They were the costumes chosen by Nathaniel, Jackson, and Owen for our missionary harvest party!

OB1 Kenobi and Optimus Prime are pretty self explanatory.  The box,  however, may need a little explanation.

Our boys have lots of costumes. They love to dress up!  Well, not as much Nathaniel anymore.  So when we were talking about what costumes they were going to use for the party, Nathaniel said, “I’m just going to dress up as me.”

Noooooooo!!!!!  That was the first thing that came to my mind.  Don’t you dare grow out of the dress up phase!  I am not ready to enter the “I’m too cool to dress up for halloween” phase.  It is way too soon!!

So, what did I do?

I told him he HAD to wear a costume.  Everyone was going to wear costumes and he was NOT going to go without a costume.

Way to let your child make his own choices Teresa.

Over the next few days, the wheels started a turnin’ in Nathaniel’s head.

He then shared his idea with us.

“I am going to be a box.  I’m going to take a big box, make eyeholes, sneak it in to the party, set it in the corner, get in it, and no one will know I am there!!”

Ok Mom, you need to let him make his own decision.  So, the day before the party we got a box, cut the flaps off the bottom so he could move around, and…ta da!! We had the cheapest costume ever waiting in the living room for the party!

I must admit, my thoughts about him hiding in the box were, “everyone’s going to know he’s in the box. He’s not going to be able to stay in it long enough to fool anyone.”

Later that day, I was in the kitchen and Lucas was playing some XBOX.  Nathaniel had decided to test out his box.  We knew he was in it, it was no big deal.  Well, about 30 minutes later, I could not find him!  Where was he?

Still in the box!!

So much for not fooling anyone!!

Anyway, we went off to the party the next day.  They had a blast!

We had a picture scavenger hunt.  We had to take some specific group pictures.  This is my attempt to make a 7 year old, 5 year old, and 3 year old get into a cheerleader pyramid with a 34 year old woman!!  You try it sometime, its not that easy!!

They also had a candy hunt, a pumpkin drawing contest, decorated cookies, made smores with marshmallows from the states, and bobbed for apples.

Nathaniel was not going to give up until he got an apple.

Jackson was never able to get one.  He was too concerned about the tubes in his ears.  He did try though!!

Owen actually got his apple pretty easily!!  The older kids, however, weren’t thrilled that when he got water in his mouth he spit it back into the bin.  Sorry!!

Thank you to my colleague and friend Sarah for putting this party together.  It actually came about because Nathaniel and Jackson asked their teacher from last year Carol if there was going to be anything for halloween!!  The party was above and beyond their expectations!!

About 3 weeks ago, Lucas’s parents flew down for a visit.  We had planned this visit last March, and they bought their tickets shortly after.  The plan was for us to move, get somewhat settled, then have them come down to help finish the settling, do some painting, and of course do some fun “Grandma and Grandpa are here” stuff.

Things don’t always go as planned.  Why I even plan things, I don’t know.

We did get moved.  That part of the plan worked out.

What didn’t quite go as planned, you ask?

The onset of what is believed to have been H1N1.  It was not your normal run of the mill flu.  4 out of the 6 of us were textbook H1N1 patients.

A family full of high fevered, coughing, bed-ridden people isn’t exactly my definition of good timing for an international visit from Grandma and Grandpa.

However, it was God’s definition of good timing.

And I am so thankful for that.

When Pam and Gerry arrived, we had already spent 2 weeks living out of suitcases.  Houses down here don’t have built in closets, so we needed to purchase wardrobes, but hadn’t been able to yet.  I’m happy to say by the time they left, we had purchased wardrobes for everyone, Pam did all our laundry and helped get everything organized into the wardrobes!

That, however, was not the event the blessed my heart the most.  When they arrived, this is what our kitchen had been for 2 weeks.

Houses down here, even rentals, usually are completely empty when you move in. This house had toilets (but no seats), bathroom sinks, and a kitchen faucet. We washed dishes in a little pedestal sink in the bathroom.  So sanitary.  Anyway, we had to have a kitchen built and installed, which took 3 weeks.  When they kitchen finally arrived, I was in the think of the flu.  My mother-in-law, Pam, unpacked everything, washed everything, and put everything away all while watching the kids and taking care of everything else around the house.  My father-in-law did a ton too, but, sorry Bair, Pam was over the top helpful!! Anyway, this is now our kitchen…

I LOVE this kitchen! Love, love, love it! All that is left to do is finish hanging pictures on the wall.  Did I mention I love it?

Did I mention we would have been in some serious trouble had God not brought my in-laws down here while we had the flu?

So, while it was not an ideal vacation-type trip, it was a trip that was truly a blessing to us.  And of course the boys love seeing Grandma and Papa…and Grandma and Papa loved seeing the boys.

I wish I had some pictures to post of their time here, but we didn’t really get out much.

I guess they’ll just have to come back soon so we can go out on the town…

She left us and went back to the States last week.

She lived with us for almost 2 years.

This is our Julia.

We met Julia 6 or 7 years ago, I can’t even remember how long its been.

Next thing we knew, she was super involved in our college ministry, hanging out at our house, babysitting for us, and eventually living with us!  We invited her to come down here with us to help out with the kids, mostly Owen, while we were in language school.  I cannot imagine what the last year would have been like without her!!  She helped me around the house, she taught Owen preschool, she watched all 3 boys when we had missionary stuff to go to (or if we just needed a night out), she basically was willing to help us out in any way that we needed.  She lived life with us during one of the hardest years we’ve had as a family.  Did I mention I can’t imagine what the last year would have been like without her?

However, her ministry did not stop with our family.

This is the youth group at one of the churches in our town of Gravataí.  The church’s name is Comunidade Cristã, but we all refer to it as the Sitio (sit-chee-oo).

Julia had a great impact on the lives of these kids.  (I say kids, but they actually range from ages 14-25)

I could tell you what I think about her impact on their lives, but instead I will translate what 2 of the girls said last weekend after they visited our church service.

“Julia loved us with a true love.  She taught us through the way she loved us.  She changed our lives.  We don’t know what we are going to do now.  We don’t know someone in our church who will love us with a true love the way Julia did.”

Debora, one of the girls, shared a little about the life of Aline, the girl who Julia discipled this year. She said,

“Before Julia, no one could stand Aline.  She was difficult to be around.  But Julia’s love for her changed her and now we all love her.”

This is Aline.

Julia never formally studied portuguese while she was here, yet, she discipled Aline (who speaks no english) and God used her to change Aline’s life.

Please pray for these kids, especially Aline, as the continue their walk with the Lord and strive to have an impact in their community.  Pray they will work to show the same love to others that Julia showed to them.

Julia, we are so proud of you.  We have watched you grow in your walk with the Lord over the last 6 or 7 years, but nothing compares to this year.  You arrived a girl who wanted to serve God in Brazil and left a woman who impacted the lives of many people.

You are not a short-term missionary to us.  You are not a nanny or a babysitter to us.

You are our daughter, sister, friend.

You are family.

We love you!

P.S.  Don’t forget, “What happens in Brazil, stays in Brazil!!”