Scrapbook Backpack

As I mentioned in our newsletter, Elijah has been wearing this Curious George backpack everywhere since we arrived in the US.  It actually has settled down a bit recently since we have been spending the month at my sister's house, but at the beginning of our travels it was literally nonstop.  He even wanted to wear it when he was in his carseat in the car.  When we spent the weekend at the Christian conference center, Keswick, he wore it every single moment...while making crafts in the children's program, while eating in the dining room, while presenting on stage even!  Even now, though he takes it off at home, he still brings it with him into every home we visit or at the very least has it in the car!

So, what's up with the backpack?  As I shared in the newsletter, it clearly has a lot to do with bringing him stability in these months of nonstop change.  When we were home in Brazil, we told him he could pack it with a few of his favorite things and so it makes sense that he would carry those items around to make him feel secure in the midst of every changing circumstances and places we have faced.  But the backpack story has gotten even more fun recently.  

As I was going through some things we've accumulated, I took a minute to open up his backpack to organize it.  Something I haven't done since we first packed it leaving Brazil.  What I found inside took me completely by surprise, yet at the same time it make perfect sense.  

Inside the backpack was not just the items packed from Brazil, but little souvenirs that Elijah has added each stop we have made along the way.

- A shell from the Jamestown River where we spent the day with his cousin

- A sticker book from a garage sale we went to

- A craft from a children's program

- A colored pencil from our flight on Southwest

- A lego from his cousin's house

- A bracelet from camp

- A monster truck from a happy meal we got in McDonald's the day we broke down and spent 4 hours in the play zone

And much more.  Each item had a story and was a little reminder of the stops we have made along the way from a kid's perspective.  Now suddenly it also made sense why the other day when we were eating pita chips with my sister, he asked me if we could wrap up the leftover chips in the bottom of the basket in a napkin to take to Brazil...in his backpack I'm now assuming!  

What a fun scrapbook of furlough adventures he's been carrying around!  No wonder he doesn't want to put it down!!

The United States through the Eyes of a 3 Year Old

My one totally unexpected favorite part of furlough so far has been seeing this boy's amusement, excitement, and downright baffled-ness while observing life in the United States.   It started out the moment that we arrived in Miami airport.  I said, "Guess what?  We're in the United States!"  Only for Elijah to inform me that we're in not in the United States because his cousin Noah lives in the Unites States and there is no Noah here! (in Miami)

Then on the way to G-ma and Popi's house from the airport, he shouted full excitement level, "LOOK!!!!  It's a MAILBOX!!"  Looking back on it, I guess he has only ever seen mailboxes in movies before, and he maybe didn't even realize they are real that they are everywhere :)

Other things he has found exciting or confusing include, but are not limited to:

1.  The GPS in the car (constantly wanting to know what it is saying, who is talking, if it's his cousin Charlotte, and why they are not talking anymore when it goes through stretches of no directions)

2. Libraries (totally confused on the concept that we can borrow books)

3. Garbage cans - (In Brazil we put our garbage outside our house in baskets up on poles).  He got so pumped when he saw one, just like in his shows, for the first time.  Then the garbage can confusion and excitement was doubled when we drove down the street of my parents' development and everyone had the same black garbage cans out at the same time. I mean this was like as excited as a kid gets walking into a candy store…over seeing black garbage cans lined up down the street!  

To make the garbage can situation even more confusing and exciting to Elijah, the next day was recycling collection and now suddenly all the cans were BLUE!!!

And THEN, as a final chapter to the fun, we actually saw the garbage truck coming around and automatically picking up the cans with the machine.  You can imagine the thrill!

4. Automatic doors opening in stores - Totally amazing to him

5. The fact that my mom's house has a sink in the middle of the kitchen island has Elijah fascinated.  Keeps trying to figure out if an island (read, in his mind, an ocean type island) can have water on it.  Also, he is dying to see what's going on inside the garbage disposal.

6.  Of course then there's the fact that everyone around him speaks "Like this"  (as in, in English) and he wants to comment on it all the time and very loudly.  ("Listen!  He's talking like this too!!!")

