Old Portugal

Today we drove to the "birth place of Portugal" and did a little sight seeing. I'll not bore you with a history lesson, but I will show you some of the pictures I took. That's all you really want to see anyway....huh?---I'll just say this...Portugal is very old. Some of the things we saw today were easily 500 years old. At one point during our tour of a relatively small museum, Trinity turned to me and asked, "When are we going to get out of all this old stuff?" We weren't allowed to touch anything and at times I felt like we couldn't even talk above a whisper. As if our voices would decrease the value of the objects. There were monitors in every room of this castle watching my kids like a hawk. I guess they had cause to....after all....Justice was with us! (click on any picture to enlarge it)

The Chapel

Brooklyn sitting on the front pew.

Liberty loved the stained glass.

Did peoples noses really look like that back then?

Us

Now that's a window.

And that' a cute couple!

Trin

Notice Justice is inside the red rope where he isn't supposed to be. That was the story of our day.

Kids are so easily entertained.

Now that's a door!

And this is our house....ahem..yeah right!

Faith

Faith

Feeding pigeons


Fountain & Catholic Church

Tiles

Tiles

Justice wants to know what happened to the rest of that guys body?!

Sidewalk Cafe

Sidewalk Cafe

Waiting on Daddy to bring back chicken for a pic-nic.

Still waiting.

Majorly Cool!

Okay...so I've never personally owned a dog. Until now. And now I'm hooked!




Major is the coolest dog. I'm afraid I may turn into one of those annoying people who take their dog everywhere with them. Today we were gone all day trying to get our Portuguese drivers license. I made several comments while we were gone that I missed my dog. (All you dog lovers...mom can leave an ugly comment if you like....I deserve it!) Major plays soccer, fetches a ball and catches a frisbee! How cool is that?!

Birthday Parties-Portuguese Style

Last week we had the privilege of attending two different birthday parties for two different children. I thought I'd share my experiences with you:

The first party was for the little girl that lives next door. She was turning 8. The party started at 9:30 Monday night. When we got there the entire extended family was there. Grandparents, both sets, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and family friends. We were a little overwhelmed with so many people, and all of which stared at us all night. There was a lot of food, meats, bread, olives, quiche and a huge birthday cake. After we sang "Happy Birthday", which contains 4 stanzas, the mother and father each separately toasted their daughter. With interlocking arms, they kissed and had their picture taken. (Imagine the arm loop thing that bride and grooms do at their reception) It was obviously something they do at each birthday. At 11:30 that night we excused ourselves, as the kids were getting irritable and past ready for bed. (We were the first to leave)

The second party was at 5:30 on Friday. I remembered my camera this time so I've posted a few pictures. The boy was turning 5 and one of the gifts we gave him was a small, hang over the closet door, basketball goal. It was a hit!! Those kids played basketball all night. Well, they tried to play basketball...they don't know a whole lot about basketball...just that the ball supposed to go through the hoop. There was lots of junk food at this party as it was packed full of kids. Chips, cookies, chocolate, suckers, ham croissants, mini muffins and cake. The kids ate so much junk food that they were literally bouncing off the walls. Thank goodness we were outdoors! We, again excused ourselves after having been there for 4 hours! Portuguese people like to hang out and they don't get in a big hurry about anything. Except when they drive!

"Cool...what is this thing?!"


Some of the kids..after eating all the junk food.


My kids enjoyed all the junk food they could hold.......Brooklyn threw up when we got home!

"Major"

At last, the long awaited arrival of our newest family member...Major.



Major was abandoned and left at a local animal shelter. In Portugal, people take vacation for several weeks at a time and this usually happens in July and August. When they go on vacation, they leave their dog in the street. This could have been what happened with Major, we aren't sure. But whatever happened it has left him frightened of loud, sharp noises and fast movements. We met him on Monday when the "case worker", a very nice lady, brought him by so we could play with him and see if we would be a good family for him. She took him with her when she left cause he still needed to be seen by a vet and trainer, then she brought him back to us today. We've been anticipating his return all week. There has been a collar, leash, brush, food and toys waiting for him since Tuesday. He is a precious "big baby" who loves attention and loves to fetch a ball. Here are a few pictures of our family getting to know him better:

Guest Blogger and Football - the real kind

Hello again, it's your friendly neighborhood guest blogger with a public service anouncement regarding some things you may need to do this next week.

1. Stock up on popcorn, pretzels, skittles, and Mountain Dew.
2. Make sure that your lucky shirt is clean.
3. Check your local TV Guide.

Football (the real one that is played with an oblong pigskin in the United States, not the one played in the rest of the world with a round, black and white checkered ball) that football season starts, and for all of you Alabama fans, here is a little picture of what it will look like in Atlanta, Georgia next week - a sea of Crimson...yes, that's right a Crimson Tide.



