A very merry Christmas indeed.

SANTA HAS FOUND US!




Once a barbie girl, always a barbie girl!





Suzana's a mommy. This is one special baby that talks back to us, hugs and kisses. We're all in love with this new adition to the family.

Give a boy some wheels, and he'll be your friend forever!

Bookworm is happy for the new supply!

OPERATION! This is a family favorite.

It has been a while since we took the time to keep in touch with our friends, and we are sorry. We love you, and think of you often. Time has been scarse but you still live in our hearts everyday.

Christmas is a time of reflexion around here. We start the month of December putting the Christmas tree up and then we read a scripture and story and sing a song every day until Christmas. Suzana and Nicolas are doing great and have learned the true meaning of Christmas.

This month I received news of a very dear friend that has colon cancer, and also of another friend who just miscarried her baby for the 8th time. As I thought about these events, my testimony has grown that Jesus really is the reason for the Season. Only through Him can we endure and still find happiness in life. I feel humbled to think of His sacrifice for us, to think that because of Him, I can make it through everything until I meet Him again.

We love this Season!

May each one of you find peace in your hearts that only comes through our Savior.

Depression

This is the time of the year that most people feel the mood shift with the season... a lot of articles and books address that issue well enough, so there's no need for me to make an entry about the causes and treatments we have these days. Instead, I will speak to my friends.

And I will speak to my friends' friends, and to people I only speak to on the web, and to those who don't really know who the heck I am, to everyone in general that is going to a really tough time now. It seems to me that everywhere I look, a person is dealing with more than they think they can handle. Today more than ever, we are being bombarded with problems and more problems and conflicts and dissapointment and sadness and the empty feeling that leaves a hole in our heart. Our shoulders get heavy, our mind gets troubled, our heart starts to doubt. And we wonder why. Why does the wind keep trowing sand at our faces, why do friends leave us alone, why does life have to be so hard, and why, why, oh why, can't we see the light at the end of the long tunnel. We forget what sunshine really feels like, because for the longest time there's been four winters in our miserable year of life.

I speak to you that are sure you did something to deserve a mediocre life; to you that feel inferior than the rest of the world; to you that wish you could hide under your bed forever; to you that is beginning to doubt every good thing and experience you've had in the past; to you that are simply planning on giving up. And to you, I have a little something to say:



You are beautiful. You are wonderful. You are a ray of sunshine for those who are lucky enough to know you. You are special. You are unique. You are irreplaceable. You are powerful. You are loved. And believe it or not, my friend, you are strong.

Don't loose faith in people, and especially in God. Do NOT loose faith in you. keep your chin up, even if that means getting more sand in your eyes. Do not let fear and doubt take control. Only you can be you, and you are a jewel in God's crown. Do not let yourself be defeated, but take control... and even though you may feel like no one notices or cares about you... that's a big, ugly, fat lie.



I care, and I barely know you. How much more would your Father in Heaven care?

Windshied wipers

I wonder if this just happens to me.

When I'm in the middle of a rainstorm, the kind that you cannot see a foot in front of your car, windshield wipers are life savers. Litterally. Can you imagine driving without them? You thank God for inspiring whoever it was that invented them. You love them, you worship them. When the storm is over, you take a deep breath and continue the drive safely to your destination. Then you turn the wipers off. They just about saved your life, but right now, if you keep them working on a sunny day, they will most likely annoy you and you won't be able to see very well with them. You turn them off until it rains again, until you need your life saved again. You are not afraid to go for a drive in the rain because you know the car has windshied wipers. They are there. They will be there everytime it pours on you. They are just a click away.

I often feel that I'm a windshield wiper type of friend. When someone needs me, they call and I do everything I can for them. And after the storm passes, I get shutt off. They don't need me in the sun.

This used to bug me for the longest time... Until I started thinking and realized that being a windshield wiper type of friend is not that bad; it's actually an honor. And why is that?
Well, my friends have full lives; they have kids and husbands and jobs and all kind of duties they need to fullfil on a daily basis, as do everyone else. Life is hard, complicated, it sucks sometimes, and it's wonderful just the same. But life is, more than anything, busy for most people. And when the rough gets going... when something happens that you weren't really expecting, when it starts pouring rain over you and you feel you're going to lose it... it occours to you that you can turn that button on and the windshield wiper will help you see clearly along the way. Just like a good friend.

So I feel flattered that that someone can see me as a windshield wiper... someone they can always call on, because they know I will be there. I'm just a click away.

