Week One Picture Diary!

One of the very first conversations Aaron and I ever had was him asking me how I felt about adventuring! I'm not sure either of us understood the degree to which our lives would be consistently filled with adventures as we pursued God's call. As I mentioned in my previous post, our latest adventure is to back to Brazil. Aaron and I need to write a post explaining all that is going on here for Aaron's business, the homeschool movement, and ministry. There is much to tell, it's hard to know where to begin. As I've pondered where to begin, I decided to do a picture diary of our first week.

As many of you know, this gem of a friend, Emily King, journeyed with us to Brazil. Her sole mission was to be a helping hand on the way down and in our first week in country. Aaron went ahead of the kids and I because he was speaking at a conference, so her presence on the commute down was such a gift. She continued to bless us richly as she was a companion, a familiar face, a playmate to the kids, and a trusted friend to ask good questions as we processed the transition.

Beginning the journey, everyone was so very excited!

The journey was long and everyone was thrilled to arrive. Shortly after this picture, all the kids were sound asleep on our hour long drive from Sao Paulo to Atibaia. 

Our home here has a pool. It's winter. Though the tempertures have hovered in the 70/80s the water is still freezing!!! However, the kids have still swam almost daily! 

Look closely, Austin is shivering!!!!

Endless nature discoveries!

Our first full day here, we walked down to the park and collected nature along the way.

The park in our neighborhood. 

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Beside the park, there is a field where capivara. There's dozens of them! Jonathan and Austin took lots of pictures of them. I'll include a few here! 

This is our soccer field. Emily got lots of cardio here with soccer, lacrosse, and shoot outs! 

We have loved getting to know other families. This is the Pinheros. I met them in December when I came down to train for Classical Conversations. I was immediately drawn to them as they are such a sweet family. It has been so sweet to watch our children become friends! Daniel (dad pictured) is the director of the  CC community here. His wife is one of the tutors.

  

Emily was so patient in situations where she was the only one who didn't speak Portuguese! 

This is Carol. Daniel's wife. She's a mom of 5. Started homeschooling a couple years ago. She is a brave pioneer in this homeschooling movement. She has become a sweet sweet friend here! 

This lady right here was a dear friend when we lived in Brazil for Aaron's second year of grad school. We were pregnant with Evelina when we left and she finally got to meet to Evelina!

On our first Sunday, we returned to our home church in our old neighborhood. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch with the pastor and his family. The reunion was so sweet. They were like grandparent to Austin and Jonathan during our time in Sao Paulo. We shared many laughs over all the fun memories!

Our first community day with Classical Conversations Atibaia. 

The kids got to dissect an owl pellet. This was a favorite of our science experiments last year so it was a welcomed repeat!  

Grocery shopping with Mrs. Emily!

In her kiddo - whisperer nature, she was able to motivate all the kiddos to cease the whining and engage in helpfulness! 

MILKSHAKE OVOMALTINE!!!! This is my favorite ice cream dessert in Brazil.
 Emily couldn't leave without tasting this amazingness! 

New way of napping! 

Nicholas woke up from nap and dressed himself. "Mom is this right?" He asked about his shirt.
Then posed like a cool guy for the picture! 

We had to see Emily off in style. We started our afternoon off with acai bowls and board games!

The view from this coffee shop was amazing.

Then we toured the old down town area and did a little shopping.

We ended the evening with Rodizo de Pizza. Most of you in the states will know what a Brazilian steakhouse is. That restaurant style is called a rodizo where it's an all you can eat buffet of various types of meats. This was the same set up, only serving pizza!!! Numerous different flavors including dessert pizzas....chocolate pizza, banana pizza, strawberry pizza, and a special M&M pizza for the kiddos! All walked away with a full belly and a happy heart!

We loved having Emily with us. The commute down was incredibly smooth and even fun with her company. Our first week came with unexpected frustrations. The kids were so excited to be here but no one factored in the disappointment of not being able to fully communicate. Emily was a great buffer when circumstances became overwhelming to the kids. For me she was a trusted friend who asked great questions. She helped me process some of the transition we were all undergoing. Her company also made me have renewed courage to explore and settle in to our new neighborhood. When Emily offered to come down with us, I knew it was a good idea. However, I really had no idea how much her presence would bless us. Our whole family was in awe of her selfless nature in gifting us with her time, love and friendship. Her willingness to take this time was a true investment setting a good foundation for our adventure! We are forever grateful Emily.

There is so much more to write, process and share. This is only the beginning and it's actually already outdated! I'm finding it difficult to find the time to write. This picture diary is my attempt to get in the groove of blogging again!