I'm trying to catch up I promise

Now on to the good stuff,(Can I please preface this by saying the days are moving faster than I can write, and when I have just a few minutes to blog, I get caught up in everyone elses and then don't get any writing done myself! Sorry)
On Tuesday night(April 7th), Joe and I flew to San Antonio! We woke up to beautiful weather 85-90 degrees that continued most of the time we were there! Wednesday, with Joe's Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Evan we had wonderful breakfast tacos, headed to the beautiful and famous riverwalk,

and then off to the missions(which included the Alamo).
A Park Ranger playing a bamboo flute in one of the missions


I have an obsession with doors

One of the most interesting press conference was underway at the Alamo. Segways were being given away to Iraqi veterans whole had lost a limb fighting for our freedom! Thank you for serving us in our Military!
We enjoyed our time visiting with Joe's Aunt and Uncle and spending time with his grandparents in San Antonio! On Friday morning we flew from nice, warm, sunny San Antonio to Chicago. Where I am from, it was still nice, sunny, but not warm. I tried to warn Joe that it isn't the temperature that makes Chicago cold, it's the wind. And I threw in a few extra warm clothing items for him just in case. We gathered our bags and stepped out of the terminal just in time for the piercing wind to show Joe what it was made of. He immediately threw on his coat, hat, and gloves and decided it was better to wait inside for my Aunt and Uncle to get their. I found it funny. Joe had never been to Chicago and so much of my childhood was rooted their that I was so excited to show him around and let him experience the true taste of Chicago! Friday started with us heading immediately downtown for the lakeshore effect at the Field Museum(lakeshore effect meaning that it can be 15 degrees colder than the rest of Chicago). That night, Joe finally got to taste true Chicago style pizza, and it was good. Saturday we drove out to my Grandpa's house about an hour away from the city to have lunch and visit with him. I was able to see my uncle and cousin also, which was exciting since I didn't think I was going to be able to. Easter Sunday came quickly, and we celebrated Jesus at Messiah Baptist Church in Addison. My roots with this church go very deep. My parents met in the youth group of this church in the seventies, my mom grew up going to this church, she was a part of Pioneer Girls there(similar to girl scouts, I think) My grandfather drove the church bus, I remember when I was a kid, if we spent the night at my grandparents and had been good and were ready on time, we got to ride the bus with grandpa as he picked people up for church. I haven't been back to Messiah, since we moved, but it is funny how the faces of some people are still familiar. After church we had lunch at a friends of my Aunt and Uncle, and then played catchphrase. If you have never played Catchphrase, You need to. One day on a later blog I will have to explain my analysis of my family and the game, it's funny. Sunday night, we were able to have dinner with a really good friend of Joe's from High School, Adam! Adam moved to Chicago after college and has been working for a pharmaceutical company for the past couple of years.
Monday, Joe and I slept in!! And then went to tour my old neighborhood, show Joe where I lived, went to school, the firehouse where my dad volunteered as a firefighter and medic.
Monday night we went downtown to see the lights, we went to the top of the John Hancock building.



Visited Buckingham Fountain. And ate REAL hot dogs in Wrigleyville. Before we all headed to bed, Joe and I got to have one of the most meaningful prayer times with my Aunt and Uncle, It was so amazing to have that connection with them. Tuesday was an early morning trip to the airport(4am early) to head back to Charlotte. Wednesday was spent doing laundry and repacking for another early morning airport adventure(I will continue soon, but not today).

Wait, where are you?

As my friend Tracey asked me on the phone this afternoon, Joe and I have been a little bit of everywhere! Our month of chaos really began in March, Joe's sister Jenn got married the weekend of March 20-22. They were married in the mountains of North Carolina so it was kind of like a destination wedding in that, it was hosted at an Episcipalian conference center and everyone invited to the wedding was also invited for the entire weekend. The morning of the wedding, several of us decided to take a hike before needing to get ready. It was very chilly but beautiful. We hiked to the top of Eagle Rock and back.


Congratulations Paul and Jennifer Redd!

A few days after the wedding, Joe headed back to Puerto Rico for his 3rd or 4th trip(I've stopped counting, it a little depressing). And I headed to my parents to spend a few days with them. Joe flew home on April 2, I drove home the same day to pick him up, I did laundry all day friday and then on Saturday we were back on the road headed to Richmond for Nancy and Paul's wedding(different Paul this time) Joe and Paul were close friends when Joe was working at NBC 29 in Staunton, Virginia. Staunton is so pretty and all the people are wonderful! We were able to spend the night and spend some time with my sister Meagan and her fiance Eddie. On Sunday we attended their church (which was amazing) and then headed back in Charlotte.



On Monday, I was so blessed to spend the day with my friend Amy and her wonderful little munchkin, Caroline, who is now 8 months old! (Joe had to go to work, sorry honey)


What a Cutey Batutty!


More to come soon on Tuesday through now!

