Our Family

Video snippets of our life in India Part I

2012-01-26T08:16:00.000-06:00

I am going to post several videos I have taken while living here. They are random, but I think they are a good respresentation of our life here.

Sam and Mak scootering down the Oakwood trail

Having tea at John Deere

Leigh trying on a sari

A rickshaw ride

2012-01-05T03:25:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful holiday, and thoroughly enjoyed spending our days with no obligations and nowhere in particular to go. We did not venture out too much around town, we mostly just stayed here at the hotel. We had no desire to be busy. Andrew and I would sit in the lounge daily after our breakfast until 12:30 or 1:00 talking. I with my jasmine green tea and Andrew with his cappuccino. The girls would take their scooters out to the walking path for awhile, play at the park with the kids, or fly their helicopters with their sweet friend Neeha while Andrew and I chatted. It was LOVELY. It's too bad that it had to come to an end.

It's the girls' tradition to sleep by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

Since Tuesday, we have been back on our work/school schedule. For English class, one part of it is blogging. I do not take the time to read their posts before they publish them, as this is their journal, and I do not believe in grading or correcting journals. I just let them write whatever they want, and as fast and furiously at they can get their thoughts down. It is very cathartic for them to share what they are experiencing with their friends and family. You can find them here : www.frombraziltoindia.blogspot.com unordinarylife-sam.blogspot.com

I talked Andrew into taking me to the Pune Train Station today. It was over stimulation on every level--a mix of excitement and deep sadness. The smells are horrid, it's loud, dusty, crowded, and there are destitute people all around. The girl below was one of many begging for money. We do not give them money (even though I ache to), as the poverty is organized, and we do not want to aid their "pimp." We do give them food, but we did not have any treats for children with us today, so I took this little ones picture and showed it to her which produced a gigantic smile. I wish I could have captured her joy at that simple thing. I wonder where she is sleeping tonight. My heart breaks at the mistreatment of children, women, and the street dogs. It is devestating to see life treated as something disposable--meaningless.

When we returned from the train station, there was a wedding procession about to start. The men and boys in their handsome black suits were having rich colored turbans wrapped around their heads.

I hope your 2012 is filled with peace and joy.

2011-11-26T06:18:00.001-06:00

Leigh and her paper dosa--notice the guys behind us ;-)

The perfect bite: dosa wrapped around seasoned potatoes, with coconut and tomato chutney on top

Sugar cane with a baby sleeping on top of the pile

A sugar cane train

Inside the 100 year old Mukti orphanage church

Some of the ex-pat ladies at the Thanksgiving Dinner

Here are some snapshots of the past couple of weeks. I was sick last week, so all of our plans were put on hold while I rested in bed. I do not have any pictures of the orphanage children, but will take some this Thursday. The girls have blogged about the orphanage, and everything they said is true. It's definitely a God thing. It is the cleanest place in India that I have visited thus far, and the children and the adults who work there are genuinely happy and sweet. We are looking forward to spending our Thursday afternoons there.

The girls are doing wonderfully. There really was never an adjustment period for them. I know it is because we are surrounded by wonderful friends here at the Oakwood. The people here are amazing--so kind, so genuine, so helpful, so smart, so funny. We will miss these wonderful friends all too soon. :-( We are blessed to be here at this time.

Our Unreal Reality

2011-11-18T05:22:00.001-06:00

Serenading our neighbors

This week has been the best week so far as it feels that life is regaining its sense of rhythm. We seem to have nailed down a nice routine that allows us all to do what we need to do in regard to work and school, and also to have some fun on the side.

Living here is not reality (at all). For example, we are literally surrounded by wonderful people who have fast become friends, breakfast is unbelievably amazing with its varied options and freshness (and friends), the weather is perfection--so much so that when we asked last weekend if the girls were interested in going to see a film Sam said, "It's such a beautiful day, I'd hate to see it go to waste," and we find ourselves wondering if there will ever be a crummy, cloudy, cold day. It is truly a happy place. The ex-pats here are all so very friendly and down-to-earth. It feesl like we are living an ex-pat version of the sitcom "Friends," as we are personally sharing our lives throughout the day with the other folks who live here at the Oakwood--whether it is breakfast, at the pool, chatting at the playground, eating out, riding in rickshaws together, or having tea in each others flat. Often times I have to cloister myself in the apartment to relax and let my mind settle. I still find myself with a headache when I socialize too much, but living here has been such a blessing for when I do fatigue the girls can keep on visiting at the hotel park where I know they are safe.

Tomorrow we are going to visit an orphanage that was started over 100 years ago for destitute women and their children. Living here makes me feel everything a thousand times deeper--like gratefulness for example. I am ever so grateful to be me, and I feel guilty about it. I have experienced many losses throughout my life...but, when I see the kids on the streets, my burdens feel painfully light, like I have been weeping over carrying a humming bird's feather, while everyone else has been bearing a two ton boulder, and all of a sudden my problems and pain feel trivial and embarrassing.

Violin lessons over Skype with Mr. Henry in Iowa

2011-11-06T01:46:00.000-05:00

Hotel lobby--flowers for the Diwali Celebration

The girls' adopted puppies that live on our street

Strings of marigolds

Sidewalk in Pune--they are not all this bad. ;-)

Housing

Snoozing at the bus stop

Slum area a couple of blocks down

Boy who asked me to take his picture (they ask to see it after you take it) :-)

Fresh air hair cuttery

Malaka Spice--wonderful restaurant where we went for my b-day

Sweet Samantha, who is now 13!!!

Another lady who asked me to take her picture

My gang standing under the coolest trees we have ever seen

Diwali cows

True love

13th b-day cake!!!

Elephant on the street...we heard that they love bananas, so we are going to feed the next one we see

Custard apples

Custard apples and passion fruit

The inside of a custard apple

The roadside vendor cutting a passion fruit for us. She sprinkled some masala inside. I was the only one who like it with the spices.

These are snapshots from the past 9 days...we did not catch the camel we saw in one of the little villages on the outskirts of Pune, but it would have been a great picture as he was covered with colorful blankets--very charming. Notice the baby goats that the horse is carrying--sooo sweet. The adventures we have had in the past two weeks are many and varied, so much so that I think I could write a book.

Our plans have changed in that I am homeschooling the girls as the school that was touted as being so wonderful and challenging, was worthless in almost every aspect--except for the facilities and surroundings that are truly gorgeous, but that is what we are learning about India--you cannot expect to get what they are selling you--lying/exaggerating is just an accepted part of life here.

We are loving our time here at the Oakwood Premier. I have coined this place "Ex-Pat Camp--India." It is almost like being back in boarding school, as we see each other at breakfast, and the spouses who are not working here, hang out during the afternoons. It's been great fun. There is a beautiful swimming pool, tennis court, racket-ball room, fitness center, walking trail, and they offer classes from cooking to yoga. Last week, one of the ex-pats asked if the hotel would be willing to put up a basketball hoop, and by the end of the day they had it installed. So, Andrew has been enjoying playing hoops with the other men. They are all fathers, so the kids join in as well. ;-)

The produce here is phenomenal--especially the fruit. Our driver stopped last weekend at a roadside vendor to buy us some fresh figs and custard apples. Heavenly. The trees were just across the street from where she was selling them. Freshness, it's a wonderful thing. The climate here is perfect. We are surrounded by mountains which keeps the humidity and heat at bay. They say it will not become hot here until April, and then it will leave in June for the monsoons.

2010-09-10T20:56:00.005-05:00

Visiting my grandparents' burial place in MN

It has been a long time since I've updated my blog. I needed some time to heal and reflect--to keep my happenings here at home between the two of us--to keep them sacred. I am doing remarkably well. Over the winter, my coordination and my communication skills improved daily, and now I only notice that I have glitches in both areas when I am fatigued. All of the MRI's that I have had since the surgery have shown that the tumor is not growing back, and Andrew is positive that it won't, so I'm clinging to his faith.

We are loving our new neighborhood in Iowa. Samantha is in public school this year, and is doing fabulously. She joined orchestra, and also is in a smaller group called "Silver Strings." She's soooo confident and outgoing (as those who know her know) which has helped to make the adjustment easier.

Makaela is doing fabulously in our homeschool. We are using the Sonlight Curriculum like last year, and it's so nice to snuggle on the couch and read all those awesome books!!! We are studying the Eastern Hemisphere this year, which is perfect since we will be moving to India sometime next year. It's been an adjustment for both of us to have Sam gone, but we have gotten into our own groove and now we are thriving. She's still playing the violin and piano. Her orchestra starts up in October, which she is super excited about--mostly because she gets to meet other 4th graders. ;-)

Andrew is enjoying his work like he never has before. He has a team he is leading who will be transferring to India next year. I can't say too much about what he is doing, but I can say that he is loving his work, and enjoying this new team of engineers he is leading. We are soooo excited about the move to India for so many reasons....like the food, the history, the elephants, the monkeys, the orphanages we get to work at, the achritecture, Sanscrit, Hindi, the food...honestly, I think it's all about the food.

2010-01-12T08:34:00.015-06:00

"Reckon it nothing but joy...whenever you find yourself hedged in by the various trials, be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance." (James 1:2-3)

"Success in life comes not from holding a good hand, but in playing a poor hand well." Denis Waitley

We are back to normal, and I am homeschooling the girls again, and Andrew is back at work. We may have an opportunity to travel abroad again with John Deere in a year or so. We are all looking forward to that. Samantha and Makaela miss the adventure and the challenges of living in another country, and Samantha is looking forward to learning a third language. I am still working on Portuguese... :-)

The girls have also been enjoying all of the snow we've been blessed with this winter. They spend several hours every day after school outside sledding, walking the neighbors dogs, and playing with their rabbits. They are not so sure what all the complaining about winter is all about as they are having such a great time!

Thank you for your support and prayers! :-) Love and hugs!

2009-12-10T18:22:00.002-06:00

Thank you, praise God, it's all over!!!

For those of you who speak Portuguese, you'll be humored to learn that the first words/thoughts I had after surgery were in Portuguese. For the first 3 days following surgery, Portuguese came first, and then the English, and now it's all primarily English--"que pena!"

As I slowly type this, I am back in the Quad Cities, in acute rehab--which means I'm still hospitalized, but close to home. The PT and surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic thought the intensity and focus that I'm receiving here would help speed my recovery. Everyday is a little easier than the last, as my brain heals itself, and works out new pathways. I can walk by myself now, but I haven't tried out my Brazilian platform boots yet.

Speech comes slowly, but only those who knew me well can notice. And, I get my nods for "yes" and "no" confused a bit. Andrew claims that it is pretty cute. Andrew stayed in the hospital room(s) with me, while we were in Cleveland--never leaving my side while sleeping in chairs--some comfy others not so. He's been my rock--my gift from God.

Well, if all goes well, I should blow this pop shop next Thursday--with a weekend pass in between then and now, so, if you should see me around town in my Brazilian platform boots this weekend, don't be too surprised.

Thanks again for your prayers for "nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

2009-11-23T14:36:00.010-06:00

Life is going to be a gush of non stop busyness starting Wednesday, until we can catch our breath--hopefully by January life will take up its normal flow. My in-laws are arriving Wednesday from Minnesota, and will stay on with the girls until we arrive home from Cleveland. The girls are crazy excited to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. I know that they will have a great time just hanging out and eating Grandma's good German cooking. We all are also so looking forward to Thanksgiving, and spending it at the Fernando home with so many special friends...and I am ever so grateful that I didn't have the surgery before hand, so I could totally enjoy the blessing of being back in the States with these amazing people and their culinary gifts!!!

