Most of you know, I was born in Brazil and came to the states when I was only 5 years old. My family - dad, mom, and brother - came in pursuit of the "American dream". My parents wanted to offer my brother and me the opportunities that the USA has. So they chose to uproot our family and we became another classic immigration family. As a child, you don't see much of what your parents surrendered. But after having moved my little family a time or two, I know what that means. I also know that with each move we've had, I always had hope for family like community. And these precious faces are the ones that taught me to hope, search, and pursue that!
This is my "cousin" Ana. Shortly after my family's move to the US, we met Ana's family. She and I were early elementary school age. Her family became our family. Her mom, my aunt. I claimed her as my cousin. Weekends, birthday parties, Christmases, family vacations, our families were always together. Of course our relationship had its seasons. We liked eachother, but hated each other during periods of our childhood. She didn't like me mothering her. I didn't like her telling my mom that I said bad words. We attended each other's graduations. We had long conversations about the boys who are now our husbands. We went wedding dress shopping together. Through the years she has camped out in my heart. Our friendship is something I cherish deeply and I am so thankful that we can continue to add to our memories. Not only that, we know have children who get to be "family".
Between the two of us we have 5 kids. Jonathan and Jonah are just a few months apart. Evelina and Lydia are just a few months apart. Last week, she bravely loaded the plane with her two kiddos and made the truck to Texas to spend a few days with us. It was a precious time!
