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.