Look Who Can Ride His Tricycle!

Two days ago we inherited a tricycle from Daniel's friend Enya, just in time for "bike day" at school today. Yesterday evening before dinner, Jonny took Daniel out for about half an hour to teach him how to pedal. He started to do so a little, but needed quite a bit of help. This morning when I went to drop Daniel off at school, I told the teacher that he would need help riding his tricycle. But this afternoon, when I went to pick him up, she said: "your son can ride his bike all on his own!" I hadn't seen him do it yet, so this evening we went out again and it was just as she said!

I filmed him riding his tricycle so you could see this big milestone too! Wow, it was so emotional for me to see my baby so grown up! As you will see, he was even able to ride Enya's bicycle! We don't think his tricycle will last him much longer now...the hunt for a second-hand bicycle will soon begin.

Special Times in July 2010

July is already almost ending and it has been a very full month, with lots of memories! I've already blogged about Daniel starting pre-school this month and our 10 year anniversary (more on that to come soon). But there have also been other special times I would like to remember:


1. Heather's Baby Shower

It was really fun to co-host Heather's baby shower at the beginning of the month! It was great to meet her mother and other friends and celebrate the arrival of her baby girl. (Special news: Precious Maya was born this past Monday, July 26th! I'll be meeting her Saturday, can't wait!)

2. Playdate with Katie and Sophia

My English friend Katie (who I've now known for 12 years!) and her adorable daughter Sophia (2o months old) met us for a very fun and spontaneous playdate. We discovered a great water fountain that the kids enjoyed playing in a little (it was so hot that day it was a great way for them to cool down) then spent some time in the children's section of a library which the kids loved. We then enjoyed a nice lunch together. I didn't get many photos but check out the 2 that I did and the cute video of the kids being silly/hyper together! So cute!!!

3. Girl Time Over Tea

In anticipation of the arrival of two baby girls, I enjoyed having some girl time with 3 friends at a cute English-style tea house. We got to eat scones and little sandwiches! It was a lovely atmosphere and the day was overcast with a little rain - just perfect for the occasion, it really made us feel like we were in England! :-) We enjoyed talking mostly about labor and babies... Fun!

4. Gravia Family Visit

My uncle was visiting my cousins from Brazil and we had the family over for dinner. It was so nice to get together and Daniel had a blast playing with the girls and being tickled!

As in June, there were other nice times in July that were special but I don't have photos of:

5. Fourth of July cook-out with friends from our church

6. Dinner with Laura and Ken (more about that on Part 2 of the anniversary blog coming soon)

7. Special meeting with my dear friend Delia

8. Dinner with Jeanne and Tommy - an older couple from our church we are getting to know who are very special!

It's been good to do this... it's been good to review the past two months and remember all the special times we enjoyed. I find it's so easy to quickly forget these moments. I'm so thankful that this blog helps me keep these memories alive!

Special Times in June 2010

We had some special moments this past June that we would like to remember, even though I didn't have the time to blog about them before.

1. Celebration of the ending of Nena's treatment

Nena's friend Mariluce hosted a party for many of Nena's friends to celebrate the end of her chemotherapy. She is doing very well and enjoyed the party!

We all watched together one of the first World Cup matches at the party: England vs. USA. Jonny was the only one there going for England! Thankfully, it was at least a tie.

Daniel enjoyed Mariluce's pool - it was so hot that day!

2. Justyna took care of Daniel for 3 days, the week before he started pre-school

After coming back from Florida, we had to wait one week for Daniel to start school but we didn't have anyone to watch him the 3 days I had to work. Thank God, Justyna our neighbor and friend, was able to watch him for me. He did great with her and loved playing with Enya. They have been friends since he was 2 months old! Thank you Justyna, I will never forget how you helped us out when we needed most!

(The following photos were taken by Justyna while I worked!)

3. My 33rd birthday on June 22nd

I had not planned to do anything special on my birthday, but it turned out to be a wonderful day, full of special, spontaneous moments! Nena treated Daniel and I to a very special seafood lunch; Corinne hung out with me in the afternoon; Justyna then showed up with a surprise cake she baked and decorated for me (and wrote "Congratulations to you" in Portuguese) and finally, Jonny and Daniel took me out for a nice dinner in the evening! And of course, lots of phone calls, emails and text messages from around the world made it all extra special! Thank you all for your love!

