End of break party {in pictures}.

We had a great day with the boys yesterday. It was officially their last day of "winter" vacation, as the majority of them start classes back up on Monday. There was a ton of food, potato sack races, egg relays, "fishing" for prizes, and lots of smiles. Cowboy hats were worn, and there was even a fake-little fire-pit made. Oh, and of course it was a great opportunity for a ton of pictures.

As you can see by all the pictures (sorry!) - we had an amazing time! There were literally over 100 different prizes given out, ranging from bags of candy, to shirts, to sunglasses, to kites, to pens and pencils. The most popular prizes actually ended up being three big bouncy balls. It was great to see how happy the boys were, and how much fun they had with the little bit of competition. It was truly a great time.  

Oh hey, Friday!

Happy Friday! 

We are excited for a relaxing weekend. Isanon and I were talking earlier today trying to plan some type of activity to do with the boys this weekend. But, before we dive into the weekend - here are five random things from our week.  

{One.} We took the boys to watch Transformers in 3-D yesterday. The movie was good...and it was fun to watch the boys get so into it - but for me it dragged on. It was literally a 3 hour movie. About two hours into the movie, I looked at Isanon and asked him if the movie was ever going to end - and it still had an hour left! 

{Two.} Isanon dressed up like a cowboy today - and it was the cutest thing to me. Seriously, I think he could pull it off! We had a big party with the boys and staff today. There were potato sack races, fishing, prizes and tons of food....so, we all had a blast. I can't wait to share the pictures with you later this weekend. 

{Three.} Have you guys noticed the new tab at the top of the page? I added a new tab called "Meet Our Boys" and added pictures of (almost) all of the boys, along with their ages and how long they have been with us. My plan is to keep it updated so that at any time you guys can check up there and see the boys we have here now. Oh, and in case you are wondering which ones are in our house and which are in House #2, we have all the younger boys...so all the boys who are 15 and under. 

{Four.}I made a cake for fourth of july. I used food coloring to make the cake blue and red - and cut it into the shape of a star. I missed BBQ-ing and swimming and friends and family and the fireworks, but we were festive with some of our friends here - and had a pretty great night. 

{Five.} My Godson/nephew/babylove turned three this week. Three! I literally can not seem to wrap my head around the fact that he is three years old. He is growing up way too fast. I was super bummed that I couldn't be there for his bday again this year - and wish that he would stop growing up without me! 

Well, there are our five random things from the week. I hope you all have an amazing weekend! 

Currently. {Vol. 07}

Thinking about: Friendships. There are now 4 couples living here at Hope, taking care of all these boys - and the whole dynamic of Hope Mountain has changed. For so long it has been just two couples - just four of us here 24 hours with these crazies. It is nice to have the extra help though...we are definitely thankful for it. It has been nice to have other people around here. I get really lonely being here sometimes, and having new friends around helps a lot. 

Reading: I finished reading Orphan Train yesterday. I loved it. The story kept me interested until the very end - wanting to know what became of that little orphan girl. It also has deepened a desire that I've always had in adopting or being Foster parents. There are so many children out there that just want to be loved and have a home of their own. Even all our boys here with us - we can love them, and care for them....but its not the same as having their own family. 

Listening to: I am a noise person - I don't like to sit in a silent house, and since I don't watch much TV (except shows at night with the husband) that means there is music streaming through my house always when I am home. Honestly, I don't always listen to the best music. I like to dance while cleaning - and a good beat always makes housework go by quicker. That is what I tell myself anyways. With that being said, I've been trying to make an effort to really listen to uplifting things more often. This song by Kari Jobe hit me hard. His love really is enough. 

Watching: Today we had a big party to watch our Brazil team get slaughtered. Such a sad game. Germany is a good team though and we had fun - even though the game was hard to watch. Isanon and I are still really into 24 also. We try to watch an episode together every night after the boys go to bed. 

Goals for this week:

last week

• clean out the fridge and defrost my freezer. made a huge mess, but its done. 
• Take Ty for walks/outside every day.  The hubs is really the one to thank for this one. He took him out every morning at 5am and let him run....made him so much calmer for me during the day. 
• Make cookies or something for the boys, just because. I made cake pops for the game today. 
• Do schedule for English classes. - nope, didn't do this one. The boys are on break from school though, so I probably won't start back up until school does. 

