James on the Tooth Fairy

April in Review

Our friend Daniel, who will soon come to work alongside us at Fiel early next year, is helping us breathe life back into our family Blog. So I have decided to attempt to get caught up by posting some highlights of each month missed. Here goes April.....
After our annual college conference, our little family enjoyed a quick trip to Parati with the sweetest couple, Larry and Gladine McCall. Pastor Larry was one of our speakers.

On the way to Parati, we stopped along the side of the road to see one of our favorite waterfalls.

Daddy and Lilah enjoying afternoon free time at the college conference.

Uncle Mark was in Sao Paulo on business and came by to spend the day with us.

On the road to the conference was this truck selling safes...........think there's a problem here with theft?!

Her favorite is mint chocolate chip like her mommy. What a face!!

We stopped at Alaska Ice Cream shop where Ricky's parents took the kid's on special occasions.

Daddy was so happy bringing his little girl to the place he loved as a child!

Yeah..............she didn't last long after filling her belly.

For Easter, James received a homemade chocolate Egg filled with candies from Tia Debora (Aunt Debora) In Brazil, children do not have egg hunts for Easter, but receive a chocolate egg with a surprise in the middle.


These photos are out of order. Here is what the chocolate egg looked like before he opened it.

Lilah and James getting ready to help Mommy make something.

Que Alegria! What happiness! Lilah opens up her Easter egg.

After our quick trip to the States, I brought back some cheap kites for our neighbor friends.

A photo of 3 generations on Easter. Could have been 4.......where was Lilah?!

"Look you guys, you have to let Mommy take some pictures before you can hunt for eggs, okay?"

Papa helping Lilah find eggs.

"Go James, go!"

I hid a few eggs inside too.

Cool Lilah eating her cheese puffs.

The kids love the new park in the neighborhood......in Florida, not Brazil.

Mommy and her little ones.

Sweet James.

Fun James.

Daring James.

March 09 in Review

Every year during Carnival our church has a retreat. This year we didn't spend the night but went daily as it was close to town. The kids had fun and so did we.The children from our church pose for a photo....all except Lilah. She was not interested.

Mom and Dad also came out one day to hear the devotions and to fellowship. Don't they look great?! They have been on the mission field for over 55 years!!!
This little face just makes my heart smile.
One of her favorite words is "play" and boy, does she like to play!These photos of Lilah were taken at a local park.James having fun with his giant firetruck. This was his gift from Nana and Papa the day that he became a big brother. These goofballs tried on Tia Ro's shower caps and loved it! They are filled with tiny Styrofoam balls.One of my all time favorites...Daddy and his little girl.

Watch this video and tell me if they have these in the US? They are these dance floors (mostly at arcades in shopping malls) where two people follow a series of steps that flash up on a screen to music. It is hilarious to watch......the kids seem to almost have it down.

February 09 in Review

James started a new preschool the first week of February (the start of the Brazilian school year). It's called Escola Cristao Kids and it is a Christian Montessori type school. I was offered a teaching position to teach English to the children each week. In exchange for my time, they will give James (and eventually Lilah) a scholarship. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to stay close to James and to get to better know the school and teachers. So far, we are both loving it! My American friends and I have started a little play date each week for our little blondes to have some fun together in English. It looks like Marina, Lilah and Gianna will grow up together.......their parents are lifers in Brazil like Rick and I. Because our apartment building is receiving a face lift via paint, it is not unusual to see a man hanging outside our window. Can I remind you that we live on the 4th floor? Try and wash dishes with this as your view.....it's very distracting! Our college-age neighbor Natalia celebrates her birthday with all her short neighbors!

Rick's dad often comes upstairs for a visit. Here Daddy helps the kids put together a "head breaker"(the Brazilian word for puzzle directly translates to this).

James and Lilah helping Mommy do some produce shopping.

We like to go to our local park that has a zip-line. We are still trying to get Lilah to try it.

"Getting boots in a care package from Nana makes me want to dance!"

Could anything be better than white chocolate ice cream? James' fav too!

Lilah and friend Vinni hanging out in their drawers. This seems to be an ideal photo to embarrass them in say.......twenty years!

Celebrating friend Sara's 4th birthday.....check out that cake!We recently went to a new park that has a concrete skateboard ramp. James had the best time sliding down on his bottom. No fear baby!And of course, he made some new friends while there.


James loves loves loves getting his haircut.........just like his mommy I guess.

January 09 in Review

We started our first few moments of the New Year in the Sao Paulo Airport. Having just arrived from our long flight we heard the countdown to the new year in Portuguese while we waited for our luggage. That was a first for us. We were a little disappointed after waiting 30 minutes to discover NONE of our luggage made the flight to Brazil. What bummer news! Especially as we had to wait a couple days for it to be delivered because of the holiday. The neighbors were happy to have James and Lilah back home again. Some of our friends rented a beach house for the week and they invited us to come spend a day with them. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was Lilah's first time to the beach! I often allow James to use my camera. Here is a photo he took of his mommy on the drive down to the beach. The children are lined up eating the good food from the churrasco. (Brazilian BBQ) This was my first year to spend a birthday in Brazil. My sweet friends planned a party and made a beautiful cake topped with fresh fruit. This was the first time I had ever seen fresh blackberries and blueberries in Brazil. It was a real treat. A photo of all my lovely birthday flowers. ( only one is still living....definite black thumb!) Our main reason to getting back to Brazil so quickly was to prepare an apartment to receive Rick's parents. The family decided it would be best for Mom and Dad to come live in our building where we could better care for them. Not only us, but there are many friends that live in the building who love them and could help if needed. Unfortunately, I don't have a good photo of the two of them together. Here is Mom giving Lilah a lift on her walker.