Yluska's ABC Graduation

From Yluscka's ABC Graduation

The 8th of December we were invited to go to a graduation party for Yluscka. I was very much looking forward to it until I realized that I would be wearing a tie and slacks—at that point I was just looking forward to it.

Yluscka would be addressing her peers, teachers, family members, and others, so we thought it would be fun to go for that reason alone (There were others, such as food.). The party was going on smashingly, the appetizers were good, and the little ceremony was interesting. I was actually with Kylie inside part of the time because she was hungry and tired.

As the ceremony was coming to a close—well, as soon as Yluscka had received her diploma—the first drops of rain began to attack the ground. I was inside at the time and heard much screaming, and the rush of running feet. For maybe ten seconds the rain came slowly, but then a full downpour was in progress. Then the lightning and thunder.

I watched as the workers rushed to get things under cover from this surprise. The tables and chairs that had been arranged outside were now needed inside (even if space was not sufficient).

Then the power went out.

If the 100 or so kids were scared before, this added to the fear and so screams abounded. I don't recall that the power came on again while we were there. The rain continued for an hour or more, then stopped.

Unfortunately, the rain and power-outage delayed dinner. On the upside it was romantic when it did come. Dinner by candlelight is great on a stormy night.

When the rain finally did stop, we still had to wait for about 45 minutes for the water in the street to go down.

From Yluska's ABC ...

For many more photos of this event, see links below the photos in this post.

Oh, and wearing a tie was not so terrible.

Dia das Crianças (Children's Day)

There was a day that I remember asking my mother, “Mom, why isn't there a children's day? I mean, there is a Mother's Day, and a Father's Day—so why not a children's day?” Her response did not satisfy me much; it was something along the lines of “Because kids have birthdays, Halloween, and Christmas.”

Here kids get their own day. This year it landed on the twelfth of October. It seems to usually involve presents (read: toys), and some sort of party, depending on the family. There are also activities put on by the city, and other companies. In fact, the place where Nádya works paid for games and lunch at the mall for their employees and their families.

Kylie was a bit small for the arcade games, bumper cars, and other rides that they have in the children's play area of the mall. So we spent a lot of time just hanging out and watching other people's kids have fun (which wasn't as boring as this sentence might make it sound). We then had lunch at McDonald's.

I suppose if you like McDonald's food in the States, then you would like it here. I am not a fan. But hey, it was free. So I can't complain to much!

Anyway, it was a fun day using the mall as a short respite from the 100˚F or more heat we have been having.

Here is the album of photos we got from the day:

Dia das Crianças (Children's Day)

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Technorati Tags: Dia das Crianças, Life In Brazil, Living Outside the US, Our Activities

Almost Three Months

Kylie is almost three months old, and besides, today is Children's Day here in Brazil. What is more, we are totally enthralled with this new addition to our family. Hence the slideshow above.

The photos are from her two-month party up to now (Unless you are reading this long after the posting date—then it may have been updated.).

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Kylie

Recife Trip: Success

We are home after an eventful trip to Recife, but before all the details, here is a quick rundown of our itinerary for the trip:

1. Sunday the 23rd, at 10:15 AM 10:55 AM:Leave for the bus station.
2. 12:30 PM: Bus leaves for Recife.
3. Monday the 24th, at 6:15 AM arrive in Recife.
4. 1:30 PM: Arrive at US Consulate.
5. 2:30 or 3:00 PM Leave US Consulate.
6. 7:15 PM: Bus leaves Recife for Teresina (with us aboard).
7. Tuesday the 25th, noon: Arrive in Teresina.

Does that look grueling enough? It was more than enough for me. I am still recovering!

It is a fairly common thing among Evangelicals when traveling to ask for hospitality and give it in turn. So we thought we would try to save on the hotel that way. On the advice of our pastor here (who had tried to find other arrangements for us ahead of time, as one needs the commendation of a pastor) we asked to be taken to this Baptist Church/Seminary, but ended up at a slightly different church.

