it's much simpler and
I guess it's not that easy to slow down.

 Zade is no longer going to school in Panama, everyday as I tried to prepare him for school, he would beg and plead to be able to stay home and do homeschool.   He's always loved his schooling experiences before, in fact he keeps asking for Tara Redwood  (oh, how we miss our amazing teachers  back in the Cruz ).    I have decided to trust him on this one and not force him to go, I have to admit I feel like a bit of a  pushover, but I do want to promote the love of learning, not squelch it.

So, my days are filled with creatively making the  ACB's and 123's  for lil  Z. In my patient moments, I realize the opportunity we have together to learn so much, it's actually an amazing gift if I can slow down and forget my own needs for a while- oooh, that's NOT EASY.  

Tate continues to do well in school,  constantly blowing me away with his language skills.   The school bus picks him up at 6:30 every morning and drops him off @ 2:30.  It it weren't an hour ride I would send Zade to the school in Las Tablas but it's too much for the little guy.

Tate spends his spare time boogie boarding down at the local spot, a ten minute bike ride, playing soccer,  a little baseball and singing Latino music along with his cell phone, yes, we surrendered to let him have a phone.   I  guess we go to great lengths to help our children fit in, he's had many obstacles in that regard, so we figured why not:)

Zade has a harder time on the social front.   Everyone wants to touch his hair and oogle over him, he can't stand that.    HE is counting the days until we get back.  Regularly stating how much he loves California and his California family and friends .    Hope fully we haven't tainted his view on travel for life.

Tate has 0 tolerance for the camera these days,

it's  really too bad because he's beautiful, 

big green eyes and red hair.

The Panamanians LOVE the boys...

I can't help myself...

turn that frown, upside down...

believe it or not he is in a good mood here,

just does not want to be photographed.

So, ethically what do I do?...

This is a dilemma for me:))))

Zade turned 6 on October 12th, that almost hurts to say that, but NO, must be grateful that he's growing bigger and stronger and wiser everyday!

                                              These are Zade's 4 little chicks he received as a present.
Lets just say this is a gift that keeps on giving in sooooooo many ways.
One died the night of his birthday party, that was a life lesson I think we could have lived without, but I guess not, take them as they come.  Then one more got sick a few days later.  I was thinking I could possibly intercept some of the pain from this one and maybe trade out a live for a dead, but no.  Zade was on it and saw that it was sick, decided he needed to care for it and see if he could get some help from a doctor.  Okay, I'm not sure who's life lesson this is.
 I know, there only chickens, but a life is a life...

Zade's birthday party was at our house in Pedasi.

He really wanted it in California but that was a little too much of a trek for this year.

Tate and his friends made sure there was  plenty of tipico music.

We sang to him in English and Spanish, I would have to say the Spanish version won.

Happy Birthday biggest boy!!

Zade and I made it back to Pedasi, after spending pretty much the entire summer in Santa Cruz  .

 Dwight and Tate headed back several weeks before us so that Tate could get back to Panama and finish out the school year, which ends in December.  I stayed on longer to  help my dad get through some scary health stuff, he still needs one more surgery, so, please say a prayer.    

We were only back 3 weeks when Dwight decided he was going to follow through with his plan to bring the truck down.   He leaves tomorrow from SC with Mike Gomes and his nephew Matt, should be an adventure...

  So, needless to say, I am in Panama with my 2 boys, solo, hhmmmm....I'll try and keep you posted.

TALK ABOUT AN ADVENTURE...

The first week, it was the barfing flu, hives, headaches, dead chicks, oh my...

This week is going to be better:))))

 I've been having that feeling like why  am I here??????  what's it about??? tell me what we need culture for??? LANGUAGE...???  with all that stuff that sounds worldly comes lack of awareness, lack of education, lack of stimulation...the spoiled gringo wants more...  oh, it's all so thought provoking.  Certainly makes you think, wonder, wander...

  Be creative and try, try to appreciate every moment I have with my little guys, they are growing rapidly.

Working on a line of postcards and greeting cards.  Love to play with imagery...

(This entry never posted so I am adding it again after the fact just to make the story a little more congruent:)


We are getting ready for a visit to Santa Cruz , we fly out tomorrow afternoon. Were all excited to go have a break in California, it feels like were going on vacation, pretty classic. We have some house sitting lined up for the next 7 weeks and after that the tentative plan is to head back to Panama for probably another 6 months. This will allow Tate to finish out the school year, which by then I think he will be almost fluent, my little linguist actually has to translate for me these days- I better start studying.
Were trying to put together a plan for the next phase, while working hard at being in the moment. How does that work? Dwight is planning to do a road trip down through Mexico and Central America with his truck and the company of Andreas our friend from Guatemala , which is the perfect person as he is bilingual and has family connections all along the way. Possibly Sam Edwards too. Not sure what the end goal is there but he wants the experience and I think it's an excellent adventure, I did it when I was 22. So long story short we love it here and feel a pull in other directions. The schools here are hard for me to put my full trust in -nothing long term anyway. Tate is doing really well and has really turned a corner as far as taking responsibility for his work- that's really exciting to see. Of course, I stumble on the whole catholic teaching but hey I suppose the diversity is good for him. Zade has started the little kinder here, which is also pretty disappointing- so very little creative energy or inspiration- makes me want to jump in there...they are really learning Spanish though...
The trash can program is almost in place, the ball is rolling along, but it's an uphill court , much education needed. I'm so grateful to have met a few other people who are also passionate about the environment. We named our organization "Tierra SanaDe Pedasi al Mundo" which means a healthy planet from Pedasi to the world. We just did our first presentations in the school and we had our 1st beach clean up June 13th, which was a great success.
The rainy season has begun here, it's rained heavily a few times now. It's amazing to watch how fast everything turns green . The winds are beginning to slow- which I will miss. I have loved the dry/no bug season. I just planted a little garden; peas, basil, cilantro, lettuce, oregano- we will see how it fares. Our yard looks good- very gringoized- I wonder what the locals think of us... she love to play in the dirt.