The Christmas Program is over! Yay! There was A LOT OF DRAMA leading up to it and I am just glad that it is over and that I can stay FAR away from the people creating drama.
  The kids did great! 

My South American dancers!

Beverly directed the acting, I did the choreography and Jeff did the music

   Maggie wanted to go to the zoo and to another Churrascaria before she left Brazil. The zoo was pretty cool.

The ladies

Goober and I at the zoo 

Us at the Brazilian steakhouse...me, Lauren, Steph, Maggie and Travis


   Afterwards, Travis, Lauren and I went to the mall.

me, Lauren and Travis

Later that night Travis and I went to look at all of the pretty Christmas lights. I love Christmas lights! There are two blocks with pretty displays. Check out this TROPICAL nativity....so funny.



   Currently baking up a STORM! It is my turn for staff snack tomorrow and then Tuesday is my class Christmas party. Tuesday afternoon is the staff Christmas party, too. We have been doing Secret Santa's and I am pretty sure I have mine figured out. It's fun. 

   Going to Sao Paulo for Christmas and Lauren is coming with. It shoud be fun and we are going to spend New Year's at Guaraja--a beach in Sao Paulo state. Can't wait! I can't wait to sleep! These last few weeks have been crunch time. I was caught sleeping in the teacher's lounge the other day---and so was Lauren. So funny.

EDIT:
Travis gave me a doll for Christmas from the Hippie Fair...should I be offended? Check out this baby? LOL

My child couldn't be this dark unless I married an African. LOL

         "God's been good to me, Oh, God's always been good...." That song by Crystal Lewis is in my head right now...everyday I have to the realization that my life is eternally blessed. I love that God has chosen lil ol' me to live this life. I am content when I wake up and content when I lay down. My students and teaching at BIS bring me so much joy. I never dread going to work. My students crack me up daily and we can relate on many levels.

        The school is SUPER busy with the Christmas Program that is in 2 weeks! My job has been to teach the choreography and the music the the elementary students. It has been a lot of work, but I enjoy it. The Christmas Program is called "The Christmas Lamb" and it is about a Shepherd Boy that goes to the differenent continents in search for the Newborn King. There is a dance and song for each place. It is coming together nicely.

      The school is going to tell us the decision they made starting Monday. I am not sure if this means on Monday we will be called into the office one by one and told and then on Tuesday talk about it altogether. I have so much faith in God through this decison. I love my job and where I live, so many blessings.

     I do feel like I am starting to get old....my body was hurting this week from all the dancing and I went to bed so early on a Friday night! Just not a young thang anymore....

    There are two and a half more weeks of school until vacation. I am going to Sao Paulo for almost all of the break. Should be fun!
  
   Not much else going on....

   Pictures???
   Thanksgiving was a teacher work day and I was drafted to help paint...
 
  I sang in the Thanksgiving choir at the International Church

  Some of my students working on Science

  Last weekend, my friend Maria Socorro and her husband, Claudemir, flew in to visit me from Sao Paulo. Maria and I met in California and I had not seen her since the end of February. Since then she is 6 months pregnant. When she came she asked me to be her baby's godmother! How exciting! First thing I told her was that they needed to raise her up in the way of the Lord and if they don't then I will! I can't have my god-daughter not knowing the Lord. 

Us in the airport waiting for her husband (they took separate flights)

  On that Saturday morning we went to Chapada dos Veadeiros in the state of Goias. It was about 3 hours away from Brasilia. I was excited to have a weekend away from Brasilia and getting to see more of Brazil. Chapada has 25 different waterfalls and is beautiful. We did not see all of the waterfalls because they are located all over the place and it was kind of raining. We did go to one part called Raizama and then later some hot springs. We had picked up a guide who was a hippie and that is how we ended up at Raizama...check out the Woodstock stage below. We stayed in a pousada, which is like a rustic inn.. It was nice and it had some cool hammocks out front. I loved getting to read my Bible out there.

At a random road side stand

Travis with the puppy and parrot...so random

The place we stayed


They had some random mixing of religions? Crystals and St. Francis of Assisi?

Yeah, Travis went with us. I like this picture because it shows how we usually look...me smiley and him looking irritated...LOL.  
 
The paved roads ended and we drove on this horrible road for a long time 

Nice....reminded me of Africa?








The one with the kids: the girl is the daughter of the woman who owns the pousada and she was funny.
It was a beautiful weekend!

   Things are still touchy with the school. The school wants to decide by the end of the month who will be the teachers going home. Yikes! Pray for us!