4. Devesh's 3rd birthday party

We had fun celebrating Devesh's 3rd birthday - another special friend who lives on our street! Daniel loved his first full cupcake and the swimming - it was another hot day!

There were some other special moments in June that we didn't take pictures of including:

5. Father's day

and

6. My dear friend Corinne's baby shower - so excited to meet her second little girl to be born, God willing, on August 4th!

We are grateful for all these moments! Stay tuned for special moments in July coming soon!

Our 10 Years Wedding Anniversary: Part 1

Yesterday, was a very special day. Exactly 10 years ago yesterday, Jonny and I got married...

Since it was a work day, we didn't do much to celebrate. But Jonny surprised me with these beautiful red flowers, a lovely card and breakfast in bed - coffee and a heart-shaped cookie he baked himself from scratch :-).

I decided to mark the occasion, by honoring him through a speech, given in front of other couples from our Church (we meet with them most Thursday nights). Jonny was surprised and very touched. A friend video-taped it for us and since it has so much meaning, I thought I would share it with you too. You can watch the video below, or read the transcript at the bottom - or do both! :-)

Tomorrow, Saturday, we will be celebrating more...

Speech given at marrieds meeting at Curt’s house on the night of our 10th anniversary, to honor my dear husband.


Exactly 10 years ago today, on July 15th 2000, we got married. Today, I want to honor you, my dear husband, in front of the other married couples from our Church family.

You were 22 years old and I was 23 when we got married. We had already been together for 7 years, since the age of 15, when you “asked me to go out with you”. We had already been through a lot together: we finished challenging high school years in Singapore, then we moved to England for college, got used to being foreigners together in London - a big, unknown city; moved homes often; completed our undergraduate degrees; started our graduate degrees, and the list goes on…

But since we got married, we have been through a lot more together. One of the most special memories is that I had the privilege of seeing you give your life to Christ, a year after we got married. And, just as God had told me not long after my conversion about 3 years earlier, we were baptized together in November of 2001. It was amazing to see you go from complete unbelief (I remember you used to say: “God? I’m perfectly fine the way I am, I don’t need to believe in God”) to believing wholeheartedly in the risen Lord. And to see the growth in your faith over the last 9 years, your love for Jesus, your knowledge of his Word, your passion for theology, is truly an awe-inspiring miracle and proof of the truth and power of the Gospel.

In 2003 we had the courage to leave what we had grown used to, living in England, and move to a new country together, to a place where we practically knew no one. It was God-ordained; today we can see there was a purpose in us moving here. But it was not for the worldly reasons that we desired at the time: great jobs, better weather (sunlight and hot long summers), bigger homes, central heating and air-conditioning, big fridges, and other American conveniences. No, it was for the purpose of our growth and to know and depend on Jesus more.

The last 7 years living here have not been easy. Yes, we have had wonderfully blessed moments and seasons, but overall, they have been difficult. Adjusting to a new culture; being far away from family and friends; having to make new friends and experiencing loneliness; your post-doc at Hopkins required a lot of perseverance on your part and even after 6 years, your main project didn’t really succeed; a lot of time apart from each other in the first 4 years due to my work’s travel requirements, and other challenges… The hardest of all, of course, was losing our first precious son, Jonathan David at the beginning of 2007. At least 2 years of our lives here were marked by grief.

But you know what is so amazing about all of this? Is that due to all that we have been through together, especially all the difficulties, my love for you has just grown stronger and deeper. And this is a true blessing from God. You have remained faithful – to God, to me and to our children. You have a servant’s heart, always looking to serve your family and expecting nothing in return. You have demonstrated strength, a steadfast love that I did not know you possessed when we first got married. I will never forget, for example, how for months, literally for months, during Jonathan David’s pregnancy, you held me every night as I cried to sleep – you were always present, always loving, always kind, always patient.