We broke our contract for the new house, as on further research and with help from the energy company, we learned that the EMF levels were ridiculously high by the pond, and around the walking trail. High, consistent, EMF levels, have been found to be possibly correlated to childhood leukemia, and adult brain tumors--since we already have one of those in the family, we decided we really didn't want to risk any more! So, we are back to square one...should we build, or buy? I thought house shopping was supposed to be fun???

I want to thank you again for all of your support. I receive way to many compliments from you all on my strength. I know that the faith of my friends and family, is what keeps me strong when the road ahead of me looks bleak--it is your faith and your prayers that carry me farther than you can imagine. Thank you.

"Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Matthew 9:28

2009-11-19T08:38:00.005-06:00

My surgery is scheduled for December 3rd, two weeks from today. We will leave here the Sunday or Monday before that Thursday. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I apologize for any folks that I have not written a proper note of thanks to, but please know I am so grateful for the prayers, e-mails, cards, calls, etc. The best part of this crazy tumor has been the out pouring of love, prayers, and support! :)

My scripture verse thought for today: "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again." (Psalm 71:10)

When I feel the cold, I can say "He sends it,"
And His winds blow blessing, I surely know;
For I've never a need but that He will meet it;
And my heart beats warm, though the winds may blow.

L.B. Cowman

2009-11-15T20:11:00.007-06:00

"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else." Emily Dickinson

It's been a busy week, filled with great things...

First of all, we met with my neurosurgeon, on Tuesday, and we went over my latest MRI. We were testing to see if the edema could be MS, an infection, and to see if there were any changes/growth etc.. The test showed that the probability of MS is very low, and the "tumor" has not grown--praise God. It still looks to be a low-grade glioma in my frontal lobe. For having an in-brain tumor, it's a good thing. My doctor--said again--that it is only by God's grace that I am walking, talking, and laughing due to the sheer size of the tumor. The fact that it is large and I am functioning fine, also points to the idea that it is very slow growing, and has most likely been there for years. He feels that since I am now symptomatic, I really should get it out before it breaks through my system's threshold, and I start developing more negative effects from it than I currently am. He also gave me much hope in having a long, normal life span, as he believes that there is a 99.9 percent chance that it will not grow back. God is in control, and He holds all of our days in His hands.

We have two surgery dates booked. One is for December 3rd, and the other is for December 10th. I will know tomorrow which one will be the one. (We are waiting on the radiology department). I will be arriving 3 days prior to surgery for tests and prep work, and then after the surgery we will be at the hospital for about 5 - 6 days, and then a day or so in a local hotel to monitor things, and then, we will be headed home with the tumor removed, and 6 weeks of recovery, before our return trip to Cleveland for a check-up. There is a possibility that I could temporarily lose speech and movement in my right leg, but I am super optimistic, that I will have little to no complications!!!

The other great news we have, is that we actually found the land/house we have been looking for. We've been watching all of the real estate sites for the past 8 months or so as we really wanted to get out of the work of building on our land, and we really didn't want to remodel anything either (our current house has been a big enough project for us). So, we've been looking for that "perfect" ready to move into property. On Monday night, a new listing appeared with 11 acres, and a 3 acre pond, etc...so, we e-mailed the owner that night, he responded that same night,we looked at it Tuesday, made an offer Wednesday, and signed the preliminary papers Thursday. The closing date is December 15th. We have looked at so many properties, and this is the only one that we both fell in love with simultaneously. The Minnesotan in me is so in love with the pond, and the country boy in Andrew, loves the space, the large detached garage, and the John Deere tractor that we will have to buy for mowing and snow removal. :) I have so missed swimming, jet skiing, and ice skating--all of those great things that were available on practically every corner of my growing up years in Minnesota, and now my girls can have that too!!! The back side of the house is all windows overlooking the water, and there is a one mile walking trail around the property--great for P.E. classes!!! To say the least, we are so grateful, and I look forward to recovering from surgery in my little Minnesotan oasis in Illinois.

Love and hugs to all from us!!!

2009-11-04T21:55:00.013-06:00

Written Wednesday November, 4th 2009

I had my second MRI today. We are looking to see what is happening with my uninvited guest upstairs, and to rule out some other potential options that the edema could be or could be caused by.

The MRI was at 8:30 this morning, so the girls toted their school books along to the office. On the way home at 10:15, I decided I better stop by the mall at one of those drop in salons, "no appointments necessary," to have my highlights touched up. Due to the risk of more seizures, I am not allowed to drive until spring, so finding time, and opportunities for frivolous but important things like getting my hair done, have been hard to squeeze in. Plus by the evening my body is shot, and by that time I really don't care if my hair is blue or pink (blue is the best though, right Margaret?) So, since it was morning, and I still had my energy, my vanity won and Andrew dropped the girls and me off at the mall with their books in tow, and he headed back to Deere.

Upon entering the salon, 5 beauticians sat in the back of the shop chatting away. They looked like a friendly bunch, so I greeted them, and asked if they could fit me into their schedule that morning. Before answering one of them rudely accosted the girls with, "why aren't you guys in school?" I deflected her accusatory tone from my girls who have enough to think about right now and told her that, "I have a brain tumor that induces seizures, and am not allowed to drive, so when I have an opportunity to get out and have my hair done, I take it, and I take my kids who are home schooled with me." Silence. I hope they are nicer to the next person that comes in to their little shop. There are 2 main things I have learned from this experience...the first is, don't judge a person--period--we have no idea what they are carrying, and the second is, people are generally wonderful, generous, and overall extremely amazing loving beings.

Besides for the all encompassing fatigue that hits me like a freight train throughout the day, I feel great. I am using my time and my energy, purely for my little family right now. E-mails, phone calls, and visits, are difficult to accomplish by the end of the day. But, I once again need to thank you all for your kindness and support. I received a gorgeous lavender prayer quilt from a group of folks that I don't even know if I know from Brainerd, MN. I have it on my lap as I type. Whenever, I need to lie down, recharge, and let the peace of God consume me, I reach for this precious blanket and my Kari Jobe CD (thanks Jen), and remember all of the prayers that have been prayed on my behalf. THANK YOU!

________________________

It is now Friday, November 6th...We ate out at our favorite Indian Restaurant for lunch, and were thoroughly enjoying forgetting that life is anything but normal, when my neurologist and neurosurgeon walked in. They are both wonderful kind and compassionate men, but I didn't want the reminder right then as I was so enjoying "normalcy." There were no vacant tables at the restaurant, so they asked if they could sit with us...(LOL)! I guess God doesn't want me to forget, but to just look this challenge straight in the face. It looks like we will be having the surgery in Cleveland a week or so before Thanksgiving. We're hoping to be home, and to celebrate our annual Thanksgiving feast with the Fernando's and all our good friends there. And, Eleanor and Izzy, if I do make it, could you please sing at least one song with reversed parts? :)

Love, hugs, and prayers to you all from the four of us!!!

2009-10-24T06:08:00.011-05:00

We visited Cleveland Clinic (in Cleveland, Ohio) this past week. It's number 6 in the U.S. for neurosurgery. We met with the chief of neurosurgery there, who gave me about the same information that I received at Mayo Clinic. His techniques are different, (etc), so we are going to speak with our local neurosurgeon on Wednesday, and present him with both doctors plans of attack and see if he has any adivce on which Clinic to go with. We are also scheduling another MRI, to see what is happening with the edema. I am desperately hoping it is gone, and that this was just an infection of some sort. The doctor in Cleveland said that there is a small chance that that could be true, so I am fixated on that right now, as it is a much lovelier option than the glioma (brain tumor). lol

While in Cleveland we took the girls to Lake Erie and collected some beautiful sea glass on the shore that we are going to use to make a small frame. The girls are being so awesome about all of this. They sat in the lobby for 3 hours by themselves during some of my consultations just playing and chatting it up with the staff.

One of the top comments/questions I am asked is regarding my hair, and what will happen to it due to the craniotomy. Well, the good news is that they just make a very small incision across the top of my head and flip the skull bone back to do the surgery. There will be barely any hair loss. (yay!)

Please add my precious mother-in-law, Linda, to your prayers as well. Last week, we learned that she has breast cancer. I will be updating how she is doing on here as well. At this point, they are just holding tight, as their appoinments don't start until next week, Thursday. I will post her updates here as well.

Thanks once again for all of the prayers and support. The prayers sustain me in a very tangible way. Throughout my life, as trials have come and go, I have always felt God walking by my side as I tackled the problem at hand. But, this time, there is not much I can do of my own strength to change these events, and I do feel God carrying us through it.

"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philipians 4:7

Love and hugs to you all from all of us!

2009-10-09T13:23:00.004-05:00

I discovered this song while living in Brazil, and loved it, but it has become even more precious over the past few weeks: "Healer", sung by Kari Jobe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvIEJ_PmqJ8&feature=fvw

Well, I really should be cleaning up this much "loved" little yellow house, but I thought it's probably a better use of time to give a little update to my dearly loved friends and family. Honestly, I am doing amazingly well. I spoke with a friend today who told me that, when speaking with her sister, she reminded her that her problems weren't so bad considering that she has a friend who has a brain tumor and needs "brain surgery." Hmm...are my problems really all that bad? I don't know. I still feel ridiculously spoiled and loved by God, family, and friends. Life is good, and God has been faithful, and He will continue to be faithful no matter what the outcome of all of this is. I have seen God answer the prayers of a very sad little girl, in a broken home, who prayed so earnestly for a good husband for herself and a good daddy for the children she would have when she grew up. Well, here I am, married to the most amazing man. Andrew has always simply been the best, and yet through this "trial" as we call it, I have seen an even more beautiful, precious side of Andrew than I have ever seen. He's the trusest of the true--I am blessed.

God opens and closes doors, and He has never closed a door that when looking back, we wish He would have left open. Looking on our past, I know our future is safe in His hands. The months ahead may be challenging, but it could be so much worse. I don't have it the worst. I don't have an inoperable brain tumor. There may be side effects from the surgery, but the fact is I am super lucky compared to so many. I dare not complain when we have been so blessed with so much. We've had so many blessings in just the past 3 weeks and, so many good doctors, who have bent over backwards, and have signed papers that say that they are not comfortable with doing my surgery, which allows me to jump out of our insurance network and go to the very best doctors available in the States--and thanks to those doctors who have put their professional reputations on the line and signed those papers our insurance covers the surgery costs. God is so good. Blessed I am. Love, and Brazilian style hugs to you all.

The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. Isaiah 30:18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Jv1Hf2oCw&feature=related

2009-09-28T22:55:00.002-05:00

We are on our way to Mayo Clinic. We dropped the girls off with Grandma & Grandpa at their "farm," so they should have a blast and are removed from the boring doctors visits and any of the stress that comes with it. Grandma is going to be keeping them going with their homeschooling and they are very excited to show her what they do! :)

We are thankful to have gotten into Mayo so quickly. :) We have appointments over the next few days with neurosurgeons and neurologists. It'll be nice to have a little bit more info to help us decide what to do next.

Thanks again for all of the prayers, e-mails, packages, visits, food, juice, etc...We love you all, and are every so grateful for YOU.

2009-09-26T07:34:00.002-05:00

Hey friends and family,

I just want you to know that I have been recieving your e-mails, and am ever so grateful for the love and the support. I cannot respond to everyone at this time, but will do so as time allows. I just want you to know that I appreciate your well wishes, and offers of help. I'm sure we will be taking you up on some of it, as our pets and kids would rather hang out with all of you than at the doctor's office! lol

God bless you all and big hugs to everyone! :)

2009-09-03T07:34:00.002-05:00

Hello friends and family!!!

