Porto

Since Henry was the one who had most recently been sick when we arrived in Porto, we let him chose what we should do that first day and he chose “Sea Life”.  It’s a really nice little aquarium (albeit small), but the kids had a lot of fun.  They even got to feed the stingrays and complete a little “quiz” at the end of our time which won them an awesome medal   Afterwards, we walked along the beach for a little while and I snapped a few pictures, we grabbed lunch at McDonalds and then everyone was worn out so we went back to our friends apartment and just watched movies and played games.  Nice and relaxing.

Coming out of the fog…

Oh man folks.  I don’t know WHAT has happened, but our family has been passing around something for over two weeks now!  First it was Cal with an ear infection, then Mg who basically passed out for two days, then Henry followed suit…then we attempted to go ahead with our fun “mini-vacation” plans this past weekend but they were cut short and we returned home because they saved what seems to be the worst of it for yours truly.  I came down with something Tuesday and am STILL trying to recover…I can’t WAIT to feel myself again!  Lily also said she was sick here and there, but she never seemed to actually have anything…I guess she just didn’t want to feel left out, but if she only knew…she wouldn’t want any part of this

I am way behind on any and all blogging, so I thought I’d go ahead and just post what I DO have from the moments we’ve been more “lively” these past two weeks.  (Thank goodness I’m not still doing a “photo a day” though…I’ve got nothing but piles of kleenex from the past few days!)

Let’s start with Valentine’s Day…shall we?!  One of my friends got me this mug as a gift…isn’t it cute?!

And it wasn’t right until bedtime that I got to give the kids their gifts (Tuesday’s are busy days), but they each got a new shirt (as modeled above their p.j.’s), some candy and a deck of cards with 52 things I love about each of them.  Of course Cal doesn’t really get it yet, but I hope they’ll all appreciate it some day…it was fun to sit and reflect on all the unique ways I love them (for their own uniqueness).  Henry was cute…Henry went straight to bed and read them…and then the next day…and the next…I think this boy loves words of affirmation

Valentine’s isn’t really celebrated much here in Portugal, especially since the thing THEY are looking forward to during this time is Carnival!  The kids at Calvin’s school were all given a black hat and asked to decorate it.  Lily took over that job for him and created this adorable masterpiece fit for Cal :)

And here’s a few of the other hats…there were lots of cute ones.  One thing that amazes me about Portuguese is how resourceful they are…they use recycled materials (including coffee capsules) for everything!

Carnival is a big day at the schools (kind of like our Halloween) where the kids go all out and dress up at school and then parade around the neighborhood with confetti.  It’s super cute…I was just super bummed when I got up there to watch and snap pictures when my camera died after about 5 pictures   I only got one, not even a good one, of Henry who I was SO proud of.  If you SAW the prices of costumes here, you probably wouldn’t blame us for not purchasing them, so he woke up that morning, dug through their dress up clothes and created his very own “Darth Vador” costume.  He looked super cute and I was super proud that he didn’t mind wearing old stuff!  And Lily seems to always fall back on Snow White…she wore the same thing last year…and a few years before that…it’s kind of funny.  I think next year when we’re in the U.S. these kids will all have earned some new costumes!  (And Cal, well, I say he went as Mr. Cranky Pants because this kid never wants anything to do with dressing up, but his teachers were sweeter.  When his friends asked what Calvin was, they just said, “An American”   )  All the kids are super cute though…my personal favorites are always the cowboys and indians.  It’s amazing to me how many of the kids here dress like that and I love telling them that they’re dressed up like “my land”.  Anyway, here’s a few pics…

And, well, really, that’s about as animated as we’ve been these past few weeks.  I’m telling you…these illnesses have been brutal!  I have a few pictures from the little bit of time we were in Porto, but I’ll do those seperately…since I don’t have much else to report lately   Here’s hoping next week will be better…it’s GOT to be!

Valentines Party 2012!

This was my second year to host a Valentine’s themed party for Lily’s little girl friends.  I figure it’s a great excuse to do girly things and just to celebrate them…every little girl should be spoiled and celebrated from time to time for no reason, right?!  Last year I was a little discouraged when only three little girls showed up, but this year 11 (out of 20) showed up to party alongside Lily!  I was thrilled…I believe it is a testament to how good God has been to us in the friend department…we invited some of her old friends from last year, her classmates from this year and some neighbors and other little girls we know from various events.  I also invited three of my friends (without kids) to come and help me out.  They LOVED getting to play with all the girlies!  We kept them busy with lots of activities…coloring and making valentines, decorating cookies, playing bingo, etc.  They still found time to dress up though (as you’ll see)   Anyway, here are a few of the pictures I was able to snap…such a fun day!

My cave

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading lately.  It has been so cold here that I have been retreating to what Mg lovingly calls “my cave” where we have laundry hanging (since our dryer broke ) and a little space heater running to try to help dry them faster.  It’s a little room, so it gets nice and toasty and I LOVE it!  I even recently gave it a facelift and am thrilled with the “happiness” the room portrays.  It’s a great place to retreat with my cup of coffee, my Bible and some other books and the smell of fresh laundry blowing in a warm breeze

I’m smiling just thinking about it.  It is filled with old maps and postcards from our journey’s taken and I can’t wait to add to it over the years…I’m already excited thinking about our March…London, Spain and Morocco!  Not to mention new postcards from any travels we make while in the U.S.!  Anyway, that is “my cave”.  I’m not sure what the owners original intent was for this room…it has some closets for storage and leads to the laundry room, but we use it just as our room to kind of hide everything during parties, but now it’s a little more functional.

And, like I said, I hide in there and read books.  I recently finished this one…

It was really wonderful.  She described me so perfectly sometimes it was creepy and yet SO nice to hear that there are other “good girls” like me out there!  It was a great reminder of the grace that God has already given to us and to let go of our too  high expectations of ourselves.  I highly suggest this book to any of you out there who are too hard on yourself…because you have a God who loves you a lot, a lot!  You don’t have to keep “trying” to please Him…He’s already pleased.

Mg and I also just finished reading…

We both really loved it.  We had been recommended this book by some friends and so I asked my mother for it for Christmas.  It’s comical/sad that I had to preface with “no mom, our marriage is not in trouble”.  It seems like most people think these books should only be read when marriages are in trouble…when most likely, it’s too late for this book to help.  People should be more “pro-active” in keeping their marriages, parenting, etc. healthy and not waiting until they are “sick”.  Anyway, it was great and left us up talking several nights about the insights we learned.  It’s wonderful!

And, my dear friend Andee suggested this one to me…

I’m not normally one for “Christian fiction”, but I trust Andee’s taste, so I read it and got hooked and thoroughly enjoyed it!  It’s a bittersweet story about wealthy families of Atlanta surviving the great depression.  If you’re looking to get lost in a good book for a few days, I think you’ll find this one to provide just that!

And, lastly, right now I’m in the middle of reading…

This book makes you think.  As a matter of fact, I hesitate mentioning it because I think it would “rock the boat” with lots of people, but it raises some GREAT questions about the way we “do church” today.  I am really enjoying it…I always enjoy something that challenges you to think.  Like I said, I’m not finished yet, but at the half way point, I would say I am in full agreement with Mr. Viola, I’m just not sure how to reconcile it with how the church is…I’m hoping he’ll get to that in the next half.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to in “my cave” recently…staying warm, doing laundry, thinking happy thoughts about travels, filling my heart with God’s Word and reading these other fun books.  You should all have a cave…it’s a pretty cool place to hang out