Viejo San Juan

~I get a few text or emails from friends back home that frequently start with, “How’s life in paradise?” It’s funny how what seems like paradise to many has turned in to most of the same ordinary tasks of life back home…housework and school, picking up or taking one of the kids to practice or other (Wyatt just started baseball and getting Naomi to and from her weekly babysitting jobs). This is not to say that I don’t feel a certain bit of urgency in continuing to explore and enjoy the “isla de encanto”, or isle of enchantment as the island’s motto goes. With only 5 months left before we return home, I want to make sure we have discovered all there is under our feet. Hunter has even made his list of places of interest that he would like to see on the weekends, having researched a travel website on PR. (Want to take a vacation from on your home computer? Have some fun with Google and look up your fantasy destination place. There are so many beautiful photos and amazing history to be gained just from the travel sites. And the reviews! I love to read the reviews of people who have recently traveled to these places!)

~The past week was a special treat as me and two friends from church had a girls outing in Old San Juan. “Viejo” San Juan is how they refer to the “old city”. If you see the map below, San Juan is the capitol of PR and extends to a very large area that encompasses smaller municipalities in and around the metro area. We live in one of those areas, like a suburb, called Condado along the northern coastline.

The old city is where the cruise liners come in about every three days and all the tourism takes place among the blue cobblestone streets. The blue cobblestone, or azul de adoquines in Spanish, were used as ship's weights when they would anchor in port after Columbus discovered the island and Ponce de Leon became its first governor. Once the ships were full of cargo to return to Spain from the Caribbean, they would remove the blue weights, or adoquines, and leave them behind in the old city. Thus, they used them as pavers which became the blue cobblestone streets that add to the charm of  Viejo San Juan today. You can see Naomi’s cute turquoise toes below showing off the pavers.

The purpose of our girls outing was for my friend Carrie to show me certain aspects of the city I had not seen so that the next time mom, and the kids and I are in the old city, I can bring them to these places with a little more background knowledge. Carrie gives periodic tours to a political action committee she belonged to while working in D.C. which frequently sends members to PR via the cruise liners, so she knows the layout quite well. Our newest friend from church, Anita, joined us for the day as well. Anita is from Holland having just moved to the island with her husband who is employed by the military. (Most of the American families down here are either FBI or military employees. We’ve learned a lot about the “perks” of having a career with either. Not so bad. Working in the stock market is another option which has our friends from The Woodlands enjoying the island life. Let’s keep our kids bound for college; there are many options out there that could open up travel to themJ)

~Our first stop was the authentic Puerto Rican, or Caribbean, coffee experience!  This was a little spot right on the pier where the cruise ships dock. Great local young men from PR with their fedora’s and dreadlocks that serve up the richest, most flavorful cup of café leche you have ever had. Starbucks would be out of business in the states if an ordinary, everyday cup of coffee was served the way it is here on every corner…it’s what latte is to us back home; rich, hot cream in every cup, standard. A spot of raw brown sugar and mmmmmmmmm.

Even so, I had to show you the enchanting Starbucks huddled among the other quaint little shops and restaurants.  Funny, the little local coffee spots that serve up the "real stuff" seem to get more business! Island coffee...I wonder why?

~It was MLK Day so people were off work to enjoy the city and cruise ships were just coming in. I don’t care if we ever get to take a cruise at this point. Having seen these massive “cities on water” come in and out of San Juan weekly is enough to behold! (it’s a most amazing thing to watch even from the park on the beach near our apartment as they slowly make their way to and from the island along the horizon. And at night, when all you can see are the lights flickering on these massive liners in the distant Atlantic…talk about an awe inspiring sight!)

~ We had lunch at La Bombonera on Calle San Francisco, famous for their Mallorca sandwich. There are imitations around the island, but nothing like the original! It is has been called the, “Egg Mc Muffin of the gods!” While this Christian English teacher doesn’t believe the so called “gods” had as much as a piece of toast to eat, I do believe that if our God ordered a breakfast sandwich it would be the Mallorca from La Bombonera.

