Ripons 51st Almond Blossom Festival

Well, today is one of the many days when I really miss my friends, family and home town. :(  I really wish I could be there to enjoy Ripons 51st Almond Blossom Festival. This happens the last weekend of Februrary every year. This time of year is sometimes very sunny and nice and other times cold and rainy....however, rain or shine the festival MUST go on!! :) I only recall one year it was closed down due to heavy rain and wind. A memory I have of that days is my brothers and I looking out the window and begging the rain n wind to go away so we could go to the festival. It was a sad day, let me tell you :)

The festival usually runs Thursday-Sunday and includes several fun activities  like Art Shows, Spaghetti Dinner, Queen Court, Diaper Derby, Dinner and Dancing, a Carnival with rides and booths, and a parade on Saturday afternoon. The Almond Blossom trees usually come out around this time of year which coats the ground with beautiful white and pink blossoms and fills the air with the smell of Spring!! Oh how I miss seeing my nieces n nephews and friends' kids watching the parade and enjoying the carnival. I wish I could be there to experience the tradition that my grandparents, parents, myself and brothers and now nieces and nephews get to experience!! :(   What I wouldn't give to see my niece n nephews faces on the rides and seeing the clowns and things in the parade.

I am missing them soooo much. :(  Especially since I haven't seen or gotten to talk to them or hear from my brothers or very many people since December......Wish people would USE the internet for things like communicating and respond when I write them.....As much as it hurts to not have many family and friends communicate with me here in Brasil, I am starting to give up even trying to keep in contact anymore....people don't "have time" to invest in a relationship with Jair and I, yet have time to do it with everyone else....I am done...we are done.....The very few that DO keep in contact I make sure and let them know how appreciative we are of that and their relationship/relationship with us....If only everyone could experience for a period of time in their life with living far away and not having family close....then they can feel the lonliness and emptinessa and importance that it is to keep in contact...... :/  Of coarse our lives aren't always to revolve around our friends and family and of coarse work and our own personal families DO take up a lot of time....but not every single second of every single day. And what do you take to heaven with you??? Your relationships that you built here on earth....

Anyway.....Along with these fun times of year comes a lot of homesickness.:( I love my city, state, friends and family and never imagined I would move from there....but would love to move back some day if God allows. But for now, Jair and I are enjoying the life God has blessed us with in Brasil!!! I am really loving and blessed by the friends God has placed in my life here. Every week I meet a new person from somewhere and enjoy getting to know them....just missing the CLOSE friendships that you have with your bff and things....but of coarse in time this will happen and I agree that God places people in your lives for a time and a season.....and some for life.... We have our inteview date at the end of March for Jairs visa to the US and then after that we will see when, where, how long, etc. until we move somewhere....Its been almost 3 years here and we are both ready for a change. (for those of you that don't know my husband very well, he has moved around ALOT in his life beacuse his dad was high up in the military and for this Jair doesn't like to settle in one place for too long.....praying someday we can settle down in one place where we can BOTH call it home....) But anyway. We are getting ready for a new transition in our lives and if you think of us, please pray for us!!! We have NO IDEA what is going to happen and if we will be able to move to Texas or another place in Brasil or another country (London anyone???? :) But we have peace since our lives are in Gods hands. Thanks for anyone who reads this and prays! We adore and covet any and all prayers!!

                                    HAPPY 2013 ALMOND BLOSSOM EVERYONE!!!!!!!

Lots of changes in 2013

I can't believe January 2013 is already almost over....CRAZY how fast time goes as I get older. I always heard adults say this, but until I became and adult I never truly understood.

Along with 2013 comes ALOT of new, fun, exciting, scary, sad, hard times ahead. Some days I am EXTREMLY excited to see where God leads us and other days I tend to fall into the stress. We have been working since June/July last year on getting Jairs green card. Prayerfully we worked on the paper work and process on our own. I am SOOOO glad God gave me someone like Jair. When we read what the National Visa Center asked of us, I understood one thing and he understood another and we talked it out and worked it out and went with our gut feeling. With Gods grace we DID IT!!! We finished all of our work at the begining of January and recently received our interview date for March 21st!!! We are excited but then feel like everything is happening SOOOO fast. BUT, we both know things in Brasil can go totally opposite as we expect or think....so the rest of our process could take a long time....We have NO IDEA what Jair's work will say when he asks for his transfer and after that how long the paper work for that will take.

Though we are EXTREMLY happy to see how God is leading and we are excited to finally get to be on our own and have our own freedoms, with that also comes saddness with saying "good-bye" or "see you later" to those we have come to love and know here in Belém and Brasil. Most all of Jairs mom n dads side of that family is here in Belém and although we aren't extremly close to them, it will be hard to say goodbye. Our dear and God-sent American Missionary friends and their kids are what I am going to miss TERRIBLY. We have come along side them and tried to be of any help we could while we were here. They are incredible people, amazing Christians, and such fun and loving friends. I have adopted their kids as my nieces n nephews!! LOVE THEM!!! Also my friends I have met at church, the gym and anywhere I can make a friend will be hard to leave. I have enjoyed getting to know them all and see their smiles, go to pizza, have bible studies with, and just invest quality time in them all. God has trully blessed us for the 2 1/2 years we have been here, but we know and are ready to begin a NEW life in a NEW place with a NEW outlook on life!!

If you think of us, please join us in praying for our future. We are trying to be patient and enjoy EACH moment we have here. We are taking one day at a time and sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other and following Gods will. Oh how blessed we are to be in HIS will....His GOOD and PERFECT will!!

                                                         BRING IT ON 2013!!!!!!!!