Priscila & Stella! Stella. Tummy Time!

I spent the afternoon with Priscila and STELLA! This is my first time to be with Stella and it was such a treat. Priscila is such a good Mom. I love their apartment too. Hard to believe I have never been. I was going to walk but ended up getting a taxi. In the end I was glad. It was a bit farther than I thought.

Art Class!

Meredith (6 months and Ben 20 months under the same table)

After Class!
Table Before!

I have started taking Art Class with friends. I know many of you are shocked.
Not an artistic bone in my body. I wonder all the time where Ben got his wonderful talent.
Anyway, I finished putting tile on an old table of Mom and Dad's.
I thought you would all be impressed!

Brazil - April

Goodbye Nancy & Curt!

Dog with leather boots. Amaryllis painted by Lauren

Parrots painted by Lauren

The new Starbucks!

I am back in Brazil. I returned to cool, breezy Fall weather. The Brazilians are starting to pull out the winter clothes. I am just in Heaven. My friend Cassia loves this time of year. She gets to wear her beautiful boots.

I left my Mom in good shape. The doctor told us it would take 4-5 weeks for the new thyroid medicine to kick in and I could see a difference before I left. She gets stronger everyday. Thank you to everyone for your prayers. I am very proud of her.

There is one thing I do every single Friday. Check the movies at Iguatemi Mall because they have my favorite popcorn. We do go to other movie theaters too though. I checked today and there are two new movies out and BOTH are in English. It is a good day when there is one but when you can do a double feature it is a really good day.

They are having a marathon for cancer. The music blasted us out of the bed at 6:30. I was upset until we walked down there and found what it was for. If Mike & Seth were here they would be running. We looked for Kathy Delorme. We thought she might be running. The 26 mile ending was uphill and I felt so sorry for those people. I am amazed at how many people are running.

We walked to the bazaar held every Saturday and Sunday. I took a picture of the dog (I will post on my blog) we saw with his little leather boots on. As we were walking back we saw the new Starbucks almost finished very close to where Mary and Joe used to live. I don't think anyone's coffee can beat Romana's coffee but I will give it a try.

Nancy and Curt will be returning to the States next month. They have been here with us the whole 4 years. We will really miss them. That doesn't leave many of us here.

I have started taking Art Class with Morgan. She is so much fun. I am putting tile on a table that is very old. It was Mom and Dad's table. It is starting to look very nice. She was Lauren Rodger's Art Teacher too. Lauren painted us two paintings for our apartment. One of Amaryllis and one of parrots. They are amazing.

Mom and friends on a sunny day!














Mom with her new door decoration!

I spent 3 weeks with Mom and every day she got stronger in body and mind.

I am amazed at the difference in her health in 3 weeks.

The doctor said it would take 4-5 weeks before she would fill the full affect of the new thyroid medication.

This is my whacky rug.

These are the chocolate Easter eggs in the grocery stores!

Aunt Betsy & Reagan

Reagan in her cute hat
Reagan in her cute jogging suit.

Kyle, Jane & Dionne

I am with Mom in Chattanooga. They put her in the hospital on Friday (March 27) and I could not get here until the following Tuesday. I am glad I came. She is still very weak. The problem ended up being her thyroid medication. It is just amazing how one little pill can mess up everything. Please pray that she gets much stronger with her rehab and that I can return home to John for a while. He is the most patient husband of all time. God certainly blessed me.

I have decided that when you are living in another country the most important thing for you to do is to make good friends. It certainly helps you survive. It seems though that we say goodbye all the time to friends we have made. Especially now with the economy in the shape it is. We have also learned that the shape of the economy in the U.S. affects all the other countries too. We said goodbye to Mieko. Then, Debby left. She and Joe were here short term for just 3 months but she lived close to my apartment and it was fun having her here. Maria and Edmundo have moved to Miami. Jane and Jeff Hearn leave next week. I am sad to not be there to say goodbye. Jane Hearn is one of the funniest people I know. She has a very quick wit and can make you laugh any minute of any day. I have never heard her say anything negative about anything or anyone. If there is anything you need besides friends it is friends with a good attitude. You can survive a foreign country with a good attitude. Jane definitely has a good attitude. I think it is a conscious choice to choose to be happy.

John and I went to the grocery store before I left and two things have appeared for Easter here in Brazil. One is their Easter Eggs. They are this huge shell of chocolate (about 8 inches tall) and then the shell is filled with smaller pieces of wrapped candy. They hang in the grocery stores above all the shelves. It is like a child's wonderland. All these beautifully wrapped Easter Eggs in shiny bright colors. I am always amazed that they are all gone by Easter because there are just so many of them. The other thing that has appeared is cod fish. You walk in the front door of the grocery store and there is the smell. It about knocks you out. Then you walk and there, in the middle of the store, is a big vat of fish laying on ice. I hold my breath as I run through. Some stores are worse than others.

I had a massage for the first time. I had a horrible crick in my back and neck and was absolutely miserable. I think it happened on the plane. This woman at the hair salon said she would make me feel better and boy did she. You forget you are in pain when she is working on your shoulders and back. Everyone had been begging me to try it and now I understand why. I will definitely go back.

When the President of Brazil said that the economic problems were caused by “white blue eyed people” I really chuckled. It sounded as if he did not like us. For me it seems once a day when walking or shopping or eating in Brazil I am stopped by someone and they say “Are you from the U.S.?” or “Where are you from?” Then, I will have this wonderful conversation with them. Most of the time in English but many times in some Portuguese. I have never felt like they did not like me or did not like the U.S. I guess the Brazilian people do not always agree with their President just like Americans.

We had beautiful weather this weekend and Mom and I went for a ride to LaFayette. My Dad’s baby brother, Billy Jon, passed away and Mom was in the hospital and we did not get to go to the funeral. Mom wanted to see where he was buried. He was 16 years younger than Daddy but looked just like him. He went to Nascar races with my Dad and really loved learning his computer. I will miss his e-mails. He kept me up to date about the goings on of LaFayette, Georgia.

It was a beautiful day on Sunday. 77 Degrees, sunny and bright. NOW it is Tuesday and 32 degrees and snowing. What a difference a couple days can make. I am still wearing my summer clothes. They do not realize how wonderful the cold weather feels to me. I have watched enough basketball to last me till next year. Now I get to watch the Master’s this weekend. I believe going to the Master’s with John is one of my most vivid memories. We always sat at Amen Corner and watched everyone putt at the 13th hole and tee off at 14. I remember the people, the weather, the flowers, the DELICIOUS sandwiches and seeing Tiger win his first Master’s. There is just nothing like it. Can’t wait.