~From here we were drawn in to the most charming art gallery (most of the stores and galleries are open to the streets with the cool breeze from the ocean wafting through). The white stone walls and Spanish archways, with big wooden beams on the ceilings, drew us in to walk on the original Spanish tile floors. Once in this old world atmosphere, who wouldn’t be intrigued by the curious and odd sculptures and beautiful artwork on the walls? As I inquired, this was the Botello Gallery, or Galeria Botello. I recognized one of the sculptures as being the same form of one seen in a park near our apartment so I inquired of the gentlemen in charge. He told me it was the same artist, gave me the background of this particular artist’s style, and in the most humble way went on to tell me the artist’s he was speaking of, and in whose gallery we were in, was his father Angel Botello. Wow, was I honored to be speaking to the son of a well renowned Puerto Rican artist. (Some research on the internet when I returned home confirmed just how prolific this artist was from his career in Spain, France, Mexico, and the Caribbean.) Not only was this his late father’s art gallery, it was also this middle-aged son’s childhood home, so we got the entire history of the building and his father’s artistic legacy. Botello’s sculpting style is most interesting in that he highlights Haitian women figures from his time spent studying in Haiti. His son told us the odd looking figures were his father’s depiction of the women’s flat heads that would carry the huge baskets of produce and their long, strong necks for the same purpose.

I’m still trying to figure out how to bring a piece of art work home with me with it arriving in one piece:/

Below, Wyatt with a Botello sculpture in the museum garden near our apartment (the flat headed Haitian women).

~ The photos below include ones taken with mom and the kids in OSJ. I have so many photos of each of the spots I put on my blog and wish I could show them all! This blog takes me about 4 hours to sit and compose, and then wait for the photos to download. Hence, the reason I’m so slow in posting.

Me and my mother at the old city gate. The "red gate" was the original entrance to the city when the ships would come in from Spain. The men, both dignitary and commoner, would walk through the red gate that still has the Latin inscription on top, Benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini translated, "Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord", and up the road that leads straight to San Juan Catherdral. The Cathedral is the orginal structure dating back to 1500's, making it the oldest cathedral under the American flag.

 An ancient tree in front of the city gate, and what remains of the 42 foot tall old city walls, is a pretty awesome place to sit while looking out at the San Juan Bay just in front of us.

We have taken tons of photos of the different colored spanish style apartment buildings, homes, and store fronts. Naomi and I like to call out the ones we would live in if we had our pick.

     I hope you enjoyed the “tour” of Old San Juan. I truly feel it is a blessing, honor, and privilege to be able to take you away from your ordinary, everyday routine every once and a while and share with you what the Lord is allowing us to experience on this little island in the Caribbean. How I wish we could take a different week for each of you who read this blog to visit us while we are down here and I think often which one of you I would take here, and which one there.  Consider yourself with us when you read my post to at least experience a mental getaway for a few moments.  In case you haven’t put into perspective just where we are, I’ve included a map of the Caribbean belowJ  We have one hanging in our apartment kitchen and will all be a little better acquainted with the geography of the region when we return home. We are so close to the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean hot spots that we could actually take a small boat “taxi”, or inexpensive charter flight that goes to and from daily, but that all adds up when traveling with five.

We will remain forever thankful for where we are, with an opportunity we would have never dreamed of just a year ago. Seems like each year I walk with the Lord (I’m officially middle-age next month as I turn 45!) I realize ….

He truly does carry my tears in a bottle … Psalm 39:12

And that my afflictions on earth are a means to learn to trust in His statues which set me free… Psalm 119:71

How He wants me to experience HIS peace no matter where I am …Philippians 4:7

And He will allow times of refueling and reflection that I may carry on his life’s plan for me, but I must slow down enough and learn to look for these moments where He’s calling me to “get away” with Him, even if it’s a mental spot, not always physical… Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23, Isaiah 26:9

And that if I wait on the Lord, just BE who I’m supposed to be in Him instead of DOING all the time, He really will give me new strength…Isaiah 40:31

And lastly, while the spiritual and mental rest are the joy and reward of a life lived with and for Christ, there are times He wants nothing more than to also give me the desires of my heart which usually come in ways I cannot even fathom...  Psalm 37:4, Psalm 81:10, Isaiah 58:14

The secret, I’m finding out, is going through the trials of life crying on Him, trusting in Him, abiding in Him and then taking the opportunities He puts in my path to experience Him even more…when my children are a part of that journey, I count it a life well lived.

Tanto tiempo, por ahora (so long for now)...

De cara al futuro (looking ahead)...

