A weekend in the country

We went, we saw, we picked a LOT of fruit.

in the boxes is the haul of atamoya fruit at one of the stops our church group made when visiting a congregation in a small town about 2 hours from where we live in Montes Claros. ( of course it took US four ours to get there as we got lost!)
The town is called Mocambinho but it is so small there isn't even a sign.

Mango orchard.... this is one of 25 rows.

The boys in the vineyard .... delicious grapes .....the area is full of agricultural projects that were started by the government because of the very DRY area they invested lots of money in irigation canals from the nearest river and now many families are able to make a decent living. We visited three different orchards. grapes, mango and atamoya ... and then a bbq lunch on a lime tree orchard... we didn´t pick them though... a bit early in their growth period.

fruit and more fruit

Lucas liked the big tractors on the vineyard but Wemerson was a Mango Tree monkey boy.....

Our friend Jurema and her son and like father, like son...Max monkey boy playing in the back of a pick up with the other country boys. When we were leaving after the long weekend Max asked if we could live in Mocambinho as it was so "gostoso" or nice.

Grape vineyad

atamohya fruit is a mix between a graviola and a pinha... neither of which I had ever seen b4 moving to brasil

A Night in Mozambique

Here at the MTC we often have visiting missionaries who tell us about their experiences

and though I have NO pictures of the visiting family, other than their son (above with Max) we had a great night of learning about one of the poorest countries in the world. We ate sitting on the floor (women and children) and the men and women of position sat in chairs!

We ate chicken in a coconut sauce with collard greens in a penut sauce, quite delicious. Although they mentioned the chicken normaly would have been served with the head still on....

Here we have Sara with fellow students, Dani and Neusa and Ann (professor and wonderful lady from Australia origionaly but has been here in Brazil more than 25 years)

you say mango, I say manga....

mulberries!!!! we call them amoras.... Mangos on the tree... in case you didn`t know... they grow from a long, indiidual stem

This is a mango tree right by our house at the MTC...the weight of the fruit is literaly breaking the branches so they are being proped up! in another few weeks we will be swimming in mango juice, mango jelly, mango pie, mango salsa... well you get the idea.

Fruits of Brazil

Meet Jabutchicaba! it is the size of a grape and grows directly from the bark of the tree. It is ready when it turns dark purple... you pick it and suck out the white milky pulp or eat it whole (though there is a pit and the skin is very tough) It is found mainly in our state only. Minas Gerais.

Max is turning Green!

carinhoso..... kind

ajudante.....helper

virando verde? turning green?

It was crazy hair day at school and Max won the competition for his age group as his blonde locks turned green and his mohawk spikes made a big hit... these fotos are after the fact and the do is a mess but you get the idea. It was also inter-school olympics this week and Max won the running competition and was the goalie for his class in the soccer game and blocked them all!! Final score 3-0. He said being goalie was easy because the other team kicked most of the shots outside.

Max loves to help his classmates and is a great addition to the room according to his teacher Tia Rosa... she is amazing and has the patience of Mother Teresa...

Nations

Sara sporting her two countries at
the MTC 25th Anniversary Celebration. They had flags representing all the countries that had ever been staff or students at the seminary.

Being an ex-pat is such an unusual thing, you are never sure which culture to be loyal to and in the end, are not truly comfortable in either. However, I wouldn't change my life for anything ... I love being a chameleon.

Missions Fair

Our church in Montes Claros had their annual festival for missions last week and our friends from Guinee Bissau were the focus thus year. This is Julio (guitar), Mali , and I'tchambu ( Lucas calls him Boo)singing a gorgeous song about the Trinity in Creole ( common language spoken, though the official language is portugese)
Mail is training to be a nurse and the guys are at the same seminary as us, they will return to Guinee to be teachers at the seminary there. We are so blessed to know these three and are so thankful for all who supportted and participated at the fair!

