Happy 2010!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great 2009. For the first time in probably decades, I was awake to bring in the new year! Amazingly, Sam also saw midnight for the first time in his life last night! We celebrated new year's the Guatemalan way ..... with lots and lots of fireworks! We are happy to announce, that we are all alive and well with all our fingers and no major burns. Whew!
2009 was an excellent year for the Grob - Staggers family, we have a lot to be thankful for. We have been able to spend time with friends and family both in the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. We continue to enjoy working at our school and have found the second year to be much easier than the first year. Sam is having a fantastic year at school. He is growing in every way possible - we are watching him learn to read, write sentences and do math problems. He is absorbing the spanish language about a million times faster than his parents (this is not an exaggeration - sadly). And of course, he is physically growing right before our eyes. We continue to be thankful for Cristi, the wonderful woman that takes care of Sam after school and takes care of our house as well. Without our Miss Cristi, life would not be the same here in Guatemala. Haviland is more than half way through her master's program and is working hard to whip some clueless 6th graders into shape. I am enjoying the best group of kids I have taught in my 9 years of teaching and I am still searching for creative ways to get outside and exercise in a land that has too many walls, barbwire fences, gates and security issues that block access to many natural areas. .
With all the goodness, came one sadness for our family. In October, we lost our Abby dog due to multiple health issues. Abby was part of the family for 12 great years. We still look for her every time we go down stairs in our house, we still catch ourselves saving a bit of chicken or pancake for her after meals. She was a good fuzzy girl and we miss her.
For 2010, we have a lot to look forward to. We are plotting travel plans for the summer - I think a little mountain time in Peru is the goal. We have agreed to stay in Guatemala for one more year - Whew! I hate job searching! We are hopeful that one more year will help our spanish skills and will be a good year for Sam to solidify his bilingualness.
We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2010!
**If you are interested in seeing pictures of our travels in Central America, check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GrobGuat
-Ken, Haviland and Sam
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great 2009. For the first time in probably decades, I was awake to bring in the new year! Amazingly, Sam also saw midnight for the first time in his life last night! We celebrated new year's the Guatemalan way ..... with lots and lots of fireworks! We are happy to announce, that we are all alive and well with all our fingers and no major burns. Whew!
2009 was an excellent year for the Grob - Staggers family, we have a lot to be thankful for. We have been able to spend time with friends and family both in the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. We continue to enjoy working at our school and have found the second year to be much easier than the first year. Sam is having a fantastic year at school. He is growing in every way possible - we are watching him learn to read, write sentences and do math problems. He is absorbing the spanish language about a million times faster than his parents (this is not an exaggeration - sadly). And of course, he is physically growing right before our eyes. We continue to be thankful for Cristi, the wonderful woman that takes care of Sam after school and takes care of our house as well. Without our Miss Cristi, life would not be the same here in Guatemala. Haviland is more than half way through her master's program and is working hard to whip some clueless 6th graders into shape. I am enjoying the best group of kids I have taught in my 9 years of teaching and I am still searching for creative ways to get outside and exercise in a land that has too many walls, barbwire fences, gates and security issues that block access to many natural areas. .
With all the goodness, came one sadness for our family. In October, we lost our Abby dog due to multiple health issues. Abby was part of the family for 12 great years. We still look for her every time we go down stairs in our house, we still catch ourselves saving a bit of chicken or pancake for her after meals. She was a good fuzzy girl and we miss her.
For 2010, we have a lot to look forward to. We are plotting travel plans for the summer - I think a little mountain time in Peru is the goal. We have agreed to stay in Guatemala for one more year - Whew! I hate job searching! We are hopeful that one more year will help our spanish skills and will be a good year for Sam to solidify his bilingualness.
We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2010!
**If you are interested in seeing pictures of our travels in Central America, check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GrobGuat
-Ken, Haviland and Sam