7. Sprinkles (as in for ice cream) have been super exciting.  He had never seen them before and just wanted to eat them plain when he found then in my mom's pantry.  We explained they are for ice cream and he couldn't wait to have ice cream to try them!

8. Jelly Beans - My mom was reading him a book that had jelly beans in them and he had no idea what they were.  My mom went out and bought them and showed them to Elijah and he wanted to know why we were going to eat the beans before they were cooked :)

9.  Jackets - Didn't' even know what they were.  He checked them out in the closet here and we had to explain to him the ins and outs of why a person would wear one (obviously we live somewhere that it's never cold!)

10. Pajamas - along the same lines, Elijah gets all giddy when it's night time and he has to wear pajamas, since at home it's so hot that he just sleeps in undies.

11. Offices - He has never seen a home office before so is baffled about what an office is and what my dad does in his office when he is working.  I had quickly explained that it is Popi's room, but then he wanted to know where Popi's bed is if it's his room.

12.  Ice cream sandwiches - He heard us talk about one but is so confused about why ice cream goes in a sandwich.  We still have to pick one up to clear up the confusion

13. What other people do at work - Elijah is so used to everyone he knows going to the airport/hangar to go to work that when people say they are going to work, he asks if they're going to the airport.  When my dad explains that he's going to work at the office (when he's not in his home office) he wants to know who's house its in.

14. Closed doors - At home we have no a/c in our house in general (just window units in our rooms at night) so we leave our doors to the house open all the time.  This also makes more sense in Brazil where we have a 10 foot wall around our property, unlike here.  Here Elijah gets confused about why we have to shut the front and back doors.

15. Stores that have food and other things - like Walmart and Target.  Where we live, there are no giant stores that carry everything.  You go to the grocery store for food.  The paper store for office supplies.  The pharmacy for medicine.  While walking around Walmart with Elijah the first time, he asked me, "Does this store have food or stuff?!?"  Even now, after a month, when we're in those types of stores he'll want me to say item by item as we put it in the cart if it is food or stuff.  I think he's still trying to sort out the whole concept.

What an adventure the whole experience has been for Elijah so far, and completely entertaining to watch him take it all in!

World Cup Fever

Here in Brazil, World Cup Fever is in the air!  The World Cup is always a big deal here in Brazil, but this year it's bigger than ever since Brazil will be hosting the games.  Even when Brazil is not hosting, everything (banks, stores, schools, etc) close early so people can go home or get together to watch when Brazil plays.  So I can't even imagine what is in store for this year when it is on Brazilian soil!  

Last week the official FIFA plane landed in Brazil, carrying the world cup (trophy) in it.  Since Boa Vista is the city farthest north in Brazil, the plane stopped at our airport to go through customs/immigration.

 Fun moment to have behind the scenes credentials at the airport!  The plane continued on to tour throughout Brazil until the games start June 12th.

 But that's just the beginning of the excitement.  Every single store you go in is decked out for the Cup. Bet you can't guess what team they are cheering for?  So hard to tell :)

And around here they get indoctrinated from a young age.  At Elijah's preschool, today was a special soccer day.  They all had to come dressed in a soccer jersey and were going to play soccer games and have soccer activities all day.  We don't have a soccer jersey, so we put him in a Chicago cubs shirt...oh well :)  

 Definitely a fun cultural experience so far...can't wait to see what's ahead!!

Family News

Lately I just haven't been able to keep up on blogging.  Quite possibly at least partly due to this bun in the oven that is taking all of my extra energy.  Yep, that's right, we're expecting Baby Braun #2 in late September.  At the 13 week ultrasound, everything looked absolutely perfect, what a blessing!

No "official", full blown morning sickness this time, just a lot of nausea, more related to the heat here than food or the time of day.  I have been SO SO hot!  I feel like the heat is getting me from the outside in and the inside out!  And I've been really really really...REALLY tired.  I'm sure it's a function of the heat and chasing around a toddler that has really knocked me out this time.  But I've had to lay low the last few weeks and just make surviving my goal.  We are very excited about the news, especially after the loss we experienced last year.  The biggest prayer request, other than heath for me and the baby, is direction about what to do about the birth.  Whether to remain here or try to travel back to Anapolis at the end of the pregnancy where there are more medical resources.  We'd appreciate prayer for wisdom and open doors where God wants us.

