Twelve Month Sleepers and Other "Events"

My little man is growing...

He crawls, and sits, is pulling himself up on things (in bed he climbs halfway up the crib and can't get down!), he is grabbing everything, and growing....  I have no idea how big he is, but he entered the 12-month sleeper phase this past week.

 

Every month our little church has a communal potluck lunch at somebody's house.  Last week was our house for the first time... I counted over 30 people.  Here is Shaun opening by reading the Bible in Portuguese!  

This past week we had Labour Day on May 1st (Thursday).  To allow us to have a long weekend with the Friday off as well, there was school on the previous Saturday!  Plus, on Wednesday was "parent-teacher's"  instead of school.  We were very thankful to hear from the teachers and see on their report cards how well our children are doing.  Although some days are a struggle, most days the kids seem to enjoy their classes and telling us about their day upon arriving home.  This is definitely more than we expected!

  So last Sunday was the communal lunch, and it was very enjoyable.  That night it started to rain, and the next few nights were very rainy.  On Tuesday night we shut our doors and windows early, because there were these weird bugs flying into our house and losing their wings and crawling around.  On Wednesday morning we woke up to a veranda COVERED in these wings.  It was disgusting.  Then our power went out.  I went to the school to talk to the teachers, and by the time I got back and packed up it was 3:00.  That's right, we were going on a trip!  We went up to Aldeia on Wednesday, and there is a simple yet beautiful suite Mission Aid has that we are able to use on property that currently houses a missionary family, five seminary families, and the seminary.  This was the first time we used it.  It took us 3 1/2 hours to get there.... much much longer than usual, as Jonas decided he didn't like driving and we had pee breaks and a little snack/supper/grocery stop before we arrived.  We dumped our stuff at the suite and headed to some friends' house and had a lovely time visiting them.  Played some cards, chatted into the wee hours.  Larger winged insects were flying around us there, with the same problem of the wings falling off.  Gross.  Suddenly it was 1:30 in the morning!  We packed up our kids and headed back to the suite.  Lo and behold, the power was out there too, and the electric gate would not open!  It can be opened manually from the inside, but our contacts inside were not awake when we phoned.  We finally headed back to our friends house as we could not get in.  Well, that was a night of little sleep!  The next day we got into the property and that was Labour Day.  In some ways I'm thankful we didn't get in the night before, because the suite was FULL of these insects and their wings.... a carpet of them.  They had crawled under one of the doors.  Anyways, that was Thursday and one of the reformed churches in the area had booked the property for a family day.  There was a speech, and lunch, and in general a fun time hanging out.  The energy was off all day until 3:00!  On Friday Shaun went to the airport in the morning to exchange rental cars (yes, we are still doing that!), and the afternoon we went to our friends again for tea and supper. That evening we had a couple over for some wine at the Mission Aid suite, a Canadian married to a Brazilian.   He is the caretaker of the property there in Aldeia, and also lives on the property.  On Saturday there was speeches on the property, as the first Saturday of every month is a "Training Day."  We left from there at two in the afternoon, but not before we enjoyed lunch with everyone: white beans and bucho.  I still can't think about it without feeling a little sick in my stomach.  I started eating this delicious looking dish and thought there was chicken involved.  I tried to chew it, but ended up mostly just swallowing it, as it was really chewy and what I thought was really fatty chicken.  Turns out it was cow stomach.  I pushed the rest to the side, and had many people laughing at the shade of red my face turned.  I explained that maybe next time I was served it, I'd be able to eat another piece, and the next time another piece, and maybe after trying it a few times, I might like it.   I think I was being naive.  I don't think I could "stomach" it again  *groan*  Anyways, it was another long journey back.  At one point three of the four children were screaming at the same time.  But we made it home safely, and had a wonderful time away visiting and meeting new people. 

Sorry no pictures to go with the above story.  I brought my camera and did not take a single picture!

Here are a few pictures I took this morning though!  A sweet little tree frog :)

Have a great Sunday everyone!

So This is Christmas

To be truthful, I was dreading Christmas since we arrived.

No snow (or chance of snow I should say.... seeing as BC is usually only a wet wonderland).

No name exchange of presents.

No crazy brother dressed like Santa.

No turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing.

No Christmas programs for the kids.

No Christmas parties.

No lights or decorations.

No Christmas music EVERYWHERE we went.

No.... coziness.


Now to be fair, we've had a warm Christmas before.  We were in Florida with Shaun's family two years ago.  And we survived just fine.  Was it the fact that we still had all of the above around the date?  We still had the Christmas parties, the food with family, the Christmas programs at church and school, the searching for the perfect present, the decorations in our house...  maybe.  Somehow it is different being away for months and not really knowing when we are returning.  Then suddenly Christmas at home feels very far away.