This week

• organize my sewing stuff. 
• start translating devotional book. 
• make it a priority to have coffee with Tia Rosa. 
• pray for Isanon every night. 

Verse of the week: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Meet & Greet Mondays. {Ademilson}

Happy Monday, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. Brazil (obviously) does not celebrate the Fourth, but we had a little party of our own with some friends here. We had hamburgers and fries, drank Coca Cola, had a pasta salad, ate watermelon, made a festive star-shaped cake and pretended that the fireworks that were set off because of Brazil's win in the World Cup were for our Independence day. (Go Brazil!) So, even though I missed celebrating back home like crazy - our day was not so bad.

Today, I want to introduce you to one of our boys - Ademilson.

Ademilson has been with us at Hope since January and is 12 years old. He arrived here at Hope with his older brother (15) from another boys home. Basically, the other home could not handle him and his brother - so they were sent to us. 

While this is not a post about his brother, from day one - we could see that the problem the other home had with these boys was mostly with his brother, and not Ademilson. Ademilson, for the most part, is a good kid. He seeks attention, and sometimes does not understand the difference between positive attention and negative attention, but he has matured so much in these 6 months that he has been with us. He is the first one knocking on my door letting me know when someone is doing something they shouldn't - which, honestly can get quite annoying...but, shows that he wants to do the right thing. We have moved his brother into the older boys dorms, and the separation between the two has been great for Ademilson. 

Please join Isanon and I as we pray for Ademilson this week. We are praying that he would continue to grow and mature into a boy who wants to do the right things. We are praying that he would not follow in the footsteps of his older brother, but continue to mature and be an even-tempered boy. Pray for his schooling, that he would continue to find joy in going to school. Also, we are praying for his teachers - that they would find patience in dealing with him, as he can be quite a lot sometimes. We are praying for all his hurts and wounds - that God would continue to pour His love on Ademilson and bring healing into his life. 

A party for three.

Yesterday was officially our first day back at Hope. We had the best vacation time, but its nice to be back with all our boys. Yesterday was also the birthday of three of our boys. What better way to come back than to be able to throw a huge party? 

Valdiney turned 17, Josue 15, and Lucas turned 12. Being able to celebrate three birthdays at once, was a lot of fun. We made up a card for each boy, and had all the other boys sign it. At the end of the night, before giving the cards to the boys - I took a little peak inside, and saw the messages the boys wrote. Some were just their names signed, some said 'happy birthday' and their names, and then there were the few that really wrote something meaningful and sweet. It makes me so happy to see that little by little these boys are realizing that birthdays truly are a special day and should be celebrated.

There were (HUGE) slices of cake, super awesome cards that sing from Paul and Nancy, many smiles, balloons that made baby Ana so happy, and a movie to end the night. But the very best part for me, was seeing Josue walk around thanking everyone for coming to his party. Seeing the joy on all their faces was priceless. 

Valdiney, Josue and Lucas....a very happy birthday to you three! It is such an honor for Isanon and I to be able to celebrate this special day with you all. It is truly our hope and prayer that you three felt loved and special. We are excited to see what this new year will bring for you guys, and feel privileged to be able to share in making this day special for you. The happiest of happy Birthdays to each of you! 

Currently. {Vol. 06}

Thinking about: our crazy boys. Isanon is officially back on the 'clock' tomorrow - and I think we are both ready. As much as we enjoyed and took advantage of every single minute of this Vacation time - we miss these boys and all the craziness that comes along with being their 'house parents'. Tomorrow also happens to be the birthday of 3 of our boys - so coming back to giving a big party is always fun. 

Reading: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Im close to halfway through it, and so caught up in the story. Its one of those novels that go back and forth between the present - and the past. So far, I have found myself way more caught up in the past story than the present. 

Listening to: Ever since returning from Recife, I can not get the song Let it Go out of my head. My niece, Brenda, sang it constantly while we were there and it would get stuck in all our heads. She would sing it in English too - it was the cutest thing!    

Watching: World Cup, anyone? Ha. I dreaded these Soccer games so much...but I've actually gotten pretty into them. It helps that both my teams (Brazil and USA) are still hanging in there. The husband and I have also started watching 24 on Netflix. We have both watched episodes before, but never the whole thing through...so we started at the very beginning and plan on watching through all the seasons. 

