Time

It passes too quickly. We have had so many adventures over the past several months and I haven't stopped to share them with you. I'm sorry! Here are a few updates...

In June, a short-term team from our home church, Intown Community Church, came to serve alongside us for one week. We were so thankful to have them come. They really moved along our ministry with these kids here and it was so encouraging to have some friends from our home church come down.

In July we went home to the States for a wonderful, 6 week visit. We arrived in Atlanta and were there for 4 days before we headed out to South Dakota for my family's reunion on our farm. Lil'J had a blast riding on tractors and seeing all the amazing farm equipment. After the reunion, we went straight to visit Jason's sister and family who just moved up to St. Joseph, Michigan. They have a beautiful home with a peaceful backyard and the kids (and adults) thoroughly enjoyed playing in it. We picked cherries and Jason made the best cherry pie we have ever eaten.

When we returned to Atlanta, Jason spent 2 of our last 4 weeks in the States in seminary classes. It was a good chance for him to get some of his classes out of the way. We had our best visit home ever this summer. I think part of it was that it was summertime and everyone was in laid back mode. We didn't get to see a lot of friends, but we did have a relaxing, enjoyable time. Next time we'll hopefully get to see all of you that we missed this trip!

Lil'J and cousin W

With Gramma and Granddad at the Zoo in South Dakota

Investigating a worm with Daddy

Pillows!

swingin' naked on Nana's back porch

more pictures to come....

My Little Sea Captain

Jason's mom just came for a visit and we had a wonderful time together.  I was so good to spend uninterrupted time with her.  We took a short trip to Ilha Grande (the Big Island).  There are no cars or roads on the island, so to get anywhere you hike or go by boat.  Here are a few pictures...

Thanks for the visit, Robin (a.k.a Nana).  We miss you already, but look forward to seeing you this summer in Atlanta!

The Good Shepherd

At the rustle of keys or the packing of a bag, Jacob gets wind of the fact that we are going out and his first reaction is to gather as many balls as possible by the front door. Not one can be left behind.
My son has several passions which include birds, dogs, tractors and trucks, but none quite compare to his love for balls. His favorite word is "baa". He screams it at the sight of every round object, ball or not. Our teammate, Jeremy, has a plethora of balls, so at his house Jacob spends his time searching out and herding balls. For this reason, I call him the Shepherd of Balls (interestingly enough the Portuguese word for shepherd is pastor, so I actually have a tendency to call him the Pastor of Balls because the words pastor and shepherd have become synonymous to me). Like any good shepherd he does not worry about the ones that are accounted for; his true concern is for those that are astray.

Shadows

Our little one is almost 17 months old and today he discovered one of life's little joys...his shadow.  He spent some time watching his shadow clap and trying to step on it.  Oh, I wish I had my camera with me!

My how the time passes!

I'm so sorry that I've been a horrible blogger.  I would have way too much to write about, so I'll try to just hit the highlights of these past 3 months since I last posted...October 22nd we flew to Atlanta!  Yeah!  We had a great reunion with family (the grandparents) at the airport.  

On October 26th, we celebrated lil'j's very first birthday.  We had a great time, great weather and great food.  Thanks to all who came.  Unfortunately we pooped lil'j out before cake time and he wanted no part in the eating of it.  

The rest of our trip was a time of relaxing, eating, shopping, spending time with friends and family and enjoying the US (grass, cars, space, etc)!  Here are some photos...

More to come...I promise!

Penguins in Rio

That's right...apparently penguins get sick of the Antarctic and come to Rio to lounge on the tropical beaches. Here's a link to an article about it http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27004165/from/ET/

I personally haven't seen them...bummer. We don't get to the beach all that much, especially since it's been winter here (75F). We've been wearing our mittens, toboggans and heavy winter coats instead. :)

We are looking forward to more beach time as it warms up a little more and the water is not so cold. Lil' j hasn't had the opportunity to get in water except for his bath in a tiny tub. We are looking forward to some time in a pool and the ocean this summer (summer down here...winter in the States).

Anyone want to come play on the tropical beaches of Rio with the penguins? Come on down! We'd love to have you.

