Sunny and Breezy in Florida

We're here! Here's how the journey looked:

Left our house in Brazil, Tuesday, March 27:

After showering, lunching, one child throwing-up her lunch all over her clean hair and body, and having showered her again....

We left in what was thought to have been an air-conditioned van that Edil had hired to take the four of us, Edil's sister and niece to help, two cats in a cage, 8 bags, 3 carry-ons, and a stroller. Wrong! Was not air-conditioned. It was broken, the driver informed us. Which meant windows down, street dust and grease layered on our fresh clean faces and hair, hair blown around, dirty lungs, traffic noise, etc. along the 1-1/2 hour ride to the airport. I was not happy at all. One of the cats threw-up along the way. Was nice of her to do it by the door of the carrier so it was an easy clean-up later.

We were so thankful for Edil's sister and her daughter and the van driver to be there to help us with the kids, cats and bags. What a blessing! I don't know how we would have managed without them. American Airlines got us through the line easily by bringing us and our stuff to a special counter. It took us about 30 minutes to check-in (after getting to the counter!) It was tough walking away from the kitties as their carrier left the check-in counter. We said good-bye to them and wished them a good and safe flight.

Had pizza with our entourage before thanking them and saying our good-byes. We were blissfully ushered through security and passport control because we had kids with us. We were at our gate before we knew it, and on our plane. Leaving Sao Paulo at 9:20 p.m. I had to do what the vet told me. He said to check-on the cats and forget about them while we flew. I did think of them at times during the flight wondering how they were handling it all.

The kids did very well on the flight. After their meal, they both fell asleep for the entire flight. One peed their pants while asleep. I forgot to put on the diaper for that not to happen. When we arrived in Miami, I said that it'd be O.K. as mommy would quickly get some fresh clothes out of the suitcase (I had meant to bring some in the carry-on but in the rush of leaving I had forgotten!) when we got to the baggage claim. I was informed by thus child that it was, "O.K. mommy, it's all dry now!" That gave me a chuckle.

I couldn't believe the cats were sitting there in their cage next to the baggage claim area before we got there. They were perfectly fine! Our bags were all there already as well. We hired someone to help us carry everything. We were not made to have our bags inspected. Our friend was there WAITING for us those wee hours of the morning when we arrived. We got everything loaded into his double cab truck and off we went! So smooth. So easy!

The rest of the day was a bit more difficult trying to find a kennel for the cats to stay in while our house is being made ready for us. I found a suitable place at the end of the day. It was an exhausting day, but we were and are so thankful for prayers that went up for us as it went a lot more smoothly than I could have imagined.

With Kids, Cats and Bags...off to the airport tomorrow!

I highly recommend finding some way to make people think you are leaving a day before you actually leave. Amazingly, I feel like the packing part, even though it is a move, went a lot smoother than I expected (I had my wonderful sister-in-law and a good friend helping me with that, or else I'd be completely lost). There is still a bit of last minute packing to be done. It's hard to not want to spend time with friends and relatives who come by to hang-out. And it doesn't help when your husband isn't around to entertain while you finish the details. Yes, he left everything to the last minute...again! I did do my best in warning him weeks ago about some of the things that needed to be done. Honest, I did! Of course, life would be too dull to do things ahead of time. We just love living on the edge and the gritting of our teeth on a wild ride. Yeah, right!

I am mostly concerned about the cats and how they'll do with the travel. One of them is a nervous type. Hopefully they'll seek the comfort of one another and not scratch each other to pieces in the same carrier. We have an entourage going with us to the airport to help with kids, cats and bags. That is a relief. I've never flown with this much stuff before.

The kids are very excited for the trip. Because of friends visiting, they got to bed very late tonight, unfortunately. We will arrive in Miami very early Wednesday morning. Will write and tell all about the journey when we get there.

Checking-in on a Saturday night

It's almost bedtime and I thought I'd drop-in to update. We're readying to leave on schedule. I went to the mall up the street this afternoon trying in vain to find some large boxes (like plastic type) or some affordable extra luggage for tomorrow's major packing session. I have a small work crew (sister-in-law and a friend) coming over to help. I am missing a Target store right about now! I found nothing suitable for our packing needs even after trekking through the longest mall in South America! http://wikimapia.org/104141/

Wow...take a look. Here's the mall and if you scroll over you can see points of interest (according to "Wikimapia"). If you can see that big building, it's the mall (middle point being the main food area), if you click the left arrows and then use the down arrows a ways, you will find a point of interest (denoted by a square which, if you float over with your cursor, will make words appear) that says, "Restaurante da Gaucha," which is actually on the street we live on!!! We often get take-out for lunch at that place. We know the owner (having lived here so long of course; it's a neighborhood establishment.) How funny that's it's denoted on the map here. I had no idea it was famous!