We walked in at about 7:15 AM, and to my wonder there was a service going on. On the way to the church from the bus garage Kylie had put her diaper to good use, so we were really in need of somewhere we could change her quickly. Nádya asked someone sitting in the back who the pastor was.

I went down front to where he was sitting, and asked him if we could talk outside for a moment (the music was playing so loud that it was difficult to communicate). It turns out that he was not the pastor—in fact, he did not even go to that church!

He is a missionary from the United States. He was also kind enough to invite us to his home and rest there. It was a beautiful apartment with a wonderful view of the city—which is drastically different from Teresina, and far more beautiful. They were very gracious in offering their home, taking us to lunch, and even offering s'mores (marshmallows are impossible to find). They even dropped us off at the consulate!

At the consulate we were treated very cordially (in stark contrast to last time), and all the applications, forms, and other documents were accepted. I did need two more documents for Kylie's registration, but those can be emailed when I get them. So, it was a successful trip.

I have already had a couple people ask me when we were coming home since the trip was successful. We don't know. This is the first step in the process, now we wait to be called for our big interview in Rio de Janeiro. There will also be some more documents to get for that, as I recall, but hopefully they will inform us what we need to do before we get there. They say they will.

Now we just wait.

[More panoramas of Recife here, and other photos of the trip are coming.]

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: eventful trip, bus station, missionary, commendation, recife, cordially, marshmallows, drastically, baptist church, Our Activities, Our Story, leaves, rundown, itinerary, bus garage, s'mores, Teresina, evangelicals, stark contrast, kylie, grueling

Will Travel For Visa

The ink is dried. The writer's cramp is still wearing off my hand. The paper cuts are beginning to heal. The forms are all tucked safely in a nice folder with our passports and work-permits. We even have the bus tickets.

Recife here we come!



We are heading to Recife via bus this Sunday at noon so that we can do two things at the US Consulate:

1. Register Kylie as a citizen of the United States of America.
2. Apply for Nádya's immigration visa.

This is the first step in getting moved to the US. If all goes well the process will take about six months, and who knows, maybe less (okay, so that is not to likely).

It will be a seventeen or eighteen hour bus ride on two-lane roads with a two-month-old. Want to sit behind us?

Very long-time readers may remember that we have made the trip to Recife before. It did not turn out the way we hoped. The rules have changed now, and are a good deal clearer now (at least, so it seems to me). The Consulate even seems to be more ready to answer questions than before.

Other News:

Following are some posts you may have missed if you are not signed up to the email subscription to Karl and Nádya's Blog*:

• Kylie recently turned two months old there is a post about that called: Two Months With Kylie
• We had a beautiful rainbow the other day: Teresina Rainbow
• I also posted a story about burning saltwater that you should read.

*This is a different list than many of you are already on, but still managed by me—I am in the process of trying to switch you over to this list, but you have to sign up for yourselves.

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Technorati Tags: passports, six months, work permits, kylie, immigration visa, bus ride, teresina, united states of america, Our Activities, Our Story, bus tickets, recife, feedburner

With Grace For The Children

About a month ago I heard that there would be some Americans here in Teresina on a mission trip. Thinking that it would be good practice for my Portuguese, as well as fun interaction with some fellow country-persons (I am so PC!), I asked if I could help out with translation. Little did I know what I would be getting myself into!

Last Monday I made my way to the hotel where they were staying, and met up with the group. I think they thought I was a Brazilian, as I showed up about twenty minutes late—which was because of the bus route I ended up on, not that I left late. My nerves were on edge because this was my first gig like this; I was really hoping that I would not have to translate to large groups!

Anyway, I knew nothing about the group, why they were here, or what they were doing. As we got on the bus I heard something about children, and visiting families. We drove awhile, and I met a few of the team members, and some of the Brazilians who were helping out.

We went to the school that the Associação Talita (Talita Association) and Grace For The Children team up to support (while I am sure it has a name, I have forgotten it). Right now it is a group of unfinished buildings that await use with one building being mostly finished, and used daily. More about that later, though.

