Ele Chegou!

My sweet Brazilian friend had her baby boy on Monday via C-Section. Vinicius was born at 9am and weighing in at 3.5 kilos. Praise the Lord for his safe arrival. Rosileni is well and recuperating and Edivanio and the girls are filled with excitement over the new family member.

Just to fill you in: Edivanio works at Fiel with Rick and they are our next door neighbors. Rosi is my dearest friend and is always serving others around her. Their girls are like big sisters to James. We miss them very much.

Congratulations friends! The Lord is good!

Okay, I'm Back...........Finally!

Thanks for your patience dear friends. We have been traveling for what seems like a month now. Here are some of the places we have visited lately:

Raleigh, NC

Greenville, SC

Nashville, TN

Washington D.C.

Culpepper, VA

Roanoke, VA

So now we are back in Melbourne, FL settling into a routine again.
Enjoy the photos.

My sister Carol and Lilah at the 1st annual Garcia Fall Festival. A fun time for all!

The weather was wonderfully cold in Raleigh and we enjoyed bundling up. (Something we don't get to do too often.)

We then headed to Nashville for a short visit to our home church. I was able to have lunch with two college friends Stacey and Hannah during our two day visit.Love you Tia Hannah. Will you come visit me in Brazil next year?

After church Sunday, we had lunch with my German friend Maike and her beautiful family. Two weeks ago, she officially became an American citizen. Hooray for Maike! Such good news.

James had a blast playing with Maike's children. Rick captured James in mid-air while Sara watched on.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend my 10 year high school reunion. It was a real treat to see all of my favorite girlfriends from my childhood. Even after all this time, we have managed to keep in touch on a regular basis. I sure do love these gals!

I was so excited to show off my wonderful hubby to all my friends. He's the best, God was so good to me! I couldn't help but feel proud.

Here is a photo of my friends and the children at the reunion picnic. My friend Heather is holding Lilah. (She has 3 beauties of her own.) Notice James wanting to break loose. There is something about turning 3 years old and not wanting to pose for photos any more. He is just too busy to stop for the camera. Anyone with kids have this same problem? Ugh!

My dad, a.k.a Papa, is about to referee a soccer game. We brought the kids to watch him and the game. James loved it!

Papa and Lilah sharing a happy moment.

Not sure if you can notice Lilah's face or not. She is giving me the most darling smile. I sure love this girl!

James had so much fun playing soccer with his daddy on the sidelines. Notice his first pair of cleats, he is so proud of them.

Both with silly faces.....James and cousin Alli- she is just 3 months older than him. So nice to have cousins close in age.

Beautiful girls Lilah and cousin Alli. Love that smile!

With matching pajamas too!

Thanks to Aunt JJ for capturing this beautiful smile.

Still Kickin'

Yes, my dear friends...............it has been a while! So much has happened. We are back in the states for a couple months to travel and speak at churches, visit family, and spend the holidays with them. Here are some photos from Halloween. Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! Little Miss Muffet and her spider!

James' cousin Sarah was such a big help taking him from door to door. Those driveways were steep and hard to push a double stroller up them. Thanks Sarah! The ride home James' loot!

More pictures to come of James' 3rd birthday party, our pastor's conference, our visit with my sister in Raleigh and my 10 year highschool reunion.

Spring Bike Ride

On Saturday, James participated in the annual First Day of Spring Bike Ride that his preschool puts on. The children decorated their bikes with a spring theme. Here James is showing off his tricycle. The course that the school chose was, in my opinion, difficult for the small children to cycle. At one point the road descended and the parents had to coast their kids down the hill. And of course, we had to push them back up the hill on the way back. Let's just say I got my workout in this weekend.James had such a wonderful time. He got a medal for his participation. James also won a trophy for the cutest decorated bike. He was so proud of himself; he even asked to sleep with his medal and trophy that night.

Lilah slept through the entire bike ride. Special thanks to my friend Debra for pushing Lilah. There was no way that I could have pushed both of them up that hill!

My Apologies

Well, let's just say I got in trouble yesterday by several family members who were upset that I didn't include any photos of Lilah in my post. So, to appease them.........................