Pics of Egypt

There are many more photos of Egypt to post but they happened to be saved on the other computer. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas filled with fun, laughter, lots of yummy food, and of course family! It is our favorite time of year and we had the oppurtunity of spending a week with Rick's family in South Carolina and then on Christmas morning we drove down to Florida where my family was waiting to start the Christmas celebration. Look for those photos soon. Above is a photo of James and a little Egyptian girl that he made friends with at the famous Khan al-Khalili market.

We are in Egypt

Hello friends, just wanted to let let you know we are currently in Egypt on vacation. It has been an amazing experience to see first hand the land of the Pharaoh's and biblical times. This photo was taken at the historic Mena House in Giza, with the Pyramid of Khufu in the background. It is the largest of all the Pyramids !! Please pray for James, he picked up a virus yesterday but thank the Lord , he is doing better today. More photos to come!

More photos

Bath time fun James playing air hockey with Nana
James and Grandma Lou
Visitors in our backyard.

A Praise!

Blogging friends-I was just wondering if any of you have switched over yet to the new version of blogger in beta and if you had any problems or dislikes. I have been a little hesitant to make the change and I was thinking I should get some feedback first. Thanks in advance!

Well, little James has just come out of a rough two weeks of having a yucky virus called Hand-Foot-Mouth. He was finally diagnosed on the second visit to the doctor when she noticed the little red spots on the bottom of his feet and palms of his hands. The poor guy suffered from a fever that lasted over a week and diarrhea that wouldn't ease up. He vomited 3 times and at one point I thought of taking him to the emergency room. The fact that we do not have insurance in this country deterred me from this option. So my mother came over and with her help we monitored James through the night. I have two praises from this story that I would like to share. #1 James is better and has gained the weight that he lost. This was a huge concern to us as he is already tiny and only weighing 22 lbs. (the average weight of a 1 yr. old) (Yes, I DO feed this child, he is a really active, small guy and burns off everything he consumes!) #2 This is really neat. After we get done seeing the doctor, I go to the desk to write a check for the visit. To my surprise the receptionist tells me that I have a $298 credit on my account. I tell her that this cannot be possible and that maybe she pulled up the wrong account on her computer. I inform her that we haven't been in to see the doctor since the last time we were in the states. She said that the computer hadn't listed any specific details and that she thought that I must have overpaid. So I smiled at her and said, wow, praise the Lord! It didn't occur to me until later that maybe someone had anonymously done that for us. There is just no way that I could overpay by $300!!!!!! Isn't God good?!! He used someone in that office to bless and take care of us. Thank you Jesus for your provision!

Halloween

James had a blast trick-or-treating and he couldn't believe that he was actually getting candy ("dandy") when he asked for it! He Loved being a chicken, though at times he did get hot so I removed his shoes and occasionally took off his costume to cool him off. We got our money's worth out of this costume. Earlier in the week, we went to a Halloween Festival at a local church where he played games, rode a pony and enjoyed petting some farm animals. My father also treated us to tickets for the "Not-so-scary Halloween" night at Disney World. James enjoyed the rides and spending time with his cousins.( The whole family was there including my sister Carol who flew in from SC and my aunt Dorothy, cousin Susan and her daughter Reese who flew in from VA.) The Firework show on the other hand was a loud, scary event but he still kept his curious eyes open during the whole thing while maintaining a death grip around my neck. Enjoy the pics!

Photos Finally!

Hello everyone. I am finally up and running with a computer. I accidently left our card reader in Brazil and have been unable to download photos from my camera. So with Rick's help, I am ready to post! Below is a photo of James at one of his daily swim lessons. He already knows how to roll to his back and float (drown prevention) and this week he starts with the swimming aspect. Please pray that the weather will keep warm a couple more weeks so he can finish this course. We return to Brazil in January, the middle of summer, and I want him to have this life-saving skill. For my mommy friends, here is the website of the course we are using: www.infantswim.com It is fascinating, check it out! Being back in the States, we are taking advantage of the free events that happen in our city. Below are a few photos of a K-9 demonstration they had at a local church fall festival. James loved seeing those smart dogs perform.
Here James is helping daddy put together his bed. He still sleeps in his crib but the bed is great right now for cuddling up for storytime. We may start using it soon though, as last week I awoke at 4am to feel something tugging at my sheets. Let me first tell you that Rick was away traveling so I was by myself and horrified when I sat up suddenly to see my blondie out of his crib! A very uneasy feeling!Here is a photo of James and his Nana and Grandma Lou out to lunch. I love this photo!