Our mission for the afternoon was to visit two families—parents of the children in the school. I was sent out with Anita, Bonnie, a pastor whose name escapes me, and the teacher of the children (whose name I believe is Verusca). We visited the families and conversed with them about how their child was doing in school. As we talked we also asked about the spiritual health of the family, which is the point of the school; to create a contact point with these families, and through that relationship share the Good News.

One of the families had a little girl who has dyslexia among other learning disabilities. It is heartening to see her in an environment where she can be taught to work around and with her disabilities so that she can continue her education. In many schools here she would just be left behind.

These people have huge hearts, and seeing the depth of their love for this project (and ultimately the people the project is for) was very moving. Both the Grace For the Children, and the Talita Association are looking to raise funds for a number of different goals, like finishing the construction, hiring teachers, and other staff, and starting a church on the premises of the school. If you would like to give financially toward this cause at the bottom of the front page of Grace for the Children's website there is an address to which you can send funds. I don't remember all the numbers I heard flying around, but remember that it will cost around US $25,000 to finish the construction.

While I personnaly have never really gotten behind any particular “cause” this one I find very worthwhile for many reasons. Some of which are:

• Education among the poor here is sub-standard. This project brings it, and does a good job of it.
• Good News! Because the children are taught from the Bible every day at school, they are taking that home with them.
• The people involved.

This school is located in one of the poorest parts of Teresina, where many of the residents have made houses out of mud and sticks, and try to scratch a living from various types of work. Opportunity is hard to come by here; and a good education is almost impossible. The two often travel hand-in-hand. Often the parents would like to send their children to a better school, but cannot afford it in any way. And the public education system here is not that great by all accounts I have heard. In fact, most children go to private school because that is the best way to assure that one gets a place at the highly sought after Federal University.

It was a fun, interesting, and stressful (in a good way) three days that I spent with these wonderful people from Tennessee. I learned a lot of Portuguese—as well as just how hard it is to translate. It was fun to run into all kinds of things I have never dealt with before, like translating a very flowery 'thank you' from Portuguese to English, and wondering if I got the sense of it across. Activities ran the gamut, from just playing with the kids (and translating instructions for games) to helping translate basic care instructions to parents regarding their children.

All around it was a humbling experience which showed me how much Portuguese I have to learn, while at the same time proving to myself that I know quite a bit already.

Following is the contact information for Grace For The Children:

• Grace For The Children Website
• Email: mail@gftc.org
• Address: P.O. Box 7430 Kingsport, TN 37664-7430
• Phone: +1 (423) 323-3613

I have put my pictures from the second and third days in an album at our Picasaweb page, where you can download and/or print them if you wish:

Grace For The Children

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Technorati Tags: dyslexia, grace for the children, contact point, mission trip, learning disabilities, large groups, two families, last monday, little did i know, team members, little girl, brazilians, bus route, unfinished buildings, children team, teresina, spiritual health, associação talita, portuguese, português

Pictures of Brazil: Teresina

I have just posted some more pictures in the album with pictures of Teresina. They are even all geographically marked (approximately) to the location where they were taken.

Some of the pictures are taken from a bus (the older ones as of this posting), and some of them are taken from our recent trip to get Kylie's Brazilian Passport. That trip, while not entirely wasted, was not a successful attempt. We ended up having to go back twice more to get the passport: Once to take some forgotten documents (my fault...) and once to pick up the passport.

But we have the passport! It is the first step in the process toward our move to the US.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: passport, Our Activities, teresina, kylie, Our Story, brazilian, Life In Brazil

Trying New Things

The past weekend was pretty huge for us. I preached my first sermon on Saturday (after teaching two English classes—I was really tired by the end of it all). Then we took Kylie to church on Sunday, her first time. And, on Monday we had our Second Wedding anniversary.

