Week 13

I like reading the news online each day because I feel so out of the loop on worldly happenings if I don't. But in my search for more time I found the BBC has a special news update each day called Day in Pictures. I can get a broad glimpse of the news and admire some great photography without reading pages of articles.

Thus I was inspired for this week's blog...

20+ church family at our home


We loved having them over


Karis eats everything even the kitchen drawer


She tried to eat her new play mat, but it ended up around her neck


Stress relief playing DDR


Language practice at the lamp store



Huge avocados here


Grocery store


Tired after a long day of Portuguese

7 Months Old!

Probably should write stuff in the baby book, but I'll say a few things here too.
Karis is eating many fruits and veggies. Her favs are carrots, sweet potatoes, apples and bananas. She doesn't care for squash and hates broccoli. She is a not stop mover and shaker. The only time she slows down is to sleep. Which she is doing more of at night... naps- not so much. A 30 min.- hour nap around 10 and another around 4. She loves being around people and l-o-v-e-s attention. Since she is the only baby at school and church she gets a lot of it. Her hair is filling back in and her dad is the one that makes sure it looks good each day. This doesn't surprise me (ask me later about Steven's hair if you don't already know). I have to wear my hair in a ponytail everyday because she pulls on it, but if you know me, you know I don't mind this. She enjoys bath time and reading the Bible. Mostly she likes to eat the pages (we don't let her though, but she still tries). She is still able to fit into most of her 3 month clothes and the doctor is a little concerned, but according to the "growth chart" she is on the bottom "normal" line. She enjoys time spent in her andador (walker) and is liking the johnny jump up more and more. She can crawl, but she prefers the army version. She can sit up, but why sit still? She can shake her head up and down (as if nodding yes). She has said mama, but hasn't said it in a while. She likes to sing along with music. She had her first little cold, but it didn't slow her down one bit. She really likes the computer and phone or really anything she isn't supposed to play with. I can't imagine all she will get into when she can walk! Whew.
I love her! She is wonderful!

Week 12

This is a huge smile/laugh! She was loving the park.

Where do I start? Lots of meals were shared with friends this week. I went to Bible study with some wonderful ladies. One that recently became a believer. My head was pounding when I left, but I understood more than I ever have before. I found some more affordable stores to shop at. We finally met the fiance of one of our good friends. Got really frustrated because I can't say what I would like to say (this is an everyday occurrence). I missed a day of class because I was sick. Karis helped me cook her baby food by playing in her high chair in the kitchen. And today she enjoyed her first time in her walker in the park. She had so much space to run free... I think she didn't know what to do. But it only took her about 5 minutes to figure out the one place where she wasn't supposed to go (the road).

Week 11

Week 10

A quiet Mother's Day afternoon... much rejoicing!
We have many blessings once again this week!

The pastor that is filling in for our church here invited us to his home on Friday. First, let me say that this wife is a great cook! Probably the best food I have had thus far. Also they are both really kind and patient with our broken language. We were able to hear lots of jokes (most of them we didn't get), many facts about accents and state rivalry, and a glimpse of the wealth of ministry experience this family has. Sadly we had to leave early (10pm) because Karis spit up everywhere (She has never done that before). How embarrassing. Thankfully they have kids and grand kids so they weren't bothered by it.

We watched a Brazilian movie in Portuguese. Not what I imagined a Brazilian audience would enjoy, but interesting for me.

We took a family walk at the 2nd park with waterfalls (it even has wifi). I wanted to get some pics of Karis, but she did not like the waterfall. It was loud and misty... perhaps we'll try again another day. She is sitting up now and saying mama! Seems like she does something new every week! I really like this stage. She also enjoyed zucchini, butternut squash, and banana for the first time. Next on the list of food: plums and broccoli (not together).

Week 9

Welcome to May. The month we celebrate families here in Brazil. We kicked off the month with an all day cook-out/picnic with our church on Saturday. A wonderful day of fellowship and a lot of Portuguese.

Also this week we acquired our cpf number, similar to the social security number in the US. We got our first bill... the electricity bill. It was extremely extremely high! We figured something had to be wrong. It just so happens that our frig has been going out sometimes and the repairman came and fixed it. Our AC has yet to work so the renaissance man that works for our language school came out to convert two 110 outlets to make a 220 outlet so that our AC would finally work. So two months after getting used to the weather we really don't need an AC, but we have one. I know we'll use it one day.

Thursday was a night out for me (Emily). I had planned to attend a seminary class, but plans changed and I ended up at the best pizza place in town. One of our professors owns the place. It really was good pizza! Friday night Sara babysat for us while we went to a friend's home for dinner. We are thankful for their patience in our language and culture. They helped us understand a little more about the church here.

Karis continues to enjoy new foods. We are so grateful that she is a good eater because she didn't start out that way. We tried to take her swimming, but she wasn't having it. The pool was a little cold so I don't blame her. She is almost crawling. She will get up on all fours and rock back and forth. She continues to attract people with her smile every where we go.