I have been away from this old computer for a long time, and will be away for awhile as we continue reaclimating and simply enjoying our life in the States. In a month or so, I will try to squeeze in the time to post updates and what not. We are all doing wonderfully...busy with the joys of kittens and bunnies, and all things that go along with girlhood and family life in America.

We said "goodbye" to my Grandma Bette recently, as she passed away on the 17th of August. She will be greatly missed. We are all just so grateful that we were home and I was able to see her one more time here on this earth.

God bless you all, and we'll have to chat soon!!!

2009-05-13T10:00:00.009-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday Sweet Makaela!!! The birthday morning, looking out the window watching for Daddy to arrive for lunch.

Happy Birthday!!!

Laura stopped by before the party to drop off a gift--beautiful scarves that her mother crocheted that can be used as a belt also.

Our birthday princess

Daddy being silly as usual

Makaela received LOTS of books so she can keep using her Portuguese! :)

Giving each other "pedicures" with the sparkle lotion Makaela received

Makaela had a wonderful 8th birthday! Everything was princess pink, including her. The fun continues for Makaela as she is anticipating celebrating her 8th birthday again when we arrive in the States. Since we are so close to our return date, the grandmas didn't send the presents on to Brazil, but on to our little yellow house back home in Illinois. We are planning a birthday bash back home where friends and Grandma's can participate. It's been two years since the girls have shared their birthdays with their grandparents, and they are anxious to start up the tradition again!!! :)

Last night was very sad for me, as I am such a selfish mommy wishing time would slow down--maybe even come to a full stop--a pause button would be nice. I cried for a long time after my little Makaela went to sleep, all pink and basking in the glow of new presents to play with in the morning. I honestly can't believe how fast the baby years and the toddler years slipped through my fingers. Now we are in the school girl years which are the sweetest yet, but how fast they too are escaping me. I want to capture every moment and bury it deep in my heart to treasure forever. I hate every memory that has eluded me. I don't want to forget anything. Every year the joy deepens and the fun increases as the girls come more into themselves, but at the same time I have a piercing longing for things to stay as they are, and a reluctance to let go of who they once were--my babies.

2009-05-05T11:08:00.009-05:00

The girls are really loving softball now!!!

Salto do Yucuma on Saturday afternoon

Our crazy friends--too close the edge for me!!!

Throwing a stone from Brazil to Argentina

Andrew and Makaela enjoying the view

Friday nights with a Max Lucado video and their favorite "stuffed" animals

Friday afternoon at the Tres do Maio fair

This rickety old thing was a little too rickety for our tastes

This was the girls' first ride that took them anywhere off the ground. They appreciate that I'm loosening the apron strings a little bit!!! lol

Five weeks until we leave for home!!! Last night Makaela was talking about going home, and she said, "it feels like forever (until we leave), when I think about how it's like heaven there (the U.S)."

All of us, except for Makaela, are nervous about going home. We are so pumped and ready to resume all of the little details of life that we miss, and yet are a little uneasy about going through the transition from one culture to the next again. There are weird little things that start to seem normal, and some habbits that you're not sure if it's universal, Brazilian, or American--whether it's how you drink water out of a water bottle, to stopping at stop signs--to how you greet your friends, so many things are different. We are also afraid of forgetting all that has happened here, of forgetting all we have learned. We are planning on continuing Portuguese lessons weekly, and a good friend of mine from here will be moving to Moline, with her family in September. It will be so awesome to have her in town. She has two kids the same age as my girls, so it will be nice for all of us to stay in touch with our Portuguese and the culture the girls have assimilated into.

We aren't planning anymore trips in South America. Our last trip to Argentina left a bad taste in our mouths. :) Everything is harder to facilatate here. Makaela is right when she says the U.S. feels like heaven. It does in comparison. Brazil is gorgeous--the areas that God made that is. Illinois doesn't really compare to it's tropical beauty, but the infrastructure back home, is a paradise in and of itself. Our trip to Buenos Aires, left us stranded between angry tobacco farmers blockading the road, and a ferry that had already closed for the day. The police and milatary were useless, and were wholly at the mercy of the farmers. So, we sat for 3 hours on the road while a lot of the folks around us decided to get drunk and party--what else is there to do, right? So, when the farmers were pleased with themselves, and felt that they had sufficiently disrupted transit, they moved the blockade, and let 100 angry cars, half of them drunk pass by---oh, my word--that was pretty freaky to be driving down a one lane unlit highway in the dark with everyone trying to pass everyone else!!! And, the story continues...but, it's too long...but the moral of the story is we will enjoy the ease of traveling in the U.S.!!! :)

2009-04-22T12:26:00.005-05:00

Road blockade in Argentina

Things I learned on the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina from Horizontina, Brazil

1. Cross the ferry to Argentina at your own risk, once across, you may have to wait until the next day to get back to Brazil due to 2 hour lunch breaks, and 5 p.m. closing hours.

2. Angry Argentinian tobacco farmers have more power than the Argentinian police and the Argentinian Miliary.

3. My girls are brave and strong. They are going to be so much more than I will ever be on this earth. They can do cartwheels, skip in ditches, & wait 7 hours to use the restroom while the world stops around them.

4. Corn sandwiches are good.

5. Driving 14o kilometers an hour on unlit backwood Argentinian roads at 10 o'clock at night in order to catch a bus that is already on the move is NOT fun.

6. A semi-cama (bed) bus is not comfortable, but is SO much better than the cheap seats on international flights.

7. Buenos Aires IS beautiful, romantic, charming, dirty, exciting, scary, poor, posh...

8. Feeding hundreds of pigeons in front of the Casa Rosada in the heart of Buenos Aires was worth all of the stress of getting there.

9. Experiencing your children's firsts is awesome, experiencing firsts together is doubly awesome--riding on a subway together for the first time in the heart of Buenos Aires--priceless.

2009-04-16T10:13:00.005-05:00

Hi there again!!! Wendi--you've given me back my blogging bug--lol!!! :) I took these pics of the girls this morning. I loved the way the sun was dancing through the oarnge tree on our driveway, so I shot the pics there. Makaela dressed herself in those adorable Brazilian cowgirl boots this morning, and that was my inspiration to drag them outside and capture the magic of her style sense. Also, the girls got bangs yesterday!!! It cost me 75 cents to get them bangs, and 6$ for a manicure AND pedicure for myself. Terribley cheap!

The top picture of Makaela, is of her holding our last can of vegetarian hotdogs (until we return home)! It was a big deal, let me tell you!!! We ate them all up for lunch today! :)

Also, we have an American who moved next door last week, so the girls are having fun spoiling him with gifts they leave on his doorpost. The pic of Mak holding the red bag, is one of his "surprises" she made this morning. His fiance, will be coming in June, once they have married!!! They are neat, neat couple--too bad we won't be here for much longer to enjoy them!

2009-04-06T20:14:00.005-05:00

Thanks Wendi for the encouragement to post a blog. It seems that even with the luxuries I have right now with daily housekeeping, and a gardener, it is still hard to fit in all of the daily tasks, plus computer time. I will miss having someone clean the house and the yard while I am homeschooling!!! lol We have a special room upstairs that I use for school where I teach the girls our formal curriculum from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.. At 11:30 when I come downstairs to make lunch-- my house is spotless--the floors are mopped, everything is dusted, the windows are washed, the showers are scrubbed daily, our laundry is folded and lying on my bed to be put away, the clothes are all pressed, etc...when we return to the States those things will be put on the back burner, and the house won't be quite so clean, and the clothes will be pressed as we need them!!! ;-) The afternoons are busy also as the girls and I use them to excercie, practice their violins, do homework, and then we go to Portuguese classes. By the time all of that is done, it's time to make dinner, and get ready for classes for the next day. It's busy, but it's about to get even busier when we return home!!!

Now that I've made my excuses for not blogging, I guess you could say life is going great for us--fast and furious as we are on the countdown. We have appoximately 7 weeks to go. The girls and I have about 5 weeks left of our homeschooling curriculum!!! We are excited to be done and ready to leave for home and start our summer vacation with a bang in the good ol' U.S.A.!!! YAY!!! It's been an awesome school year with all of the usual challenges and triumphs. The girls are my prized pupils and I am so very, very proud of their discipline and accomplishments this year. Samantha will be entering 5th grade, and Makaela will be in 3rd!!! :)

Our precious little lizards are no longer with us. One died from being attacked by a stray cat, and the other two managed to escape through a makeshift "bedroom" the girls and designed and attached to their large cage. ;) The little street dog that adopted us, has captured all of our hearts and we are trying to facilate his return to the States. He will be an awesome cushion to my little girls' hearts. They are leaving so many dear girlfriends behind, which has been so heartbreaking for them, but I'm hoping this little guy's presence will be a blessing and a precious tangible reminder of their lives here.

We are planning a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina next Friday through Tuesday, with some Brazilian friends. It is said to be the Paris of South America. Samantha and I studied it for her Social Studies class this year, so it will be quite the treat to visit in person and see all of the awesome, historical architecture. It also has South America's largest and nicest zoo which the girls are going to love.

I hope all is well with each and every one of you. We look forward to visiting in person very, very soon! God bless!!! :)

2009-02-02T09:57:00.004-06:00

We went shopping today and I bought the girls some traditional Rio Grande do Sul Gaucha clothes--in English they are the traditional cowgirl clothes that the men and women still use today. In the past the women wore long "prenda" dresses which the girls also have, but the pant outfit is so much more fun to play and ride horses in.

2009-02-02T09:38:00.001-06:00

More pics of our friendly lizards...

2009-01-30T18:33:00.005-06:00

We have been adopted by a preocious little dachsund we call "Salsicha" which means "hotdog" in Portuguese. He does have a family, as he wears an old belt cut into a collar around his neck. It's obvious though that he is not too fond of them, as he stays with us for weeks on end. He's absolutley, positively certain that we are his, and that we and our house are his responsiblity to protect and love. He's a heartbreaker, and even our cockapoo, Theodore has taken to him.

We also have come into the good fortune of being owners of 3 baby Argentine Black & White Tegus (lizards). I haven't had much interest in reptiles or amphibians since I was in grade school, but these little guys have stolen my heart right along with my girls'. At this time they are only about 5 inches long, but should grow to be about 4 feet long. They are already so docile and friendly. When the girls put them down on the floor, they head right for them and run into their hands or onto their laps...it's the cutest thing.

2009-01-13T08:40:00.003-06:00

Pool days with "crazy" daddy

Sunflower in our garden

Every step of life seems so bittersweet. The bitterness in the sweetest of moments is the painful knowing that the moment is passing by all too quickly. I have these bittersweet pains daily. I already miss who the girls were at every single age--0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...at every age they are there own special individual person, who I will never hold again--those chubby baby arms, the sleepy toddler nights with a nose pressed squarely against mine, breathing deeply while enjoying the flux of her own hot breath against my face...in truth she is using the feel of her own breath reverbearting off my face as a baramoter to see if I am still lying there or not...such determinaton to keep me snuggling with her all night long. They now put that determantion into other areas. And, during these precious days of discovery, books, friends, questions about God, I know I'm going to miss them here at this stage with just as much of an ache in my heart, as I do all of the years past.