Today, I look at you with different eyes than I did the day we got married, for now I truly know the man I married: a God-fearing, faithful, loving, caring, tender, self-sacrificing, strong and solid man. I am so blessed to be married to you, to be the woman that God chose to be by your side and go through all of life with you. And not only are you the most wonderful husband, you are an amazing father. Jonathan David and Daniel are so blessed to have you as their father. I believe Jonathan David felt the depth of your love in the few hours we had with him; I remember how you looked at him and held him tenderly. And Daniel, he feels so happy and safe by your side; he knows his Papai is a special man. He is so blessed to have you as a role-model and this brings me such joy.

Jonny, today on the day of our wedding anniversary, may you know how much I love you. Words cannot describe how strongly I feel for you, but I hope that by honoring you today with what I have said, you have felt some of this love. I look forward to the rest of our lives together and all that God has planned for us to go through. We have learned more recently that what makes life really special are treasuring the everyday, little moments of life. So let’s continue to acknowledge, enjoy and be grateful for every single little moment that God blesses us with.

I have to end by thanking God, our Lord Jesus, for you. For you are who you are, because of Him. All the qualities I just described about you are of the Servant King, and are evidences of God’s Spirit working in and through you.

Thank you Lord for my husband. Thank you for saving him, for bringing us together at a young age, for blessing our marriage of 10 years, and for showing Your love and presence through all that he is. I pray that our marriage would continue to go stronger and our love for one another deeper. Most importantly, I pray that he would continue to grow in knowing You and be used to touch the lives of many others, for Your glory. Amen.

Changes Gallore! Part 3: Hello Pre-School!

Hello loved ones! I have missed blogging so much! In the last few weeks, since we got back from Florida, I have been working on a report for work that took up most of my evenings. But I finally got it done and I can now get back to my favorite hobby: blogging!

Back to the "changes series"...

A huge change occurred in the last few weeks. We said good-bye to Maria and Rashell and said hello to pre-school! Yes, Daniel is now going to a daycare for a 2 year-old pre-school program three times a week (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday), instead of staying at home with Maria while I work. This was a huge decision for us, one that took many months of seeking God's guidance and timing, visiting different schools (we visited 11 schools in total!) , but it has finally happened and we are very at peace and excited about it. Daniel just started his third week at school and though he still cries when I drop him off, he has adjusted very well and is happy when I pick him up. It's such a lovely little school, his teachers are wonderful and he's getting exposed to such fun things every day. Jonny and I even thought about how nice it would be to be a 2 year old again and play at Daniel's school!

To say good-bye to Maria and Rashell properly, they came over for dinner. Rashell was in a cute little dress and she and Daniel played so sweetly together. They really love each other but thankfully, they are still at an age where they don't completely understand what is happening and also quickly forget... Here are some photos of their last meeting:

The good-bye kiss...

Not long after, school started... The first 2 days were very difficult for us, in particularly Jonny and I. Daniel cried a lot in the beginning but the teachers said he did great after settling down. He has been participating in all the activities very well, like sitting quietly and listening during circle time (which I wasn't sure he would). He has an afternoon nap there and though he's napping less than he does at home, he knows exactly what to do (he sleeps on a cot, surrounded by 11 other 2 year olds - very different from home where he is still in a crib and alone in his room). Every time we pick him up, we have a report about what different activities he did, how he ate, slept and used the potty. His teachers (Ms. Kim and Ms. Virgina) are experienced and very warm. Though this change was difficult, at least we are confident that we have left him in good hands and that he is having a great time.

Daniel with his backpack ("ack-ack") the first morning before school

His first day was pancake day and one of his teachers, Ms. Kim, taught them about how to make pancakes. Daniel listened quietly, though apprehensive that I would leave...



This was Daniel having a snack on his second day. Still apprehensive, but he enjoyed playing in the sprinklers later that morning ("Splish-splash" day at school, every Wednesday during the summer).



Now this warmed my heart... The second day, when I went to pick him up, he was playing outside with his new little friends. He didn't notice me for about 5 minutes and I just watched him as he had fun. The kids then suddenly decided to play "ring around the roses" and Daniel loved it and was all smiles. Only after that, did he realize I was there and he ran to me happy!

Finally! A New Blog Is Coming. Soon...