Focusing

I’m in Alaska with my Gramma and Grampa ‘laska and we are having SO much fun.
My Grampa built me and my sister a play house and a pirate ship in his backyard
and I love to “walk the plank.” I also make yummy food in my playhouse kitchen.
One day we went fishing in Grampa’s boat. I had to wear a special jacket to keep me
safe. We rode in the boat to a place called Tutka Bay Lagoon and there were lots
of other boats there. Mommy and Daddy got out on the beach to fish and I stayed
on the boat. A few minutes later with BIG eyes I said ” This is REAL fishing, I’ve never
done REAL fishing before only pretend fishing!!” I was super super super excited.
My Grampa had a special little fishing pole for me to use and he helped me catch my first
red salmon. Alaska is so FUN! My Great Gramdma ‘Nana’ is here visiting also and we are all making
lots of memories together.  You can see lots more pictures on our picture and videos page.

Set The Hook!!!

Proud fishergirl

Today was my first day of pweschool in Brazil. Mommy and Daddy have been talking with me for a long time about going to school and making friends and learning more Portadeese (Portuguese). This morning I woke up SO essicited but nervous. Daddy made me waffles for bwreakfast and I got to put on my new school clothes that I wear just for school. I was so proud and Daddy took my picture. School was gwreat, I went on a slide and a trampoline and think I went on something else. The bunny, we petted him and he runned
away, the turtle was a gwreat swimmer and the chicken was in the sink. I had a teacher and some new friends. I was very essicited but I missed my Mommy, I had SO SO SO SO SO much fun that I asked when I can go back again.

All wheady for my first day

It’s amazing how easy it is to travel 40+ hours without small children and all their paraphernalia.  I found myself listening to music and reading for pleasure!! Not to mention napping at my every whim. Aahhh vacation.  After a year and a half of saving pennies and tax returns, Nairobi, Kenya was my destination as my best friend Kim lives works and was getting married there. So off I went all by my lonesome for two weeks filled with hanging with college girlfriends, Kenyan safari, market shopping, tea farm tour, seeing a glimpse of Kim’s life, meeting her fiancé, and ending up with a week at a little resort on the Kenyan coast with a simply beautiful wedding ceremony on the final night to top it all off.  Stayed in a cottage with three girlfriends, had a personal chef who greeted us each morning with crêpes and fruit and cooked up the most delicious fresh seafood every night for dinner.  I lounged by the pool, took long walks on the beach, snorkeled at a beautiful reef, and spent time getting to know Kim’s friends, fiancé and family. Oh yeah and I missed my husband and my girls!!! This was the longest I’d been away from my girls ever.  So while I was off relaxing on the beach Micah was home doing a stellar job playing Mr. Mom for his two weeks of vacation. I’m so glad I went and so blessed to have spent time supporting and celebrating with Kim and Will.  This really was an amazing trip.  Micah totally LOVED his time with the Samara and Noelle and was blessed by several friends here who helped out with the girls and some meals here and there.  Both Samara and Noelle adore their Daddy and this time with him all to themselves was really special.  I know that Micah had a great time but he did say that he’d seen enough poopy behinds to last him a long long time.  So here I am back home, and Micah is back to work and our routine is getting kind of normal again and I love it.  The nonstop 3 year old chatter, Noelle climbing onto the top of the dining room table and clapping with pride, reading the same story 13 times in one day, eating beans and rice and rice and beans, cramming every possible moment of the 2 hour nap time full of emails, housework, blogging…warm little bodies climbing onto my lap with favorite blankies for a quick snuggle.  I guess it’s the paraphernalia that makes life life.

for more pictures of this trip see the pictures and videos page!

Just posted a few pictures of the move and our first weeks here in Maringa. Thanks everyone for you prayers, comments and emails. We appreciate you!

Just posted a few pictures on the pictures and videos page of us out with some Brazilian friends, at a churrasco with people from church, hanging out at home and at a nearby park. Enjoy…

Just a fun old fashioned family Christmas…

for more pictures see the pictures and videos page.

