Nádya's Birthday

Nádya did not want a celebration of her birthday. She told me that she had eaten enough cake for the month.

We had a semi-surprise celebration anyway. Her mom (who makes the cakes for our celebrations) put this cake together in the afternoon after Nádya went back to work. I had an English Class to teach so I was not there when Nádya got home from work.

It was a fun little party.

The rest of the photos are in our January Birthday Celebrations 2008 album (They are in the last three rows.).

Four Months

Here it is four months, and I feel like it has been two. Okay, maybe not in all ways, but it has really flown by.

The cake was excellent (those are candy-coated peanuts on the frosting). The family was gathered round, and the conversation was great (in two senses of the word ;) ). It was quite the fun event; we even got some great pictures of it:

Kylie's 4th Month

Note: Unfortunately for this here blog, I am finding I need to cut back on the writing. While I will try to keep you up to date on what is going on around here, there will probably not be as much detail. This is because I am now a stay-at-home-dad and so have a few other things to do. I love it. But I miss writing here.

Surgery Update

It has come to my attention that updating needs to be done. It has been a fairly restful week, but mostly because I had no choice.

Surgery was fine. In fact, since today is a holiday here, I got my stitches out a day earlier than the doctor had originally said. He said that there were no problems whatsoever during the surgery, and it was one of the easiest one's he has done.

Who knows? Maybe he says that to everyone.

My cousin Rebecca is still struggling with super-low white blood counts. Her spirits are good (she is a very spirited person), but I am sure this is getting a bit frustrating for her.

My grandfather's leg problem turned out to be a hematoma, and not a blood-clot. That is good news. It still hurts, though.

There is plenty more to tell you, but I just don't feel like writing much at the moment. Tomorrow evening we will be having our monthly celebration of Kylie's birth. I expect there will be plenty of pictures and some sort of story to tell.

What Is Happening?

The last month, or so, has been full of news. All of which I want to share, but have not had the time to put it all into written word as of yet. Part of that is because of the emotions involved, and part because I have been so busy running to and fro to various doctors. Following is my attempt to explain summarize it all.

Patrick Visits

My good friend Patrick Borter came to visit his fiancé, Nyna (who also happens to be my sister-in-law). It was really good to see him, especially since he had some adventures getting here.
We really enjoyed having them to our house a couple of times, and just kind of hanging out together. When we did make it to Nádya's parent's house on a couple of occasions it was quite fun for the whole family to be together (Well, nearly the whole family. Jr. still lives to far away—in Parauapebas—to come visit for things like this. We missed him.) for a short time.
Patrick and Nyna are awaiting their fiancé visa, and the last time they were together was in September of last year.
What photos we have of the visit are here.

The Move

We have moved. We are once again living with Nádya's parents. It was not exactly our first choice, but with Nádya returning to work, and me going under the knife soon (keep reading for more info on that), we were running out of options for child-care.
Also, amerInglês has lost a lot of students in the last few months; mostly due to financial difficulties. So the student's financial difficulties became ours.
It is kind of comical, when one steps back from the situation, looking at us trying to fit the stuff from our house into our room. Ha! We might get the 3-D jigsaw figured out someday. More on this later.

Health

Some members of my family in the States has had some pretty serious health problems of late. Here are a couple, followed by my own situation.

Grandpa

My 93-year-old grandfather recently fell—I have not heard why, but my guess is that he was pushing the limits of his abilities. ;) He likes do live that way. Anyway, as a result of the fall he ended up with a blood-clot in his lower leg, and is in the hospital.
Grandpa is an old farmer; he does not go to the hospital for something minor (like cutting off part of a digit, or splitting his head open after falling off a ladder). He is an “It's only a flesh wound!” type of guy.

Rebecca (Karl's Cousin)

Rebecca was in the hospital for a few days (maybe a week—I lost track because of so many other things going on) because her platelets were so low. The diagnosis is “Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.” Which is medical speak for “blood problems of an unknown cause.” (Okay, so that might not be an exact translation, but that is what it means to me.)
She is on the mend at home now (since last Thursday), but still does not have much energy, and is on chemotherapy treatments. Her platelet counts have been measured at six—when the low end of normal is 140-150.