Thankful for: this husband of mine. Without getting too sappy, (nobody loves a sap!) I just have to say that I am truly blessed. He gets me, and understands me....and does his absolute best to make me happy - and for that, I am grateful. 

Goals for this week:

last week

• I have no other goal for this week but to relax and take advantage of this time.  Lots of relaxing was done, and we for sure took advantage! 

This week

• clean out the fridge and defrost my freezer. 
• Take Ty for walks/outside every day. 
• Make cookies or something for the boys, just because. 
• Do schedule for English classes. 

Verse of the week: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22

Porto de Galinhas

A while back, when Isanon and I had just moved to Brasil, we were watching TV when a little infomercial came on about tourist-y places in Brasil. One of the places was called Porto de Galinhas, and it looked beautiful. It showed people swimming in the ocean and the water was so crystal clear, that you could see the beautiful fish swimming around you. It showed people diving in the clear water. It showed clean pretty beaches. And I looked at Isanon and said, "Take me there!"

This past Saturday, Isanon and his family made that happen....and it was the best day!

We got up on Saturday morning, packed our overnight bags and were dropped off at the airport with the name of the place that we were staying - and off we went. Isanon's brother and sister-in-law had found us the cutest little place to stay, we loved it.

We checked in, and were told that our place was being cleaned and that it would be a little bit - so we left our bags and headed for the beach. We went out the back door, headed down a little path and were at the beach in less than a 2 minute walk. We sat down at a little place with two beach chairs and a huge umbrella - ordered some french fries and a coke - and talked about how beautiful the beach was. 

After finishing our fries and coke, we headed back to see our place and get changed - cause we wanted in that crystal clear water! We fell in love with our little overnight space - it was the cutest! We were too excited to get back outside, that we didn't take any pictures of the room but while I was getting ready, Isanon was snapping pictures (selfies!) and got some of it in the background. The bathroom was my favorite - it had a little bench in it that had little spaces full of succulents! Sadly, we didn't get a picture of it though. 

 

After getting changed, we headed back out to explore. There is a huge open boardwalk area lined with stores and restaurants and people selling a bunch of different things. We walked along the boardwalk taking note of places we wanted to visit later that night - then headed to the water.

One of the things Porto de Galinhas offers are diving tours. They take you out a couple miles into the ocean, and you swim around for an hour. Isanon asked me if I wanted to do it....and I immediately said yes! A hundred what if's went swirling through my head, and the thought of being in the water in the middle of the ocean freaked me out - but I knew I needed to take this opportunity, and I am so glad I did.

We had the best time swimming around in the water. The water was perfect and clear, and there were fish swimming around us all the time, unfortunately the photographer never captured a picture of us with the fish around us - but that is okay. It was an experience that neither of us will ever forget.

After the diving tour, we walked around the shops a little while waiting for our CD with pictures and then headed to our room to shower and get ready for dinner.

We had dinner at a little 'Mexican' restaurant and both got chicken Tacos. Speaking of 'Mexican', Porto de Galinhas was full of tourists because of the World Cup! Every five minutes or so, someone would start chanting "Mexico, Mexico, Mexico" and EVERYONE would join in...it was hilarious. 

After dinner, we walked along the beach some. It was so beautiful. We went in search of ice-cream and found this place that was playing live music. We sat at a little table to listen and watch people dancing...and then Isanon talked me into dancing with him. We danced some, then went and got ice-cream...and came back to dance some more. I am not a dancer, but my mister is - and I'm so glad I let him talk me into dancing with him, because it was the best time. We literally danced the night away. By the time we decided to head back to our room - it was 4am. 

The next morning, we got up...had breakfast, got ready and then headed down to the beach. We spent a couple hours sitting on the beach and talking before heading back to Recife. 

I do not even know how to put into words how happy this little trip made me. I know I've said it like a million times already in this little post - but we truly did have the best time. On the way back to Recife, both Isanon and I agreed that this was probably the best day in our marriage so far. We felt young, free and so in love.

A huge thank you to Isanon and his family for making this little dream of mine come true! I can not tell you all enough how special this day was to me, and how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to experience this with my love.