brothers

Max and Lucas never stop amazing us. They are growing so fast and becoming smarter each new day that I am haing a hard time keeping up. Max is reading and wiriting now!! the pride of his classroom.... and will be representing the interschool olympic games on the bowling team and as the fastest runner for his class! Lucas is strong willed and very creative ( hmmm...who does that sound like?) he makes up words and new games and then gets frustrated easily when no one else knows how to play his way. They both still get way to much attention here and so are afraid of strangers, but we Thank God daily for their brotherly love and protection for one another.

three peas in a pod

As always, the boys are laughing! We love getting into pjs and playing hide and seek under the sheets, but this time mommy suprised them with the camera! It never ceases to amaze me the stamina and energy Wemerson has... he is a superdad for sure!

streets of Montes Claros

The streets of our lovely little town got decorated overnight as Montes Claros holds its very own carnival (mardi gras) every year a bit out of season...lots of frolicing going on this week and next!

First Day of School

Max is officialy going to school! he is starting his third week now and seems to really be loving it! His teacher`s name is Tia Rosa and there are 14 in his class. This is the walkway to his classroom (white door) and the name of the school is "Solido Kids". He wears a uniform every day, which is really fun trying to keep clean! I purchased two at least!

Max entrou na escolinha "Solido Kids" recentamente! Ele usa o uniforme toda dia e a nome da professora é Tia Rosa. Ela é super paciente e controla bem os 14 crianças na sala.

Max and Lucas

Look at us we are tromping through the forest, picking up the field mice and bopping them on the head! The boys have discovered the forest near by and are loving it! We are almost done with our July vacation and trying to make every moment count....

swinging

Lucas is a swinger! He is in loove with the park and can`t get enough of the swing. I have to bribe him to get off the thing and almost fell asleep in it today.

gardening with Wemerson

Wemerson has helpers with everything he does this vacation, gardening included!

Inspired

I am amazed multiple times a day by the love of two brothers.
Here they are hugging after a fun wrestling session and
laughing until "my belly is going to explode" says Max.
They protect each other, share, get mad but quickly make up in order to play again. They are an awesome example of how I need to remember to treat others, easily forgiven and always ready for more!

Somos sempre impulsionados quando nos vemos o grande amor que Max e Lucas têm um por outro. Aqui eles estam abraçando depois "lutando" e rindo muito e Max falou, " te amo Lucas, você é massa!" Nos lembram como tratar outros... ama com todo nosso ser, mente, palavras e açãoes.

Where in the World???

We are here.....BRAZIL!!!! Max is Mr. Geography now and loves to show Lucas where everyone we know is from... even the Madagascar penguins.

Estamos Aqui!!! Em Brasil!!! Max está gostando muito estudar e aprender geografia, ele sabe onde moravam todos nossos amigos e gosta mostrar para Lucas! Sorry our blog has been without anything new... we had broken our camera but now it is back and we are very happy. I will be attempting to now write everything in Portuguese as well as we have quite a few followers here in Brazil now!

Brazilian birds are bigger

Look at the size of that parrot!!!! It is a statue at our local gas station....

Lucas and Andrea

It doesn`t get any better than this... two friends sharing a bag of chips.
They have both recently learned to "pose" and refuse to be normal in a picture!

Brazilian Squirrils

I finaly got closer to our little friends this week, we are feeding them bananas as there is no fruit on the trees right now for them to eat.

Grandpa's last day.

Max and Lucas LOOOOVE helping Grandpa Ron work!

They are very patient waiting for rocks to throw into the creek as Grandpa sifts the sand and cement. Grandpa is also very patient! You will be glad to know that we watered everything this afternoon Grandpa!!! Thinks are just not the same here without you.

family in the tree

We have so much to be thankful for... a wonderful visit from Grandpa Ron, A trip to Rio de Janeiro and the beach!! Max said this afternoon "Mom, what a great day, I think we should celebrate with a cookie!"

suprise birthday party for lucas

Thanks to Tia Cris for a suprise 2 year Birthday Party for Lucas!

Max Kept thinking the party was for him becuse it was HIS soccer team Cruzeiro!


Max kept thinking the party was for him!