Sermon:

The sermon went well. I am not really the right person to analyze it, as I know what was left out that was meant to be included. God used me. People were touched. I am happy with the end result.
Nádya said that, “It was like you had been preaching for years!” I joked that it was because I went long (I did—but it was the interpreter's fault [joking!]), and she said that she was really impressed with how it went. I could tell that others were too. In fact, I have been asked to preach again at my church here.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get an audio recording of the sermon. Nádya did get most of it on video before the battery died, but it is to big for any place I have to store it on the web (and the audio is barely intelligible too...).

Kylie's Trip to Church:

We loaded up the diaper bag, and hauled our kid to the bus stop early Sunday morning. Kylie falls asleep when we walk with her in our arms, or ride in a car with her.The bus was no different. She was out by the time we got to the bus stop, and stayed out until we were almost to church.

People “ooh-ed and awww-ed” like they do everywhere when they see a 40-day-old baby. Kylie loved the attention, and was adorable as always. (Disclaimer: I am not biased. Not at all.)

The service was very different Sunday; usually there are a few songs, the pastor preaches, then Sunday School. Last Sunday, though, there were two guest preachers, and no Sunday School. I did not understand much of what was said because both of the guys had accents from different parts of the country.

All the same, I could tell that the sermons were moving, and that people were responsive to them.

Our Anniversary:

Two years! Wow, that was fast.


We went to the shopping center where our first date took place, and subsequently got engaged. That was mostly just to get a picture—it is far to hot recently to stay outside in the afternoon, and that mall is outdoor except for the shops themselves.

Then we went to Teresina Shopping, where it is air conditioned, and spent the afternoon there. Kylie loved it—“it” being the air conditioning. We used the mall's stroller, and had a very relaxing afternoon wandering the mall.

People “ooh-ed and awww-ed” like they do everywhere when they see a 41-day-old baby. Kylie loved the attention, and was adorable as always. (Disclaimer: I am not biased. Not at all.)

Of course, there is a down-side of spending the afternoon in air conditioning: Leaving it. None of us liked it, but Kylie least of all. Poor girl cried for a long time when we got home because it was to hot. Next time we might not stay as long.

It was all worth it. One of the best (if not most tiring) weekends I have had in some time.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: guest preachers, end result, sunday school, audio recording, interpreter, first sermon, bus stop, diaper bag, have been asked, old baby, second wedding anniversary, kylie, joked, awww, sermons, intelligible, ooh, accents, air conditioning, Life In Brazil, Our Activities, Our Story

Almost September

September is when it really starts heating up here in Teresina. The months of September through January are the hottest of the year because we are so near the Equator. Yesterday it was 102˚ F (one place I saw 104˚ F).

To hot for me.

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Technorati Tags: equator, teresina, temperature, Life In Brazil

Finance

We have to pay fees in order to get ourselves to the US. As I was researching something else, I stumbled across this [PDF link to original file]:




The fee nearly doubled!

To get an idea of how much that is to us financially speaking, it is one month plus more than half of the next month's worth of Nádya's salary. And that is just one of the fees we have to pay (Granted, it may be the biggest, though I am not sure.)!

Urghgh!

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Technorati Tags: fees, Life In Brazil, Our Activities, Our Story

Kylie's First Month

One month? Already! How time flies...

Kylie celebrated her first month of life outside the womb on the 16th, and her aunt Hérika had a birthday the day before. So we had a party the 17th. The newest pictures are not titled, unfortunately, as I did not have time. Kylie is well photographed; in just one month she has nearly 500 photos of her! Enjoy more of the photos at our album.

All of us have been fighting some sort of flu, or cold to some extent. That can be extra miserable when it is so hot all the time. I went one week without my voice because my throat was so sore. That was ... fun.

We are making preparations for a trip to Recife to both register Kylie's birth with the US Consulate there, and to apply for Nádya's visa. Pray for us. There is a lot to have in order before we go, and we need to have our ducks exactly in a row.

