My attorney and I met and he agreed to do the legal work for my 501c3 charitable foundation for the purpose for educating the poor rural children of Costa Rica.

John Stossel did a show on 20/20 this week, titled, Cheap in America. We have so much, blessed beyond belief. John says many American people are cheap when it comes to giving. Why is that? Is it true? Do you think it is true?

I think that many people want their money to be used for it's intended purpose, not for overhead. We also believe that is how to run a charity. We give of our time, energy and money. As volunteers we receive the reward of camaraderie, and the feeling of accomplishment, we have also found and honed personal strengths and traits that we did not know we had. How rewarding is that?

Phil and I were host parents sharing our home with young adults from all over the world. We were able to take 16 at a time. We had a dinner party every night, buffet style. It was a wonderful time, never a boring moment. Memories came flooding back while packing up as I found and read little notes that my kids left for me. I have not changed my email address for all of these years so that they could always find me. There lives are busy, finishing school at various universities around the world, or working at their professions. At least one (from Latvia) has married and lives in California now. Taka wanted to be a major leaguer. We still hear from some, and I wish I knew the fate of several others.

When you give a little, you get a lot. We learned that years ago with all of our kids. I worried about remembering their names, not only were they hard to pronounce, but there were 16 of them. The Saudi's were easy, they were all named either Hamid or Mohammid and they were always male. Women were not worthy and I will say no more on that subject today other than, we again learned the most.

I think I am a crafty person. When my children were small I always made them something personal for Christmas. Dolls, hand sculpted dolls, dolls with outfits that matched their outfit. I like handmade gifts, gifts from the heart, they mean more to me, and I hope to others. Gifts of food were also special and important. I have made thousands of cupcakes this far in my life.

A request has come in that we buy a pinata for the end of the year party. I will make one, I never have but, no problem. We need to have some classes in creativity. When you have creativity, you don't need money. Not much money anyway. I bought hard wrapped candies for the pinata. I think I should make two of them, one for the older children and one for the little ones. We hope to organize community participation for the decor. How many children will we have? Perhaps I will be the one who is surprised. What if they can not break the pinata open? I have never made one before, this is going to be exciting. As usual I will be the one who learns the most, I am sure. I will let you know.

The second container left this morning. Crowley's drivers show up exactly on time. The driver was a very polite young Cuban man. He showed me his drivers license so that I would know he was not there to steal the load. That thought never crossed my mind. I did worry all night that the container would be broken into or stolen before morning. About 1AM I walked Jack the dog through our woods and over to the container just to make sure it was okay. All of my worldly possessions are packed in there; my collection of kitchen platters, and 18 matching dining room chairs. The chairs were not originally making the trip, but with the second container here, and my husband away, I took the liberty of packing the important things, like my dining room chairs. My hardworking man has his priorities and so do I.

I love dinner parties and find them to be very rewarding. Communal dinners with best friends and laughter is a wonderful way to spend the evening. I look forward to serving my three cheese stuffed hot peppers wrapped in bacon and broiled. Peppers from my garden and bacon from our coffee wood smoke house, this is going to be a very good year. Everything is better with bacon.

All of our twin beds made the trip this time. We will need them for all of the company we expect to visit us. The kids are coming for Christmas, we are excited to have them. This will be their first trip to Costa Rica. Now they will understand why we chose this special corner of the world to call home.

The middle of December is the end of the school year for Costa Rican children. We are going to participate in a celebration for the children. It will be our first of many. The children are the hope for the future. Perhaps when you come to visit you will bring the gift of children's books. We want to start a library so the children can travel to other lands beyond the dirt road. It is the only way many of them will ever travel. Books will change their lives, expand their horizons, and help dreams to come true.