Life will be changing for Elijah, though he totally doesn't understand yet.  

This is the pregnancy announcement we used

 He doesn't understand when we say he will be a big brother, but we know he will love it.  He's getting so big and I know he will love a sibling to play with soon enough.  The other Saturday we went down to the river and as I was getting him ready I put him in this romper, which is the biggest and last size romper we have and that exists.  Only to realize I could barely snap it!  

 

I've always loved rompers and Elijah has worn them since he was born...

 But it's time to retire them.  Romper age has come to a close.  On to big and exciting adventures that you have to be big to do!  On to being a big brother too.

 I'm so excited for all this year has in store for us!

The Past Few Weeks

The past few weeks have been jam packed with exciting and fun happenings.  Here's a bit of what's been going on in pictures.

Jeyson often rides his bike to the hangar, and occasionally drops Elijah off at preschool class on the way

 2 weekends ago was Carnival.  That's basically Mardi Gras times 100 here in Brazil, and the whole country gets Monday and Tuesday as a holiday for it.  So, we had a really nice 4 day weekend.  We had so much great family time.  We went to a pool/water park one day, our church retreat another day, Guyana another day, and just relaxed one day.  I feel like it's been so long since us really spending good quality, non-busy time together.  We were all recharged.

On the way home from one event, we took a stretch stop by this field as the sun was going down.    

 Even Elijah's preschool class celebrated Carnival.  The kids could all come in costumes on day.  Eiljah went as a baseball player

 And he got some extra decorations for this picture with his teacher (who normally does not have red hair of course)

 I thought you might also like seeing what random items us Americans love from Guyana.  These are all things we can't get in Brazil that make it exciting to go across the border.  Salsa, Kraft Mac and cheese, stir fry noodles, blueberry honey bunches of oats, whole wheat flour, US cake mixes, sour cream and onion dip, peanut butter, shake and bake mix, sweet corn (canned), blue cheese dressing, chinese soy sauce, construction paper, and more.  It's always a bit of a treasure hunt there since it's not a "normal" stable grocery store like in the US.  The stores are very tiny and depend on trucks coming down difficult dirt roads to supply the shelves.  You just never know what will be available or not.

 The second half of the week we were busy with guests.  Remember our mission's new plane that was stuck in the US due to paperwork issues?  After 40 days there, the pilots and plane were finally able to head back to Brazil.  

 Their first stop in the country is Boa Vista, since we're the farthest city north.  Steve and Jefferson stayed at our house and we enjoyed the company, news from the "outside world", and serving them some typical food, and of course helping them get on their way.  It was also great to see the plane in person before it headed off to the headquarters base where it will be located.

 Then, this past weekend, we headed up 2 hours north and had a wonderful time with our missionary friends, Donna and Eric.  They even babysat Elijah for us so we could do some shopping and have lunch together.  It was great.

The drive to their house is just beautiful...pictures just don't do justice

 We returned home Sunday and we've finally been back in a normal work routine.  Some of the administrative duties I had temporarily while one missionary couple was on furlough, have become my regular duties even though they are back.  This frees them up for other jobs.  And Jeyson has had about 4 out of 20 theoretical classes with our chief pilot to learn the ins and outs of flying in this region.  He is also busy on the second airplane's SIDs inspection...which has involved many tasks including painting (before picture of a project below).

It was great to be out of our routine a bit, and now great to be back in it too!

3 Thoughts Friday

1. The newest plane in Asas's fleet is ready to make its way from the US to Brazil, so  2 of our pilots flew to the US to pick it up and fly back.  They are going to make a few stops along the way to the headquarters where the plane will be based.  One of the stops is even here in Boa Vista, since we're the  city farthest north in Brazil.  But alas, there has been a hold up waiting for permission to be granted that would allow the plane to leave the US and enter Brazil.  So, our two pilots are waiting in Florida, where they have been for about a week now.  Please pray that this clears up so our missionaries can return to the field with this new tool for ministry!

