Cousin Megan & 15 Banana Splits

My (Jill's) cousin, Megan Anderson, has come down to live with us for the next five months! She is a senior in high school and is attending AVA this fall. She has adjusted super well considering all she has experienced in her first three weeks:

Intense Amazon heat, a cockroach in her Q-tip bag, intermittent internet, two rambunctious little boys around, no power and water for hours, walking to and from school many times a day, experiencing traffic, riding the bus (no wimpy task), getting caught in a Amazon downpour, playing soccer with Brazilians, and rooming with a huge spider and ant invasion in her backpack
on the first day of classes.

She stays super busy with classes, teaching English to Brazilians, basket ball, soccer, golf, learning Portuguese, doing all my chores...er...uhm...............

We all have to learn how to hang laundry. Not too long ago I was hanging it all wrong:

Now, it's my turn to teach!Okay...she passed!



We'll get the ice cream and bananas; you bring the toppings!!!! Thirteen 9/10th graders showed up last Friday night for banana splits at our house. It was the first time we ever heard, "Can you give me less ice cream, so I have more room for toppings?" HA! Great round of Pictionary, and getting to know the students.
George came in before school looking all over for his sunglasses, yes, the 80s Ray Ban style that WE wore as kids! He rode to school looking like: Mr. Too-Cool-For-1st-Grade!

The Visiting Moms

We had a countdown since January, "How many days left till YiaYia and Gramma are here?" When June 11th came around, it was finally at the zero mark, and we picked them up at the airport.
We all got to enjoy the 12 day visit with them, and it was so wonderful to be able to hug them again and show them our world! They were troopers too; the intense heat, exotic food, odd bugs, weird bites, crazy van trips, wild traffic, crowded shopping...but it seems like they had fun! We did!

So THANKS, Mom and Mom, for coming all the way down to the Amazon basin to visit your grandkids and kids.

Over 1000 Days Old!

Happy Birthday to Finn! This year he got to celebrate with both sets of grandparents, all his cousins, aunts, and uncles, as we took a whirlwind trip back to the USA in July. We wanted to get him checked with out doctor just to be sure he is okay, and he came out with a clean bill of health! It's been over 9 months since his last seizure! Thanks for the prayers, they are helping.

During the brief stint in the States, we did lots of business, some quick family stops, and Tim bought all his books for the next school year. With worms, mold, and humidity as paper's nemeses, it was vital to purchase some fresh books that won't give the student's some funky lung fungus. Yes, it has happened before.

The graduating six of 2009 at Amazon Valley Academy went out with a grand ceremony in the transformed gym. Mr. Stewart opened the ceremony in prayer, then we enjoyed a sermonette, songs, slide shows, and salgados (salty snacks). The graduates are heading to various countries for Bible school, college, or work. We are proud of their accomplishments and pray for a grace-filled future for each of them.

Rainy season (December through May) ended with a splash! George is standing in our front yard. Our neighbor Lizzie will try to get home from school on her bike...ha! The roads were something else too! Unfortunalty, you can't take a dip when it rains like this, because the internal worms you might get will stay with you long after the puddles have evaporated.

A game night at our house with the 9/10th graders. Pictionary. No matter what country you are in, the girls will ALWAYS win!!! HA! Getting to know the students here is one of our major focuses, and time together at our house (complete with food of some sort) is the best way to do it!

An average sized latanja fruit from a tree in our yard. It's the cousin of the grapefruit, and has a thinker skin and a much more acidic taste. Always fun to see what will pop out on our trees!

Come get your program from George for Curse you Jack Dalton!, the melodrama perfomed by the AVA drama club. I (Jill) was able to co-direct, act in, and do the make-up and hair for the performance. It was a hit! But why was I cast as "Mother Dalton" when I still feel 16? Doing hair and make up in a climate where even your moisturizer drips off your face in sweat was a challenge, but I want to thank Redken hair products for their amazing hair spray and Evangeline who gave me a bottle of it!