O Pregador

Settled?

In my previous post I asked you how you though we should celebrate being in Portugal for 6 months. Starla said, "eat ice cream." But when you eat ice cream just about every night, that's not really a way to celebrate. So I was thinking something a bit more exciting. Something a little more permanent....(not that the added pounds from all the ice cream isn't permanent, cause they seem to be on me!) Something that shows we're finally settled. No more traveling across America raising support. We have all our furniture now, at least all were going to get. We've met folks and some even consider themselves our friends. We're making progress with the language. (my husband now has a blog in Portuguese...cool, huh!) The list goes on and on....

So.....maybe another addition to our family???

Sound exciting and permanent enough??!!









NO! I'm not pregnant.....I'm talking about a Dog.


Stay tuned....

6 Months in Portugal

Monday will be our six month anniversary in Portugal! We should celebrate...but how?
Any ideas??

I want to say that we've been busy lately, but it's not a crazy kind of busy, just a normal kind of busy. The kind of busy that lets us know we have something to do. The kind of busy that confirms you now have a ministry in another country. That God is blessing and working. Trust me....it's a good kind of busy!

Things are going well here. The weather has been a little cooler. Today we had sunny skies, but a cool breeze. I actually got cold when I was bringing in my clothes from the line this evening.

The kids have four weeks left before school starts. We'll spend the last few weeks of summer cramming into the girls more Portuguese, getting lots of immunizations...(don't tell them..they'll find out soon enough) and figuring out how much it costs for all their books and school supplies. We can't just go to Wal-Mart and find their list.

Last night we had two neighborhood girls eat supper with us. Even though the meal was very "Portuguese" consisting of fish, rice, beans, bread, salad and fruit, they made funny faces when they saw my bread had been toasted with butter and garlic. They really thought we were weird when the girls put salt on their watermelon. And one girl even tried some pink lemonade. After smacking a few times, she replied that it was good and wanted more. Today, the mother of one of the girls dropped off fresh eggs and vegetables from her garden. Then later in the day gave all 4 of my girls sandwiches and fruit. This was a "Thank You" for feeding her daughter. Although this family probably cant' afford to be feeding her neighbors kids, she still 'needed' to give something in return.

Various neighbors have recently given us lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, bell peppers, eggs, potatoes, green beans and I'm sure I've missed a few things. As we've tried to be just as friendly and share our plums and pears with anyone who likes them. Anytime we have a visitor, they usually leave with something. Either something from the fruit trees or from our garden. And the next day, they return the favor....it's the Portuguese way. It's the way we're making friends...

We are fitting in more and more as our neighbors get to know us better. Our language class today went well. They don't always go so well, so I'm proud of how this one went. I talked the whole three hours...not correctly...but talked. That is very good for me. My teacher and Michael are usually forcing me to say something...but today I wouldn't stop talking. (It may of had something to do with the two cups of coffee I drank!! Some of you know how caffeine does me.)

My mother and step-dad are coming for a visit the first of November. It will have been 6 months since my mom's last visit. Six months is a long time to go without seeing your mommy......We plan to celebrate 3 birthdays when they arrive and also have and early Christmas....the kids will be thrilled! I pray the excitement will carry me through to the 'real' Christmas when we are here without any family. Our first Christmas in Portugal.

Birthday's, Kids, Cats and Pizza

Happy Birthday to me!
I wasn't sure how I would react to having my first birthday in Portugal. Being away from everyone I love and everyone who may know it's my birthday. But after a morning like this one, how could I have ever thought it might be hard?! My precious children, who had worked for days on homemade gifts, woke me to shouts of "Happy Birthday" gave me a party hat and presented me with all their gifts. After that, my husband gave me money and sent me on a day long shopping trip all by myself. You may be thinking, "What fun is that?" But if you know me then you know I love to have a little 'alone' time, and it came at the perfect time. I even received calls from several Portuguese people wishing me a Happy Birthday, got a few cards in the mail from the States and had a few E-cards sent online. Then at church for the mid week prayer meeting the church folks had a little party for me after church. It was a good first birthday in Portugal!

Some people think Brooklyn is Portuguese. Wonder why? She blends in with the other girls her age very well.

This is our pitiful kitten I rescued from the mud puddle. She is doing well, but will always have few lingering problems. Tigra is a nice addition to our family. Justice is pretty rough with her, but she's a trooper. He lays down in the floor and wrestles with her. He really needs a dog, but I'm trying to make the cat work. Michael says there's nothing like a boy and his dog. I say, "He's got Tigra...she works just fine!" He says, "It's NOT 'Old Yeller the Cat!"

This is what I feel like. I'm on a deserted island with no home delivery. I wish someone would show up at my door with a pizza! I'm getting pretty good at making homemade ones, but I long for the simplicity of calling Dominoes.