6 years ago...and 20 hours of labor

Little George Eugene Stewart arrived! March 27th, 2003. George, you were a big boy, 8lbs 15 ounces!!! Had to stay a few days in NICU, but when you came home, your butter-cube colored room was there to greet you, with a 'stars and moon' theme (didn't know you were going to be a boy yet), your other decor quickly became Curious George...and today, you live up to that name!

What a joy you are George! The Lord has richly blessed our lives with you! You have never been a dull kid, and I believe God has great things planned for your strong-willed ways...just keep listening to your wise mom and dad!!! With you, there is always an adventure going on, something cooking inside that head of yours, thinking and planning your next idea, caring and loving your brother Finn, out catching bugs or lizards, running barefoot and finding your friends while riding your ultra green bike.

Living in Brazil has opened your eyes to a needy world, you see kids sleeping on the streets, and fingerless men begging, and you want to help. Just like Jesus did. Keep your heart sensitive to what Jesus wants for you...even in Kindergarten.

George chose a Woody the Woodpecker themed party...that bird is alive and well here in Brazil! We had the gathering at the pool, compete with water balloons, too much pop, lots of kids and little woody the woodpecker flags in sub sandwiches!

Come on flying Finn...time for cake! Homemade cupcakes and frosting, took 2 days to make it, and minutes for it to melt. But...they were GOOD! George's first birthday being sung to in 2 languages!

Gifts from the grandparents living in the US came ON TIME! They both shipped them in January, took about 2 months to get here. But...they were here!!! Great party, and those 3 hours were the only rain-free hours of the day!

Here are a few more pics I have been wanting to post:

Here's a pic from the latest Fun Night fund raiser here at school, it was a Disney Dress-up theme. I hear Hulk is to be casted in High school musical 8. Stew had a sign that read, "Grow-up Pinocchio. I'm not a puppet, I'm a real man!" Finn and I were home, sick. I hate missing out on fun things...rats!

Found Finn working on his motorbike the other day. This thing has gone through about 3 other MK's here, about time someone worked on it.

George and his beloved tadpoles. As soon as they become young frogs, they are on his cars, passengers on his little airplanes or living in the Lego land he made. "Why do they always die, mom?" Don't know son.....

Finn hanging out with some boys in a neighboring town...he didn't want to go home.

Ahhh yes, just when I thought my yearbook pictures were over, Finn and I have one taken for the Amazon Valley Yearbook!

new year, new post

We went to the Bosque on Christmas Eve Eve (the central park of Belem) and this rad structure was there, nice and safe huh!

Our friend, Joice, and a traditional Amazonian feast called Tucupi.

A day spent at the beach on the Amazon. No, this is not the ocean, its fresh, or "sweet" water.

Time for some sweat relief, with a reward!

YEAH!!!! I found tofu at the store. Comes in a huge bag that is full of water, simliar to the bag of water and air you would get with a goldfish in it. I made my favorite smoothies with it. Its not silken, but it works!

Banana Fudge Smoothie

1/2 c. tofu (silken)

1 1/4 c. milk

3 frozen bananas

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 T. honey

(and today I put a big ol' glob of natural peanut butter in there too...hmmm)

Put all in a blender and blend away till smooth.

A common chore, washing the fans down. They get a load of dirt/dust/ash in there within weeks.

Each Christmas, I make something for the boys. Usually, on the sewing machine, but this year, I stuck with paper and glue. These are little notebooks, decorated and covered with packing tape.



Yes, mid January and look..Christmas presents:) And the gift goes on! Notice the new necklace from my boys...I love it! And thanks for the tank Shi!

a new look

So, after all this with Finn, his seizures, test, results, doctors, now translation and finding a neurologist in the states...I needed something to occupy my mind, something I would have a little more control over.

My project: to transform our dining room into a place we want to be and eat.

The most difficult part: finding black spray paint; locating a few slabs of plywood to re-do some chairs I found in storage; communicating.

The easiest part: thinking and planning; waiting for the paint to dry (I did 3 coats in one afternoon, equatorial heat comes in handy now and then).

BEFORE (blah-ville)

AFTER (ahhhhh)

Notice George, Stew and Finn enjoying the aspects of the new room!

chicken n' more

Opening my frozen chicken to cook for family, I notice 2 little extra things come out of the packaging (you never know what you will get in Brazil!)

finn's training days

Finn has had a horrible rash on his bum; I am talking bright red, swollen, blisters...all over. Must be the tropical heat combined with the diapers and such. So, we have tried 8 different creams and ointments, have switched to the Brazilian day time washable diaper and have brought out the little Brazilian potty. Here was Finn's first response:

snippin' the sleeves

This dress was a steal at Target for like $4. It had long sleeves. Today, I wanted to wear it, but long sleeves in the tropics is pretty much a death wish (or a crazy-stare wish, which I get enough of already), so I cut and sewed cap sleeves. Turned out well. Did I mention this is a polyester dress??? Um...this will have to be an occasional wear.

Here is what I did with the sleeves...our neighbor girl enjoyed them!

i'm hanging for the first time

So we made it to Brazil, our new home (this pic is in Miami during our layover). Two days of travel, arriving with no luggage, and a humidity that will make the shortest of hair curl! Once our luggage did come, all 2 dozen pieces...I figured out a few things.

• I cannot read portuguese


• I have no idea what to feed my family with (beyond store bough coconut cookies and little bananas)


• I have never hung laundry before


• Kids help you get to the front of the line


• "220" on an outlet does not stand for a Phil Keaggy album


• Toaster glow and burst into blames when plugged into the 220 outlet


• Driving is an extreme sport

So, once I came to the conclusion that I need help with the basics of life, I asked the Lord for some serious grace, humility and patience.

I now know:

• Fire ants have short tempers...and enjoy their title


• Teenagers are the same everywhere (our house got TP'd the 3rd night here)


• Envelopes will seal themselves


• Just sweat and be happy


• Veggies and fruit are to be soaked in vinegar before eating


• Can't flush TP, the little trash can isn't just for ladies anymore


• Paper gets moist and wavy just sitting there


• Unplug everything when not using it


• The words for coconut and poop are the same, just with a slightly different tone...wonderful!


• This is where the Lord wants me right now!!!!

So this morning, after dropping George off at school (a 1/2 mile walk or so) I came home to make something and now feel like we will survive. Granola! I found (with LOTS of help) ground flax seed, whole oats, EVOOil, unsweet coconut, soy granuals, and honey!!! Yippeee...I can cook!!! On the menu tonite...GRANOLA!!!!

To see our family blog and its pictures, just click here

My 2 milk choices...

The variety of fruit...can you find the avacado?? Notice the outlet...uh...duck tape was put there by me, litte reminder!