Karl

For a couple of months I have been experiencing some abdominal pain. At first I thought it was nothing, but when it persisted I decided to go to the doctor. I don't know how much of the time since my first appointment we have spent traipsing around town going to one doctor and another, then to the insurance company to authorize exams. But it has been more than enough.
Long story short: I have a gall-stone, and need to have surgery to get it out.
That means that I will be in the hospital for at least a day, and who knows how many days of recuperation. We are waiting for MediPlan (our health insurer) to approve the operation, so I don't know when this will happen, but probably this week sometime. The doctor wanted to do it today, but MediPlan is dragging its feet.
We will try to let you know when we know more.

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Technorati Tags: steps back | financial difficulties | short time | fiancé visa | Patrick Borter | Our Activities | Our Story | serious health | child care | been so busy | good friend | jigsaw | Life In Brazil | returning to work | health problems | Living Outside the US | pushing the limits

Brazilian Culture: Beer at the Mall

The very first time I came to Brazil one of the “fun” things we did was visit the mall. I was bowled over (to put it lightly) to see that restaurants were serving beer. One of the restaurants even has the name “Beer Store”—in English. It still seems strange when I see people drinking at the mall.

One can tell when there is a soccer football game on because there are lots of young ladies walking around the mall while their boyfriends or husbands sit and watch the game in the food court over a glass or two of beer.

While I see nothing wrong with beer and football, it (beer) just seems out of place at the mall. I am not real familiar with the laws governing alcohol from place to place in the US, but I know that there are some pretty strict regulations about where it can be sold. I don't know of any place where even beer could be sold and consumed at a mall. (I have heard of drive-through liquor stores in some state somewhere. That is a whole 'nother blog, though.)

All this to say that I found this “pitcher” of beer very interesting. I had never seen one before, so we took a picture of it. You might not be able to tell from the picture, but in the center of the beer storage area there is a cylinder where I presume that ice is kept to keep the beer cold.

Side note: this picture was taken on our recent trip to the mall for Dia das Crianças. Perfect way to celebrate...

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Technorati Tags: Karl's Musings, Life In Brazil, Living Outside the US, beer

Kylie: Three Months

Time must fly even faster when one has kids. The past three months have rushed by like the waters over Iguaçu Falls. On the evening of the 16th we celebrated Kylie's third month since her arrival. As you may have figured out from the picture above, there was a chocolate cake involved; but before that there was a healthy dinner and plenty of conversation.

It is customary to celebrate each month up to the first birthday here in Brazil. These are usually just family. Then on the first birthday, there is a big celebration with many people invited.

Here are the photos from the event:

Kylie - Three Months

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Technorati Tags: kylie, Our Activities, Our Story

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

Surprise Peanut Butter

More than once I have mentioned that the availability of some of my favorite foods here is, well, nil. One of those foods is peanut butter. While this is for the better of my waistline, I have to say that I really miss it.

About a month ago a friend (Hutch) sent an email asking what my address was, and saying that he wanted to send a package. It had my curiosity up to pretty high levels because he wasn't saying what he was sending.

Time passed, and I nearly forgot all about it. Then a big heavy box comes in the door with the mail. From the United States. Filled with several jars of extra crunchy peanut butter.

Friends are awesome. Thanks Hutch and family!

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Technorati Tags: friend, peanut butter

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.).

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Technorati Tags: Kylie

Family Outing: Romea's Birthday

We went to a pizza place to celebrate Romea's (She is Yluscka's mom.) birthday the other night. After the pizza we went to get some of the best ice cream in town at a place called Pura Fruta—which was conveniently one door down from the pizza restaurant.

Here are some pictures of the event:







There are a few more pictures in our Family Album.

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Technorati Tags: pura fruta, pizza place, pizza restaurant, Our Activities, family, mom, ice cream

Update: My Mother's Health

My mother is a blogger without a blog. Really. I have tried to convince her to get a blog (It is free and fun.), but at this point she is not ready. So instead of blogging, she sends out an email every once in awhile. Following is an excerpt from the last one she sent (Ironically subtitled: “If I blogged part III”):

Continued chemotherapy through the summer has left me with little energy, varying levels of pain, and a compromised immune system. Until now I haven’t caught any bugs, but I do have the sniffles and a sore throat now. To increase my energy levels we’re trying Aranesp to boost red blood cells. It will be a few weeks before we know whether it works.