The girls are dealing with similar aches as I have about their growing up. They are now fully immersed in their lives here, and are loving it, while at the same time they have deep feelings of homesickness. They have fears of leaving here in June...of leaving their friends (above in the pics you can see the "friends are forever club" they made under our stairs), the house, the neighborhood, the snack shack down the street, the language they have come to love. And, yet, they are excited to go back home to their friends, the house, the neighborhood, and the English language that they miss hearing (unfortunatley there is no snack shack down the street in Carbon Cliff). Beautifully bittersweet--this is life.

2009-01-07T11:30:00.006-06:00

Our local Snowman

If I Had My Child to Raise Again

If I had my child to raise all over again...I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I’d finger paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I’d take more hikes and fly more kites...

I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play...

I’d ignore the stares and stare at more stars...

I’d do more hugging and less tugging...

I’d see the oak in the acorn more often...

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more...

I’d abandon my love of power, …in favor of the power of love...

I stole this from our friends, Dr. Arthur and Dr. Becky's, Chiropractic Newletter--

Thank you guys!

2009-01-04T17:23:00.008-06:00

Typical city

Baby coconut

A happy New Year to you all! We have made it safely back to Horizontina from our visit to Florianapolis in the state of Santa Catarina. We spent 9 days being beach bums...we have had our fill of sand, and salt water and are ready to tackle a new school year, and Andrew is ready to move forward at work--we are on the downward trend now--only 6 months till we move back home! We did not take many pictures of our vacation as it is not safe to walk around with a camera. I did manage to take some shots from the car of some of the scenery! The girls' favorite part of the trip was sledding and boarding down the sand dunes. I have to admit this was my absolute most favorite part too!!! I don't have any pics of the gorgeous steep hills, but Makaela and I braved a very fun, very steep one together--so steep, that right before we went down she said, "We're not going to die are we?" The ride down was crazy fast and fun, but it's not the ride down that killed us-it was the long walk up!

2008-12-17T18:19:00.008-06:00

Wow! I had an insanely crazy, half good and half bad week last week. I'm just grateful that we're here, it's December 16th, and we all made it through to the other side just fine. The 6th of December, Andrew left for Germany, for a short one week trip. It was going to be a good week (as good as it can be without your all time favorite person), but challenges surfaced in every corner of life here. I don't deal with cockroaches--they are 3 inches long, fast, and way to clever. However, they decided since the cockroach killer, a.k.a. Andrew, was out of town that they would come visit us. UGH!!! I found myself some cockroach spray that you can use from 4 ft away--it's lethal stuff. They become almost completely paralyzed with in seconds of being hit with the nasty chemical. Now that Andrew is home, he just uses shoes again--much safer for all of us. I also had clicking lizards jumping off the walls behind my computer chair, flooding from a vicious tropical storm, my internet died an hour after Andrew left and didn't return until the day after her returned,which also meant that my VoIP phone was rendered useless. It was a very trying week. But, in spite of the bugs, lizards, isolation from the U.S., we managed to have some fun, as there were two American families visiting to check things out before they transfer down here next year. The girls and I had a blast showing them around, and giving them tips on where to shop, etc.

A new thing we started doing last week is jornaling our prayers and thanksgivings with the girls, so we could physically document how God answers prayers. One prayer we pray everyday is that God will send someone to us that day that we can help. God has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and blessed us with several people everyday. We have people coming to the house needing food, clothes, etc., and yesterday, we had a teenage girl that I've never seen in our neighborhood stop by to tell us that she thought our poodle had escaped. Our poodle was safely within our gates, but as it turned out what she really needed was to talk, a word of encouragment, and a few good hugs. It has been so exciting for all of us to see God answering this simple prayer. Today, we had a few phone calls from people needing encouragment and a mother with little children needing food and clothes. How exciting is that? We also have not had one single cockroach today--at least not yet.

2008-12-01T14:18:00.005-06:00

Viviani enjoying the rain at the Thanksgiving Party

Samantha's Apple Pie

Andrew juggling at the Thanksgiving dinner

Playing Dominoes

Christmas cookie baking with the Brazilian Ladies

Lagarto--two foot lizard in our backyard--he was quite amiable

Love how the water is glazed over their faces

Kaela and Theo with their new "hair-do's"

John Deere Brazil--A green Christmas, and a white Christmas tree

2008-11-24T14:11:00.008-06:00

Miscellaneous shots from this past weekend. We went to church in Santa Rosa, and enjoyed a picnic in the park afterwards where we took the outdoor pictures. The girls have been swimming daily, and our yard has become the place to play in the neighborhood do to our large backyard, and the pool helps too! :) I took the picture of the sunflowers from inside the car as we sped by, but you can still see the beauty of them...and the bananas with the large purple flower hanging below--gorgeous!

P.S. I am super behind on my e-mails, but will try to catch up this week/weekend. I want to wish a Happy Thansgiving to you all! Love, The Foerderer's!!!!

2008-11-21T10:23:00.012-06:00

Makaela at D' Forno Pizzaria where they make the pizza in a stone oven that you can see behind her. Makaela especially loves watching them make the pizzas, and she is always hoping the next one is for us. It's a long process going out to eat here--we waited a good hour or more to get the first of eight pizzas, and another 45 minutes to an hour for the dessert pizzas. Everything is sooo laid back!

Samantha and Alina

Alfredo and Nidia--Sadly this was their last night here in Horizontina. They are now transferring to Madrid for 3 - 4 years. We miss Nidia already! The other ex-pat girls and I are planning a trip to Europe next September to visit her and tour the area.

Molly serving Makaela the famous chocolate, pecan pizza.

Samantha at Zelandias--the best bakery in town--with the other ex-pat ladies. This is our Starbucks for now--they even use soy milk for us in their lovely cappachinos).

Fall Decorations made by the girls with various beans and corn

Bamboo trees downtown Santa Rose

Downtown Santa Rosa--I still can't get over the horses downtown--it's so charming to me

This has been a great week, as both girls are completely well!!! (For over 2 weeks, they were fighting a virus. Samantha had a fever for 6 days running!) Life is back to normal as we know it here, and we're enjoying the hotter days, with the very cool evenings. It actually feels "Christmassy" this year to me to have it heating up. The snowmen are back downtown too. Yesterday, Makaela and I went Christmas tree shopping, and she chose two--one for the family room and one for the bedroom. So, now we have Thanksgiving decorations downstairs and Christmas decorations upstairs. I usually never bring out the Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, but with traveling over Christmas, we wanted to make the specialness of the season last a little longer. For Thanksgiving, we are feasting with the other ex-pats on the 30th, as it is too challenging to coordinate a large feast when everyone has to work until 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. The girls are excited as they each have a recipe they are in charge of. For the actual day, Andrew is going to take a half day off, and we're going to do some feasting on our own and make phone calls back home. We do so miss all of those lovely Thankgivings with the Fernandos--good food, music, and friends!

2008-11-08T08:34:00.006-06:00

We cannot purchase salsa here, and Andrew enjoys canning anyway, so he and Makaela made a large batch of delicious cumin flavored salsa last Sunday. It's lovely--not a bit hot, so the girls can enjoy it also. Unlike the salsa, the days are hot, so we're back in the pool in the afternoons. The girls are toasty brown, and Theodore the "pool dog" is bleach white with the poofs on his legs tinged green from the chlorine.

2008-10-24T13:30:00.005-05:00

Happy 10th Birthday our sweetest Samantha! We love you "to the moon and back", and are so proud of how you have grown. We will always cherish the gorgeous fall day that you entered our world. We love your passion, your zest for learning, your musical talents, and your love and compassion for babies and animals. We love you always and forever, Mom, Daddy, & Makaela

2008-10-22T10:55:00.004-05:00

After all of the rain last week, the sun finally made its appearance Saturday afternoon. We soaked up as much sun as possible walking, biking, and swimming. The rain is back today, and apparently will last through Friday which means another beautiful weekend is most likely in store!

For the national Brazilian holiday "Children's Day," John Deere put on a neat program at the John Deere park with lots of activities and "rides" (you can see pictures of some of these on the girls' blog). To kick off the event, they had a pedalathon from Factory 2 to the park.

The watermelon truck is back!!! He sits on the side of the road daily selling the sweetest, juiciest watermelons we've ever had. If I had my way, that would be all I would eat.

2008-10-15T11:48:00.008-05:00

Rain. This week we've had one rainstorm after another. It makes the mornings exciting. From our school room, we watch the mango trees swaying back and forth, and with every sway they seem to stretch their branches closer and closer to our window--almost hitting it, but not quite. Our shutters make loud wolf like howls as the wind whips through them. It really is quite exciting, sometimes too exciting. Ever since our storm last spring (October), we all feel a little apprehensive when the windows begin to howl again.

Yesterday, Makaela made her third attempt to attend Cristo Rei elementary school. The plan was that I would stay in the library for the entire four hours just in case Makaela needed me. This plan was way to exciting for me. I was armed with books that I have been dying to devour. As we entered the class room, I started chatting with some of the other mothers and their kids. I introduced Makaela, and I thought all was going just great until I realized my precious little girl was crying, and now clutching to my waist. Ugh. Such heart break for me. Crying in public is something she just doesn't do. I think sometimes the whole Portuguese, Brazil thing just gets to a person. Sometimes hearing me talk in Portuguese makes her sad (as well as everyone else who has to endure me!!!) (When I talk in Portuguese Makaela says that I don't seem to be her mommy). Well, we didn't want to quit before we had even started so, I joined her class. We sang for the first twenty minutes out in the playground--walking in circles, holding hands...it was great! I wish I had had my camera. After singing time, we went back to her classroom. I know her teacher from previous activities, and she is a sweetheart. She was very receptive to me staying in the classroom and she put Makaela's desk in the front row closest to her own desk. I sat in the back corner with all of my unread books, and thoroughly enjoyed watching my little girl interacting, reading, doing math, and making friends in her Portuguese world. Makaela told me that this was her best day ever and can't wait to go back as it is "so much fun having you in the room with me!" So, for now every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon I will be attending Cristo Rei also. I'll have plenty of years to read in the future--for now it's Kaela and I in the second grade.

2008-10-13T13:11:00.003-05:00

New construction in town

2008-10-04T20:49:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, I looked into having the girls take some afternoon classes at a local school in town. The afternoon classes that we had been taking in town , have been canceled for various reasons. So, in order to get more exposure to Portuguese, we opted to enroll them in some classes at the small Christian school a few blocks from us where several of their friends are already attending. The girls were very excited to start. So, they attended classes the very same day that I inquired about our options. To make a long story short, Samantha had a great time--a nice teacher, sweet girls, and 2 hours of P.E. class--what could be better? :) Makaela on the other hand, had a miserable time--unfriendly teacher, four hours of sitting in "boring" over sized classes with little to no teacher interaction, and dealing with clicky girls who wanted to keep her in their "group." She disliked every part of it. We are going to try a different class this coming Tuesday and see how that goes for her. It's the class that she originally wanted to be in, but due to her reading ability, they put her in a more advanced class. However, she is not attending this school for academic reasons in the least, so we are going to bump her down to the kindergarten class where she can do more fun things like painting, story time, etc...she's crazy excited about this idea, as one of her "best" friends from here is in that class. We'll see how it goes.