Guess who got a haircut!

To love someone.

I got home from my four week all american vacation last Friday night. As I left baggage claim, I saw my husband, shining bright with joy. On his hand he was carrying a beautiful arrangement of red roses, and my heart leaped. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder... very true!
After a four hour drive, we finally got home. The kids were ecstatic to see dad, and everyone was, simply said, happy.
As I entered the house, I first saw flowers on the kitchen table, then flowers on the countertop. There were flowers on the living room, sitting on top of each of the three windows. The dining room table was covered with candy, that had been carefully placed to shape a big heart. On some cardstock we read welcome home, with all of our names. Our bathrom window also had flowers, and it was cleaner than I ever saw it before. I then realized that the whole house was swept, moped, dusted, washed, CLEAN! Not one dish in the sink, not one crumb on the floor, laundry done, clean sheets in all beds.
I'm really not sure what to say as I write this. I kept thinking I was going to tell you all about my miserable 24 hour trip from The U.S. to Portugal, with all the frustration and madness that we went through. Extra cost for luggage, rude people, a carry-on bag (with personal, very special stuff) stolen, and oh what else, so much! But I choose to tell you about love.

I'm always saying love is a verb. My husband demonstrates it.

A laugh is a smile that burst.

How average are you?

Two days ago I ran across a picture of me as a teenager while on vacation at the beach. My brain automatically took me to the year that this guy (who I had a crush on) told me that I wasn't ugly or beautiful. I was... average.
That year the guy ruined my summer vacation. I mean, who likes to hear that from a super good looking dude when you're 14 years old? I remember crying and crying about it. I wanted to be beautiful, stunning, gorgeous! Either that or be lied to; ya know, he could have lied just a little...

Well, that long forgotten incident got me thinking all night. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that being average is not something to be worried about, but actually proud of. I am an average woman... and I like it.

I'm not a famous singer, but I don't hurt other people's ears when I sing, especially not the bathroom walls;
I'm not a professional quilter, but I learned how to do it and my ONE finished quilt looks lovely on my kid's bed;
I never wrote a book or had anything I wrote published, but I have a collection of poems from my teenager years that aren't horrible and hey, I get to have my own blog;
I'm not fat, but I'm not top model thin;
I'm not the best mother in the world, I do yell at my kids sometimes, but they consider me their best friend and know that they're safe when they're home;
I'm not a gourmet chef, but my family thinks I'm the best cook ever; (we don't go out to eat often, so really, what do they have to compare my food to?)
I'm definitely not the best wife a man can have, but my man has never wished for another one. I'm quite blessed there.
I am not rich and don't own all the things I would like to, but I never went hungry in my life and always had a roof over my head and warm clothes to wear.
I was never nominated class leader during school years, but I made friends for a lifetime;
I'm not the world's best friend either, but I do know how to listen and love;
I can clean a house... occasionally;
I can make a beautiful scrapbook page... once every ten OK pages;
I cook for my family... at least once a week;
I can use a sewing machine... straight line only;
I make treats for my kids... sometimes because I want to, sometimes because I need to bribe them...
I can type on the computer... doesn't matter if it takes me two hours to write a blog entry;
I sometimes do a special something for someone, once in a while come up with a great idea, I have planted both a flower and a vegetable garden, I try everything that appeals to me and never get to be the expert, but can always get away with it, even when it comes to decorating my kids' birthday cakes, painting our house or making my own curtains and you know what, I mess up. A lot. But I do try to learn with my many mistakes and try to learn from them.

So, I'm an ordinary person with extraordinary dreams, and I do my best to make them come true. What a handsome, muscular, macho man with a big ego once told me, was nothing short of the best compliment I've ever had in my life. I do a lot of good things, and make lots of mistakes... but I'm happy that I am at a level that I recognise my weaknesses and have tons of room for improvement. And that, the way I see it, it's pretty darn good... I think. What do I know anyway? I'm just an average woman.

How about you?

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La' fora a noite e' escura e a lua nao se ve.
Ca' dentro a alma e' fria e o coracao nao cre. Porque?

Guess what, I'm alive!

I am living proof that people CAN survive without a computer at home! I've been doing it for two years now.

I do miss you guys though. I wonder if you still check my blog.

Anyway... I'm vacationing in the U.S for the next four weeks, so I hope to "see" you more. America looks just like the way I left it, beautiful!