2. We're so appreciative of friends and supporters back home who have helped us in unique ways, especially those who have used their fields of expertise to help us in some way.  For example, there's a family friend who is a tax attorney who has done our taxes for free for the past 7 years!  What a blessing to know that everything is done correctly in our complicated tax situation and to not even have to worry about it!  Then, there's the doctor who recently contacted me and offered for me to email or skype if we ever have any questions we could bounce off of him.  And an organization I just heard about that has built up a collection of books (about 5,000!) and allows missionaries to choose as many as they need and sends the books to the missionaries in the field for just half of the shipping costs (which comes out great the way they send them).  The main target is kids books, since so many families (including us!) don't have access to a library for kids books.  It's so amazing and humbling to be blessed in so many and such creative ways!

3. Lately I've been thinking about family a lot, and how blessed we are to have 2 awesome families!!  Of course we know we are exactly where God wants us, but we miss them a ton and I wish Elijah could grow up around his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents on both sides.  I'm so glad to live in a time when internet access makes us so much more connected.  We skype with Jeyson's family and stay connected with facebook, etc.  On my side, us sisters get a little carried away.  We have a lot of long distance fun together by sending video clips, group texting, facetime-ing, following the same news stories/shows, and even playing games in the evenings...all for free!  Awesome!!  Since you family members are probably more than half of the people who read this blog :), here's a big "We love you!"  

Goodbye 2013

2013 is over, and I can't say I'm entirely sad to see it go.  It was an intense year, a SUPER intense year, for us.  I look back on some of my blog posts and think..."Phew!!!  That was A LOT!  If I could have told myself a year ago all that we'd go through logistically, emotionally, and health-wise, I would have been very nervous!"  

There were a lot of challenges, a lot of uphill climbing, a lot of questioning and flat out hard moments.  

But God faithfully lead us and cared for each detail along the way.  And He did it in a way that really made us rely on Him.  He gave us just enough strength and direction for each day.  Through the many challenges we can see His good hand.  

We are now more trusting of Him, and therefore stronger.  And we are SO glad to be in what seems like our long term location at last, which in and of itself is HUGELY exciting ministry-wise!  So in that sense, our challenging year ended on a high note, and for that we are thankful!   Thanks for walking this journey with us in 2013!

So here's to 2014! I sure do hope it is a calmer, more peaceful and restoring year than last, but He knows best!  

Christmas 2013

This was such a different Christmas for us, the first one away from both sides of our family.  When we were in Anapolis we were only an hour drive from Jeyson's family, and a few Christmases since getting married we have been near my family while in the US.  At first I was all concerned about how to make new traditions now that it will just be us most years, but then I realized all we had to do was make THIS year special.  And it was!  Lots of time together as the three of us remembering Christ's birth...that's what it's all about!

Holiday plans, like everything else in Brazil, happens last minute.  5 days before Christmas and we still had no plans.  So we decided to invite 2 families who are also new in the community over for a brunch Christmas morning.  Then, we got invited over for a Christmas Eve dinner at someone's house (Christmas eve dinner is the big, main celebration here), and then on Christmas eve we got invited over for a Christmas day lunch with some American families.  So, we went from NO Christmas plans, to a packed, delicious, and wonderful 2 days.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures at the Christmas eve dinner and Christmas day lunch, but here are a few pics I took at our house.

Opening presents together as a family before our brunch guests arrived Christmas morning:

It must be so weird to be 2 and have no clue what's going on.  Out of nowhere your parents put a tree in the house and then you wake up one morning and get a tractor and a play tent...what?  why?  Though confused, the joy in a two years old's face in incredible!

Here are our brunch guests.  One couple (left) moved here to serve in the tribal villages, and the other couple (right) was transferred to Boa Vista from Goiania as part of government work.   They have become good friends.  Brunch was cinnamon rolls, french toast, fruit, bacon, and eggs.  Despite explanations, Brazilians always come up with original ways to eat American food, such as french toast sandwiches using eggs and bacon.  I LOVE seeing the way people from different cultures approach the same things.