Also, pray for me this week. I have been asked to preach this coming Saturday. It is my first sermon, and I have never really had any training in this specific area. The main idea and sub-points are pretty solid, but now I am not sure what to say in the sub-points.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: visa, photos, recife, first sermon, time flies, have been asked, womb, ducks, preparations, flu, extent, kylie

Five Questions Meme

Today I thought I would try something new—something I have never done before. A meme. What is a meme? It is, according to the Oxford Dictionary, “an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, esp. imitation.”

But in the blogging world, it has a little bit different meaning. This meme works by having one blog author (or blogger) “tag” another with five questions, then the recipient needs to tag two other people (or something of that nature). Every meme is a bit different, but at it's root a meme is kind of like a game of tag on the internet. And no, I am not sure if there are tag-backs...

Last week I was reading Hutch's Full Circle blog (Extra credit if you see the music joke!), and he had answered a meme. It was optional to participate (I volunteered to be tagged), but the idea intrigued me. So, here are the very thoughtful, and thought-provoking questions Allen (a.k.a. Hutch) wrote for me (and my answers):

1. How, if at all, has MBC prepared you (besides personal edification) for what you're doing now?

The one thing that stands out to me is Dr. Tim Aldrich's section on how to teach. Specifically “take what is known to teach the unknown.” The rest is kind of intangible as far as relevance is concerned. These “intangibles” have great value to me personally, but not much in terms of my current line of work.

2. Where are you at in terms of your learning Portuguese? Are you pretty much fluent? Still struggling with local idioms? Having learned languages before, but never having been immersed like you are, I'm very curious about the whole process.

Well, that is really more than one question, first off. :D I am pretty fluent. I take the dog to the vet, go to the grocery store, gab in the church office, talk with family, etc. Of course, a lot of people help me out by talking a bit slower than normal, and enunciating clearly, but I would say basic fluency has been achieved (but I really need to work on my writing). Some idioms are really confusing, but most are kind of obvious if you think about them.

3. I may or may not have read this... trying to remember... but how did you propose to your wife?

I did sort of allude to that story in a post entitled “Our Story,” but that does not really tell the whole proposal story.

We have a favorite place at one of the malls here; a little outdoor table right beside the city's only bowling alley. I planned to take her there after I had secretly asked her father for permission to ask (and somehow it remained a secret—a miracle in this family).

She got home from work, and even though I had planned this with her, she was so tired that she did not want to go. I begged and pleaded, and she changed her mind. See, it was almost Christmas, and I felt it would be pretty cliché to ask her then. The place was also important because that is where we had our first date.

We rode the bus to the mall, and I was very nervous that Nádya would see the lump in my pocket that was the ring box. When we got to the mall we wandered around a bit, and wound up at “our table.” We sat there talking, and reminiscing about our first date. I have forgotten how I made the segue, but I knelt and asked.

I don't remember the words I used, but the ring I proposed with was originally my grandmother's, and I explained that at the time. She burst into tears. I had two thoughts chasing each other through my mind.

1. I REALLY messed up!
2. I REALLY did this right!

It got so bad that I asked her if I did something wrong. She managed (with a smile) “No!” I ended up asking her again, and she replied “Yes, absolutely!”

She then went on to explain that I had done it so right, and had surprised her so much, that she could not help but cry.

4. What food from the States do you miss the most and why?

I don't really find myself missing food a lot (though, I used to). But when I eat pizza I miss tomato sauce. They put ketchup on top of the pizza instead of tomato sauce underneath. Pizza here is not that desirable to me—with one exception: Banana with condensed milk and cinnamon sugar.

Don't get me wrong, I do miss foods, but I guess I gave up wishing for what I could not have as a matter of practicality. My special stock of peanut butter (which is not available here) is running out, so I may have a crisis on my hands soon... I have also noticed that I miss good coffee and Italian food, which don't seem to be available here commonly.

5. Knowing that you go to a Baptist church (so there may be some continuity with the US), how is church (both the service and the community) different in Brazil versus the States?

