Great Old Friends

This entry may not make much sense to you- depending on who you are. I’ll give you the moral up front: It’s great to get to see people you loved long ago.

As many of you know, I lived in Brazil twice before coming here. The more resent time I lived in Rio do Janeiro. The first time, however, I lived here for almost 2 years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My guess is that most people’s reaction to missionaries is that you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. Most of the population would most likely fall into the latter category.

At times, as a missionary, you knock on a door of a house and the door is actually answered (and not slammed in your face). These cases are relatively rare, but the point of the work these missionaries do. The luckiest of these missionaries, finding a few people during these two years who are looking for what you have. In the very rarest of cases, they actually find you.

I was one of these “luckiest”. Carmelinha stopped my companion and I one day as we walked down the street. She wanted to know about our church. She and her two boys eventually joined- and not long thereafter I was sent to work in a new city. It was 2 years before I heard from them; this time her son Cassiano was leaving to be a missionary just like I had been.

Fast forward to yesterday when my wife and I hopped in the car and drove the 4 hrs to their small town. We checked into the hotel and went to find them, not knowing anything about what had happened in the last 7 years. Carmelinha answerer the gate and when I asked if she recognized me she said my last name. She did! Cassiano was called and quickly appeared with his wife and two year old daughter. We spent a wonderful evening with them, and had it not been for a fussy baby, would have probably stayed until late in the night.

I can’t express how wonderful it is to reunite with people to whom you gave such a valued gift. There is a bond that is indescribable. I truly felt blessed. Here are a few pics from our trip.

tasty fingers

Officially my favorite picture of the wee one. This is what she spends all day doing, anyhow!

our new camera rocks

A few pictures of the brood... the first few are of a dress that our beyond-cool friend Yvonne MADE Solei!! It was kind of hard to get her to model for me, so instead, she just made me giggle.


(so this one looks like she's standing, but she's laying down and I took it with her looking behind at me - weirdly cute!)

This one would have ROCKED had I been more focused on the camera and less on smiling at her... but can't help it, she mesmerizes me!

See?? She's like a can-can dancer!

And now, random pictures, because I can!

I love this one - she was tasting the roses her daddy got her mommy for their anniversary.

Off-center, but I like it. My thank you to Jared for my present. And yes, I made him re-do this one plenty of times:)

She responds to me now!!! I love it!!!

It amuses me that when I kiss her, she opens her mouth up. Nice girls kiss with their mouths closed!! But, it's that joy and excitement that makes me fall more in love with her every day.

2 years old

Tomorrow is January 15th - our 2nd wedding anniversary! While our first year seemed crazy, I don't think we can top the 2nd year's insanity (we hope! cross your fingers!!)

Anywho, my gift to Jared (and let's face it, myself too) is for the second year in a row I've compiled some memories from the year and made a movie of them. Making it was wonderful because it helped me remember all the wonderful times and not so wonderful times we're survived, and how crazy I am about my uber-fab husband and even my screaming, screaming, screaming, I'M SO ANGRY baby. Hope it makes you smile, it gave us some happy thoughts.

Just When You Think Things Couldn't Get Any Stranger

Just a quick note.

Our home was supposed to close at 9am on Monday. My mother was standing in for us at the closing. Something told me to call her. SO, I got on Skype and called her Cell Phone (Isn't technology amazing??). Well, it turns out that there was a huge problem with the sale. The buyer had tried to back out the night before - apparently he had cold feet. Well, the next morning he showed up and promptly announced that he didn't have sufficient funds to make the purchase. He had racked up $ on his credit card that he had to pay off and claimed that in addition to that he wasn't told that he had to bring a little more than $4K to the closing. Well, that was the last straw. We had already donated a piano, washer and dryer, and a large amount toward the closing costs. That was the last straw. So, after all that work our house did not close after all.

This makes us even more unsure about things. Before we had the whole world open to us, now we have a house we need to do something with, again. Maybe we need to move back...

Life Brings Changes...

So, it has been forever since we updated this thing. Please forgive us. A LOT has happened in the last few weeks and we have been a little preoccupied.