And here's an interesting, if not sad, note. It used to be called, Restaurante do Gaucho (notice the o's have changed to a's). That's because Gauchos are a people group from the South of Brazil. The former owner, a man originally from the South of Brazil, and his wife have separated. His wife has the restaurant now, and therefore, Gauch"o", has become Gauch"a". She's doing very well with it, by the way. There are always very long lines there for lunch.

Stun Mode

Today, I felt like a very tired deer in the headlights. So overwhelmed with another move and packing. I just feel like walking away from the entire process. We are contemplating delaying our trip for one more week, mainly because our house in Florida won't be ready for us when we get there, our cats will have to be put in a kennel when we get there if we leave now, and there's so much to do here. It'd be nice to get another week to have a couple of days of rest. I don't think it will happen though. I do believe we will be leaving here in a few short days! I am exhausted though and hope that I wake-up tomorrow morning refreshed and ready to tackle the main part of the packing.

Tonight's class

Just returned tonight from teaching the second of two classes. It was a lot of fun tonight as the last 45 minutes of class, we sat in a circle and brainstormed of ways to serve in an urban setting (and specifically this city - which is also a university town).

The students also shared about ways they are already serving the city. What was interesting was that the students began to see that, while some of the things that they mentioned were good, they were typical of the way church groups function, remaining comfortable doing their service, but not really becoming part of the community they serve.

For example, one girl shared about how she and a group from her church like theater and dance, and how they go to the city center on the weekend to do open-air dramas (evangelistic themes), and how it is something "different." I told her that it was wonderful and I know that people are touched by that, but that it really wasn't that different as it's been done for years. I challenged her to think about taking that same group from church who love theater and dance, and becoming a part of the city's theater club, or dance club, or theater/dance classes, becoming part of the community of artists in town, and loving and serving their fellow artists.

I saw the light go on in her eyes. She suddenly got very excited and said that she'd heard of a town nearby opening a drama school and how she'd be interested in that. I challenged her to think about sharing with the drama group from church in being a part of that, or something similar. Rather than remaining within the confines of the walls of the building where they meet, but rather, relating with and becoming a real part of the community in an integral way.

It sounds like such an obvious idea, but "church" has become traditionally within the walls of a building, and a place that has become comfortable. Difficult is being out there with people who are in need of a hand, in need of a friend, in need of someone who cares. That is what the church is called to be. This is what I was excited to share with this group of students --- and I think they got it!

Back to the packing... I am in such a huge dilemma about the cats coming with us. First of all, I found out that the house we'll be living in won't be open to us until after the first of the month, as the present tenants won't be out until then. We will have to put the cats in a kennel. I wasn't wanting to put them through that after getting off an international flight! Another thing, the vet wants them in one cage, but I'm afraid they'll fight. He didn't think so because they'll both be scared and try and seek comfort from one another. I wish we could just find a nice ranch or farm for them to live at here. I'm just overwhelmed with all the details of this move to think about bringing them.

We are so looking forward to the point when we are settled and already have lots of ideas for the work there that we are excited to implement. If you saw our house right now though, you wouldn't know that we have to be moved and on a plane in a few short days from now!

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Drained

Like my computer just was drained of its power, and I lost the entire post I had just written, I too am drained (esp. having to post again.) Hopefully, the computer will maintain power and recharge and I won't lose my post again. But... there's a short in the electric plug so it's not guaranteed!

Already drained from having taught until late the night before, today's sorting and packing among other things has just about done me in. Thankfully, class went very well and I was privileged to share with a group of students in their early to mid-20s all eager to make a difference and not content to lead a complacent life. They kept me until well after class was over with questions and wanting to chat.

The subject was "True Spirituality," which is being intentional in loving and serving your neighbor (those we come in contact with), and helping the poor, orphans, widows, and anyone who is in need. This being without judgement, because Christ died for all, and because that person was made in His image and is deeply loved by the Creator. Also, regardless of what that person thinks or believes; just because of Christ's infinite love for us all. Tomorrow night we will have a discussion on practical ways we can serve in an urban setting.