Completely different, and completely the same. People are the same everywhere, and there are people in this church that remind me of people from past churches.

The food there is awesome (it is a Baptist Church).

The service is the big difference. The music is both louder and livelier than any service I have been to in the US. I would compare it to going to a Forgivenmuch, or Sonic Flood concert both in terms of volume and energy.

Theologically speaking, there is a definite leaning toward the more charismatic (at least compared to my experience).

If you would like to participate in this meme, just let me know.

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Technorati Tags: blog, different meaning, dr tim, fluency, full circle, grocery store, hutch, intangible, intangibles, learned languages, little bit different, mbc, one individual, one question, oxford dictionary, personal edification, tag backs, tagged, thought provoking questions, tim aldrich

Your Questions Answered

This post is a response to questions I have been emailed recently. If you have questions you would like me to answer just let me know. After the questions there is a short update with a link to new photos of Kylie.

So ordinarily, in the birth room in Brazil the male is not around or even wants to be there?

I don't know what is ordinary, but we were reading that it is a legal right for the father to be present. When I found that out I thought it was odd that the Doctor and hospital both seemed to think it was their option. I want to write up what it was like to be in the room, but that will have to wait for another time.

Can just anyone come visit Kylie and mom like here?

Yes, and evidently they can stay as long as they want. Nádya had a roommate at one point, and she had about five friends and family that made the first night really miserable.

How long do they stay in the hospital? I imagine it is a few days with the C section.

It was actually two days. I think they would have liked it to be longer, but Nádya wanted out of there after the roommate experience.

What kind of diapers are you using?

Right now we are using disposables. We have an army of cloth ones on standby, though. (Should I make a joke about feeding an army here? Probably not.)

What church are you guys going to?

We are going to Primeira Igreja Batista do Teresina. Which is to say: First Baptist Church of Teresina. That is also where all my classes are currently held.

How is the process of coming back to the states coming along? The US folks are the delay or the Brazilians?

The first step in that process is getting Kylie's birth certificate (for which we have applied, and are waiting). Next we have to get her a Brazilian Passport. Then we can all take a trip to Recife and submit paperwork to get Kylie registered with the US Government and get her a US Passport. Kylie will be a dual citizen.

At the same time we will start the process for Nádya's visa.

How long is maternity leave there?

Four months!

______________

Kylie is growing every day—to the point where we can see the changes on a daily basis. She is already looking around, touching things, and exploring her new world in the short times she is not sleeping or eating.

Her mom and dad are tired. Dad has a cold, or something else nasty. Mom is healing well from the surgery, and looking forward to full recovery.

Here is the link to pictures as promised:

Kylie

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Technorati Tags: dual citizen, birth certificate, first baptist church, kylie, Living Outside the US, roommate, i don t know, take a trip, c section, five friends, primeira igreja batista, Life In Brazil, disposables, evidently, Teresina, us passport, Our Story, army, diapers, brazilians, recife, standby

Insurance

We ran into a case of “read the contract or get taken for a ride” with our medical insurance company. Kylie has some sort of skin problem that we wanted looked at (as well as having a general checkup). The insurance company decided that they would not honor the contract, so we ended up in what I think is like small-claims court. The following is from a journal entry I created Monday. I will tell you what happened today after the entry:

We took Kylie to go see the doctor today because of a rash she has had for a while. We ended up going to a very different type of doctor after that.

Mediplan is the name of our insurance company. They have a pretty decent reputation, and have been pretty good to us so far. Nádya has worked in a couple of insurance billing departments for several years, and is really good at what she does. Not only does she know how to get the stuff done, she somehow remembers the details of lengthy insurance contracts. Our contract basically says that we can include Kylie after she is born if we sign her up within 30 days (I am not quoting because it is in Portuguese, and I don't feel like translating it.). The “inclusion” means that Kylie has the same access to the doctors as we do; which means no waiting period for insurance part of the insurance to kick in.

