It has been a while...

Well, here I am finding myself in the New Year, shameful to see that I have failed to keep up my blogging once again. But once more, I have returned for my few and faithful fans.

CHRISTMAS

This Christmas was, indeed, a Feliz Natal, for me. My first Christmas with my wonderful new hubby...it was a joy to share this special time together. Luckily for us, Bruno stil had almost 2 weeks of holidays left...so we were blessed with some time just for the two of us. We did a lot of eating, sleeping, laughing and even some crying. We spent Christmas Eve and Day with Bruno´s immediate family. Their traditional Christmas doesn´t differ much from ours; a nice dinner Christmas Eve, presents Christmas morning, and hanging out the rest of the day. That being said, his family is never a substitute for my precious family, and of course, I had moments missing those that I love. This was my first Christmas away from my family, and their first without me. But, Lord willing, Bruno and I hope to make it to Canada for Christmas of 2008.

The holidays was also a good time of reflecting for us. We spent some hours talking and remembering our long journey to get to this point we are at. What a long road it has been....even moresoe for Bruno. But, a road worth the wait....and we are so amazed at where God has brought us.

From day to day, my life doesn´t feel very different here. I am working about 25 hours a week, we go to church, and spend time with family and friends. However... Sometimes I have these moments....very strange moments that happen at very undefined times....where I find myself taken aback by something around me, and I suddenly realize that I am actually in Portugal...really truly in Portugal. I am living as a foreigner, I am learning another completely different language, and I am not really in the place I usually know as home. These are very hard moments for me to describe. They aren´t necessarily good, nor bad, they just are. It is almost like time stops for a moment, and I have a second to look at my life from outside of myself...as if I am watching myself in a movie or a dream. It is very surreal for me.

Well, I digress....maybe I will write a novel on this someday....but it won´t be today, as my loving husband has just arrived home, and I would like to go greet him with a portuguese Beijinho (kiss) . Until the next post...

Our Temporary Home

Here are some pictures of our very cozy house that we are renting till the new house is finished.

At Long Last Pictures!

The Look of Love....wait...or is it the champagne...


Since we didnt do a cake cutting in Canada, we thought we should do it at our Reception in Portugal. Bruno´s aunt made the cake for us.


A few of our very crazy friends



My New Parents-in-law


These are pictures from the reception we had in September here in Portugal.

Tia Laura

Well, once again I am a proud aunt....only this time I won´t be seeing the little gaffer right away. Congratulations to my dear Sister Stephanie who has just had there 1st little boy today. Keaton Dietrich (not sure I spelled it right..) entered the world at about 7:40am Canada time, and is doing well.
I can´t wait to see pictures!

My new Passion

One great thing about living in a new country is that I am exposed to different things that I would never have been able to experience in Canada. New food, new places, and new MUSIC.
I have discovered a new love in music...and her name is Adriana Calcanhoto. If you get a chance to download some of her music, you should. Or you can just look it up on YouTube for all you really computer saavy people. I guess you may not be able to understand the lyrics....but trust me when I say they are beautiful. Even still, in my opionion, one can enjoy her music with or without fully understanding what she is saying! If you want some suggestions...my favourite song right now would be "Fico Assim sem voce" (Me without You). Actually here is a link for you to listen to the first song..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVscPvz6Iwg

And here are some of the cute lyrics translated for you:

Avião sem asa (Like a plane without wings)
Foguira sem brasa (Fire without coal)
Sou eu, assim, sem você (am I without you)
Piu-Piu sem Frajola (Tweety without Sylvester)
Futebol sem bola (soccer without ball)
Sou eu, assim, sem você (am I without you)

Halloween Fun

Well this week has begun my first official week of teaching at the school in Mafra. Yesterday´s class was a hit! I had an "activity class" which is basically just a break from the normal curriculum. As such I prepared a lesson about Halloween...and we made it quite fun. The kids got to do crazy things like stick their hands in a bucket of worms (spagetti noodles), slime (green jello), eyeballs (olives), and brains (cooked cauliflour). I will be doing the same lesson with another class today, so let´s hope it goes as well!

Tenho Emprego! Tenho Emprego!!

Tenho Emprego...was a very cheerful refrain that I was saying all day yesterday. It means "I have a job!". Yes, that´s right......I have received a very good starting job offer at the language school in Mafra. The offer is for 12 hours a week, teaching different levels of english for approx 1-4 hours each day of the week. The only downside is that most classes are in the early evening...and considering I have my days free it would be nice to teach then. That said, it is only on Monday´s that I teach past 9pm, the other nights are earlier, so it is not too bad. ANd it sure beats working night shifts!
So the plan is that I will start in November, and we will evaluate things in the new year. But anticipating all goes well, I will be able to continue to teach until June of next year!
Thanks to all of you who have been praying about this job. God´s provision has truly been amazing in all of this.
I have attached a picture of the Convent in Mafra. It is the big attraction in this little city and you can see why. It is gorgeous. My school is about a 3 min walk from here, so this is where I park the car when I go to school. Sweet eh?

Love you all.