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!

days to go

Here I will be, in my suit, with my suitcase, ready to hop on a plane to Brazil, (with an additional dozen or more suitcases, bins, husband, kids, etc).

We got our visas end of March, and have been packing, sorting, tossing and storing our lives away. We leave Spokane on the 14th of April to head to Belem, Brazil. It'll take a few days to get there, but at 4:15am on the 16th, we'll arrive!

Thanks to the Lord, who is our constant rock.

mid march

"Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film."

March days are here, and so is the fresh air (still a bit cold) a desire to clean and purge, and my toes wanting air. Visas are said to be on their way to us March 25th, we'll soon see! If that's the case, we'll depart April 14th.

God has our absolute best in store...no worries!

The guys hiking around. George actually brought a sketchbook and a pen for the purpose of doing some work out on the trail...

...see

new toys

I am having muito fun with my new dehydrator, compliments of my pal, Lisa. Right now I have my latest version of "raw" oatmeal cookies in there, along with some pickles...you just never know. They, the cookies, are packed with soaked oats, dried raisins & apricots, unrefined coconut oil, flax seed, regular oats, black strap molasses, honey and pecans. Blended it up and plopped it on. Now the hum of the my new toy is emitting in the kitchen and the cookies will be done in only 12 hours!



Yogi tea is my new favorite edible toy. Just add boiling water and a bit of milk. I am ever sipping Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut --it is dessert in a mug! While I sip, I sit and reflect on the lavish love of the Lord and how I don't deserve a lick of it, but am so very thankful for it. Man, when will those cookies be done?

cute homemade baby burp cloths

I dragged out my blessed machine and went to work on an easy little baby gift! My friend is having a baby girl next month and has the theme of little lambs in the room. Found some nice fabric and got busy. This is a easy gift to make, and won't break the bank. A bit more than I usually spend, but she is a special friend.

1. Start with 1/3 yards of fabric per 2 diapers. I bought 3, 1/3 yards for the 6 diapers I will cover and sew. The diapers are the pre-folded Gerber from Target, they are everywhere. Don't get the unfolded ones...no no...won't work.



2. Wash it all (cold water)



3. Iron it all



4. Cut the fabric in about 20-21 inches by 6-7 inches. Depends on the size of the cloth diaper and how you want it to look.



5. Iron the ends under all at once, (saves time) and pin on the diaper for the middle strip.




6. Try to find contrasting thread colors to stand out a bit, or you can match if you must.
   
   
7. Sew as close as you can to the edge, it looks better than further in.
   
   
8. Use a variety of stitches too, if you wish. You don't just have to use the straight line option.



9. Cut all the extra threads off, fold, and use the scraps as the ribbon to tie together. This is my very first tutorial...hope it makes at leat 24% of sense!

a time to knit…again

I got out my knitting needles from winter storage. Odd place for them to be, as winter is knitting time, but moving to Brazil required such oddities...and now, I am getting them out.

Moving into our 8th month of waiting for visas brought me to this place of knitting a yoga mat cover.

I tried FOREVER trying to flip these pics....sorry you have to crank your head. I'll try later.

brave susie

The other day, Susie came over and we played make-up! She actually let me put it on her face!!! And even better...it turned out fabulous! Not hard to do when you are as cute as she is. We did more browns, greens and creams on her, as they look great with her skin tones and with her style. My neighbor Megan gave me a steal on her Mary Kay, mucho thanks!

The boys working on Valentines. George's first year of signing his name, he has 31 cards to practice on!

brown is back

Thanks to Charis Bair for the lovely new colors flowing from my hair...she is amazing, and I highly recommend her for cut AND color (which is big). She's downtown in Spokane at Regis 458.888. She did a spiff little layer of bright blonde under the bangs and around the under layer of hair...great for a no-root grow out! Hooray!!! And yes, my actual hair color is brown...ish.

I live with 3 males, 2 whom are potty trained...but not lid-shutting trained. I see my next task ahead o me.

cereal sale

If you live in the Spokane area, don't forget about the wonderful cereal, banana, milk sale going on all day tomorrow at Rosauers, see the ad. You can stock up on great items for the coming months, not just breakfast items. With the sale stuff, you can make:

• banana bread (try a new recipe...spice it up a bit)


• rice krispy treats (or other cereal with marshmallows)


• granola additives (cheerios, squares of wheat, etc)


• banana smoothies


• Orange Julius, check out my no sugar new recipe I tried:

Orange Julius Smoothie

*cup full of frozen bananas (peel, cut and freeze in a zip-lock, and they are always ready)

*cup of orange juice

*1/4 c. milk

*1/2 tsp. vanilla

Blend all together till smooth, taste it and add more of whatever you want to taste more of. Super d'lish dessert or breakfast, plop a straw in it and the kid will love it!

You could even go to the local mall and open up a stand...oh...wait.........

happy purse

I got a Macy's card for Christmas (actually, it was a return and I put the $ on a card, so I would be forced to spend it there). The card was hibernating in my wallet, until last evening. Heading into Macy's, I gravitated to the clearance table as though I had no will of my own. There she was, the one, the new purse for Jill....oh, wait, its Fossil...must be a mistake, they never go on sale. What is this? Slashing of prices on the tag? In different shades of red? Then...an additional 50% off sign right above it??? No, it can't be...YES, it is!!!! Paid $4 out of pocket, not too bad. Thanks mom, for the liberty to return my gift from Christmas, and thank you bag, for being around Macys so long, they had to mark you down 75%.

Received this in the mail today, thanks Renee,

my feelings exactly.

granola goodness

My friend, Stacy, gave me this recipe years ago, I took one look at it and wondered who would make granola without sugar listed as an ingredient. I filed it away as a good idea for someday, and lo...here I am, making it! I minorly tweeked it. It's not super sweet, but man, its good, cheap and we down it in no time!

***Notice the Tupperware I was saving to use in Brazil....maybe someday!

Granola

4 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds

1/2 c. unsweet coconut shavings

1/2 c. ground flax seed

1/4 c. molasses

1/3 c. olive oil

1/3 c. water

Blend it all very well, lay on cookie sheet, bake at 250 for 1.15 hours, stirring every 15 min. Store airtight.

George created these solo, he invented them (far as I know) pb&choc dipped waffle pretzels...he said they were for Finn, his neighbor friend, cousins, Yia Yia, Uncle Joe, Grampa, Gramma....uh.....keep dipping son!

"People are like tea bags, you never know how strong or weak they are till you put them in hot water." S. Westbrook

God his so faithful. It has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with Him!

I used to ask Him for a word from the consulate today, or the visa service, some good news about us moving to Brazil, or even an approximate year would be fine. That was my focus. Now...I just want a word from Him. What does He have to say to me today? He is my hope, He is in charge and He is the one to whom I answer to.

Tons and heaps of snow

This is the view from my kitchen window, as I wash dishes, make meals, clean the crust out of things, etc. Here are the boys playing with the neighbor boy, Austin.


















We have some

family similarities...



Me and my
baking partner!


















Its been snowing here like mad...I mean, we are past 2 feet, and rising! Schools were cancelled for the week, ideal for any student of any age. I feel like a kid again when the news flashes, "District 81-CLOSED" at the bottom of the screen...YIPPEEE!!!! Oh wait, I am the mom now. I have responsiblities, I have to drive in this, get food for my family, run to the bank, go to the gym, but fear-not...I have a Subaru...YIPPPEEEE!!!!