The entire experience of the girls being at an "outdoor school" as we call it has been interesting. I have received many unsolicited, ignorant comments regarding how "great" it is that the girls are now attending a "school" where they can be "socialized" and "experience the real world." I respect the fact that these folks are speaking out of ignorance (as homeschooling is obsolete--not to mention illegal in Brazil). I am deeply thankful, that I have had the good fortune to be born into a country where I can choose how to raise my own children, a country where the government cannot take my children into custody because I have chosen to make sacrifices from my own career possibilities, and give my children what I deem to be a superior education at home. Here in Brazil, two boys who have been homeschooled in Sao Paulo are in the midst of a vicious lawsuit in which the country has threatened to take custody of the children for no other reason than for homeschooling. The children are well educated, and bilingual. The revoking of the parental rights is purely political. The belief that one person who has limited vested interest in a class can teach 25 students better than 1 teacher (a parent with vested interest) can teach 2 children does not seem sensible. That is why after all, private classes are sought after, right? The students who I teach at the local English School, pay a premium price to have a private class with me. Why do they pay more for one on one? Why does this concept not pass over into elementary school? Anyway, it is absurd that we punish the conscientious parents, and reward those with the herd mentality who make little to no purposeful parenting decisions. Parents should be allowed to be the parents--not the state. I personally support all school options--we need every sector. I am grateful for the wonderful public schools we have, the private schools options, and the hundreds of homeschooling curricula a parent can choose from. I am grateful that I can put to use all three of those options depending on the need of my children. I have had such awesome support regarding my homeschooling decisions back in the States--support from my family; from my friends who send their kids to public schools, private schools, or who homeschool; friends who are teachers in every sector; neighbors, etc...but, here it has been one attack after another due to the intense need to conform. I am truly thankful for America, and the freedom we still have--the freedom to be who we choose to be.

2008-09-30T11:02:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday morning, we packed up the car with bikes, Rollerblades, blankets, books, and a picnic lunch and headed to Santa Rosa (about 40 minutes from here) for a relaxing, rejuvenating, and fun Sabbath morning. We went to a fair ground that is open for public use. It's great for biking--lots of space and not too many cars. We were actually the only folks there on this amazingly gorgeous morning. It's the first time Andrew and I have roller bladed here, and it felt so good. I used to blade daily, and even when the girls were 4 and 6 I would pack them into the jogging stroller with some books, and bike along the river in Moline. Those are such delicious memories. This day we primarily bladed and biked inside of a large building for food stands. It had some elevated areas which made it all the more exciting to zoom up and down. The girls had a great time, and are hoping to go back this coming weekend.

We also attended a "first birthday" party this weekend for Gustavo Miso . The first birthday is the most important birthday celebration for Brazilians. There were tons of colorful balloon decorations, and every table was loaded with sweet and salty treats. Makaela had a great time playing tag and such with the other girls, and Samantha had fun doting on baby Lucas (one of the American family's baby boy).

2008-09-23T19:18:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous song of praise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ccf079gJI&feature=related

Thanks Jen for sharing this!

2008-09-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

We "had" (we hope it's dead) a large poisonous snake in the long grassy area of our back yard. Senhor Fikes burned the area on Friday, and is going to replant it with grass.

Our gardener, Senhor Fikes -- He requested I take this picture, as he has a collection of pictures with all of his clients

It's election time here in Horizontina which means lots of speakers blasting campaign slogans...
and lots of campaign flags

At the John Deere Foundation Park -- We come here often to play

Makaela and Sir William hard at work

On our way downtown
Scoobi

A week ago Friday, the girls finished their first period of school. Yeah! (We have six, six week periods for their annual curriculum). To celebrate this accomplishment, we went out on the town Friday afternoon to shop for a new outfit for our furry family member, Theodore, our cockapoo. The girls chose this activity for their special day, as shopping for their beloved Theo is by far their most favorite thing to do. It so happened that we were puppy sitting for a friend's poodle, Scoobi, that weekend, so he also joined us on our puppy shopping outing.

2008-09-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

Downtown Horizontina

Samantha's "little lamb"
Flowers from Samantha--when she bought them, she told Andrew, "I like to buy Mommy flowers, just so I can see the look on her face!"

Yellow plums
I love how our garage opens up in the back...
At the park downtown Horizontina
Shoes drying after being washed of the red earth

The first sign in Horizontina...everyone has to stop and take a look
Theodore's latest "do"

Makaela has turned her bike into a "horse" -- notice the jump rope turned into "reigns"

Orchids growing out of a tree trunk--this is a popular way to plant orchids
Three flowering trees in a row...pink, red, yellow
Papaya tree...
Love the laundry line

It's been a week of contrasts for all of us...the weather, events, etc....and yet, we're all doing great and taking it all in stride. The girls are such troopers. They deal really well with any prejudices they may face as foreigners. They are beautifully confident in who they are.

We've all been in and out of homesickness--for familiar friends, family, libraries, biking trails, Barnes & Nobles, The Indian Restaurant, malls, museums, our house! :) Two weeks ago, we showed up to our horse riding lesson (our most favorite part of the week) with the girls decked out in their riding boots, jeans, and special shirt from the ranch only to find our teacher had left town. The odd thing is we had just seem him two days prior at the grocery store in which he was very friendly. I recall saying to him "we'll see you Thursday" while he smiled agreeably. But, that was to never be. It seems the culture down here really hates to disappoint, so instead of saying, "hey, I'm moving!" He just left. The girls were crushed. They couldn't believe they couldn't ride anymore, nor could they believe their beloved teacher left. Lots of tears. Lots of holding. They've sustained many losses here; many special friends have moved, etc... But, today is a new day, and we can look back and chuckle at all of the cultural differences. Some days those differences are fun, and other days, well, you just want to pack up your bags and go home! :)

A favorite poem for those of you heading into fall:

Quick Silver

You can’t hold magic in your hands
Or touch a memory
Or lock a sunset in a room
Where it will always be.
But when you see October start,
If you are one like me,
You want the shining afternoons
To last for all eternity.
You want the sumac’s splash of fire
And soft winds to ever blow;
And though the splendor
breaks your heart,
You cannot let it go.
You want each glorious day preserved;
You long to hold them fast;
Your soul oftentimes yearns to keep
Those things that cannot last.

Mildred Keiser

2008-08-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

Burrica Falls, Horizontina (our town)

Lettuce Farm

As of Wednesday, we have had a new housekeeper coming in from 7:30 a.m. - 11:30a.m. to clean Monday through Friday. She appears to be an answer to our prayers. We've had some poor employees in the past, but it looks like she will be as wonderful as our gardener. She is sweet and meticulous, and self motivated. I think it's going to be a great working relationship--she needs the work, and I need HELP!!! :) Her name is Remi. She has 6 daughers, and 18 grandchildren. She stayed home with her children until they were grown, and now just wants something to keep her busy. She's very sweet with the girls and the pets. I really hope she's a keeper.

We are closing up our 4th week of school tomorrow. It's been going really well this year. I was nervous about juggling 2nd and 4th grade together, but there's plenty of work for one girl to do while I'm teaching the other. The girls are so sweet, and they really do a great job of keeping the other motivated. If one says, "this isn't fun," the other says, "well, I like it!" (This always works in my favor, and the other one almost always jumps on board as well). We have our Portguese teacher come to our house now twice a week in the mornings. It makes our school day flow so much better. Twice a week in the afternoon, a local craft store has classes that we have been taking for crochet and painting. I'll have to post some of the girls projects. Samantha has made stocking caps for all of the American's babies and toddlers here in town, and Makaela has made all of the ladies potholders! :)

2008-08-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you that donated clothes and shoes for the children here in Horizontina!!! The gifts were very much appreciated. I recieved twice as many boys clothes/shoes than girls clothes which is exactly what they needed. God is so good!!! These little ones in the picture are at the daycare in the poor part of town. This is a little paradise for them where they spend half of the day. They get lots of love, stability, two meals, and an education as well. For many of these little ones their lives outside of this daycare are tragic. Thanks so much for being a blessing, and giving of your gorgeous clothes to these little ones who have so very little in so many ways.

2008-08-11T12:17:00.000-05:00

The pilot of our flight to Sao Paulo took a liking to the girls and invited them to sit in the cockpit and borrow his "hat" The Penca Crew(our adopted family) took us to the airport and sent us off. You guys are the best neighbors, friends etc! Thanks for all you do for our family! We love you guys!

Visiting with the Sink Family & their bunnies--notice the hairless one below

Tony & Nirma--thanks for all of the hilarious and sweet e-mails you send to the girls!

Sam, Maci, Madison, & Makaela
Andrew, Grandpa Steve, Uncle Mark, & Dustin
Auntie Janel & Madison
Beth & Mark
Cousins!!! Minnesota Wild Flowers

Thank you to all of our friends and family who helped to make our trip back to the States awesome! By the third week I was pretty exhausted, as the second we stepped off the plane in the QCA we were off and running--sleep or no sleep. I stopped taking pictures by the fourth week, but I do want to thank those of you who had us over for dinner, took us out to eat, etc--Jay & Shirley--it was so great to relax and visit at your house like old times, Bologi and Lavanha--you make the most awesome Indian food and inspire us to keep on learning, Gina--thanks for the girl time, Todd & Becky--thanks for having us in for Vietnemese food & we look forward to being neighbors someday soon, Don & Kim--you make the most wonderful lasagna & we enjoyed swapping "ex-pat" stories, Jaspreet we'll meet you at Le MeKong next summer, Len & Dr. Fernando, Eleanor & Andre, & Izzy thanks for our last meal at the Thai Restauant--we are still savoring the memory, and look forward to joining you there again next year! We love and miss you all. Prayers and hugs!!! P.S. Jim and Laurie, do you think you could bring Steve & Linda down here to visit us?

2008-08-08T14:34:00.000-05:00

The girls sang for the Wadena church in Portuguese

Walking across the Headwaters of the Mississippi--July 4th

Wading in the Mississippi Headwaters--on their way to the Gulf of Mexico

We toured Lake Itasca on this lovely boat

2008-08-08T13:36:00.000-05:00

Grandma & Grandpa's Amish friends let the girls drive the pony carts around their property

Samantha & Jason, age 2
Jennifer & Autumn
Maci, Samantha, & Makaela-staying warm on the pontoon
Having fun on the lake with Mark & Beth

"Helping" Grandpa
Auction customers--Dwayne & Andrew

Grandma Linda & Grandpa Steve's house under construction
Walking Grandpa's horse
Foerderer gang picnic--thanks Janel!!!
Madison & Samantha eating freezies on the lake
Otter Tail Lake

2008-08-08T13:09:00.000-05:00

View of B & B property from the lake
enjoying LILACS!!!
Our tour guide on the gorgeous trails
Wild Daisies

Tea, fruit, & a sweet bread served with the paper before breakfast
Scrumptious breakfasts served in our room
Andrew at the helm

Hey there! The kids are playing with the neighbor girl, and I am supposed to be cleaning in preparation for the weekend. I actually did get the master bathroom and bedroom clean, but my back is tired, and needs a little down time. These quiet moments as a mom are one of the many priceless treasures that come with parenthood. I sit here surrounded by doll house toys and plastic horses, red paw prints on my white tile floor, scraps of papers with colorful drawings skewed around the computer desk where I sit, all the while I listen to Theodore whine with his whole heart in hopes that the laughing girls outside will allow him to join in the games--ahh, and here they come, he is free at last. The pictures I am posting here are from our 3rd week in the States. This was the week of our anniversary get away in Northern Minnesota at an awesome little B & B where we were served breakfast in our room, treats galore, along with lovely MN activites such as canoing and hiking. The girls stayed with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Steve. We joined them later on in the week and enjoyed several days visiting with family and friends in the north land.

