Goodbye December...Hello 2015!

This will be my last 2014 post.

Deep Sigh.  Contentment.  It's been good.  It's been tough at times.  Difficult at times.  Very difficult at times.  But mostly as I look back over the past year, it's been good.  Blessed.  Full of good memories.  Growth.  Character development.  New opportunities to love, to laugh, to risk, to forgive. To LIVE.

Before we say goodbye to December, I will try to briefly cram a very FULL month of weddings, Christmas celebrations, physical therapy visits and party, etc into one post!  Here goes:

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Our little man LOVES to go outside!  When someone puts on their shoes or changes their clothes, he quietly runs and gets his Ergo baby carrier and before we know it he is standing expectantly at the door waiting to join whoever is leaving!  And when we leave without him, it is cause for great alligator tears, let me tell you!  For sure our entire condo can hear him screaming in disappointment when he doesn't get "to go."

I missed doing our annual cookies plates for neighbors, friends, pastors and family this year.  I did do thank you plates for Chloe's teacher, bus driver, tia that works on the bus and her physical therapist.

Christmas Party at the clinic where Chloe had physical therapy for two months.  She was very excited to have her face painted, only to find she was allergic to the paint and started itching miserably.  Oh, well.  It was beautiful while it lasted!

Noah loved the party: there was lots to eat and he LOVES nothing more than to eat!

Our little butterfly princess 

Chloe and Dra. Milene, her physical therapist, who we grew to love so much.  We don't miss the lengthy trip to and from PT twice a week, but we do very much miss Tia Milene.  It was a surprisingly enjoyable experience at the end of a not so enjoyable adventure.

Mr. Noah with one of Dra. Milene's sons.  One week later, Chloe was released from PT and given a clean bill of health.  We are so grateful that this adventure is over and for the lessons learned, grace granted and overwhelmingly beautiful provision of our very good God every step of the way.

Our first wedding in a four wedding marathon!  This was a civil ceremony, a first time experience for me.  We were very honored to be chosen to be the brides witnesses.  This couple is precious to us and we truly wish them all the joy and blessing that heaven can send.  Congratulations, Everton & Camila!  We love you guys!

The civil ceremony takes place in front of the judge sometime before the "religious" ceremony, often up to a month before.  This one was one week before.  It was a short 10 minute event, where at the end we all signed the official marriage license.

The couple on the left are the groom's witnesses, the bride and groom in the middle and of course, us on the right!

This is a random picture, because I think it is hilarious and must be included in our December!  This night Chloe informed me she needed a bigger bed.  Trying to not burst out laughing, I asked her why.  Her reply: "Because my bed is too small for all my people!"  Hence I had to take a picture.  These are all her "people" and she cannot settle down until they are all situated just so and not one falling out of bed!  Seriously, there is barely room for the child, but she doesn't care.  They must all be included.

My beautiful friend, Camila...one day countdown to her wedding!

Chloe and I were privileged to be able to spend an evening with the American team visiting RM in December.  Chloe was a champ and worked right along with the team making cinnamon and flour Christmas tree ornaments.  I was proud of her that she stuck it out until the very end of the project!

And grateful for a very patient team working with her...pretty sure she ate more dough than they let on to me!

I was put in charge of the cookie making team.  These guys were great!  When proper baking tools could not be found, they cheerfully went along with my repeated comment, "okay, guys.  we improvise once again!"  And cookies we made: 200 of them to be iced the following day.  And this was my very fist time EVER to make cut out cookies! 

We are off to the chapel to...not get married but be attendants in the "religious"  ceremony of E & C!

And here I am with my girl, just before leaving her and her brother at the inlaws for the last wedding of the weekend!

I will include several pictures of this wedding because it was unusual in so many ways.  There are so many beautiful, beautiful places OUTSIDE of Sao Paulo but INSIDE Sao Paulo?  Very few.  Honestly if you had told me there was a little piece of heaven such as this place inside Sao Paulo city, I would have laughed and said ya, right!  It was a fun wedding because we got to spend the entire evening with our church family, my kids were safely tucked away at Avos house and we had all manner of food and drinks at our finger tips for HOURS!  Can't get much better when combined with a place that just oozed loveliness.  It was balm for my green hungry soul!

Okay so blogspot won't load these pictures here, they keep going to the beginning of this post so will post on a new page.