With our return tickets for Brazil purchased for Jan 13^th, one thing has become very apparent this week… this move is now for real.  So the race is on with loads of things to do.  There are people that we want to see, and shopping for things on our giant list.  Things that are hard to come by or ridiculously expensive to get in Brazil.  Things like peanut butter, contact solution and sunscreen.  Oh yeah, then throw in the holidays when Aaron will be bringing his girlfriend for a few days and my parents who will be coming the first week of January.  The initial excitement of “yes, we’re going back to Brazil” has yielded to the often overwhelming question of how are we going to pack our whole life up into 12 seventy pound bags? There are other questions too.  Questions like, how are we going to manage 12 seventy pound bags, two girls, two car seats, a stroller and 4 carry-ons in the airport?  What is the best way to prepare two little girls for the biggest transition of their lives? A transition that will include a super long airplane ride, a 50 degree temperature difference and plunging back into a Portuguese speaking world.  I’m very excited that we are going back to Brazil; it’s the getting there that’ll take some extra finesse, patience and hopefully drugs that help little ones sleep for hours sitting up. 

You’d think that I’d be a puddle on the floor about now. But I can say with all sincerity that in the midst of this whirlwind, there is peace in my heart. A peace that doesn’t really make sense with all that’s going on now and all that is to come. But God is faithful and HE is in control.

Anyway, other than all those questions and lists echoing around in my head and the calendar pages flipping way too quickly; I’m doing really great.  Samara and Noelle are so much fun and my days are filled with play-dough, dressing and undressing dollies, reading and doing “pwrojects” which usually consist of some combination of glue, paper, glitter, scissors, stamps, stickers…. Samara LOVES to be “cwreative.”  Noelle, who by the way just turned 9 months old, is trying to walk and as usual is currently trying to eat whatever is within her seemingly 6 foot arm span.  Noelle totally adores Samara who in turn vacillates between love “I wanna hold and hug and kiss Noelle,” and extreme annoyance which usually sounds like “MOOOMMMYYY she’s touching my stuff.” Can’t wait till they’re teenagers.  Please see our prayer request page.

As the sunshine finally broke through the clouds late this morning Samara gleefully exclaimed that it was time to “jump on the trampoline”  Noelle was napping so the two of us headed out armed with Tiggerbear and Amanda (her talking doll) Once on the trampoline, Samara started whining and being bossy and cranky.  I made a comment along the lines of  “Where is my sweet Samara and who is this whiny little girl?” She replied that “Samara went to the moon for FIVE days”  Right now five is a tremendous number in Samara’s little mind.  I proceeded to ask her some questions and our conversation went as follows.

Mommy: “What is Samara doing on the moon?”

Samara: “Visiting her friends Uncle Aaron and Emily and playing”

“What does the moon look like?”

Samara: using her hands “it’s a green box with like stripes on it, but not too big”

 “What does the moon smell like?”

     “Um…good like lotion”

 “What is Samara seeing on the moon?”

      “A big squirrel, he is very nice and we can pet him.

 “Are there other people on the moon?”

       “Yes.”

“What kind of clothes do they wear, what do they look like?”

     “They are PIRATES, very nice ones with pirate clothes. They say aaarrgghhh.”

“What kind of food do you eat on the moon?”

      “ Zucchini, pasta, cheese, tortillas and chocolate”

“Did Samara pack a suitcase to take to the moon and what did she pack in it?”

     “Well, she packed clothes but not to wear.”

“She doesn’t have any clothes on?”

       “She’s wearing the pirate clothes.”

“What other things are there on the moon?”

      “A GREAT big swimming pool, a warm one because there is lots of snow”

“When is Samara coming home, I really miss her?”

       “She’s almost home, only one more day.”

       “ SHE”S BACK!”

Samara jumped into my arms, and hugged me and was “so happy to be back from the moon.” 

I was delighted to have my sweet girl “back” as well.