A Visit from Gramma

In September, my mom came to visit for 2 weeks. The last time she came was when lil'j was born, so we weren't able to get out and do a lot of stuff in Rio. This visit we got to do much more and, of course, spent a lot of time playing with lil'j. We had a great time with her and really miss her. We are thrilled to be going to the States for a visit the end of October, so we will be seeing all the grandparents, etc soon. Here are some pictures from Gramma's visit...


happy tears at the airport

playing with lil'j's many girlfriends

lots of reading time

seeing the beauty of Rio

We'll see you again soon, Gramma!

Friends

Here are some of our dear friends and fellow missionaries here in Rio...

lil j's precious friend A Rebecca with A and lil' j and I

Richard and Jason with the kids

lil' j and a coconut (he obviously had a drool problem this day)

It is so nice to have American friends down here. We enjoy swapping recipes and things we've discovered down here like where to buy tortillas or how to make good feijao (black beans). Not much else to say here, just thankful for friends overseas with us.

Novo Friborgo

Last weekend we went with some friends (Jose and Heckel) to Novo Friburgo, a city colonized by the Swiss located in the nearby mountain range. We stayed with Jose's aunt and uncle in a beautiful yellow house. The weather was great. Sunny days in the 70's, but cold at night getting down to freezing with no heater! Jose's aunt had our trip all planned out. The first day we rode in a jeep up a very steep road to a set of never-ending stairs leading us to one of the highest peaks in the range.

Here is Jose and her aunt's friend that owned the jeep we rode up in.

Jason with Jacob in tow ascending the stairs (all 700+ of them!)

The three of us at the top.

Heckel being silly, Jose's aunt, Vania, and her friend.

Jose and Jacob

The trip also included a visit to a honey farm, a Swiss cheese making school and a beautiful pousada (Bed and Breakfast) for lunch. Here is a picture of Jose and Heckel at the pousada.

We also went bowling on top of a mountain overlooking the city. Jacob had a great time with the guy at the bar there...I think he was just trying to get some free candy.

Day Off; Misc.

Every week we have one full day off and we try to do something different and fun in the city. Rio has so much to offer. Two weeks ago we went walking along a coastal community, Urca, and then along a path under Sugar Loaf (see last picture). Of course, pictures just don't do it justice.




Our work is going well. Jason stays busy with Bible studies in the different communities. They are studying Romans. We are in the middle of winter here. Of course, today was about 77F and sunny. Just beautiful. However, the beginning of last week was cold and rainy (low 60's/high 50's)...that's the coldest it ever gets here in Rio. It always feels colder than it actually is due to the lack of insulation and plethora of tile. Hot chocolate is a favorite on days like that!

my little boy...

...is growing up soooo fast! Jacob is 7.5 months old now. He'll be 8 months on the 26th. He is sitting up, crawling and last Friday (the 13th) he STOOD UP on his own...crazy! I was sitting at the table eating breakfast and j was crawling around in a little area we set up for him. He was trying to crawl over the pillow barricade we put up and I was laughing at him and turning on the camera to take a video of him. When I looked up, there he was on his own 2 feet! Of course, before I was able to get the camera on him he toppled over. He is so eager to go! I'm still trying to capture him standing on video. He's done it a couple more times, but I haven't been quick enough with the camera...one day I'll get it!

Today is Jason's first Father's Day. What a joy! Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men out there!

Cookies...Yum!

Some of the kids that we do a Bible study with wanted to learn how to make "American" cookies. So, one afternoon we had a baking class. We made oatmeal raisin cookies...they were a huge hit!

In fact, we often make brownies, cookies, etc. and people here love it! They think we should open a shop...oh, if it were that simple! :) It's fun to make good ole US of A sweets for our friends...and of course, for ourselves.

Random Goodness

Here are some fun pictures from the past couple of weeks. Here is Jacob with our dear friend, Anna. Her parents are also missionaries down here. Anna calls us Baby Kristin and Baby Jacob. All her dollies are also called Baby Kristin. She is just precious! After the Passion Conference, a friend who came down from Atlanta to work at the conference came back to Rio to spend the week. We had the opportunity to take him to a couple of places...the beach...

...the Botanical Gardens (Tom is pictured here with C...one of the boys in the SR house)...

...and up at Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar), a tourist spot here in Rio...

a little friend up at the top...

All this in one day! Jacob was a little trooper! Rio is a beautiful city...anyone want to come visit?! We'd love to have you!