2008-07-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

Nick & Andrea--a gorgeous, sweet couple. The girls really enjoyed this wedding and meeting Nick and Kris, my brothers. The kids also really enjoyed the horseback rides!
Me & my father at Nick's wedding
My sweet cousin/"sister" Megan and her youngest daughter, Rilynn
Autumn & her brothers--Kris & Nick

Autumn & Grandma Bette

Neni and the girls at the Conservatory & Como Zoo, St. Paul, Minnesota

2008-07-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

Eleanor and the flower girls

The Smart Family

We ran into our friend, Tyrone, who happened to be chauffering for his friend's limo business that afternoon...fun car...

Family Picture at VandeVeer Park
Arthur, Becky, & baby Audrey
Misty, Clara, & Brian

Samantha & Clara
Clara & Audrey's baby dedication done by Pastor Vic...Sam & Mak sang for their slideshow--very sweet
Audrey & Makaela

Jaylee's 4th b-day at the Olive Garden

Sam & Tony cruising around the yard Mak learning how to drive the mower with Tony
Back in America!!! ~Out to eat with Bernie and Tony at Mingh Wah~

We had an awesome trip back to America with a 4 day stop in Rio. Tony and Bernie met us at the airport which was such a sweet suprise.

Cristo Redentor
View of Copacabana Beach from our hotel

My favorite beautiful people

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro

2008-07-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

Sugar Loaf Mountain/Pao do Acucar & views from the mountain top after sunset

Salto Do Yucuma is over 1 mile and 1/8 long--the longest waterfall in the world. We went here in late May with some visiting Americans.

We are back home as of today, from our five week stay in the U.S.. We had an awesome time!!! I am going to include some pictures here of some places we visited before we arrived in the States June 18th (Salto Do Yucuma and Rio de Janeiro).

2008-05-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of our trip to Gramado and Canela. It was cold and rainy all 5 days, but we still had fun exploring the amazing natural parks, shopping in the gorgeous German towns, eating chocolate from the local factories, visiting the old German house (pictured above) built entirely without nails (notice the gorgeous cookstove that is still in use to make apple strudel--very yummy), staying at our cozy B & B, eating at the Ratatouille Restaurant, and exploring the Steam Museum (pictured above with the train coming out of the building--very cool). The beauty of this place is amazing. I wish we could do a better job of capturing it on film. There are waterfalls everywhere throughout this mountainous region of the state. It's gorgeous beyond belief.

2008-04-28T10:40:00.001-05:00

Sabbath Morning, April 26th, 2008

It was a little chilly this past Saturday. However, it's very hot again today.

A typical scene. The girls and I love how the horses are a part of traffic.
Horizontina's song and flag.
For one of our Portuguese classes we toured the local museum with teacher Rubi and a professor of history from a local school. One of the most fascinating parts of the class to me, was this tool shown above. It is a plow typically pulled by oxen. That in itself is not so interesting, as we have these in our museums back home also. The neatest thing I learned about this particular plow is that it is still in use today, and not because of religious reasons like with the Amish, but because of necessity. Andrew and I have often wondered how it is that steep hills have crops growing on them. On our trip to the coast this past x-mas, we saw mountainsides covered with beans and corn. It's beautiful to see. Apparently, they use this tool to this day, to prepare the soil for planting on steep hills and mountain sides. Take note at how red the dirt is. The rust colored dirt was one of my worst enemies upon moving to Brazil. I say "was" because thanks to Josamane, our former horse riding instructor, I found a magical solvent--coconut soap. I can now reclaim our clothes and shoes.

Samantha made us this chain that marks how many days we have until summer vacation in the U.S.. (Makaela made a chain too, but it's for her birthday!) We are planning a 5 week trip back starting in the middle of June. Our calendar is full with all of the events and outings we are planning for our vacation--we are all crazy excited--family, friends, restaurants, zoos, museums, libraries, shopping....it's going to be a sweet time, and a nice break from school for the girls.

These green mustaches are for you Neni! The girls love the "Better Than Greens" that you sent, and are always asking for it at meal time. These mustaches are not staged either!!! This is actually what happens when they don't use a straw.

We have a new little market across the street from us that has become a source of "independence" for the girls. They love running over there to pick up groceries that I may need. The entire buying groceries thing has become a little more frequent than it used to be back home. I find we run to get produce at least every other day, as the produce spoils much faster here. As you can see by the picture of Theodore, he sits intently and waits until they arrive safely back home. So sweet he is.

2008-04-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

One of the girls' newest passions--LEGOS! It's so nice that they make "girly" sets too.

2008-04-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

The girls have started their own blog at http://www.samandmak.blogspot.com/ . Please leave comments for them when you visit. They thrive on those little interactions from friends back home. Children are so amazing, so adaptable. They have absorbed right into the culture here. I believe our move back home, will be as much of an adjustment as our move down here was for them. We are trying to keep our ties back home real for them, so they don't forget too much. I think the blog will be another great tool to keep them in touch with "home."

We are moving into fall here. The morning and nights are quite chilly. The girls are loving it--true northerners they are. The cat is staying inside more; he never did care for the cold weather.

Andrew's trip to the States went really well. Thanks to all of you dear friends that fed him! He was booked solid for every lunch and dinner for over two weeks. You guys are the "bestest" friends in the whole world. Thank you!!! The girls and I had our own bit of fun while he was away. The four of us (with Theodore, our cockapoo) camped out in my bedroom. Four beds. Lots of giggling. On Monday nights, Andrew and my date night, the girls and I had our own little party for 3 Mondays. They sure were bummed out this past Monday, when they had to go to bed while we went back to our old schedule. But, Andrew and I were pretty happy. ;)

On Andrew's return, we had Christmas all over again. He came back with 5 suitcases packed with treasures!!! All sorts of lovely things we have been missing...perfumes, lotions, candies, spices, clothes, play dough, toys, etc, and...presents from friends and family. Thanks again to all of you for your love and support. We so appreciate you all back home. We are so enjoying our time here, but at the same time, thank God for the home and friends we have to go back to.
Ciao for now!

2008-04-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

Our neighbor girl, Laura, found this bird today after it had crashed into her window. She was certain it was dead, and was preparing for its "funeral." Makaela insisted it wasn't dead, and asked if she could please care for it. So, here she is trying to nurse the dying bird back to life. He actually revived a little bit, with all of her loving. She told me that she picked the leaves so that when the bird woke up he would feel at home and wouldn't get scared by her shirt.

2008-04-03T06:28:00.000-05:00

Our yard is filled with various varities of hummingbirds, and they are quite tame. Yesterday, the girls and I spent about twenty minutes just sitting and watching them "buzz" around us. The blossoms are from our yellow plum tree. There are fruits for every season.

2008-04-03T06:05:00.000-05:00

Whenever the girls head over to Laura's yard without Theodore, he sits on the couch impatiently waiting for their return.

2008-04-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

Puppy love. The girls had a great time loving on the puppies out at the horse ranch.

2008-04-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

My sweet bunnies. The girls made these little ears in Portuguese class. The gentleman with the girls, his affectionately known as the "bar man." His bar is located along the sidewalk we take to our classes. He always stops us and gives each of us some sort of candy. We in return try to bring homemade treats for him. The girls are grateful that God has provided a "Grandpa" down here as well. In our neighborhood back home, we also had some sweet "grandparents" on our block. So fun...it's a big, small world--people are so much the same in spite of all of our differences.

2008-04-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

The Three Amiga's. These girls have become tight like sisters. They remind me so much of me and my cousin. They never fight, and can play ALL DAY without coming up for air. In the middle of the backyard, the wall between our two yards turns into something similar to a chain link fence. It is here that the girls park their chairs, so they can talk during those times when they are not able to play. Laura also has puppies, so her puppies, and our Theodore also sit and visit. It is the most precious dreamy thing ever. It's going to be such a sad day when these sweet girls have to say "goodbye."

2008-03-26T18:22:00.000-05:00

For Horizontina's 54th birthday, they closed off the main roads and had a bike-a-thon for the kids. It was a riot. The girls loved cruising down main street.

The picture of the couple, is a couple from our local church--Diana and Oseas. The group picture was taken at a large church function in a city about an hour and a half from here. We made some new friends, and met up with a dear old friend, Valdelir (who is to my right). We met Valdelir, in Moline, IL, when his son-in-law transferred there for 18 months around 2002.

The last picture is a view of sunset from our living room window.

2008-02-28T16:11:00.000-06:00

Our toothless beauty. Makaela has lost 4 teeth in the last 2 weeks. She told me today that she looks even prettier without her teeth than she did before she lost them, and she's right-- everyday the girls just get cuter...I love a toothless grin.

Evening service at our church
Our last Sabbath School with Loda. Loda and Marco are our friends that we traveled to Florinaopolis with. Sad, for us, and happy for them, Marco recieved a promotion to another area in John Deere that took them way up to central Brazil near the capital, Brasilia. We miss them dearly.

"Thai Chili and Cashew" made by Andrew. For our date night on Mondays, we no longer can take out from our favorite Indian Restaurant (we miss you Jaspreet), so Andrew has been recreating some favorite dishes from back home. He's such an awesome cook...this was crazy good.
"Thai Garlic Black Pepper" by Andrew...another yummy creation that we used to order from "Exotic Thai" in Moline, IL.

Makaela reading. She is reading beautifully now in English and Portuguese. The phonics are quite different and every once in awhile she'll pronounce the English "i" like the Portuguese "i" with a long "e" sound. It's pretty cute. :)

Makaela's Sunday bouquet

Sir William resting in one of his favorite spots under an orange tree.

Reading...

My friend Marcia, the owner of the English language school, and one of her twin boys--it's either Arthur or Bernardo...not too sure on that.

Finding baby puppies at the park. The mother was a little nervous with the girls holding them, but amazingly sweet about it. We gave her some food to eat and the smart little thing took it over to a tree, and covered it up with some leaves to save for later. The dogs here roam the streets freely. For the most part they are all very friendly. A lot of times they will travel in groups of 4 or 5...just walking down the street wagging their tails. The girls LOVE this!!!

Along with the meat, rice and beans are traditionally served. This evening there was a potpourri of foods--potato salads, fruit, green salad, etc. The food here in the south of Brazil is very German with a touch of Italian. The only seasonings used are salt, butter, and cream.

Here are two of the band members. The pants they are wearing are very popular Gaucho (Brazilian Cowboy) pants, and all of the little boys (and men) where them for fun or for special occasions.
Churrasco--We went to a colleague of Andrew's home for a party a few weeks back where they had a Gaucho Band and Churrasco. Churrascarias (as you can see in the background of this picture) are incorporated into every home. Some homes have two. Here you can seem them barbecuing the meat on "espetos" over the coals. We brought along veggies and pineapple to grill--very tasty.

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Oi Amigos! Today, I am a little under the weather. It's never a good thing to be sick, but for today, I'm grateful, as it gives me the opportunity to sit still and write a little bit about our lives down here. Since the end of our x-mas break, the girls and I have been busy schooling in the mornings and part of the afternoon. The children here in Brazil, have been on summer break for the past 2 months, and just returned to classes this Monday. So, the girls are in good company again! The children here only school until about 11:45 a.m., and then they all go home for lunch, and stay home. It's a beautiful thing. Actually, the entire town closes up for about an hour and half for lunch, so people can go home and eat with their families. It's very charming.

