Hummingbirds

The week between Christmas and New Year I purchased a hummingbird feeder at the Central Market here in San Jose. We decided on the least expensive one, paying just over $5. About a week ago I hung it in our little courtyard and waited. Well, we didn't have to wait long before we got our fist arrival. These little birds are smart and were attracted to the red color of the feeder. Since that time I have tried to capture photos of these little creatures and as a result named our first squeaky friend, "Teaser," since he (or she) wouldn't let me snap a picture. Then we noticed another hummingbird had come, less brilliant than the first, and this one got the name "Scrubby" as a result. This one is much quieter and also let me take a picture. This morning I think Teaser was jealous because I got a picture of him, too.

The New Year has begun. I just developed my first 2 rolls of film here in Costa Rica. I even got a 2 for 1 deal! It's been awhile since I scanned in photos from my "real" camera, but I wanted to share a few online. These are all from our visit to Volcan Arenal just before Christmas.
Joseph and Rebekah are on the boat we took to see the volcano. You can see it well in the background with Joseph's photo. Jonathan is standing in the gardens that were located at the hotel we stayed at - Los Lagos - which means "the lakes."

Christmas in Costa Rica

We've just celebrated our first Christmas in another country. It was definitely a different experience for us. No immediate family, no traveling to Pennsylvania, no snow . . .. Well, despite the differences, the whole family had a great time here. On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with the Stewart family, the Hendon family, the Turner family and Ron Marcote. The kids had fun playing outside and we all enjoyed a barbecue. How's that for Christmas celebrating? Christmas morning Dave and I woke up and had some freshly brewed coffee and we all read the Christmas story together. Afterwards we let them open up presents and spent some time playing together.
When we finished breakfast, all of us went to church service together. Christmas night we had been invited over to the house of Steve and Kathy Harris, veteran missionaries here in Costa Rica. There we enjoyed a delicious Christmas meal along with the Dahlager family, also veteran missionaries in this country.