Happy Birthday Isabella!

Today my little girl turned four. Four years ago, she was recovering from having had her clavicle broken. She got stuck after her head emerged at birth and the doctors had to perform this procedure for her to make it the rest of the way out.

I look at the photos taken at her birth where she is crying and I'm holding her. It's bittersweet to see not knowing if she was crying in pain (most probably) or just the normal crying from being in a new world. At the time, she was easy to settle and she soon became quiet. When she was feeling the pain, she'd cry out again, but it wasn't hard to comfort her. She is like that today. She tolerates a lot, she is determined. She doesn't do things just to please people. She doesn't care much what other people think.

On the other hand, she is very compassionate, nurturing, seemingly "old" for her age, bold and mostly fearless, focused, organized, concerned, tender, thoughtful and loving.

She is Isabella. What an incredible person she is to know. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Killer Haircut....And Long Day!

Edilberto got to emerse himself in Brazilian company today. We went to a community event hosted by a local Brazilian church. We met and got to know several nice people. One lady asked if she could get a group together that I could teach conversational English to.

We hung-out waiting for free haircuts. The kids and Edil all got them. I almost cried watching Liam's beautiful hair fall to the floor this afternoon. I like the longer wavy surfer boy look, but he had to have "the spike." Now he looks just like two other boys in his classroom. But he's happy and can't stop looking at himself in the mirror!

Liam certainly became instantly more confident and bolder with this new look. In fact, he went into the gym where some young boys were kicking a soccer ball around. He was upset that they wouldn't include him. He came to me all whiny. I said to him that he just had to get in there and take the ball and play. Just jump in and play and don't ask if he can. He was surprised at the permission given, and took himself right out there and boldly got into the game. The boys were passing him the ball almost instantly when he approached it that way!

We were about to leave when someone nabbed Edil to donate blood at the blood mobile that was outside. The kids and I played while we waited, and got to know a young woman who almost passed-out after giving blood. We hung-out with her drinking juice and eating chips until she felt better.

This morning, we had Isabella's ballet/tap class. She was a little tired for it this time, but stuck with it the whole hour. Our day started early with this and we have just returned home from everything. It's almost dinnertime, and I still have sheets to put on beds and a few other things to do.

Today in South Florida

Before we moved to Florida, someone told me that "everything" happens in Florida. Honestly, the local news day is usually very eventful. Today's happening:

Pilot Sits Stunned and Bloodied After Crash

This happened right up the street from our house! I pass the airport this plane took-off from every day as it's right next to Liam's school and quite near our house. It was amazing to see the video of the pilot all bloodied and just sitting there in the cockpit with no plane around him. Incredible that he lived through this. The accident held traffic up on the main freeway for hours.

Foto blogging today!

I'm at the tail-end of a migraine here, so today's entry won't be much in the way of writing, just of a few recent photos:

Edilberto at work loading a container to ship out to the Dominican Republic:

And some pictures with Liam:

My Time Flies!

It's been a week since our uneventful weekend. This month is going by too fast for me. In review of this week, I began picking Liam up from school two hours early to see if the shorter day will help him to adjust to school. So far it seems to be helping. We'll see how this week goes.

Isabella and her dance class pal are already catching-on to the ballet and tap moves. It was so much fun to watch them yesterday morning at their dance class. Liam went to work with Edilberto at the thrift store. I picked him up on the way home from Isabella's class.

Edilberto had to go the Port of Miami to ship a vehicle and a container this past week. They were out there on a day when there was a massive police search for a cop killer. Earlier in the day, four officers were shot by this person. Very sadly, one died. It was a stressful day for South Florida (this has been happening a lot these days). They did eventually find the guy close to midnight. Edil had no problem on the road getting home (even though there were blockades all around). It was unnerving having him and his coworker out and about on a day like that. He said he saw police cars everywhere. We could hear the helicopters flying around (the perpetrator had made his way north to the county where we live.) It's almost like being back in Brazil!

We had a delightful time with our new pastor, his wife and their three children last night. We had dinner at their home. Liam and Isabella had such a fun time with their kids playing out front in the old, established neighborhood lined with old trees with tree swings, and lots of neighbor kids playing together. It was so nice to be in a place like that. We are thankful to have met this wonderful family. We related well and felt close to them after a very short time together. It was a much needed and refreshing time.

Pretty Uneventful Weekend

It's sad when I can't think of anything to write about to keep our blog current on a daily basis! I haven't been very inspired lately. Edilberto has been very tired this past week. He had this Saturday off so at least he had a nice long weekend. Hopefully, we'll all be ready to start the week again early tomorrow morning.

We worked around the house (inside and out) this weekend. We really didn't do much else. We hung-out with our neighbors yesterday and part of today. I cleaned-out the kids' room and rearranged it (it looks very cool! I moved Isabella's bed out from underneath Liam's top bunk (obviously, they're not attached), and now they have a fort under there! I put their dresser up against it so that it partly blocks the "fort" and makes it more private. Hopefully the messes will all stay hidden in their fort from now on. (doubtful!)

What else...I did tons of laundry. The kids and Edil went for a swim in the neighborhood pool, the kids rode their bicycles. Edilberto painted the back patio cement floor. It looks very nice and clean now. Still so much work to do out there though.

Isabella had her second ballet/tap lesson on Saturday. Her teacher is so full of energy and fun. She's absolutely wonderful with her students (so far, there's been only 3 max. in the class - which makes it almost a private lesson! Saturday, only one other little girl showed-up so there was just the two of them, their teacher and the teacher's young assistant in there.) It is so much fun to watch them. Isabella is so committed and concentrates intently for the entire hour of class. I really am impressed, I must say!

More Wednesday....

I just had to share this. It makes us sound as poor as church mice (which we are at times - especially between checks and deposits) but the fact is, at the moment, things are tight. This morning, I opened the fridge and saw what was in it (should say, what was not in it), and simply said, "O.K. Lord, there's nothing here, and nothing in our bank account at the moment. You've got to do something!" (not in a giving order sort of way, of course, but with a sincere, matter-of-fact tone). Then I went on with the day.

Edilberto phoned me this afternoon. He had just made a pick-up at someone's house (items to be donated to the thrift store). On rare occasions, people will tip him or others who make the pick-up or delivery. Edilberto usually declines them. Especially since many are elderly people on low-incomes. However today, the gentleman who offered Edilberto a "tip" (not really a tip considering it was a lot more....$70!) and, looking at him as he handed it to him said, "This is for groceries!" Edilberto said he'd normally decline, but since he had been praying to be able to buy groceries specifically, he knew it was an answer to prayer. The man was very moved by what Edilberto said. We are very thankful that God knows our every need and never leaves us. He wonderfully provides and reminds us of His care.

Wednesday Addition

The kids and I have been under the weather (fevers, runny noses, etc.) for days and days it seems. Liam missed school again yesterday, but I sent him today. He wasn't yet 100%, but doing much better than he was. We were all lying around yesterday in hopes that a lot of rest and liquids would help. I even read an entire book (finished it at bedtime). I can't believe that I got away with that! The kids were great just laying low and playing together.

The book I read was one that's been on the shelf and I've been meaning to read. It is about a man named Dan Baumann (whom I have met and whose sisters I know) and is about his imprisonment in Iran, aptly titled, Imprisoned in Iran. I remember sending a fax to the Iranian embassy in Switzerland in 1997, to put pressure on for his release. It is quite a story!