Cactus Flower

We saw these two guys leaving out of Lagoa do São Francisco on Friday, January 17.  Each had critter strung up and hung over his neck like a shoulder bag.  The black one was an ewe sheep and the white one was a male goat with horns!  Their ride home was an hour away on sandy, bumpy roads.   Hope they made it!  

This little girl was sitting beside me when gifts where passed out at a little one room school house in one of the interiors where we've been reaching out these days.  Youth from the local church did a Christmas presentation with songs and puppets, games and cake, and presents!  Dolls for the girls and soccer balls for the boys. When blondie here got hers, she said, Awww!  Then her little sister who was sitting on my lap, said the same thing! Prayers for the boys and girls who live in the little interior villas near Fazenda Santana,  Juazeiro, Bahia.

Here's one of my favorite all time photos of our youngest.  The red flowers in the tree seem to match so perfectly with his shirt,  and that little smile is just right.  Sometimes we lament the growth of our babes.   We think about how nice it was and how we'd love to go back.   But I'm quite content to keep going forward.  I'm good to remember the sweet smile,  and be glad that the boy's still around for a bit longer here in our home to keep us delighted.

Piaui, 2003 with Uncle Harold Reiner Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões, 2003 First go kart, 2002 Cristino Castro, PI, place with many natural geysers Pottery factory, Serra da Capivara, PI Treasure Island Camp, 2006 João Pessoa, Paraiba, 2007 Juazeiro da Bahia, 2008

Can you guess who and where?

Just love this photo that friend, Carol D., took this weekend out on the island.  Haven't forgotten about the red jug story!  I'll get to it soon enough!

What "Mother" Means "Mother" is such a simple word, But to me there’s meaning seldom heard. For everything I am today,  My mother’s love showed me the way. I’ll love my mother all my days, For enriching my life in so many ways. She set me straight and then set me free,  And that’s what the word "mother" means to me. Thanks for being a wonderful mother, Mom! Karl Fuchs (used with permission:  poemsource.com) Happy Mothers' Day to my mother - a wonderful woman, incredible example, and extraordinary inspiration!

December 2003           Look at what I found this week.  Mercy me!  Squirming boys that wouldn't sit still and smile all at the same time for a simple, fast picture.  This is on the morning of my brother's wedding in South Carolina just days before our return to the States from a furlough.  All dressed up and wanting to go!

spinning and weaving cloth making and selling clothing dressing well and attractively staying physically and mentally fit giving religious instruction to her children gathering food and healthy meal planning administering household finances overseeing the family business buying and investing family funds performing charity work caring for the poor helping people up climbing walls on the island

Update: And the answer is ....   It is a Savonius windmill !  You can look that up yourself on Google if you're really interested!  It will be used to generate power for a water pump out on the island. 

2003                

  Easter 2011 by Michele

  That's my boy!