There is a church with a large bell tower situated about 2 blocks from our house. It rings every morning at 6 a.m. in an effort to stir the sleeping community and make sure we are all up and "at em," it rings again at noon to remind us it's lunch time, and once again at 6 p.m., to let us know our work day is complete. It's a beautiful rich sounding bell. The girls now live by the bell. Andrew pulls into the driveway for lunch in tune with that bell. A neat tradition the church has is that when someone dies, they ring the bell one time for each year of the deceased person's life. We're always happy when it rings for a very long time!

Our town, Horizontina, is like something out of a story book. We are able to walk the entire length of the town to any place we'd like--the library, the pet shop, the snack shop, grocery stores, churches, schools, parks, clothing stores, friends homes, and even John Deere. And, to add to the charm, everywhere we go, somebody knows our name (like in Cheers). Last Sunday, when I was walking with Sam, a lady stopped us on the street, and said, "so are you accustomed to Brazil now?" And to Samantha she said, "Where’s your little sister?" Samantha and I were both racking our brains in an effort to recall where we had met her. As I listened attentively to her rapidly flowing Portuguese, I found out that we had never met, but she informed us that "this is a small town, and we pretty much know about everything that is 'different'". And, "different" we are.

2008-01-30T09:21:00.000-06:00

The beautiful breakfast that Andrew and Makaela made for us...pancakes, vegetarian "pigs in a blanket", and fruit kakobs...

Samantha in front of the lot next to our house where they hold "Carnival" activities...which means as of the last 2 weeks and one more week to come we don't sleep very well, as they party until about 6 in the morning--lots of people and crazy loud music...along with a live band of drummers.
Samantha in front of our house...

This is the English school where we study Portuguese
Samantha's Sunday morning bouquet... Every Sunday morning I take one of the girls for a walk while Andrew and the other girl make a special breakfast (and we provide the bouquet on our return). :) The girls love to gather flowers along the way. There are so many varieties and they flourish like weeds...we find them in the ditches along the roads, cracks in the sidewalks, and on trees.

Our church here in Horizontina--it's only 2 blocks from our house
View from our church window...the house next door was demolished and the view is of another house. If you look closely you can see their washing machine on the back porch. Thanks to the tropical climate, this is very common. Most people don't use dryers, so having the washing machine outside is very practical.

At a local River Sabbath Afternoon
Posing in front of an "animals prohibited in the water" sign --lucky for Theo who detests swimming

2008-01-25T06:51:00.000-06:00

Our friend, Shirley Richter, wrote us this poem before our move to Brazil. Her husband Jay, is the president of the Christian radio station KRQC, in Davenport, Iowa. Andrew was his right hand man while we were there, which will explain the adorable punch line at the end of the poem. Thanks Shirley! :)

Our Prayer

As we send you on your way

To a home far away

We assure you we will pray

For your safety day by day

For no distance can erase

The sweet memories we trace

Of the friendship so true

That we have found in you

We'll thank God for you

As you seek adventures new

And pray that He will guide

And stay close by your side

We will pray for His love

To keep your hearts from above

In all of your trials

You'll face across the miles

Now in case you failed to know

Our feelings deep we will show

For our constant prayer will be

Hurry back to KRQC!!

Shirley Richter

2008-01-21T05:43:00.000-06:00

This is one lucky cow...I'm sure glad that the North Dakota cows don't know how good their cousins have it...
Sitting in paradise--Makaela, Samantha, and Camila

2008-01-20T14:49:00.000-06:00

Autumn and Loda in front of a 100 year old church in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil
Overlooking a beach with Junior and Camila

Oyster Traps
First beach we stopped to admire--very quiet and charming

2007-12-25T15:03:00.000-06:00

A sparkly Christmas Eve
The girls each bought me a stuffed animal to replace some favorites I left back home :)

William and Andrew having some bonding time
Samantha reading a Christmas story to us

Merry Christmas to all and thank you so much for the phone calls and e-mails! We have the best friends and family! Lots of love to you all from us! :)

2007-12-13T16:59:00.001-06:00

Riding in the "Pista"

Vegetarian Churrasco
Samantha at a local waterfalls Sabbath afternoon

Oops...girls cleaning up after "decorating" the wall with mud... :)
Baby Kisses

Kissing India Makaela trotting in the "pista"

Thanksgiving Concert for the English Language School where we study Portuguese
Theodore "loves" to swim...poor puppy

Three amigas--our neighbor girl, Laura, dancing with the girls

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Hello friends and family! I hope you all are enjoying the festivites of this season.

The girls keep reminding me that it simply does not feel like Christmas here to them. (Even though we do have a couple of plastic snowmen downtown). They miss our get togethers with close friends and family, caroling, delivering x-mas cookies, special plays, concerts, Silk Soy Egg Nog, fluffy x-mas trees, snow...I've been trying to make it as Christmassy as possible in this gorgeous tropical climate, but it wasn't until last night that I won them over onto my side through a beautiful song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "Christmas is All in the Heart." The chorus is: "Christmas is all in the heart, that's where the feeling starts. And like a fire inside it touches every part..and even if no white snow falls, well that's all right because, the joy can still be found wherever you are...x-mas is all in the heart" After this song they were feeling amazingly better, so we played our favorite Amy Grant x-mas song, "Sleigh Ride" and grabbed our mops and brooms and did our annual silly galloping around the house on our "horses"...while singing along. I wonder if they will still do this with me when they are 16--I hope so. :)

We have been invited to spend 10 days in Florianapolis over x-mas with some Brazilian friends, Loda and Marcos. We have chosen to stay here for x-mas eve and day and then join them in Florianopolis the 26th, so that way we can keep some of our x-mas traditions alive for the girls. The girls love to sleep in front of the x-mas tree every Christmas eve, and open their stockings the second their eyes open. The city we are visiting, Florianopolis, is along the southern coast of Brazil. We haven't been there yet, but are told it's gorgeous--hundreds of little islands with beautiful beaches. I guess we'll still have a white x-mas--it'll just be a sandy one.

Andrew is doing well. He's been crazy busy the past few weeks as there are several Americans here that he's helping. There is a project that requires considerable help from Moline over the next few months, so we'll be having many visitors which is nice. We enjoy having them over for dinner and talking in English!!! :) It's so exciting for us. The girls think it's the best thing to listen to people who can pronounce their names "right." And, they are gracious enough to bring things from home for us that we can't buy here--like peanut butter and fruit roll ups!

The girls have been very concerned that I didn't have my nativity this year, and have been asking Andrew about it. Andrew unbenownced to us asked our neighbors, Bernie and Tony, to find it in our storage room back home. (Thank you Bernie and Tony, we miss you guys!!!) Then our friend, Balaji, picked it up at their house, and gave it to one of the American's who was traveling down here. When it was delivered to Andrew, he took it in to a local store and had it gift wrapped with Portuguese writing and gave it to me this week. I obviously assumed it was a present from here. It was a special suprise find out it was my nativity from home. So, now I have my nativity and the girls are thrilled. I swear I married the sweetest guy ever.

I hope this finds all of you well. God bless and hugs from all of us to you.

Autumn, Andrew, Samantha, Makaela, Sir William, Theodore, and Tuletta the Turtle (our newest and tiniest family member)

2007-11-20T16:25:00.000-06:00

Hello Dear Friends,

Thank you for the e-mails, snail mail, and phone calls. We so enjoy hearing from you guys and the goings on in your lives. It's been busy here--great, but busy. I've been taking pictures, but haven't had time to upload them yet. Since, my last post, we've had several tropical storms. The first violent storm we encountered was the last week in October. Andrew and I woke up at 2 a.m., to the sound of screaming wind attempting to whip our windows open. It was at this moment that I realized why all of the windows around here have a metal or wood covering over the outside that you use at night. It sounded like the windows were going to burst from the pressure, so we grabbed the girls and put them in a sheltered area away from any windows. And, that's where we spent a large part of the night. Samantha described the wind as wild cats fighting. In the morning we suryved the damage--tons of debri, our poolside table and one chair was broken, and everything that we had outside was gone or scattered to the end of the yard--thankgoodness for our high walls around the property, or else we would have lost everything. Many houses had their roofs blown right off, inluding our church and a part of our language school. The school had extensive flooding. The town next to us reported 1,000 houses with roofs torn off. Crazy.

Another interesting aspect to life in Brazil is the sensitivity of our power and water. It seems at least one day a week we are without power, or water, and more often than not our phone and internet. We've been without power for 4 days at one time, and water for 36 hours. We are fully stocked with drinking water, so it's not a huge deal...but, on several occasions I've had to use the pool water to wash my dishes!!! I never thought of myself as a camper, but I think that maybe by the time we get back home I'll be able to "ruff it" with the best of them. Thankfully we have a gas stove, so I am able to boil the water prior to use. I actually have to boil the water when washing the dishes because our house is not plumbed with hot water. Two weeks ago (3 months since I had had a relaxing bath) Andrew and I attempted to fill our whirl pool tub with hot water. We had four pots of water heating at one time, and a hose attached to our shower pumping water into the tub. It took us 2 hours to fill it, but it was so WORTH it. :) Don't ask me why we have a whirl pool tub with no plumbed hot water.

Andrew's work is going fine. He's able to understand everything in his meetings now--not every fine detail, but he can follow the topics well which is a nice break through. The girls are also enjoying their activities immensely and speak Portuguese beautifully. I will upload some pictures of the storm soon. Take care and God bless!

Love, The Foerderer Family

2007-10-28T18:57:00.000-05:00

Oi! Tudo Bem para todos amigos Brasilados! Hoje, nos tivemos uma festa para a Samantha. Ela tem nove anos agora! Ela é muito feliz. Nós convidamos oito amigazinhas de Samantha para a festa. Todos as criancas nadaram em piscina. Que lindo! Eles nao quiseram sair. Eu acho as meninas quiseram ficar aqui para a toda da noite. :)

Hello to all of my dear American friends! We miss you. Samantha and I celebrated our birthdays this past weekend. We had a tremendously wonderful time. All of my gifts were flowers--bem bonita. I recived a cactus--gorgeous (I've always wanted one), a gorgeous orchid plant with about 20 blooms on it, a beautiful chrysathemum, and two other flowers I don't recall the names of, but I need to find out and write it down!!! :) Samantha made out like a bandit as usual! We had our family party on Saturday, and today (Sunday) we had a pool party with Samantha's closest girlfriends and one boy. Samantha's nanny came with her husband, and Samantha's riding teacher and her mom and brother. We didn't invite any other adults as we wanted to keep it small. We once again were the only English speakers, and we had a great time! I understand so much more than I can speak. At the end of the party we had some moms drop in and visit also. All of us women are planning a trip to Argentina to do some shopping together. Apparently, it's a lot cheaper to purchase things there. I love these times when I am completley immeresed in the language. The women I have had the priveledge of knowing are so fun and so sweet. They have been some of the best teachers for Portugese.

2007-10-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

Above are pictures of the girls playing with our neighbor girl, Laura. The picture with the group of girls singing is of one of the 5 Portuguese classes they are taking. The top picture is of Theodore sporting his latest hair style.

I am posting a letter Samantha wrote for her Social Studies class. Her assignment was to imagine she was an explorer in a new land and to write home a persuasive letter to her friends and family in the hope that they would make the journey also. Instead of imagining this, I had her write a letter about the new land she is living in and encourage all of you to make the journey to visit us! :)

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Dear Friends and Family,

I invite you all to come to Brazil, Rio Grande Du Sul, Horizontina. The trip might be hard, but that doesn't matter. We have seven fruit trees in our yard. Little yellow plums, oranges, berries, mangoes--you name it. The flowers here are beautiful. The butterflies here are beautiful and huge. The landscape is beautiful. And, there's a place that you could (if you were here) pick sugar cane and eat it for free...mmm. There are some interesting things though like lizards living on our walls--bedroom, kitchen, and all. They don't bite. We have a pool, a big back yard, and a nice girl next door to play with. So please come, will you?