Sorting and packing and stepping back to see that, even after eliminating well over 3/4 of our possessions, there still seems to be an overwhelming amount of things I want to take with us. That mostly being things that were wedding gifts, albums, pictures (of course), some bedding, a few books and other items. Just imaging trying to get it all within our baggage limit makes my stomach turn.

Then there's the cats. Daisy and Pepper will almost definitely be coming with us. The vet was here today (makes house calls) to give them their shots (2 each) and fill-out their health exam paperwork for the Ministry of Agriculture. We have to go to a local airport to get these papers stamped with approval for the kitties to get to come with us. They're already booked on our flight. The vet recommended we take them in one large carrier. That will save us some money as you have to pay per carrier.

What did me in almost completely today, was watching Pepper transform into the Tasmanian Devil cat when it was her turn for the vet to see her. She went completely mad. I expected this behavior from Daisy, who was amazingly calmer than I remember her being in that situation. I did not, however, expect it from Pepper, who is usually more laid-back in nature. It scared and upset me. I had to leave the room while Edil held her and the vet gave the shots. She had to be put into a pillowcase (after muzzling failed) and injected through the case. I was afraid of both Edil and the vet getting ripped to pieces by her flailing claws.

The whole thing was exhausting. It made me concerned about how she might react on the trip or after we arrive. This evening, she is still obviously mad over the whole ordeal. She is keeping to herself. And like I mentioned, she's usually a cat who is very laid-back most of the time. If she doesn't watch herself, I just might have to ask to divert the plane to China!

We're Completely Nuts!

The countdown is on. We're into our last week in Brazil. We're packing-up our house and moving (again!) It looks like we'll be taking along our two cats, Daisy and Pepper. I just bought one cat carrier today so that they can go in and out of it and get used to it. Make friends with it so to speak. They'll be in one for hours traveling; they might as well get used to it now. When our vet approves the one I picked-out, I will purchase the second one. If the airlines will let us take them together in one cage, the vet said it'd be best. I can exchange this carrier for a bigger one for both of them if that is the case. I am doubting that, however. He said if not, to ask the airlines to have the carriers facing towards each other so that the cats can see one another.

They have these very handy absorbent pads to line the carrier with in case there's any tinkling along the way. The vet also said you can put a water bottle in there so that the cats can lick it (I guess like the kind that hamsters use?) Also, not to give them tranquilizers because their equilibrium won't function and they could hurt themselves falling when moved, rather than brace themselves naturally.

Imagine the scene at the airport, large quantity of baggage, kids, cats in carriers - UGH! I am going to recruit a team to take us to the airport. I can imagine the dirty looks we'll get with all of our stuff. Business travelers don't tolerate well travelers who are moving house! Especially travelers with small children. You should have seen the looks and heard the sighs when going through security last time with our kids. Taking-off shoes, putting them back on, ourselves and the kids, putting on jackets, lugging off the carry-ons and rounding-up the kids. The guy at the X-Ray machine got his fun accelerating the conveyor belt when I was trying to get my computer back into its case. It flopped and tumbled out of my hand when the belt sped underneath. I could see him smirk. I guess that's how they have their fun.

I pray that the return trip goes more smoothly than we can imagine. This week, I can't imagine being very calm. I am teaching two nights this week at a School of Urban Missions. Why I volunteered to teach the last week we are here I will never know. Edil taught two nights last week and inbetween teaching, he took a trip to Rio de Janeiro, 10 hours by bus to his destination, to visit his bestfriend and bestfriend's family.

I also forgot how long it takes to prepare a class in two different languages. I first prepare the material in English, then translate into Portuguese. Then I have to remember how to express a point in a way that I'm understood - which is tricky sometimes with the vocabulary. The worst part is, most nights the foghorn is going off inside my head with the fog around my brain starting to settle in. Let's hope it's a clear headed night tomorrow!

For MOM

I'm posting these pictures for my mom, who I just talked to on the phone. She's never seen our website since she's still afraid of the computer (wink) so I'm posting some new photos of the kids for her to see. My sister-in-law and my niece will be over to her place for a visit and can look-up our site for her. Hi Mom, Eva and Rebecca (xoxoxo)!

Invited to a club in the country last Saturday- The kids' pool. (Our friend's 5 year old son is also in the picture above.

Fearless 3 year old at the top of the slide!

Papai at the bottom catches Isabella.

