The James Family

We had lived here about a week when my new friend, Lynde introduced us to this beautiful waterfall. Since our first visit we have made many more. It is one of my family's favorite spots. It is less than an hour drive through the countryside and farmland just on the outside of Macae. The drive curves around Pacuda Grande, a well know mountain in our area. For me, the drive is just as great as the pot of gold at the end, the waterfall. Brasil has many waterfalls but this one is perfect for children. The water is shallow and the tadpoles are plentiful! The kids love coming here.
On our first drive to the waterfall Asher and I quickly noticed the scenery changing from farm land to rainforest. "Asher, I think it is official, you are in the rainforest!" I explain to him. "You know what that means mom?" he asks. "No, what?" I can only imagine. "We are going to see leaf cutter ants!" he says with much confidence. Not monkeys, even tapirs (which he mostly wants to see) no, leaf cutter ants. Wow, I sure hope they are there...before I can even put our gear down he has spotted a trail of what else? LEAF CUTTER ANTS!!! An image he had only seen in his books had come alive. He had such interest in these little working ants and here they were, in action. Later we learn the ants are all over Brasil, even at our house! The fascination with them has yet to fade.
The waterfall also has a "slide" the kids can spend hours on. It is a steam of water flowing down a rock that causes slippery algae to form. From the top pf the rock the kids splash into a pool of water where smaller waterfalls are flowing. The entire scene looks pretend; Like you are not truly there but at a Disney attraction made to look like you are at a Brasilian waterfall. It is perfect and surreal. It is such a peaceful and enjoyable play date.

Just when I am feeling a little homesick we go off on a little Brasilian adventure. Whether it be to our local Cavaleiros beach for dinner, Lagoa beach for a play date, our "sea shell" beach on cloudy days, the waterfalls for fun, or local coastal towns to spend the weekends there is always something to do close to home. On this adventure we went to Arraial Do Cabo, about 1.5 hours from home. Our friend Jay said it best, "People save an entire year to do what we can do any weekend we want". I have never been a beach lover but living here we have embraced it and are slowly falling in love with sand and the shore. My first day here we took the kids to the beach. As they ran along the fine line of wet sand, racing back and forth with the incoming tide ,I was reminded of my favorite marriage advice from my sister; I felt it was more appropriate at that moment than ever before just arriving to a new destination. "Life (marriage) is like the tide, you have to go with the ebb and the flow".
On this weekend getaway we were fortunate enough to have a boat all to ourselves. We were taken to several beaches all having their own special quality. First we "sand boarded" down a sandy slope - as you can guess I stuck to the kiddy slopes with Chapel. We got to relax, have some food and drink, have the most delicious seafood lunch on a floating cafe. Snorkel...well, not me...yet. We saw sea turtles galore and even greet a penguin! Yes, a wild penguin! One of the last to make the migration, so gentle you could walk up to it and cuddle it in our arms. Asher felt like a real wildlife researcher having this opportunity.
The kids, as you can imagine, can't wait for the next adventure. They are loving every minute of our Brasilian life. From the beach to the fruit market, it is all very exciting to them. I am so proud of how outgoing Asher has been. He is now a great little swimmer, diving to the bottom of the pool for treasures and is even learning to snorkel! Both kids try just about every food put in front of them including oysters. Asher tried them not once, but twice! Both of their favorite foods went from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to black beans and rice. I am also confident Chapel will leave here being a professional Salsa dancer as she is already learning the steps!
So if you were wondering what we did last weekend imagine we were on a vacation because everyday feels like just that.

Shipments arrived! We feel like we got 3 Christmases this year. First was when our air freight arrived in November. The kids were thrilled to get their toys they had been without since May. I was just as excited to get my much needed kitchen supplies. Our Sea freight arrived in December with just as much enthusiasm. Jeramie was so excited to see all of "our" things. He couldn't get pictures hung fast enough! He had gone longer without our comforts from home and he had little idea as to what I packed. Once our things arrived and were all unpacked, pictures were hung and rooms were decorated. The house became a home.
The arrival of our sea freight was an experience on so many levels. First I had to learn the names of all the rooms in our house in Portuguese. Learning the words isn't as hard as saying them. It wasn't until the last few boxes that I could properly pronounce "escritorio" and "cozinha". Not as challenging was that the packers labeled our boxes in English and in Spanish. Talk about language barriers!
As you can tell our container was packed tightly, like a puzzle. Nothing had been inspected, opened, or pilfered through. I am sure they opened the container, saw how tightly it was packed and said, "FORGET IT!" Lucky for us :)
We also had no idea how Brasilians would transport our container and we were not disappointed by the typical Brasilian work truck that arrived. Please notice the blocks so it will not roll away. I should also add the truck needed a running start before the engine cranked. Good thing we live on a an incline and they were facing downhill to head home. These trucks are typical here and it is a known fact that you do not want to be behind them when driving up a hill. Often they don't make it and will begin to roll backwards. We also hear them honking through the intersection behind our house going about 70 mph in a 40 mph zone. Probably because they had a good running start to head up a hill or then again it could be due to their brakes...or lack there of. Move it or lose it, literally!

Our first Christmas in Brasil was as close to a Christmas back home as you can get. We had received our 2 shipments and were able to set up our tree and decorate the house. The hot weather only made the phrase "Warm Wishes" mean that much more. The days leading up to Christmas Asher was having a rough time with his behavior. He was convinced Santa was not coming for him. We started a reward chart where the kids had to fill their tree with ornaments. This completely turned Asher's attitude around and he prayed it wasn't too late to change Santa's mind. The last gift to come from behind the tree was the little dinosaur Asher had asked for. He was thrilled! He was also thrilled to receive a Nintendo DS from Nana and Papa Ron! Both kids were jumping for joy when they opened the art isle from Grammy and Granddad! Santa brought Chapel a yellow bear that she asked for which she immediately wrapped up like a baby and carried everywhere the rest of the day. Among their many gifts Santa brought a very special friend. The kids were presented with a white fluffy kitten. Asher covered his face with his hands and was speecheless fro a few moments when he finally asked,"Can we keep it?" The kitten has been a sweet addition to the family and we named her Natal, Christmas in Portuguese.

After our family celebrated with gifts our friends came over and celebrated with food. I prepared every dish from home I could think of. We spent the day eating and playing in the pool! It was great to have so many friends around...for all of us as I think we were all little homesick.