First of all- there has been some tension at my work over why I was brought to Brasil and what I am supposed to be contributing. My role is as a program manager and an operations manager for a battery manufacturer. I have two jobs and one paycheck. Long story short- my local boss doesn’t like paying my very expensive American salary when he could hire a local person, bully them more than me and pay them less than a third of what he pays me. So, he’s done his best to get rid of me. Finally after 6 months he got his way and the VP is allowing him to dismiss me. Feeling this tension I was already beginning to look for something else and welcomed the final decision. I can stay here until March 31st. After that, I either have to get a job here or go back to the states. My new job search is going very well; I’ve been approached by a number of companies and even had a phone interview with a company in Atlanta.

All this right before we left for Christmas in the states (more on that in a second). Just before this happened I was called to be a member of the Stake High Council in our stake (this is a council of 12 men that are responsible for assisting the president of a stake – who oversees between 5 and 12 congregations). This also means that I was ordained a High Priest in the church (I was an Elder in the Church). To a member of our church who is looking to go where the Lord wants him, it would seem that the Lord would want us here in Brasil so that I could serve in this new role and help them. But things aren’t leaning that way – so far.



Then there was the Christmas break. We spent a wildly fast week in the United States. We visited Reva’s family in Orange County California. Everyone got to see Solei for the first time. She was a real charmer. Even at 3 months old she is very much an extrovert who loves people. It was SO nice to have a fun family Christmas with our family in California. Everyone was so sweet and did so much to help us feel welcome and enjoy ourselves. The 6 hour time zone difference was a bit to deal with for all of us, but we managed okay.

And now we are back here in Brasil again. We took many of our belongings back to the states and put them with everything else we own in my parent’s basement. If we do have to leave, we wanted to be sure that we could take back to the states all of the important things. If we are staying, well, we are going to have to get used to wearing the same 7 or 8 outfits.

Finally, we put our house up for sale in June when I was leaving for Brasil. In fact, that was one of the very last things that I did before I left. Finally in November we found a buyer. We were SO excited. Over the last 2 months everything you could imagine going wrong with a closing has gone wrong. BUT, our house should close today at 9am! Although we LOVED our little house and feel such a connection to it, it is nice to have the “issue” resolved. Now, wherever we go, we can have a fresh start with nothing to hold us down. Personally I would love the opportunity to build something that is exactly what we want. We will see how things work out…

Solei, 27 years ago?

I've been putting off posting this picture of me that we think looks so much like Solei, because we have wanted to take a similar picture of her to show a comparison. Heck, my mom graciously saved my baby clothes so Solei could wear them too, and she wears this exact sleep sack to bed every night too!

Unfortunately, the second we grab a camera to catch a shot like this, she stops smiling and starts howling and the moment is lost. So we'll wait for the money shot, but for now, here's mom as a baby, and the proof that Solei is all me, except for Jared's chin and hopefully some common sense:

More visual proof that we make attractive babies

Question:

Which one is a beloved American actor, and which one is our beloved daughter?




It's a toughie, no??



Here is us at the top of Serra Negra, in front of the big Christ statue. Couldn't spend too much time checking it out, as our fist tasted SO good.



Here is the one decent picture we got of an angry, angry Solei in a santa hat. They're all so cute when they're asleep, aren't they??



We attended our first Christmas celebration! We're at Jaguariuna's town party here, where a band of Santas played carols and the real Santa approached on the famed train to cheer up the local kids. Not ours though, as she doesn't know what is going on, so therefore, we did not have to wait in line. Woot woot!

And finally.... le sigh....



I was trying to show off Solei's outfit from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Alex, and her looovely smile, but we didn't get a smile from her, and she puked on the headband. gaaahahhhh.... Oh well, better luck next time:)

Thankful Day

This year was my 4th year in Brazil for Thanksgiving. I’ve celebrated in various strange ways in the past. One year we made an “American” meal of Chili, French Toast, Stuffing, pancakes, and rootbeer milkshakes. This year was a little different with Chili Dogs and Rootbeer on Thursday (due to the fact that I had to work) and a big feast with other Americans on Sunday. More about that later.