Isabella coming down the chute.

Liam being "caught" by Papai.

Kids eating BBQ'ed skewers.

Kids exploring.

These gals have a dream job!

They travel around the world visiting projects in order to give global issues a face and a name, and to help people become aware of and know how to donate to these projects. Check them out:

Friend of a Friend

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I thought it'd be fun to take a peek at Ireland for St. Patrick's Day on this live webcam. Let me know if you see anything interesting happening:

Dublin, Ireland - From O'Connell Bridge

(For those who had tried earlier, I have attached a different link as the one before wasn't working.)

Cousin Leonardo

One of the fun things about being back in Brazil is that the kids to get to see their Brazilian cousins. We recently had a visit from Edil's nephew, Leonardo. Of course, it was love at first sight for Isabella:

Robin, Around the Island, has tagged me to complete the phrase:
Real Mothers are...

So here goes:


Real Mothers are learners. We don't pretend to know it all, not even to our five year old full of questions about the universe. We make mistakes and have to say we're sorry sometimes. We admit that we are learning along each stage of our child's development. In so doing, we are learning about ourselves, our limits, our strengths, areas that we need improvement. The moment we feel we've figured "it" out, things change and we realize that we still have a lot to learn about how to handle that new challenge and new phase of our child's life. Like our children, we are on a journey and are growing and learning life's lessons. We learn from our children (especially how to have patience and self-control so needed in parenting), and we also learn from other moms who have gone before us or who are at the same place and experiencing the same challenges. Real Mothers are learners and God uses my children to teach me something new everyday.

(O.K., I hope this doesn't read like an English 101 essay writing assignment :))

Something Fun

I saw this on my friend Terri's (Territorial) blog and decided to try it:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Whew! Just what I needed.

We had a very nice, desceptively relaxing (with all that we have hanging over our heads) weekend. Today, we went out with friends to a club that they belong to, out in the country. It was on acres of lawn surrounded by tall shady trees, with three swimming pools. It was a great place to breathe in fresh air and enjoy the scenary. We barbequed, played in the pool with our kids, and got to watch them accomplish new milestones of sorts. Liam began to really swim for the first time. He watched our friend's son, who is the same age, holding his breath and swimming briefly underwater, took courage and did the same (in the kids' wading pool). In his own time as usual. He was quite proud of himself. Both Liam and Isabella enjoyed the swirly waterslide that went into a larger pool. Edil and I were busy catching them as they shot off the slide and into the water. Isabella, oh fearless one, was as fast as a bullet down a barrel. The water was so refreshing, and seemed to suck the stress right out of my body. It was a wonderful and memorable day with good friends.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

I found this quiz on another blog and tried it out. I guess if you read my posts, you can agree or disagree with the results. (Interestingly though, I have functioned in four of the different roles listed at the end!)

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Looking towards the rest of the month

It's hard to realize that we have less than three weeks left here. We have already shifted into "living" mode rather than "moving" mode. That obviously needs to change...and fast! We have a friend helping us around the house and with going through things to decide what to take and what to leave (give-away, sell, etc.) It's also been frustrating not having regular transport as we haven't even been able to frequent many of the places we used to when we lived here.

The oppressive heat we've been experiencing lately here has made productivity an even bigger challenge. Not only do we have all the packing-up of the house to do, but Edil and I will be teaching the last two weeks we're here at the ministry house. They hold a night school there twice a week, the School of Urban Missions. Edil teaches next week, and I the week after. We have enjoyed spending time with the staff that runs the house. They come over to hang-out with us when they can. I will be teaching on Mercy Ministries and on the Missional Church (the church going out and being real to, loving and serving people, rather than a church being a "club for Christians" and expecting the world to come to us.) It's been a while since I've taught and I am looking forward to it. Although I think that last week is going to be crazy (with all the packing to be done.) Prayers appreciated!

The Cats

Daisy May (photo by Liam)



Pepper Kitty with Isabella

Pepper Sue: Black and white, relaxed, playful, bratty,
funny, social.

Daisy May: Calico, sweet, intelligent, social,
easily spooked.

Our cats. They love to be with us, hate to be without us. We have been trying to figure-out what to do with them. If we could find a good home for them here in Brazil (that is, someone who will care for them the way we do, not let them out on the street to get killed, or have property where they could roam safely, and would take the two of them together) we would leave them here. Otherwise, we are faced with moving the two of them to Florida with us. We love our cats and would like them with us, but the thought of putting them through traveling and not knowing what the situation is in the house we are moving to, makes us want to leave them with someone here more than take them with us. However, this possibility is seeming less and less likely as time goes by.