Elijah thought he was one of the big boys playing with our friends' kids

 Coming back home Christmas evening, Elijah crashed at 6pm and fell asleep on the couch for a good long time.  Too much fun, food, and friends I guess.

To wrap things up, I thought I'd share our Christmas ornaments.  I haven't posted in a few years about this, but the Ciotta tradition is to find an ornament each year that represents that year.  We have them since our wedding.  Here is this year's and last year's.  

2012: An Amish buggy remembering our time out in Coshocton, OH for training...was was serious Amish country up there!

2013: And this little canoe to represent moving to Boa Vista to serve the natives in the villages.  The boat is a seed and so are the little items in the canoe and the man is made out of rubber from the trees in the Amazon.  Very col!

Looking at these two ornaments, our two years could not be more diverse!!!  Makes you wonder what's coming next around the bend in life!?!?!

Expat Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving and it's always so interesting to see how we will celebrate here in Brazil, where it is obviously not a holiday.  This year we got together with our new friends, Eric and Donna, who live on the border with Venezuela.  They have been missionaries in Brazil for about 15 years and have 8 kids who are now in the US.  Over the past months knowing them, they have taken us in in a special way, and even taken care of Elijah for a weekend when I was in the hospital.  So it was so fun to celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday with them and stay at their home through Saturday afternoon.

 It is also really fun that one of their sons just got married about a month ago and he and his wife (John and Rebeca) are now going to be serving long term in one of the native villages.  They will be flown out by Asas on Wednesday and will only come out of the village every 4 months or so.  But they were also able to make it for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time getting to know them.  Lots of fun to talk in English and make new friends in general.  Such a refreshing time!

One of the things you will find funny about us expats is how excited we get about food that you can only get in the US.  John and Rebeca brought this can of cranberry sauce back from the US as a surprise for Donna and we cherished each bite during the meal.

 Tons of fun time relaxing....

 And cooking the meal together...though Donna is SUCH an expert at whipping out meals for crowds with the large family that she raised that she makes cooking Thanksgiving look as easy as ordering take out!

Our meal...no turkey since they are very rare and expensive, but we had a great chicken

Elijah loved bath time in this very tiny tub!

And sleeping in the pack and play under a mosquito net.  The weather in Venezuela is GREAT since it's up in the mountains, so it was SO fun to take a break from sweltering temperatures to enjoy warm baths and pjs!

What a great weekend...it couldn't have been more perfect.  And there is no end to the list of what we are thankful for this year!

Tuesday Bullets

I haven't been very good about taking pictures since I've been back home.  But here are a few bullet points about what we've been up to.

1. Getting myself and our home really organized.  I feel like we've been just making do temporarily in some areas of our home since we moved here, and I really feel like I'll feel more settled when everything has a place and I have what I need where I need it.  For example, I finally made a list of desk supplies I need (paper clips, rubber bands, etc) and just went out an bought it all.  Ahh, having things in order really makes day to day things run smoother.  But I still have many more areas like that.

2. It's been hot here.  It's the hottest time of the year in Boa Vista (Sept-Dec) and coming back from the States to this extra heat has been rough!

3.  Because of the heat, I've been doing more meals in my crockpot and we've been making at least weekend meals very easy.  Two crockpot meals I just made and loved were short ribs in tomato sauce (served over pasta) and chicken thighs in taco seasoning served with taco fixings.  Just cooked both for hours in the slowcooker until they were falling off the bones and shredded them up.  We also have been grilling, and we both love grilling fish.  It comes with the head and tail and everything around here, but it's so easy...just place on the grill with seasoning and serve with a salad.

4.  Pretty much every last part of one of the airplanes is taken apart.  It's for a special inspection called SID, newly required for older airplanes.  It's VERY involved and since it's new, none of the mechanics have done it before.  Jeyson has taken a big role in the project and is especially needed/helpful since all of the manuals and instructions on how to do the project are in English.  It will take a few more weeks. Meanwhile the other airplane is being relied on exclusively, so if it has any maintenance issues, they have to be fixed immediately since it is the only way the missionaries can get supplies.