Of course in Brazil there is Christmas.  The malls are decorated (if you've seen my facebook picture).  There are lights and trees on some houses around here, which makes me smile.  The city of Maragogi decorated the palm trees and along the plaza in the centre of town.  But I have to admit when Shaun played Christmas music on December 1st I cried.  Don't tell anyone.  And every so often when I heard "I'll be home for Christmas" those pesky wet droplets entered my eyes.  Who thought that song was a good idea to write anyway?!

I knew that wallowing wasn't going to do anyone any good.  So on December 1st I joined an advent Bible study online.  This was great for me to remember the real reason for the season, instead of feeling sorry for myself for "missing" Christmas.  And there was a children's resource study guide, so I got to involve my whole family.  We did some crafts that looked somewhat Christmas-y.  

At times in the hot weather it is hard to remember it even was Christmas.  Such a different feel.  In fact, the feeling around Christmas mirrors the party type feeling of New Years' Eve.  We spent Christmas Eve having a service at the church and then went to a party with everyone in the church.  Everyone stayed up until midnight to say Feliz Natal!  My impression is that Christmas becomes almost a celebration of the start of summer holidays, or is very linked to that feeling you get when the kids are done school  .

Anyways, since our Christmas Eve was a very late night, we were thinking we were going to have quiet family day on Christmas.  We got a welcome phone call to join some friends for a Christmas barbecue.  It really was a wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled day.  I kept getting that song in my head: "So this is Christmas, and what have you done? another year older, and a new one just begun...."  It is almost overwhelming to think of what has happened this past year(S).

Here's a collection of pictures reflecting a wonderful Brazilian Christmas.  Not better, not worse, just different.  I just wish we could be in two places at once.

After the church service there was a little program with the youth of the church and the women of the church singing.

At the party you could sing.

Potluck style.

A giant balloon full of goodies.

It got dangerous.

On Christmas morning we did a puzzle together that was a christmas present to our family.

Then we got invited to Moizes and Bete's house.  This lovely lady is often the one working in the kitchen.

Christmas barbecue.

Let me out of here!  I've heard what they do to us once we are caught!

He said my parents would be jealous....

Luiz, you need to put some weight on before the wedding!

Revenge of the Crab

Seth and Gabriel spent a long time biking down a very rocky, treed, and bumpy terrain as fast as the bike would go.  I could barely watch.  Where's the North American helmets!?!

Hazel and Lyla and their "Uncles!"

And in case anyone was worried, there was turkey and mashed potatoes at our church Christmas party ;)   

There is a Possibility....

...that we may have a bank account by the time we leave!

Yesterday we left for Maceio at around 10 in the morning.  Seth and Hazel were at school and Thacianne graciously agreed to watch them when they came home from school.  She actually came home from school with them on the bus as she teaches some mornings, so that was perfect.  We brought Lyla along, and she is usually a good traveller.  We thought we'd be back mid afternoon.  It is supposed to be a two hour drive each way, and we were going to sign some papers at HSBC and then, I assumed, go out for lunch, and then return by 3 or maybe 4.

We got to the bank in good time, and were extremely happy with HSBC's helpfulness and apparent knowledge of what needed to be done.  The bank customer service rep pulled out the papers within seconds, we signed them, and they told us by today our paperwork would be in the HSBC in Salvador. That is where our lawyers "know" people and they have had no problems getting bank accounts in the past.  So excited about that potential.

We then also went shopping and then had lunch at a churrascaria, or rodizio, which is a steakhouse where waiters walk around with large skewers of meat and they slice the meat off and you grab it with some prongs you are given.  Yummy! if you're a carnivore like me :)  There's also a salad bar to help you feel healthier.

By the time we got back it was 7 at night.  We had actually a really nice little trip, and the only glitch was Lyla.  She has recently been potty-trained, however, we usually still have to take her to remind her to pee, as she does sometimes wait too long and end up having accidents.  So for the trip I put her in her diaper.  Well, would you know she refused to pee or poop in her diaper.  On the way there she screamed for ten minutes, and I mean Screamed, because she needed to go poop and pee.  We finally found a bathroom and after the bathroom break she was so angry about being forced back into her carseat she screamed for at least another 15 minutes before she calmed down enough to fall asleep.  And the exact same thing happened on the way home, except there was no bathroom and somehow I had to get this just-over-two just-potty-trained girl to understand that she could squat and pee at the side of the road.  I was actually pretty impressed that she did it.