It is very difficult to find someone in Brazil who loves cats. Brazilians are mostly "dog" lovers. Poisoning cats is very common here, sadly. Our cats don't go out on the street as Daisy was once hurt by someone (we don't know what happened to her, but she came home one night several years ago bleeding from her mouth. The roof of her mouth was split-open (you can still see the scar across her nose from the wiring the vet had to put in to hold it together to heal. We think someone hit her on the head with something). The cats stay in the house or in the back courtyard. Most Brazilians do not spade or neuter their animals either. I remember when I suggested to someone to neuter their male cat, the owner scoffed at me and said, "And take away his fun?"

If my sister-in-law finds a new home to live, she will take our cats as her own. She loves them both and would care for them the way we do. She hasn't been able to find a place yet, and we have less than three weeks here.

Our vet came over today to discuss what will be involved for us to travel with Daisy and Pepper. We need to get rabies vaccines and health records in order for them. He will be working with us on all of this. I still wish we could find a nice ranch for them to live on. They've never had a life being able to roam free being city cats. It would be nice if they could have that. I don't think it's going to happen though. I can just imagine the scene going to the airport with the kids, our baggage, and the cats!!!

Another reason why I wish we could find them a new home is that the kids just love to chase them around. They really need a calmer environment! (especially Daisy)

A Visit To The Hospital

Thankfully, none of us is sick or wounded. We decided to take a spontaneous visit to the university hospital where Liam was born almost 6 years ago. We thought it would be fun for him to see. I knew they didn't let kids into the maternity ward, but thought we could try at least. I had a good feeling that we'd somehow get in.

The receptionist just looked at us after we told her what we wanted to do and indeed confirmed that children weren't allowed up there. Well, she then phoned up to Dr. Hugo Sabatino's office (he's an obstetrician originally from Uruguay, who is over the squatting delivery program that we did - alternative style deliveries and humanization of births) to see if we could see him anyway. I couldn't believe he was actually there. He told her to send us ALL up!

We went with the kids up to his office. He received us so graciously and said we could all go into the surgical unit where the squatting chair is to see it. It took the nurses a while to let us in as one of them thought he wanted her to set-up the whole squatting chair. She wasn't happy about that. When she learned she had misunderstood she apologized profusely about the way she acted. We were just blown-away that we could all go in there.

We had to wear scrubs and this is where Liam had his meltdown. Whenever he has to wear a costume or anything out of the ordinary, he thinks everyone is laughing at him. Dr. Hugo graciously said he didn't have to wear them, but after that, Liam was already in bad form. It was so embarrassing given that Dr. Hugo, an important and widely respected, yet humble, medical doctor who was giving us his time so generously to give us that opportunity to see where Liam was born, and our son who had been the star of the show that day (well, I would say his mother really was given all I went through!) was behaving so badly.

After Isabella saw that Liam didn't want to be a part of it all, she decided she wouldn't either. Dr. Hugo was so nice about the kids and just kept smiling at them admirably. He kept telling us what a beautiful family we had, etc. Edil and I took a photo with Dr. Hugo by the squatting chair. The man even moved furniture around so we could get a good angle!

After that, we went to see the room where I stayed with Liam. He had us ALL enter there to see the newborn babies and new mothers. The moms were all very simple kind of women from humble backgrounds. They smiled when I told them that I had been in that room when Liam was born. I was so distracted the whole time though with worrying about Liam's behavior.

We walked out with Dr. Hugo and he was still so very nice and seemed so grateful that we had stopped-by. I think since it's his program, he is very happy that we valued it enough to come back to visit. He even wants me to write about my experience so he can publish it to advertise so more people will choose to do the program. He gave me his e-mail. Edil and I came back a bit deflated wondering how to deal with Liam when this happens. It seems whenever we make a big deal about something, he has these meltdowns.

Some recent pictures

With nothing much to write about, I thought I'd just post a few recent photos:

Me with my sweet boy.

~~Bella Bella ~ ~

Dynamic Duo!

With a towel or a blanket and a clothes' pin, you too can be transformed into a SuperHero Kid!

They obviously didn't want to take Edna Mode's advice, "NO CAPES!"

SuperHero Kids powernapping after a long morning of rescues.