Wii had fun

This past week I spent at my parents house in High Point with my sister and her fiance, Eddie. Meagan and Eddie had registered for the Nintendo Wii, and had already received it from a friend. The console really was a family affair. I think for Eddie's enjoyment, the first game I played on it was boxing, and then tennis. The next morning my arms were sore ( I know, go ahead and laugh). The next night, we got mom in on it, and bowled, played tennis and had her ride a cow. We were all laughing so hard including mom we though we might need to call the ambulance to give her oxygen. But she kicked the pants off all of us in bowling, GO Mom! The third night we made dad play, and had dad and mom compete in riding cows. It was so much fun, and beat just watching TV! Way to go Wii!

From Summer sun to SNOW!!

Joe and I have now been in the states for about a week! We arrived last Sunday morning into Atlanta around 6am, and learned that just about every flight was cancelled do to a snow storm that was headed right through the southern states. And anyone who has every lived in the south knows that the whisper of snow throws everyone into a panic. So our original flight to Charlotte was cancelled, but they did have one more flight leaving that morning for Greensboro, so we hopped on it knowing our bags (all 7 of them) probably would not join us. Though we were excited to get to go to Melissa's parents first, they never get the first period of time with us since we always fly into Charlotte. Exciting enough, Melissa has wanted to see snow for two years now, and she got it! Along with the rest of North Carolina, High Point received almost 6 inches of snow Sunday night!




After a fun filled day with the snow Monday, Melissa's grandmother let us borrow her car to drive to Charlotte. Anyone who makes fun of the boats that more elderly drive, need to test drive one, it drives smoother than any other car we have been in lately. Upon arriving to Joe's parents in Davidson (just North of Charlotte) this is what we found (they live at 19000).



As we begin to settle in and finish the 20 loads of laundry we have, we are missing our routine and friends from Sao Paulo (here are a few pictures from our last few days there) but we are super excited for what God has planned for us in the next few weeks and months!

Carnival, Medical Exams, and Turpentine

Over the weekend and the beginning of this week was the carnival holiday. During Carnival in Brasil most of the country shuts down. Many, many Brazilians head for the beach, others travel to various Carnival celebrations. The famous ones are in Rio de Janiero, Salvadore and Ouro Preto, first two not especially safe. Each year Carnival is held the four days before Ash Wednesday; these four days leading up to Ash Wednesday are a time to feast, dance, party and simply let-loose before the tranquil weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
Some theories say Carnival began as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome and Greece (ancient spring Greek festical in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine). The Romans adopted the celebration with Bacchanalia (feasts in honor of Bacchus) then there was Saturnalia, where slaves and their masters would exchange clothes in a day of drunken revelry. Saturnalia was later modified by the Roman Catholic Church into a festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. It quickly evolved into a massive celebration of indulgences - one last gasp of music, food, alcohol, and sex before Lent - before the 40 days of personal reflections, abstinence and fasting until Easter.
A good friend of ours went to the carnival here in Sao Paulo and sent me these pictures! Everyone says you should at least see it once, Joe and I have chosen not to go last year or this year mainly because of cost(tickets are REALLY expensive).




During carnival, Joe and I were invited to attend a churrasco (BBQ) at the nacional clube physica(national physical club) Very similar to a city park and pool. It had a playground, trails, picnic tables and a small water park. But before we could go into the water park you have to have a medical exam and be approved. Our best guess was they were taking precautions from spreading something. I guess I just assumed that the chlorine would kill anything. So we went through the medical exam, then they watch you shower off(unlike in the US where everyone skips this step), and then we had to walk a turnstile the hand a mini pool full of some sort of solution. After being treated like we were going to spread foot and mouth disease, we were allowed to enter the pool. It was fun once we got thru all of that.

On a side note, Joe and I have been working on packing and cleaning up our apartment, preparing to leave Brazil. We have been selling all of our furniture and appliances also. One of the things I have never figured out here is how to clean really well. And for those of you who are thinking that really shouldn't be that hard, then go live in one of the top 5 most densely populated cities and then let me know how to do it. And New York doesn't count! Detroit has more pollution. I have tried every cleaner in the stores, and I have resorted to bleach. None of them work. So yesterday I started using turpentine, and Eureka we have a winner!

Walking through devastation

This past week Sao Paulo has had many thunderstorms. Last weekend they were so bad that Saturday night many areas flooded, including our street. In the 14 months that we have been here we haven't experienced a storm like it. We aren't talking about a foot of water we are talking about entire cars underwater. Unlike the US, most people do not have car insurance. Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies, and a warm 75 degrees. But heading to the bus stop was less impressive. Everything on our street was covered in mud and silt(the slick mud) trees were down, a concrete wall had collapsed, and you could see the water marks on everything. It gave us an appreciation for those who went through Katrina first hand. Tonight we are suppose to have similars storms. Please pray for those in the city who do not have homes that they might find shelter. I have included a few pictures



For those of you who don't know what your looking at, the light in the middle is a cars flashers still going...underwater!