sand, birds and a wedding

We are back. While it was a dusty 14 hour ride on the way to Belem; the ocean, bathtub, and croissants more than made up for it. We swam, rested, read and watched movies in air conditioning. A highlight for me (Brin speaking here) was visiting Belem's version of Krogers where I was delighted to find dark mustard, turkey breast, cheddar cheese all within the ambiance of automatic doors and air conditioning. They even had a public bathroom with, wait for it......paper towels. Utterly pleasurable, I cannot even tell you. I have no pictures of it, what was I thinking?! I do have some pictures of our other outings that I believe were more memorable for the rest of the family. We picked my mom and dad up at the airport and spent a few days exploring Belem. The open air market on the banks of the river, a zoo, a heron park and of course Pizza Hut at the mall.

Mom and the girls at the Praça da Republica.
It was hot and the chilled coconuts refreshing.

Our girls preferred searching for random rocks,
shells and even trash to decorate the sand castle that their dad built.

The giant lily pads at the zoo.

At the bird sanctuary.

more pictures of Belem here

We traveled back as planned. I don't want to make much mention of the journey back since it reveals what a priss I might be. I will just say, the plane ride brought me into my house only 10 minutes before Josh's journey of dust and my day poolside was lovely. My mom and dad pretty much jumped into our lives. One of the things they were able to experience with us was Alpha Circles, the Friday night English groups that I lead. I did a talk on contentment. It ended up being one of those (many) times where you give a message but really you are just preaching to yourself.

Cleide translating while I speak in English. There were times in the past where I tried to translate for myself. That was a disaster.

Oooooh, and another big event; Sheyla and Leandro's wedding! Both of them were my former English students that turned into friends. Long ago Sheyla asked Mia and Ava to be her "damas de honra", the Brazilian version of a flowergirl. With enthusiasm, both accepted. However, a few weeks ago Ava evidenced a painful case of stage fright during the Conferencia de Milagres when she refused to dance only seconds before her group was called out. Ella was mortified to be left partnerless. Now, a couple weeks later, Ava's stage fright paid off for Ella in the end when Ava gave up her flower-girl dress. Ella was overjoyed to take it. The wedding was beautiful. It was fun to watch Sheyla throughout the ceremony, remembering some of my lunch dates with her where she interrogated me about marriage. We laughed a lot realizing how much Sheyla and I are alike and how much Josh and Leadro are as well. Many times I left my outings with her asking God to guide her because I knew I certainly did not have marriage all figured out. And really, we are on the same path together, pointing each other towards God.

Ella and Mia.
When I asked Mia what her favorite part of the wedding was, she said when Sheyla and Leandro kissed. About 2 months ago, Ava fell asleep at a wedding, she awoke to everyone clapping when the couple kissed and she was mad at me for not waking her up for the kiss.

Josh and I were padrinhos. Which I would explain as part bridesmaid/groomsmen part role model/Godparent.

Another beautiful part of the wedding was that Sheyla wore a dress given by Josh's cousin Katie (Pflederer) Roth. The gown is in the wedding circuit for other brides in our church to borrow. Also, the girls' tiaras came from their friends Anna and Alia Porritt. It was rather endearing to have a little piece of home play a part in such a meaningful weekend.

See more photos of the Sheyla & Leandro, Chelsea catching the bouquet, Denise singing and other friends