Love,

Samantha

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Hugs to you all from us! Autumn, Andrew, Samantha, Makaela, Sir William, and Theodore

2007-10-12T19:19:00.000-05:00

Hello! :) Today is a national holiday in Brazil called the Day of the Children. It's a very important holiday here--all of the businesses shut down and families do special activities to celebrate their children. The girls had a fabulous day and are enjoying the extra holidays we have here! :)

I am posting some pictures of the girl's horseback riding lessons. They are having a great time. It's another fun way for us to pratice our Portuguese. As of this week, I am also taking lessons. I didn't realize it would be as tricky as it is...trying to learn something new in a language that is new! :) I am learning to ride in such a way that you don't use the riegns for much direction--all of the cues are given through my feet and some voice if necessary. She's an awesome horse with an amazing amount of grace and intelligence. I have to say though my legs are crazy sore from my last lesson in which we did a lot of trotting. The three of us much prefer galloping!!! Ouch!

The girls are learning how to do figure 8's, circles, spins, and they can back her up. The girls use the riegns and voice commands for the horse as their legs are too short for them to give her any foot instruction. :) Not only do the girls ride her, but they also bathe and brush her after every ride. I think they like this part of the afternoon almost as much as riding "India."

We all send our love to you from Brazil! Ate nesta semana!

2007-09-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

2007-09-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

2007-09-25T14:01:00.000-05:00

2007-09-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Itaipu Dam

We also had the opportunity to vist Itaipu--the world's largest dam. It's huge! We drove around it, beside the bottom side of it, and on top of it...it's intimidating. Paraguay recieves 95% of all its power from this dam, and Brazil 20%.

Near the end of the weekend we visited a bird park where they have over 800 birds. Things tend to be a lot more hands on here then in the states, so we walked among gigantic birds who were not in cages. There is a Maca (parrot) cage that has approximatley 50 Maca's that you can walk in "at your own risk." Andrew chose not to go in, but filmed the experience for us safely outside of the cage. We girls couldn't resist being so close to the parrots. The Maca's love to dive bomb right over your head while squealing loudly--it's hilarious!!! :) We all held a parrot at the very end of the day. What a treat it was!

2007-09-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we traveled to Iguacu Falls. It's the largest waterfall in the world as far as actual width and number of falls go, but second to Victoria Falls in Africa by sheer volume of water. The falls lies between Brazil and Argentina. We traveled through Argentina as it was the shortest route to the falls. We had to cross over on a ferry to reach Argentina. The ferry was a fun adventure for us. Making our way through customs was an adventure in itself as we speak little Portuguese and in Argentina they speak Spanish which is similar, but at the same time, very much its own language. We traveled to the falls with 5 other Americans who were familar with what needed to be done, and they were a huge help.

I'm posting a picture of the girls in front of a banana tree that was by the customs stop in Argentina--there are banana trees everywhere--well fruits of all kinds really. I love the way banana trees look with their big leaves. Below the pic of the girls and the banana tree is a picture of some birds nests that are shaped like long skinny saks. It was fun to watch the birds fly in and out of them as they brought their food into the nest and hunkered down in the bottom and appeared to be eating.

The racoon like animal with the girls (in front of the garbage cans) are Iguacu's "maskot" as they can be found all over the falls and don't have the least bit of timidity. They are professional beggars.

2007-09-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

These are also pictures from the mission. The cactus is growing in what used to be the jesuits quarters.

The palm tree had 6 or more wild parrots living in it. They were very noisy, but ever so shy. I never did get a good picture of them.

2007-09-12T11:06:00.000-05:00

2007-09-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Oi do Brasil! I hope all is well with you! We have been crazy busy, but I wanted to stop and post a few pics before too much more time passes. I really should be studying my Portuguese as I have an assignment due tomorrow, and I just need to study period! :) We are at a point now where we feel comfortable going out to the stores etc, as we can get along okay. My nanny is a whiz at understanding my broken Portuguese and she helps me communicate with others when I don't understand them as she is very familiar with the vocabulary I know and simply rewords things into my vernacular. :) The girls are doing great with their Portuguese. They went to their first birthday party Saturday evening with our little neighbor girl. They play with her on a daily basis. She is one of their best teachers! :)

Last Thursday evening, Grazi (our nanny) and her husband Max, brought us over some sugar cane. Max "peeled" and cut up 4 stalks for us. It was our first experience with it and it was a good one. This Thursday they are going to take us out to the country where they find it growing along the roads, and to a little stand where they sell sugar cane juice.

On Sunday, we went to San Miguel Missoes. It's an old mission from the mid 1700's. The movie The Mission with Jeremy Irons and Robert Deniero was partly based on this place. (Jennifer and Margaret I think I made you watch this film about 10 years ago--as I recall it didn't go over to well!) :) I still love this movie and really enjoyed walking through the ruins and sharing some of the stories with the girls.

The weather has warmed up here, and the girls have been swimming in our pool often. They have turned into little brown choclate beans.

2007-08-29T14:53:00.000-05:00

Last night we found a little gecko in our home schooling room. I will post a picture soon. This afternoon the girls took him outside to hold him. The little guy got scared and ran up Samantha's arm underneath her long sleeved shirt. She in return became scared and tried to grab his tail, which he wisely released himself from. Samantha then came running into the house crying because the tail was wiggling on the sidewalk and the gecko was hiding in her sleeve. The gecko was released in our yard and seemed fine, and Samantha learned about the beautiful survival gift God gave the gecko. The pictures are of the girls picking plums in our back yard. They are scrumptions! We wish we could share them with you. :)

2007-08-28T21:29:00.000-05:00

I have tried to upload more pics, but there are some troubles on Bloggers website--I have some new pics of the girls picking fruit from our plum tree, of the girls drinking their first Chimerhoa Tea, and of them making cookies with their Nanny, Grazi. Hopefully I can get those up soon. We are getting our shipment on Friday! Yeah!!!

Here is a pic of the girls monkey and cat that they made in their Portugese class. Ciao!

2007-08-28T19:46:00.000-05:00

Some snap shots of our house and yard...

2007-08-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

Hello From Brazil!!! We have been without internet service off and on for about a week. Our phones should arrive on Friday! Yeah!!!

Here is a picture of the girls last Sabbath at the local park. :)

2007-08-03T08:29:00.000-05:00

Meeting beautiful Clara Grace Whieling...it was so special to be able to meet both babies before moving.

2007-08-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

Saying "good bye" to Thumper the little bunny we rescuesd after a Thunder Storm. Parker Gott adopted him from us. Thank you Parker!

Here we are saying good bye to baby Gabriel Richter. We praise God that we were able to meet him before our move.

2007-07-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

I'm going to go backwards in time a little bit with my pictures. This is "moving day." Our wonderful neighbors came out to say goodbye. We are so blessed to have such great neighbors.

Here is a pic of our van that drove us to O'Hare. The next pic is of us entering O'Hare and of the animals getting checked through customs. Whew...what an ordeal. Everyone was so nice though. It was actually easier traveling with the girls than alone, as we got MUCH better service. We got to cut through both customs lines at O'Hare and Sau Paulo because some sweet ladies felt sorry for the girls. :)

2007-07-25T09:59:00.000-05:00

'Oi' do Brasil! We arrived safely Thursday morning at 2:30. The girls and the animals travelled beautifully inspite of a 6 hour delay. Everyone is well today. Andrew endured a bought with food poisoning for several days, but he is now fully recovered. I was solo for the first few days while Andrew recovered...many adventures to report on as I attempted to speak with the locals and drive the stick shift through their curvy and voraciously bumpy roads.

The "Kao Kilati" is the kennel that is taking care of Sir William and Theodore.

The picture with Andrew and the girls is in front of our hotel room. We have a lovely spacious aparment to stay in until the house is ready. Yesterday the girls helped the "maid" clean the sidewalks. The maid, Diana, would spray the walk down with water while the girls would "scrub" with their brooms. I'll have to post pics of that later. :-)

2006-10-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

October 26, 2006 Autumn's Birthday

The kids and Andrew spoiled me with beautiful cards that made me cry, lovely lotions, silly socks with spots for my toes (the girls LOVE those, so I have many pairs) , the Casting Crowns cd with my favorite song "Who Am I", etc...plus a lovely brownie and vanilla ice cream cake. Than to top it all off we went out to my favorite Chinese Restaurant to eat General Tao's Tofu!!!

Thank you for all of the wonderful phone calls and the singing...it was a special day.

2006-10-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

Shady Knoll Pumpkin Patch
October 25, 2006
Play date with our friends, Laurie, Ella, James, Marteen, Jade, Cylar, and Cabrie

The kids had a great time just running around and being kids!

2006-10-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

Samantha at her strings ensemble practice. The group is playing their first concert at the Festival of Trees in Davenport, Iowa on November 20th.

2006-10-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

Pony rides at the "Pride of the Wapsi" Pumpkin Patch

Ocober 15, 2006

2006-10-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

"Pride of the Wapsi" fun on October 15, 2006

2006-10-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

Pride of the Wapsi
Long Grove, IA
October 15, 2006

This was a wonderful day filled with lots of animals...kittens, bunnies, hedgehogs, monkeys, ferrets, an albino skunk, cows, goats, ponies, etc. .. :)

2006-10-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

Pride of the Wapsi

Long Grove, Iowa

October 15, 2006

2006-10-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Apple Picking in Coal Valley, Illinois!

We've already made 10 apple pies since Sunday! They are so lovely and super "duper" good for you! :)

2006-10-12T15:35:00.000-05:00

Makaela's violin arrived September 29, 2006!

Here is Makaela and Teacher Sink at her first lesson. She is doing really well! :) She can already play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "At Pierrot's Door." She is a delight to teach and is catching on so easily. I think all of the years of watching Samantha have made this a natural transition for her.

2006-09-27T19:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day...Makaela biked all by herself today! She has been practicing all summer, but has been a tad cautious. However, today at the church parking lot she took off on Sofia Van Shaik's bike. It was such a sweet moment. She is so proud of her newfound freedom.

Today was also our last play date with the Van Shaik family. Samantha has claimed Chrsitian as her "best friend" for several years now. She is taking their move fairly hard. We have been praying that God will send another special friend her way. For their farewell concert, she is going to play her violin and read a letter she has written to him about all of the things she will miss doing together.

Yesterday we had a special outing at a local elementary school. A friend of ours teaches first grade and invited the girls to come and see her classroom. Samantha brought her violin and spoke to the class about it and then played a couple of pieces. The kids loved it and had lot of questions for her (many of which Makaela answered as she is also starting violin) . :) The neatest part was when the teacher asked Samantha to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," as she supposed that would be a tune the kids would recognize. Well, Samanatha said she wasn't sure she knew that one well enough by ear, so she asked if she could play "Jesus Loves Me" instead. The teacher agreed, and half of the kids hummed along while she played! :) It was precious. I didn't have my digital camera that day, but I'll post pictures of it when my friend sends them our way. (Her classroom is gorgeous). God bless!

2006-09-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

This is our math coach, Dr. Susan. She is delightful and quite witty. I have really appreciated her assistance and the encouragment she offers to the children.