And Here are Those Pictures.....

This is at the top of the stairs. On the left hand side of this pic, on the side where the small picket is, we will have a reading nook with a tree hanging over it, in the corner. Underneath the bench, we've created a 'cage' that will hold all our stuff animals. We will put a sign over it..."The Zoo".

Here is the front door! Beautiful and solid...not going to move during a earthquake, I imagine. I am grateful that our workers didn't fall from the second story, they said the school is pretty solid.

Hard to see, but these are the stairs - made of cedar and each one is very thick.

 

 

We built a wall of benches which hold the hospital mattresses that were donated. We are going to cover them with the colorful Mayan material. Underneath is lots and lots of storage.

 

 

Here is the bottom of the bench that will hold the stuffed animals!

 

 

Here is that tree that will hold wind chimes, bird's nests, and wooden birds! To debark this small tree took an incredible amount of patience. I told Will it would be easier if we just put our parrots on it, they could debark in minutes.

 

And this is the backside of the school. We'll have a small outdoor patio below this ledge but we are
going to have a firepit beyond that. Will is going to have some palms planted in this section of the school and Glen is going to construct an aviary for the parrots.....and speaking of parrots, this has nothing to do with the construction of the school but here is Amorita getting ready to rumba :)

and here on top of a wooden reindeer that I made for a craft fair that the women and I are going to have this Sunday:

Unfolding of a dream.....

     How amazing it is to see something unfold (like the Opal House) so quickly when it is in God's timing! It seems like it wasn't so long ago our workers were digging the dirt to begin the foundation and now, things are moving right along.
     Awhile ago, Will and I went to visit his sister in Laguna Beach, CA. One day we went with her to pick up her two children who attended a Montessori school. The owner actually has more than one school. But this one I would have to say is enchanting (I've never used that word to describe anything). My thought after I left was that if I had been living there I would be a volunteer, no one would have to pay me. It was designed with children in mind. It had a pen for all those farm animals, like chickens and rabbits and ducks etc. It had a 'house' specifically made for their parrot, siding and window boxes and all. There were little nooks here and there and the school rooms were actually octagonal, like little hobbit homes. They have gardens for teaching the children how to grow their own food and cooking also. We collected photos when we began to dream of having our own school. So here I am watching the walls go up and Glen helping us with those whimsical ideas and I am so very grateful. I have to chuckle when I think of our workers probably wondering why on earth we are putting a tree upstairs in the corner of a reading nook. And the poor man that is chiseling the bark off that tree up to the tiny ends of the branches. I have been collecting ideas, and more ideas, every day knowing that some will fall by the wayside but nevertheless yearning to make each part of that school something that the children will enjoy and call their own. The children and I and Jacklyn have been visiting the school and walking around after their afternoon lessons. They are excited and we dream together.
     We've ordered the Montessori materials which took 4 hours one night (the hamsters must have been on break the computer was running on one wheel). Glen and his helper, Francisco have been cranking out the bookcases to hold the materials, wash tables, coat racks.....Glen just left today and was busy right up to the last 20 minutes. He has always been so enthusiastic and I feed on that enthusiasm. Will too, ofcourse. Will is everywhere these days, running to this hardware store and that hardware store. It's not like we have Home Depot. We were pretty excited to visit a store in the capital that had so much hardware stuff. As a woman who doesn't spend that much time in hardware stores, I look at it with different eyes now :) 
     We have a dear friend, June who is going to be training us in January. God has sent her, no doubt. I would have more anxiety if not for her. She quiets that anxiety over the unknown. The other thing that overwhelms the anxiety is looking at our future students. Little ones who I would like to adopt in a heartbeat. One little boy, especially. His name is Emerson. It takes much self-control not to laugh when I watch him watching us during our lessons in the chapel. The only way to describe it is quiet wonder. His eyes move from Jacklyn, to me and then to Will. He is studying us. I just want to grab him right up, then and there and hug the wonder right out of him. I remember the words of Bill Cosby who once said that he could rule the world if he had about 200 toddlers. Quite true......They are a species of people all to themselves.
 P.S. WILL ATTACH PICS SOON :).......