Grandpa Time!

Nine days full of encouragement, fun and laughs when Jill's dad was here! He went grocery shopping with Finn and Jill, sat in on a language arts class with Mr. Stewart, watched George at karate, and presented an excellent message in the secondary chapel.

It was really hard to say goodbye, but we treasured the time together.

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.

He Came From Above

Jill's dad dropped in for several days last week. What a delightful time! He came down to Brasil on a short-term missions trip with the South Hill Bible Church youth group, then took a few days to visit the grand kids. We saw a few sights, ate some barbecue, and talked a lot. We also took a boat trip out to an Amazon island beach. It was hard to say goodbye for the second time in three months, but it was worth it!