sights of furlough

As always furlough, or "home assignment", has been a blur.  We are trying to cram as much in and still maintain our sanity.  Not sure if we are succeeding.  Here are a few snapshots of what we have been experiencing since our last post...

Nate, a former youth group student and good friend, lends me the use of his x-ray machine after I thought I broke my toe coming down the stairs at a friends house.  It seems like we always have our share of mishaps on furlough - some of you may remember last time Mia broke her arm after only a few days back.

All three of the girls have joined our town's swim team for the summer.  Swimming in the Amazon is a little different than laps in a pool, but they seem to be thoroughly enjoying it.  

After an impressive first meet, Mia was put on the A team for backstroke.

The girls were able to experience a tornado warning, nothing came of it but they did like the drama.  Gabriella is convinced that she should be a storm chaser when she grows up.

Our good friends Luke and Debbie hosted a welcome home party for us with an "ugly vest" theme.

Our girls play with the Porritt kids during our stay at their house.

We were able to make the Tremont Turkey Festival, our hometown's contribution to authentic Americana.  Which includes such stand-bys as a pageant, carnival rides, and merchants tent, but also other oddities as a bed race, Turkey Toss, and of course turkey sandwiches and drum legs.  Our girls couldn't get enough.  

As members of the swim team, our girls were able to ride on a float in the parade and throw out candy.

One of the hardest things about living overseas is the distance between family.  Our first month in the States has come and gone (quickly) and we've enjoyed our time mostly spent catching up with family.  With family comes that much loved event - the family picture.  We did truly enjoy the time with our families.  We are now in Tremont, our hometown, where we will spend most of the remainder of our time. 

Josh's family in front of his parent's house in St. Louis.

Brin's family in North Carolina, including the newest member of the family, Luke, who was born just 2 days before we arrived.

  It's always fun to hear the girls as they make comments during new experiences on our travels.  It helps remind us that even though this feels like home to Brin and I, that's not always they case for our girls who were 2, 4 and 8 when we first moved to Brazil.  Here are a sampling of some of the comments we have heard from our girls:

• Gabriella: Dad,what did you have for breakfast?; Me:English muffins, they are in the fridge; Gabriella: [standing in front of the open fridge] What are English muffins?

• [Sitting in the crowded breakfast room at our hotel in Miami, the girls are watching TV as a commercial comes on showing sizzling bacon] Ava: [yelling] BACON, BACON, BACON!!!

• [At the hotel during breakfast, as her mom eats an orange] Gabriella: I didn't take any fruit because I didn't think it was real.

• [From the bathroom] Ava: Where do we put the toilet paper?

Ice skating with Aunt Ronesha.

The cousins: Mia, Maci, Ana and Ava.