Other than that, it was a good trip, and we are praying that this is the step we need to get things going here.

Have a great night everyone!
Brenda

Odds and Ends

This post has been in my drafts for a week, so I thought I might as well just publish it.  These past two weeks we have had a lot of revelations about business in Brazil, so I think I will attempt to do a post this week about our discoveries we've made.  Many apparently small issues have grown into weeks of waiting, which have delayed the start to our plans unfortunately.

So here's a few pictures of two weeks ago...

We had an "infestation" of massive bristly orange caterpillars, which we were told were poisonous (fever, swelling, etc.).  Seth wanted to keep one as a pet...

Does anyone know what type of caterpillar this is?  Seth and I have perused the internet endlessly, to no avail.  It does not appear to be included in any of the top 10 most dangerous caterpillars lists, which has been a huge comfort to me.

And on Good Friday, we enjoyed a delicious crab feast at Sandro and Djane's terreno.

A Lovely Trip, A Big Birthday: a Good Week

We have enjoyed a wonderful week here in Brasil.  We settled down to schoolwork on Monday and Tuesday, and did a little extra Tuesday night, because we had been invited for lunch in Recife on Wednesday by our friends, Chris and Thécia.  They also extended an invitation to stay the night.  This was good news as we were hoping to get up to Recife and do some extra shopping.  Chris and Thécia are here doing mission aid work to support the missionaries in the work in Brasil.  We drove up Wednesday morning, and enjoyed a picnic feast in a park/pool area they have in the community they live in.  It was beautiful, and we were able to enjoy it with the two missionary families as well.  It felt like a church picnic almost, with a treed park, a lake and pools around, paths, picnic tables, people playing bocce, bike-riding, great food and company.  I do have pictures, but they are with other people and their children which I don't like to do, so I will leave the good time to your imagination except for these pictures of my own children :)

On Thursday, we went shopping in Recife.  Brazil is quite expensive, I think pretty much for most items, except for labour.  We constantly ponder how it is possible people afford anything here.  We were in particular looking for some household items, for example, a wardrobe (most homes don't seem to have closets). We discovered most of them are pricey and made of plywood and veneer.  We decided we'd look around closer to home and possibly buy a small one to "make-do" until we bring furniture from home hopefully.  We did buy a small plastic shelving unit for our towels and a shower curtain and rod, which I was really excited about.  The last place we went was Sam's Club, and I was excited to find it was like Costco (it's owned by walmart, but has the same concept of paying for membership and getting things cheaper).  I didn't buy a membership because Shaun was not with me (filling up for gas), the store is in Recife, we currently are only here for two more months, and we had already done most of our shopping.  I am kind of excited we did all our other shopping first, so we could see what a "good deal" it was.  Also Brazilians have not bought into the idea of bulk purchasing and membership fees, so it was incredibly empty!  Their typical store has many many small items, from their baby wipes to their margarine containers, and that is the preferred way to shop.  I am so pumped to go back, which we may this week as we're supposed to go up to another wedding in Recife on Thursday.

Lyla also turned TWO this past Friday.  Shaun went to a meeting in Maceio that morning, so he didn't even see her before he left, and didn't see her until she woke up from her nap at 4:00.  That morning, all the kids enjoyed the singing of Aaron and Tania's kidlets on an emailed video, including Aaron sneaking in behind them and popping his head out to sing like a goof.  We watched it many, many, many times.  Then we had Aunty Tessa's singing on Skype, and Lyla opened her gift when Shaun returned while James and Aunty Lee watched on Skype.  Yes, technology is a beautiful thing.

The next day, we spent the afternoon at Sandro and Djane's terreno.  Sandro and Moizes and a few others had gone fishing in the morning so we ate fried fish all afternoon, with rice and potatoes and chicken sausage.  Then we sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese and English to Lyla and she got to blow out a #2 candle.  I just don't know how a kid can have a birthday without having a picture of them blowing out a candle.  I think it was more for me than her.  I found out the cake mix here works great, and they have this cream in a box you whip and it is delicious for icing.   The Vanspronsen family was down as well, with Rev. Vanspronsen Sr. and his wife too, as they are on the coast for a few days to relax after Rev. Vanspronsen had spent two weeks teaching at the theological seminary.  Rev. Vansponsen was the first Reformed missionary here in Brazil, so it must be so incredible to see how the work has spread.  It was a wonderful relaxing day, complete with slushy caipiroscas.  Delicioso!  (Caipiroscas are generally limes, vodka, sugar and ice.  The actual official drink of Brasil is a Caipirinha, which is made with the sugar cane rum instead).  At the end of the day it was only us and Sandro and Djane left, and Sandro reiterated how we were his family now, and we can call him for anything, etc. etc.  It is special to hear that, especially being so far from our families here.

