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.

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. :)

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!

Some snap shots of our house and yard...

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. :)

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

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.