~ Feliz ano neuevo, or Happy New Year. More importantly, Happy Dia de Reyes...Three Kings Day!
Our New Years was uneventful, as we have found that it is quite hard to celebrate the festivities and traditions of the PR culuture if you are not part of a Puerto Rican family. The traditions run deep and are pretty sacred to the family; outsiders, or mere aqaintances, are usually not part of the celebrations. (Naomi has made a friend through volleyball that has been over to visit her on a couple of occasions. He made the comment that he was surprised when we invited him in from the patio area and visited for a long while. He said that receiving invitations to enter someone's home in PR is a very personal thing.) Needless to say, although I am trying my hardest to become a part of the culture while we are here and give the kids the fullest experience, we stayed home on New Years Eve, yet celebrated with at least one of the PR traditions. There are two different versions of the traditional grape eating that takes place at midnight. One says that everyone must try and eat/swallow 12 grapes from the 12 second countdown, in order to usher in 12 months of good luck. If you fail to eat all 12 by the stroke of midnight, you fail to receive the good luck that many months. The other is to just simply eat 12 grapes at midnight. We're went for the latter, and so each had our 12 grapes at midnight and listened to the fireworks go off all around San Juan, near and far, for about 2 hours.  Living in the tourist area, there were many big hotels having displays and parties to the break of dawn. Yes, they will party until the break of dawn the next morning, and not only on New Years :/

~This past Friday, January 6th, was Three Kings Day. I think I like this Puerto Rican tradition because its meaning centers around the gifts the three kings, or magi, brought the Christ child instead of the American tradition of Santa Claus. There is no escaping an American influence like Santa, but even in 2012 the centuries old tradition of celebrating Three Kings Day on the island, 6 days after Christmas, is alive and well, and still very deep rooted. Yes, the kids in PR get gifts on both occasions (score for them!), but de Reyes, or Three Kings, is much more emphasized than Santa. Like the cookies all westerner's leave for Santa on Christmas Eve, the kids of PR leave grass out for the king's camels the night before.There are more family festivities and lots of food for the day. Again, I couldn't let the kids go without experiencing TKD for themselves.

1st photo is the photo station in the mall with the three kings. Not Santa, but the three kings:) The next photo shows a common display of the three kings above an apartment entryway on our street.

Below is our own little set-up for Three Kings Day. Wyatt had a hard time finding grass to leave out for the camels since we are surrounded by concrete. The "kings" left little trinkets for each of them the next day. Two Christmas's is not an easy thing to do (meaning more gifts), and a little unnecessary, so I stuck to very small surprises just to give them the idea:)

There are still more festivities to come in January. Next weekend marks the official end of the Christmas season with the big island celebration of San Sabastian Festival, honoring the catholic saint and martyr said to have been shot with arrows by the Roman emporer Diocletian. San Sabastian festival is known as the "Mardis Gras" of PR, so we will see and experience for ourselves, very cautiously. 

Hunter goes back to the baseball academy this week, marking the official end of our Christmas break here at the "casa". I am so ready to get back to some sort of routine with the kids and their school. I think I speak for all of us. Naomi will be staying 2 to 3 days a week with a family from our church and helping with their home schooling efforts, not to mention enjoying her stay with this wonderful family in the upper class resort community in which they live on the beach in Dorado; sure hope she can keep up her own online studies in such a terrible place;) We will be hunting for a baseball league to get Wyatt involved in with the hope that at least the coach will speak English. I will still travel to the baseball academy once a week to give the boys an English lesson as I will be introducing them to classical literature through Homer's Iliad. I'm excited to see how they take to it, as all of them are so eager for new horizons. Mom and I are also looking foward to joining a nearby Zumba and Spinning Studio!  Please, pray that all these great aspirations are as the Lord intends:) I hope and pray that your aspirations are as you intend in the New Year as well. ~j. 

p.s. the blog now has a feature in the top right section where you can follow my entries by simply submitting your email. I hope you do as this is my way of feeling connected to so many of you back home.

Wyatt flying a kite near El Morro Fort in Old San Juan

*****AMY HAMBRIGHT! If you are viewing this blog, please send me an email. I have had 2 broken phones since being here and lost all contacts. I do not have your email either. You can leave me a comment through this blog, then I will have your email address. Wyatt is dying to skype the boys again!

La Familia en Navidad (the Family at Christmas)

Christmas came and went like a whirlwind. Some sort of paradox down here...island time is slow and easy, yet the days go by so fast. This is a wonderful combination for teaching the virtues of patience and grace while counting down the calendar to the day we return home to family and friends! 

