pretend christmas card

i didnt get around to ordering and sending christmas cards this year.  i managed to get some homemade thanksgiving cards out to a few family members --  but sending out lots and lots of cards from brasil wasn't high up on my to-do list this year. we can all pretend this is official and sent out individually, right?  the picture is a little pixelly and the babe woudn't crack a smile, but i just love how green and tropical it looks.

trae graduated from college and got a job here in brasil. he stays busy with work, teaching seminary and holding 2 other church callings, and being my sidekick.  he can not wait to go back to school, he just doesnt know exactly what for.  he is the best daddy and husband. he works so hard for us and we love him.

avery, if you couldn't already tell from this blog, is the center of our lives.  we can't get enough of her and feel so blessed to be her parents.  she is learning how to test our patience and makes us laugh daily.  she is a smarty pants.  being her mom and dad  is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. we love her.

i have been struggling learning a new language and living far away from what i call home, but am enjoying the experience of living in another country. i spend most days at our home helping our daughter create and learn new things, while learning so many new things myself.  i miss cooking (and cleaning) and cant wait to live in the US again.   i have a husband who loves me and a daughter who strengthens me.  i am happy.

we have been so blessed this year. we are healthly and happy. we have been given so many opportunities to grow and count our blessings. we have been able to develop and strengthen relationships with family members.  we have made many new friends. we have the gospel in our lives.  we love eachother.

(silly picture won't center, ugh)

Merry Christmas from us. have a great week!!

counting down

3 days until drew, mace and dave come to visit.
7 days til Christmas
10 days until we supposedly get to move into the new apartment!
14 days until we hop on a plane and head home
15 days til the new year and we get to see our other family.
21 days until our little girl turns 2.

i find myself counting down for all the events that happen in our lives. gives me something to look forward to- although i'm starting to think that when i dwell on them time seems to slow down.  we cant wait for a little change of scenes and more familiar faces around here.  not to sound in the dumps but we are needing a little pick-me-up. we aren't too overly excited to be spending christmas in a hotel, we still have no kitchen or real living areas, and i found a cocroach in one of our showers today. also, trae and i are illegal immigrants living in brasil...(not to proud of that). we have the wrong kind of visas so  we sent our passports/visas to LA to get new ones well over a month ago and they were supposed to send them back in time for us to fly home. well, they're not gonna get them done in time so we had to pay a pretty little penny to change our flights to a later date, ugh. i'm over that now, but it was a pain nonetheless. 

on a happier note, i think my christmas shopping is pretty much done. i dont know why i put it off til last minute every single year, becasue i hate the stress and hustle and bustle of it all, but its done!  trae was certainly the hardest person to shop for on my list.  he's probably the simplest person i know and so easy to please, but he gives absolutley no clues and doesnt ever want me to buy him anything.  i ask him what he wants for christmas and his reply is with-out-fail, "um, maybe just some beef jerky." well perfect honey, they dont even have beef jerky here. i swear i am constantly saying 'i need this', and 'i want this.' he asks me what i want and i could rattle off a list a mile long, and all he can come up with is beef jerky. i should probably be more like him.

we are excited for christmas this year though. avery loves everything about christmas, and i think she kinda understands whats going on.  everytime we ask her what santa says she says "ho, ho, ho, merry christmas... i need a bike," as if what santa says and what she wants goes hand in hand.  we also really cant wait to go home.  trae made a little list of the things he is most excited for when we go home: drink a glass of webb dairy milk, sit outside in the snow til he's freezing, eat a home-cooked american meal, listen the ksl sports radio in the car, wash his face with warm water, and actually be able to flush toilet paper down the toilet.   i cant wait to eat myself a cup of clean, white snow, stay up late with my sisters, go shopping in an american store, bundle up in a cozy blanket, drink a glass of hot chocolate, wear a coat, see my family, and be actually be cold for a little while. while there are quite a few things we like about here, we can not wait to be home!

and since i dont like a post without pictures, and i have been terrible at taking pics, this is what would be on my christmas tree if i had one this year... (okay we have a tree, but its a tiny little guy that fits in the corner of the hotel room). aren't those amazing!!!

funny girl

i swear three months ago i was saying that ave was in my favorite stage and that it couldn't get better. i was wrong. right now is my favorite.  she is hilarious and has me laughing all day.  the way she sings in her 'microphone' all the time, and dances to the waka-waka song, and draws and paints for hours, and ask questions about everything. i love it all. 

thanks to my friend rosie, i got some good potty training advice and went for it.  proud to say she's been diaperless for 2 weeks and most days go by with out a single accident (knock on wood).  it was much easier than i expected but there were definatly a few times when  i didnt know if it was worth it yet.  that little bum gets me everytime. 

here are some things avery said that kept us entertained today:

--this morning when ave woke up trae asked her if she slept good, her reply: "yeah, you sleep good?"

--she watched an episode of calliou about loosing teeth so today she took a big white sea shell that her grandpa found, hid it under a pillow and said, "uh-oh, where'd avery's tooth go, mom?"

--trae was eating an omlette this morning and i asked him how it was then she asked, "is it good dad?"

--i called my mom on skype today and the first thing ave blurted out was "oh no! where'd avery's finger go?" as she proceeded to bite it.

--we're trying to teach ave that we go to church to learn about jesus, not just play in nursery, so today when we arrived avery said "play with toys, play with belle.... after jesus, huh?"

i sometimes wonder what goes on in that little brain.  curious little thing.  whatever it is, i love every second of it.

on a more random note:  we might get to move into the new apartment this week.  it will be a blessed day whenever it happens and we are praying real hard we're in before christmas.  i seriously don't know how much more restaraunt food i can take. 

happy sunday!!