We have tried two separate times to sign her up, but on both occasions (the latter being today) they said that we could not because we have to sign her up under her own contract—which is no good because she would have to wait before seeing the doctor. [Actually the first time the person who came to our home said that we would have to go to the office to sign up, as he could not do “inclusions.” But this was only after he saw that we were going to find the contract and show him what it said.]

So, contract in hand, we went to the other doctors: The justice department. Sort of a small claims court, I think. The earliest spots available for a hearing were in October, but after reading the contract, and seeing that our case is pretty open and shut they made a spot for us on Wednesday at 9:30 AM. Everybody that looked at our case was certain we had a claim.

I guess that it may have helped that we had our eight-day old baby in arms (which may create a sort of cuteness-induced reality distortion field), and that my wife was complaining of her surgery hurting (it really was—we had waited a long time and somehow the heat makes it hurt more).

That is kind of where we are right now. Nádya expects the insurance company to call asking us to accept a settlement. I am not sure I want to do that because then how many other people will be snookered by these people? I kind of want this on official record, more for the sake of others than for our sake.

We got there early enough that we had to wait around for the representatives of Mediplan to get there. We knew who they were when they walked in, and I wasn't sure whether to laugh or run: There were two attorneys and someone from the company.

There seemed to be a lot of tension in the room, and not just on our part. I was more nervous about being asked questions and stuff than anything. How would I respond? Would my Portuguese be good enough and/or understood?

After waiting around about half an hour for the arbiter/judge to get there we began. We had our files in order in a little folder, but I decided not to even open it until we were asked for a document. By contrast, the lead attorney (the other attorney was his brother, by the look of it) fidgeted with the copy of the contract. I wasn't sure if he was nervous for himself, or for us.

Once the “promotor” got there he shook hands with everyone, and the attorney started in. At first I was kind of put off that he just took off like that, but then I listened and he seemed to be conceding our point!

It actually took longer to document the case in written form, than to get it sorted in court.

We have to have Kylie registered with the government (of Brazil) before we can get an appointment, though. So we still have to wait a few more days, but it will be soon.

I am very grateful that we won, but it would not have happened if my wife did not read the contract. She has to do this stuff for work, so she knows how important it is to read the contracts.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: go see the doctor, inclusions, insurance billing, insurance company, insurance contracts, journal entry, justice department, kylie, Life In Brazil, Living Outside the US, mediplan, occasions, Our Activities, Our Story, portuguese, rash, reputation, skin problem, small claims court

Baby and Mommy Update

After I posted that last post I wished I had waited until I was less tired and had clearer thoughts. But then maybe I would have never gotten to doing it. Oh well. I still want to go back and fill you in on my impressions of those first couple of days. But that will wait for another post; today I am just wallowing in the wonderfulness of being a new dad. I love it.

There are downsides, but fortunately the beauty of it all sets those aside and makes them seem insignificant. Having a newborn in the house is a lot of work, and really changes the way everything is done. Fortunately Nádya's mother and cousin are helping with the cooking and cleaning so that I can help Nádya and Kylie.

Nádya continues to get better, though she has quite a way to go until complete recovery is closer. We think she would have been a lot better off in the first place without the other patient who was in the room the first night in the hospital. She had a ton of friends in there all night. But that is something I want to cover in another post...

Kylie mostly eats, sleeps, and poops; which is great because that is what she is supposed to be doing. :D When she is wakeful, though, those are precious moments where she gets to be extra adorable.

If you would like to see, or download larger versions of the photos above, there are links in the slideshow to the photo album.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: princess, kylie, Baby, Our Activities, Our Story, x shockwave flash, google, photos, newborn, picasaweb, Pictures, slideshow

Kylie's Arrival

Kylie Nicole was born this morning at 9:28 AM local time via C-section. Here are the stats (To tired to do conversions right now.):

• Weight: 3.405 Kilograms
• Length: 49 Centimeters

First off, it has been a long day so I am bound to leave something out of this post. But I want to get what I remember down while it is fresh in my mind. I also feel that I should say that I have never spent much time (well, none really) in maternity wards in the States, but this one seemed well below the standards of cleanliness that were in my mind.