~Our holiday began with David's arrival on the 18th. The ride to the airport (which is only 10 minutes from our apartment) never gets old as we are filled with renewed excitement and anticipation each time we go to pick up dad. Wyatt likes to watch the planes overhead as we travel down the freeway, guessing which one might have be Davids. After dropping off his things at the apartment, along with a quick change of clothes (it was cold when he left Houston), we headed straight to the lagoon for some paddle boarding. I stayed on the banks and took pictures as dad enjoyed the fun with the kids. He has been wanting to paddle board since we first discovered the sport on our vacation last summer. The kids and I have met a friend, "Art", who rents the boards at Condado Lagoon, so we had it all set up for dads arrival.

I tried a board as the others were coming in and, as you can see from the photo, I was a little more steady on my feet than David:) It really is a peaceful sport once you get the hang of it and can take off gliding across the smooth water. We went back the next weekend when Nathan came in and the water was a little rough. It was not as peaceful having to fight the wind.

~ David and I enjoyed his first night back with us like we always do, by going out for a date. We love to stroll down Ashford Avenue, walking with tourists past all the outdoor shops and restaurants. He now craves the Puerto Rican staple food when he's back home, so we tried a new little place on Ashford that served up some of the best "Le Chone" (roasted pig) with rice and beans we have had yet, and then walked in and out of the beautifully decorated hotels along the street. 

Dad was with us for 3 days before Skylar (and Steven) arrived. We shopped to prepare for a full house (all except Nathan who was not going to be with us this Christmas). The day of her arrival was full of an excitement I can't even explain. I had not seen my daughter in nearly 5 months, and the kids their big sister. We thought long and hard of what kind of sign we could hold up at the airport, but then opted for flowers and balloons instead. Ahhh, there's something about airports and watching reunions of loved ones. It's even better when you're the one being reunited with the ones you love!

~Prior to everyones arrival, I had drafted up a "Christmas Agenda" for our family reunion and holiday time together. Steven was to be with us for only 2 full days before flying back home to be with his family on Christmas Eve so this made for a full 2 days after they arrived. The first day we were off to Old San Juan, touring El Morro Fort (see a previous post for all of this wonderful history of El Morro and lots of great photos), shopping the COACH and Ralp Lauren Outlet Stores, as well as a stop at The Cigar House, dads newest little upscale cigar hangout when he's in town. 

                                                                                

~We decided to have our Christmas early, before Steven left and because Nanny was giving a gift to each one of us that had to be used the very next day....A snorkeling trip off the east coast of the island on a chartered boat. No one knew about the trip except for me and David. I had to reserve the date far in advance to make sure we could pull it all off without a hitch before Steven went home.  The next group of photos are of our gift opening night. What was suppose to be a small Christmas, slowly grew to a little more than anticipated as Skylar and Steven arrived with a suitcase of treasures to add to our humble little tree.

                                                                                  

                                                                       

But the biggest gift of all was what I received this year....ALL OF MY CHILDREN WITH ME on Christmas!!!! This was not suppose to happen, as I was already grieving the fact that Nathan would not be able to come until sometime in January because of his job. However, that all changed when David did what he always does.....makes sure I have everything I want, and often goes far beyond what I never even ask for!  This time it was making sure we were all together on Christmas, that this would not be our first to spend apart from one of our kids. To do this he paid for Nathan to be flown in for Christmas and timed it so, that while were opening gifts, he was texting Nathan as he arrived at the airport and making sure the taxi would deliver him to our apartment just as it was my turn for the last gift. As David stood in the doorway and said, "We have one more gift for you and saved the best for last..." he had tears flowing down his face, and in walked my son Nathan who I had not seen since we left home in August!  There was not a dry eye in the room. (The term "son" has a special connotation for me, and each of my boys know it. I realize I could just say their name as I relate this to you, but it's just what flows from my heart when talking about my "sons".)