5. We just had dinner with two of the missionary families who live in a very remote village.  They can stay there for 8 months at a time with no breaks.  I am completely inspired by all they are able to accomplish and all they sacrifice to serve and it renews our vision for why we are here...to make their work possible.

6. I can't believe Elijah will be 2 this week.  What?  Where's the time going?

7. I was asked to speak two weeks in a row to a group of ladies about birth.  Even though I'll have an hour each time, I don't even know where to start, there's just so much to say and Brazilian women really know so little about the subject.  It's an exciting opportunity though and a great door for ministry and to talk about the Lord.

8.  Our city here has free aerobic classes in the park open to anyone.  It's called "open gym" and is out in a huge central plaza.  A teacher stands on the stage and about 100 people go!  You don't have to sign up or anything, just come.  And there's free equipment to use, like steps for step aerobics

and everything so it's pretty well put together.  MWF 7:30-8:30pm.  I've been trying to go at least once a week.  It's a great way to meet women!

Trip Whirlwind

  What a wonderful, refreshing whirlwind the past weeks have been!
First we went on a retreat as a base to Venezuela.

Our team, minus 1 couple and 2 kids

The hotel we stayed in was so cute and had a game area right outside the rooms so we could put the kids to bed and still relax together.  The devotions were encouraging, conversations were refreshing, the cooler mountain weather was greatly appreciated, and we also found out that pizza in Venezuela is much more like the kind in the States...yum!  

I loved the hotel's quaint style and the exchange rate being so favorable to us in Venezuela made it SUPER cheap!

Devotional time...no special speakers, but that gave several of the team members a chance to share

 One day we went to a waterfall that pours into a jasper rock area.  Just beautiful! The rest of the time, we just relaxed.  It was the first time in several years that the whole team has just gotten away to spend time together, and I'm so glad we were able to be part of this spur of the moment get-away.

 Two days after returning from Venezuela, Elijah and I took a trip to AZ to spend some time with my family.  There were so many reasons for the trip, and I'm SO glad I took the opportunity to go.  Elijah was a lap child on the plane, and he did amazingly!!!  We even wound up with an extra seat (or 2!) next to us on 4 of the 7 plane rides that we took in the process of going and coming.  I'm so proud of my little international travel buddy who has now taken off and landed 24 times in his 23 months and I only remember 1 of those flights being really horrible.

Anyway, time with family was what it was all about.  We were able to go visit with Joe about 5 times, including going to parks and out to eat.

And now that my parents are in AZ, I get the added fun of visiting my college room mate, Bekah.  We got together twice, and one of the times it was without kids and we had the most fabulous dinner and side splitting laughs. Truly therapeutic :) 

 Then there was fun with my sister, Jamie, and nephew, Noah.  They came up to Gilbert for a few days and we went down to Tucson overnight.

Playing with G-ma's bowls

The boys fought over toys constantly!  At one point we had to set up separate "slides" for them to send things down and my dad had to act as the dividing line to keep them away from each other!

 Also, my grandma came out from NJ for a visit for a few of the days we were there.  It was very nice to get to see her.

Time to tuck in after a long day of fighting...I mean playing :)  This set up was just for story time since they would never have lasted all night like this!

Also, once of the most exciting parts of the trip was seeing Elijah take off talking!  It seriously was night to day.  When we first got there, Elijah wouldn't say anything.  For example, even though he KNEW the word ball and had said it many times, he wouldn't say it even though he wanted a ball desperately.  He just wouldn't talk on anyone's terms but his.  But during the time there, he suddenly decided it was time and is now repeating almost anything and talking to request things too.  Cup, door, shoes, milk, more, thank you, etc.  It's so fun to see and Jeyson especially noticed the change when we got back.  Oh and he also got his ears checked in the US and is hearing perfectly now.  There definitely could be a connection as well as only hearing English for a few weeks.  We're hoping the ears stay that way and don't clog up again now that he's off meds again.

Anyway, all in all, it was an excellent time.  Refreshing, renewing, meaningful, etc.  I'm so glad I went.  And now, I'm SO glad to be back home and getting myself organized and in a routine again.  With no guests or trips on the horizon, it's time to settle in.