Back in the States

Hello dear friends and family. Forgive me for not posting in a while but many things have been occuping my time. We arrived in the states two weeks ago today and we are finally settled and falling back into a routine. We will only be in the states for 3 months and then will travel back to Brazil the first week of January. We are in Florida staying close to my parents and it has been nice visiting with them everyday. James enjoys seeing his grandparents and asks constantly about "Nana and Papa". The week before we left to come to the States we were in the city of Aguas de Lindoia for our annual Fiel Pastor's Conference. Rick and I ran the giant bookstore...........( our background in the music industry comes in handy). Many pastors were blessed by the speakers and their edifying messages. Over 1500 pastors and leaders of churches were in attendence. Rick's father started this conference over 20 years ago and God has allowed it to grow into something that has touched many lives over the years.

................This computer is not allowing me to post photos for some reason but I will drive over to my parent's house and post some photos later after James' nap.

Hope you are doing well and having a blessed week!

The Party

Last Saturday, we celebrated James' two year birthday with a party downstairs in the banquet room of our building. The theme we chose was soccer while using the national colors of Brazil. Just like in Brazilian weddings, the table is the main place for photos so they are usually really elaborate.Our friend Edvanio, made this giant poster of James for the party. James smiled so big when he first saw it. I think I will tape it to the back of his bedroom door. It's just too cute to throw away. We set up a special room just for the kids to play. I made playdough,bought paint and set up little stations for the children to play. Although, I asked two young girls from the church to help in this room the paint eventually turned into a big mess. I won't do that again.
Here is a photo of some of the young people from church and grandpa or "ampaul" as James likes to say.James had a heyday with all the candy and desserts. Here James is sneaking a brigaderio. This is a popular chocolate trufle-like candy. It is made with condensed milk, chocolate powder and chocolate sprinkles. My friend Laura made these for the party and arranged them in the shape of the Brazilian flag. Thanks Laura!
Cookie in hand and ready to sneak a couple bites of sprinkles and frosting. He is sure a rascal!I think this was the first time for many of our friends to ever eat a cupcake. I think they liked them. Who doesn't like chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting?

Happy Birthday James!

Wow, time flies! I can't believe my little guy turns 2 years old today. It seems like yesterday I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for a normal check-up when my water broke suddenly. The doctor walked in and said, "Looks like we are going to celebrate a birthday today!" What? I couldn't believe it, James was going to arrive 6 weeks early!?! I began to cry as I told the doctor I wasn't ready yet. I still had so many things to do; James' crib wasn't put together, none of his cute little outfits had been washed with Dreft yet, my hospital bag wasn't packed, and I couldn't stop thinking that I had left the house this morning with a sink full of dirty dishes! What a crazy thought! A precious little being was about to enter my world and change it forever and I was thinking about a dirty kitchen! I was also a little bummed that I had only had a piece of toast and hot chocolate for breakfast because I knew the hospital would not feed me until after James was born. But I quickly forgot about my stomach when the pain of the contractions started to really bump up a notch. After 12 hours of labor, I finally requested an epidural and was able to rest a bit during the night. Unfortunately, the epidural brought my progress to a standstill for 7 hours. So the doctor lessened the dosage (which increased the pain) and within 3 hours James was ready to make his grand entrance. My mother, who quickly flew in from FL, pulled out the video camera, Ricky changed into a nice, button-down shirt and I brushed my hair and put on some lipstick to welcome our little peanut. We had the Newsboys Adoration CD (praise and worship) playing in the background. With the third push, out FLEW James Richard Denham IV! (5 lbs 6 oz, 18 inches) A nurse and I gasped at the explosion of baby that the doctor had just caught! Rick's words were, "Oh, look at him!" amidst tears and laughter. I was still in shock at the shear power of that last push that I was still holding my hand over my mouth when the nurse handed him to me. I couldn't help but think to myself, "Thank you Jesus for this precious little gift, your ways and timing are perfect."