My father in law sent me an email on the day in question citing reasons to be thankful. I can say, that this year I think I am more thankful than I have ever been for so many things. Simple things like being able to drive down the street to a Target and pick up anything you can think of make me realize how blessed Americans are. In the end, I have a great job, a savings account, an amazing wife, a beautiful healthy daughter, and the gospel. Comparing myself to those around me I am blessed 10X more than I deserve to be. There is no room for me to ever complain about my situation – ever.

So, Sunday we did celebrate thanksgiving. Complete with a bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie! We made a little trip to a small town a few hours from our house and spent the afternoon with another American family (our age). It was a great way to celebrate. They are so sweet and it is SO nice to spend time with people who get my stupid little jokes.



The wife, being an amazing mother, thought it would be fun to make pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses for the kids. We made them for our infants and they looked SO cute!! I love my wife.

Okay- so the other big thing that happened this last week was this: we hired a house cleaner. While there is a part of me that feels a little guilty for paying a woman with stomach cancer only $140 a month to clean my house 3 times a week, I am so glad we did it. She is an amazing woman from our congregation. She can’t legally work, but doesn't want to sit at home and do nothing. She’s a fierce cleaner and is grateful for the opportunity to work. Our daughter LOVES her. There are always smiles and coos when she is around. The wife is also grateful for her. She’s learning Portuguese and now has someone to spend three days a week with. Although I am NOT at all a people person, the wife is. She feeds off of being with other people, so having someone in the house, even if she doesn't speak the same language, is great.

SO MANY things to be thankful for. I feel blessed!

They'd never suspect the baby of making prank calls...

So, while the wife is busy with a challenge of blogging daily on her other blog, this one has been left to yours truly. That’s why you haven’t seen anything new in the last 2 weeks.

Our baby is growing like a little weed. She’s gained all kinds of weight since we brought her home. She’s so cute and is finally learning how to smile. She’s finally figuring out who we are and seems to be to the point where she will actually get upset if she isn’t being held or near us. I was a horrible father last night. She had fallen asleep twice had her diaper changed and was full to the point where she refused to eat more. She was ready for bed, but wouldn’t sleep. I let her cry herself to sleep. It’s probably too early to do something so cruel (at least it seemed cruel). She fell asleep within 5 minutes. We want to get her on a schedule- but we aren’t too good with schedules ourselves…



Today is a holiday. It’s black consciousness day. Basically their MLK day. Our city decided that everyone should take the day off, so I’m at home. Our factory is paying people overtime to work though. We paid people to work overtime all weekend. At the end of the year manufacturing is important because of Christmas.

Summer is kicking in. We have NO A/C. Not in our house. Not even in our car. We are going to start looking for something, anything very soon. It’s too too too hot.

Promise of a new Pic

Today was the first time we saw our little girl smile. Isn't she cute!!



Just out of da shower:



Baby and her gorgeous mommy (can you believe she gave birth just 3 1/2 weeks ago??) Grrrroooowwwwlllll She's HOT!:



Okay on a totally different note; this is the snail attacking our house after some rain this week (that's my hand next to it...):

Pics soon to come

I must say we have been very negligent in not getting a lot. It’s not for lack of excitement, or for lack of time, but rather just that laziness. Our daughter is growing so fast it’s unbelievable. It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. She barely fit into the car seat because she was so small that now she barely fits because she’s so big.

Reva never really had the goal of being a stay at home mom, but in last few weeks she’s become one of the best mothers of that I have ever seen. Whether she’s being spat up on, or nursing at 330 in the morning she never seems to be anything but content in her caring for our little sunshine. She loves our daughter SO much it is amazing. Unfortunately, she takes care of her at the expense of herself sometimes. I often feel so bad leaving her here in a big house in a foreign country all alone all day. She must get so stir crazy, but she never will tell me. She has made so many sacrifices for “us” over the last few months. She is amazing. Her dream has always been to be a “rock star” of sorts, traveling the world playing violin professionally to huge crowds. While we certainly are traveling the world, her audience has ended up being one (with an occasional guitar accompaniment by yours truly). She does accompany the hymns at church (which is a real blessing to everyone at the church).