We got up at five in the morning so that we could get to the hospital before seven. Once we arrived we checked in, and then waited for the Doctor to arrive. When he arrived we asked one last time that I be able to be in the room with Nádya. He was sure that I would faint or something, and wasn't very excited about the idea in general. He gave in at last, but did not seem excited all the same.

As Nádya was rolled into the operating room we found out that we would have to wait; there was an emergency surgery. So I waited and watched TV (a really lame morning show called Mais com Você). I had no watch, but I think the surgery started around nine AM—maybe a little later than that. By 9:28 AM (by my camera's clock) Kylie was out and breathing. She did not need a spanking, she just started crying. I stayed with Kylie before she went to the nursery, then went back with Nádya, who was drifting in and out of sleep.

Then I went and told my mother-in-law about things, and showed her the pictures I had taken. Shortly Nádya and Kylie made their way to the room.

...I was going to write out a whole thing, but it is late and I am out of energy. If you have questions ask away, it will help me know what to write about. More later!

[Update: Forgot some important things!

1. Today was also my mother-in-law's birthday!
2. Kylie's hair is reddish.
3. The nurses were surprised that I was even at the hospital.
I will follow up on these things later.]



[composed and posted with ecto]





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“Old” Photos

Family

I have let you down. Sorry. This marks the start of the photo album titled “Family.” I am sure it will grow with time, but at the moment it is just pictures from the baby shower that was held for Nádya and another woman (sorry, forgot her name) at our church. There are also a few from right afterword which were just for fun.

Enjoy!

Click on the picture above to view the photos, comment on them etc.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: baby shower, family, photo album, photos, Life In Brazil, afterword, Our Activities

A Smelly City Waits

I do not have a picture, but then you don't want to see this. Really.

The garbage collectors are on strike. Garbage usually gets picked up three times a week. It has been six days since they passed by. Imagine (... or don't) the things that get thrown away sitting on the sidewalk in the intense heat.

One does not have to try in order to smell the city when passing in a bus. Hopefully this will all be over soon.

But then, we are due for a bus strike here soon too...

[Update: I can hear the garbage truck passing now. Whew!]

[composed and posted with ecto]

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Ryan & Amy's Wedding

The slideshow above is from my brother's wedding. I can't really tell you what happened as I was not there, so I will let the photos speak for themselves.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: brother, family, photo, photos, wedding

Home Waiting, Resting

Nádya started her maternity leave today. It is really fun to have her home. We are having one of those relaxed days that start out by sleeping in. It is really great to think that we do not have to wake up at 5:15 AM anymore.

Of course, this marks the beginning of the end. The end of us being just us. Soon it will be us and Kylie. Which is not to say that we are not looking forward to her coming—just savoring the last few days we have together without kids. As my mom advised me this morning “For good, or for bad, everything will change when you have your kid.” (Okay, so I paraphrased it...)

While I am looking forward to all this change, it is quite a big adjustment for both of us. I am kind of used to being alone for around 12 hours per day while she is at work. I kind of have a routine worked out, and now all that is changing. She misses the air conditioning at work (and in this heat, who wouldn't?).

That and we are preparing for what may be an onslaught of visitors after Kylie is born. I am not kidding. Just about everybody we saw at church last night said they wanted to come visit. Evidently that means that we need to have some sort of small meal, desserts, and baby pee.

What? Baby pee? Yeah. That is what I thought the first time I heard it too. Fortunately it is not actually pee. It is wine. They just call it baby pee for some reason. “Welcome to my home. Would you like some baby pee with your dessert?”

Anyway, the baby things are organized (she has more clothes than I do...), and we are resting. I could say a lot more, but am out of time for blogging today. Maybe I will post more this week than usual. Who knows.

[composed and posted with ecto]

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