A recent PET scan, which “lights up” places cancer is active, came back looking good, indicating that radiation and chemotherapy worked. Another way to follow this cancer is tumor markers. Somehow cancerous cells or their tracks are “counted” in the blood sample. This has been a good indicator of my condition in the past, but my current doctor isn’t sure how to interpret what’s going on with this test.

How am I feeling? It depends on the day, and sometimes the hour of the day. I tend to feel best at night, but I’ve always been a night owl. I am walking better and the pain is usually quite manageable. Chemo can cause a pain flare-up, which is draining. At least I know it’s working.

She said it better than I could.

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Technorati Tags: cancer, mom

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.]

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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

Two Months With Kylie

Sunday marked two months of Kylie's existence outside the womb. So we did the logical thing; we had another party. The cake was great, but I am not sure Kylie was to interested in it. She slept almost the entire time as you can see from the pictures above.

She has been growing a lot: In fact, Monday, when Nádya took her to the doctor, the doctor was surprised at some of the things she saw. For example, she has grown eleven centimeters (4.33 inches)—she (the doctor) said that the normal growth for a three-month-old is fifteen centimeters. Kylie has been smiling since before we even left the maternity ward, the doctor was surprised that she was smiling so frequently now.

Kylie is a joy to be around. She is particularly happy after a good night's sleep and some breakfast. Her cooing, squirming, and screaming (happy screams) have brought the profound joy only a parent can know on a number of occasions.

She loves taking baths. When we put her in the water she wants to swim. She usually cries when we take her out of the water.

I could go on oozing like a new parent proudly telling about their child (nice analogy, huh... :D), but I don't want to bore you to much.

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Technorati Tags: type application, picasaweb, Our Story, slideshow, kylie

Smoke On The Water: Burning Saltwater

Any article that starts out this way is going to grab my attention:

For obvious reasons, scientists long have thought that salt water couldn't be burned. So when an Erie man announced he'd ignited salt water with the radio-frequency generator he'd invented, some thought it a was a hoax. [From Salt water as fuel? Erie man hopes so]

Of course, it is not actually the saltwater that is burning. It turns out that the radio waves release the hydrogen in the water as a gas, which can then be burned. This is interesting on a lot of levels (including the little boy in me who once—okay, more than once—lit hairspray on fire), but I think the most interesting is this discovery's potential for transportation fuel. We won't be driving saltwater powered cars tomorrow, but this could be an excellent alternative energy source in the future. This discovery does raise a few questions in my mind, as well.

1. What would this do to the sea water if we used it in a billion cars?
2. How clean would the sea water have to be? (Would there need to be a purification step?)
3. From whence would the energy to run the radio frequency generator come? (Solar power could be an option.)
4. What kind of combustion engine redesign would be needed to implement this new fuel? (I am guessing that plain steel fuel tanks would not work, with corrosion caused by saltwater.)
5. Interference from big oil companies is almost a given, they have a lot to lose; What can be done to prevent that?

I am not the person to figure all this out, but I certainly hope that this potential resource does not go un-researched. This story is also pretty ironic in a humorous way for several reasons:

• I am not one to make a habit of fun names—I received enough of that for a lifetime already—but the irony here is to good: One of the scientists involved is named Dr. Rustum Roy. Since saltwater causes rust... :D
• The same person made the following quote:
  

  This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere.
  

  Poetic irony anyone? "Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  
• John Kanzius was doing research for the fight against cancer when he made this discovery (Can it really be an "invention" since it is taking advantage of the laws of nature, and naturally occurring substances to produce the flame?).

At any rate, this is a really cool discovery. The coolest parts are yet to come though, I hope. For more reading on this subject: Can Saltwater Be Burned As Fuel?

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

Video: Kylie At Play

This morning Nádya took some video of Kylie playing and happily cooing. It is adorable. It is about an eleven megabyte (11 MB) download in Quicktime format, so you will need the Quicktime player to view it.

Some other really cool things happened this week too, but I have put them in another post: See "With Grace For The Children" .

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Technorati Tags: megabyte, cooing, kylie, cool things, quicktime format, quicktime player, Our Activities

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.

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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.

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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

Linebacker, 59, to play college ball - Yahoo! News

My mom emailed me a story. It was good. Here is a quote to get you to read said story:

Most 59-year-olds would have laughed. Flynt's only concern was if he was eligible.

Here is a link to get you to read said story: From Linebacker, 59, to play college ball.