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! :)

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!!!

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.

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.!!! :)

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.

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!

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!!! :)