We’ve tried to make the best of our situation. It’s really really really hot here now. Summer is coming in at full force. We’ve been doing our best to keep our baby and ourselves from literally melting. Since most of our windows are barred getting a window a/c unit is not really even a good option. If I had a whole workshop I could work up something to put into the doorway to the atrium in our bedroom, but I don’t. I have managed to master the art of making guacamole. Avocadoes here are really big and cheap, so we can make a big bowl for about 50 cents worth of ingredients. Doritos sells regular dipping corn chips here. It’s a great mix!! We drink lots of filtered water and juice.

Our entertainment has been reduced to what we can download. I opened an iTunes account and we keep up with some shows we love by downloading them. We also use BYU TV a lot.

Till next time!

videos part um

"Honey, do you think you can figure out how to put a video up on our website?" Pish posh! Little does he realize how cool I truly am.

The view of mommy's lap:



And some witty reparteee as we take Solei home from the hospital:



She's already over a week old and already so pink and squishy - I'm so excited to take her home for Christmas, but I'm scare she'll be so different by then - I want my family to see her NOWWWW! Is it bad that she'll only wake up once or twice in the night, just to eat or get a diaper change, and then goes back to sleep without screaming for too too long? Well, maybe she's just being nice to us right now because we're new at this... I'm not complaining! Thanks baby!

way too much exposure

Solei is a week old now and we are becoming old pros at changing dirty diapers and dirty clothes about 67 times a day. No time to talk, just thought I'd post a mazillion pictures to do that chatting for me!

On the way into the hospital...


Check out the funny baby!


Sure does like her mom though....


Likes her dad too!


In the car, arriving home for the first time!! Soooo little!!


Mommy and baby at breakfast


I'm trying to teach her how to do pushups.


We sure do love her...


The family at my 27th birthday party!


This is what she looks like from mommy's lap. I can't tell if she's weirded out or not...


And just to prove how little she is, here is how big my hand is compared to her head. She liked this shot, can't you tell???

She's here!

Soooo- People told me that once I became a father I’d never get a good night’s sleep again. They never told me that the reason that I couldn’t sleep was that there were nurses coming into your room at all hours of the night checking on your wife. The baby was down the hall (probably getting a good night’s sleep). Actually I don’t think anything really is going to stop the baby from sleeping at all. Our prodding and oogling hasn’t slowed her sleeping down one bit.

Mommy is doing wonderful. We were both amazed at how easy the labor was. Again, no one mentioned to me that it was the recovery that takes it out of you. Epidurals are blessings from heaven.

Here are some pics.
Baby burrito:


Diaper time!


Grandma, daddy and baby:


Mommy and baby, after their baths:

Pictures GALORE!

So, my mom sent a frantic e.mail to Jared's mom this morning (who is currently hanging out at our pad) begging for pictures. So mom, here you go!

Last weekend we headed to a nearby town to do some tourist-y shopping, but the view was splendid. Here's our brave heroes at the top of a very big hill, overlooking Pedreira:


And this was the ant Jared pointed out that was right by my foot. He took the picture (with his finger nearby to show how huge the size was) while I was running screaming to the car.


Mom brought all the baby things, so now we get to actually be READY for baby!!


Here's the "final" product, including way cool flowers mom painted and hung all over the room:


Aren't those flowers fabulous??


Now, if this doesn't entice baby to come out, I don't know what will... they're waiting for you, girl!!


Here's a pic of our dining room area - mom made a cool art piece to work with the rug and the wacky tile:


Here's a closeup of her masterpiece:


And this is the not-friendly-for-babies stairways to our living room.


Okay, our living room is a tad messy, but we LIVE in it! Here's mom typing away - note the awesome rug that matches the ONLY COMFORTABLE COUCHES in all of Brasil!!


Last night we went to the Campinas temple. Gorgeous night, here's mum!


And this is my fatness as of about a week ago. Baby is over a week late now, and ready to come out! I'm having pretty weird contractions today, so maybe she will!


Last but not least, we've told a few people the name, but I've been pretty secretive about it. If you want to know, click
here to see the decoration I made on her door - that's her name!

Hope next time we blog, it's from the hospital! Jared has a business meeting today in Sao Paulo (that's about an hour and a half away, probably more with Sao Paulo traffic) so it's probably when our daughter will want to grace us with her presence;) Just like her mom, I love to make an entrance!