 

  

                                                              

~So it was up early for the snorkeling trip the next morning (Friday before Christmas). It was not the perfect situation because I had to give my reservation to Nathan since we had only reserved enough spots way in advance for those of us who were suppose to be here for Christmas. This was alright with me. I love the water, boating, and snorkeling, and most of all being on the Caribbean with my family, but I am already so blessed and see it quite frequently, so I wanted Nathan to have the time of his life for the 4 short days he was to be here.  I stayed behind with mom (Nanny), while the rest went snorkeling, and we made a day of it. With everyone gone, and no vehicle to get anywhere, we learned how to catch the city bus for a fun day of finding last minute stocking stuffers. Now that Nathan was here, I had to scramble for something extra:) I got a text when the gang was on their way home from the snorkeling trip that read, "Get the aloe vera gel ready!!!" They had a great time and too much sun. Being on the Caribbean 2 days before Christmas, when all else back home in Texas was cold and dreary, was something to behold. They were on the chartered boat with several other groups, but needless to say, with Nathan and Steven together, my group was the crazy ones who all the crew members hung out with. They said they learned so much from the crew who paid them special attention...for 'some' reason :-/

My fella Wyatt!

~ Nathan took fast to Wyatt's parrot, Rico. He really is a good bird as we compare him to others. There are several shops around the island that have big cages with parrots of all sizes. When we ask different questions about the birds we realize just how lucky we are with Rico. We were beginning to wonder if he was ever going to talk, but the last month he has developed a very repetitive vocabulary. His favorite word seems to be, "Naomi"! We're not sure if I'm calling her out more than anyone else, or if her name just rolls off the parrot tongue a little easier than others. He also says, "Hello", "What are you doing", and "Step up". Nathan wanted to take him home:)

~There's nothing quite like having all your kids under the same roof with you, especially as they get older. I woke up a couple of mornings and just lay in bed thanking the Lord for what was mine that day....all my kids, grown and young, asleep together in the other room:) LaFamila takes on a whole new meaning when we are so far apart from each other for so long a time.

REUNITED AT LAST!

I grabbed the camera quick to snap a pic of all 5 in front of the television. This probably won't happen again while we're in PR.

Having fun with Nanny on a restaurant patio. Poking fun at how she waves to people:)



~The day after Christmas was "girls day out". We took Skylar to the biggest mall in the caribbean, "Plaza Las America's". Naomi has been waiting for this for weeks! She dreams about "Plaza" in her sleep and couldn't wait to take big sister. Let's just say, fashion is all the "style" in PR, no pun intended. We joke that women in PR dress up and wear heels just to go to the grocery story. For our day of shopping and spending the girls Christmas money I had scheduled facials for all four of us, my mother included. The girls had never had a facial, so this was a real treat.

After our facials

 Having a little "girl" fun in front of store windows along Ashford Avenue

~ The fun finally came to an end. Nathan left Monday after Christmas, and David and Skylar left the same day, on Wednesday. I got up early to take David to the airport. Sending him back home never gets easy. It was back to the apartment to wake up the rest, and spend the remaining hours I had left with Skylar. We walked to a nearby sandwich shop, me, Skylar and Naomi. Then she wanted to take one last trip to the beach. Hunter came along to spend these last moments with sister.  We all traveled to the airport to send her off. The final good-byes were not easy.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. I will leave it at that.

~ It's always an extra blessing when Dad is able to see Hunter play baseball while he is here. This doesn't always happen as he has to schedule his flights to PR according to his work schedule which doesn't always coincide with Hunter's baseball schedule.  However, while he was here he took Hunter to a Christmas clinic at the baseball academy and was also able to see the first game of Hunter's Winter Classic Baseball Tournament. The scenic trip across the island to his game was a vacation in itself as we drove through the most beautiful mountain area down to the southeastern coast. Dad beams with pride to see Hunter take the field with his PR "brothers" and teammates, and even more to see the level of play with which he is a part.

What's prettier, the field or the view???? That's Hunter on third.

Hunt's  playing second in this photo

 Dad taking it all in...the breathtaking scenery and the amazing stadium Hunter was playing at.



~And so our holiday came to a quick close. The day after everyone left was not a good one for any of us as we all sort of lagged around in a state of "what do we do now?" I cried off and on the entire day. Some emotions just cannot be overcome, atleast for a wife and mother. But I did what strength and composure demanded and called my troops together to recommit our time in PR to the Lord, to be strong for one another, and to support Hunter in his baseball training. We all agreed that there is still so much to be thankful for with where we are and what we have yet to experience, and that is what we will focus on as we wait to return home this summer. The words from our Pastor in his New Years sermon set the course for a fresh start, and I leave you with these reminders from scripture...

Philippians 3:13-14 No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. (NLT)

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

Feliz Ano Nuevo ~