That night our neighbours also gave Lyla a gift of perfume!  It is very popular to have children's perfume for after they shower, especially since Brazilians love to smell children.  And to tell you the truth, it's kind of contagious.  That baby/child smell is so...delicioso!  Probably because they don't smell like us sweaty adults in the heat!  I am excited to be able to spray my children down with perfume now.  Lyla and Hazel both are in love with it as well.

So that brings us to today...  It was a cool day.  I just looked at the temperature for the day and it says it did get up to 30, but it was cloudy with bouts of rain, so I even wore pants this afternoon!  I wonder what the temperature has actually been if I thought today was cool!  Rev. Vanspronsen preached this morning in our church.  I have to admit, he speaks much slower and clearer than the native Brazilian preachers, so we could follow a little better.  Maybe we understand his Dutch accent!  Then Moizes and Bete invited us for lunch, where the Vanspronsens were again.  We had a feast of octopus (see picture above of man holding many little octopi).  I enjoyed it slightly more than the first time we had it a couple years ago.

So another enjoyable day comes to an end.   We did take a couple pictures today of the tiny lizard that Seth found that was molting, but it's still on my camera.  It's tail did actually fall off as well when Lyla went to pick it up one too many times.  I'll have to include that on another "animal post."  Oh, speaking of animals, we also saw a marmoset outside our house this morning, which was pretty neat.

We thank God for a day of rest, for blessings of fellowship with brothers and sisters throughout the world, for health, for birthdays, for traveling mercies.  May you all experience these blessings as well.

Love Brenda
PS I'm too tired to spellcheck, etc., so don't judge :)  Good Night to All!

Promised Picture Post

So I am continuing to learn about tropical diseases, infections, etc.  Good thing Shaun brought a huuuuuge book down called Armageddon Medicine...it's been informative and interesting.  I will definitely be doctor-worthy by my return.  Anyways, we do have a hospital nearby, but apparently if you want a half-decent doctor you head to Recife, 2 hours away.  Hence, the educational literature we stored away in our luggage somehow.

After Seth touched the toads around a week ago, he developed lines on his hands that almost looked like burn marks.  Oops, I should back up.  I believe in my last post I forgot to mention he had been "peed on" by the toad.  So we debated between the "poison" factor, and tried cleaning and bandaging, or that mosquito bites had become infected.  Then it started on the bottom of his foot.  I was treating it with neomycin.  After a few days, it started looking worse.  Somehow I ran across a page in my Armageddon book about how a "poison ivy rash" was common with that topical antibiotic.  Oh dear, then my theory changed to him having a reaction to it, as the bumps were raised, although narrow.  Then the one on his foot developed a red squiggly line up from it.  I thought it was weird that it was going up and down, however my theory became one of "blood infection."  This seemed to be going from bad to worse.  I asked around today, showed a few people, and viola, found out it is no big deal, only hookworm larva crawling around his skin.  Disgusting but highly treatable.  The medical terminology is cutaneous larva migrans and is mostly caused by playing in dirt that has dog feces in it.  Another disgusting factor.  We have currently banned our children from playing outside without their sandals.  And I headed to the farmacia and picked up some thiabendazole to treat it.  At least I hope that was the medication I bought, in Portuguese it was tiabendazol.

In happy news, we headed over to Sandro and Djane's terreino today.  These are friends of ours that live in the town of Maragogi, but own a nice parcel of land out in Peroba (the part of Maragogi we live in).  He has built a covered patio with a kitchen area and a bathroom, volleyball/soccer nets, there's an outdoor shower, an above ground pool and some hammocks.  It's wonderful.  Eventually they hope to build there.  We enjoyed a churrasco, which is the Brazilian way of barbecuing slowly over a charcoal grill and enjoying a lot of meat over a long period of time.  Good times.

And here are finally the promised pictures.  It may end up being a ridiculous amount, I still have to go through them.  Actually I've decided to do another post with pictures of our house to split them up.

The drop-off crew

Finally here!

Can you see some of our luggage piled high in the back?

The Biggest Spider Ever.  Not Poisonous as it's Not Hairy.

Seth's beloved frogs.  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of him holding one the many toads before we banned him from them.

The first of many lizards that Seth has caught.

Watching Gnomeo and Juliet with all the kids at the retreat.  In Portuguese of course.

Seth and Hazel watching the men play soccer at the retreat from the safety of a high wall.

Happy to be here!  at least I am :)