Roles Switched

Well, this morning both James and I woke up sick with colds. For me, it is sneezing, sore throat, drainage, and a head that feels like it is going to explode! The weather, I think, has contributed to our illnesses. One week it's hot, and the next it is freezing! Last night was yet another switch of the temperature. I had to sleep with a hot water bottle to keep warm and James has a heater in his room. (There is no central AC or heat in Brazilian homes.) Anyway, we are grateful that it is Sunday, a day of rest! And that's exactly what we have been doing today. I have been preparing for James' birthday party that will be next Saturday night. I decided to have it downstairs in our banquet hall in our apartment building. Last year, we celebrated his first birthday out at the ranch and invited the whole church. It was so much fun. Below are some photos. Uh........actually, I couldn't find those photos. I'll keep looking and will post them later. Okay, here are some photos of my little rascal getting a hold of mommy's camera and taking some pictures. This guy knew exactly what button to press. I wonder how he knew!? Here are some of his better shots: This one is not so bad, I just had to lean over to make sure I got in the photo.
The last two photos are of mommy taking the camera away. Not a happy camper!

Delirious!

Last night, James, some friends and I drove into Sao Paulo to see some old buddies from the UK band Delirious. I worked with them 3 or 4 years ago while they toured in the states. It was great to see them and they were excited to meet James.Leticia, Allan, and Diego went with us. Leticia and her family live right above us in the apartment building. She studied in England for a year and speaks English with a british accent. It's cute!
We thought the name of this church was funny........"Bola de Neve" which means Snowball church. James is enjoying an ice cream before the show.

A wedding!

Our friends Jackie and Felipe were married on Saturday during an outdoor ceremony at a ranch. On the way to the ranch we got lost and arrived 45 minutes late but weddings in Brazil never start on time, so we were there to see Jackie walk down the aisle! Below is a photo of the ringbearer and flower girl getting ready to throw flower petals at the newly married couple. A photo of my mother-in-law Pearl and the happy couple.After the wedding, the bride and groom stand behind the cake and take pictures with the family and wedding party. Instead of using the church steps as a background for photos or other locations, the main photos are taken by the cake. This cake is never cut at the ceremony. Guests are brought out cake from the kitchen already served on plates. Different, huh?
During the reception, the groom walks around with a tie around his neck and guests (mainly the men) are given the opportunity to purchase a piece of the tie if they donate money for the couple's honeymoon. The bigger the amount of the bill the louder the groomsmen cheer. It's funny to watch.

James put money into the pot and there were several people that took photos of it. I asked where was James' piece of "gaveta" after he put his money in. Everyone started laughing. The word for tie is "gravata" and I said the word for "drawer". Oh the joys of learning another language!

Christian Booksellers Expo

This week Fiel is participating in the annual Christian Booksellers Expo in Sao Paulo. It is great exposure for our literature as more than 30,000 people are expected to attend this week long event. Please pray that many doors will open and we can get our reformed books into as many hands as possible!James and I went to visit daddy working at the booth on Wednesday. We ran into Larry and Bob from "Os Vegetais". James adores VegeTales DVDs, however, you would never know it by the look on his face in this photo below. He was so scared of these lifesize characters!

I took a photo with this famous Brazilian news anchor. He is an equivalent to our Tom Brokow or Dan Rather. I don't even know his name. Oops!You might be surprised to know that there are a several Christians on the Brazilian World Cup team. One of these players, Ze Roberto, wrote a book titled "Gathering Fruit in a Dry Land." Unfortunately, we had to leave before he showed up for his autograph session, but our friend Allan had him sign a book and James' soccer jersey. Thanks Allan!
And here is a cute photo of James' little friends Raissa and Marina. They are such sweeties!
Hope you're having a blessed week!

Independence Day

September 7th is Brazil's Independence Day and we celebrated by going to the parade downtown. James is pictured with his best friends Raissa and Marina.
Below is a photo of some men using painted paint cans as drums. I think Brazilians are the best at recycling!!You might be surprised to know that we have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in Brazil. They have similar uniforms too. Unfortunately, they don't sell Girl Scout cookies! No thin mints for me. :(The clowns were cute and they even posed for the foreigner with the camera!
I thought this was a little bit strange.................the Assemblies of God preachers marched in the parade. Later in the evening, we went over to Rick's parents house for a party given for my mother-in-law. Happy Birthday Mom! We love you and thank the Lord for you everyday! You are precious to us.