Blessed

I've been feeling pretty good recently. Todd and I are in a really good stage of life. There are uncertainties, and difficulties, because that is a part of life. However, I think we both feel like we will look back on our past few years in Kansas and know that we were blessed.

I've had a lot of experiences being married to Todd that I wouldn't give back for the world.

We've done a lot of traveling. We've crossed a lot of bridges!

 We've both gone back to get more education. I'm so grateful I got my second degree. It's proven to be essential in this stage of our life, and I enjoy it. Hopefully, Todd can look back on his law school experience and know that it was worth it. 

We've always had a full fridge. We've never wanted for necessities, never not been able to pay our tithing or our bills. We've even been able to buy wants (especially if Ben and Jerry's is a want!)

We've been blessed with good families. We were both blessed to have fabulous upbringings, and we continue to have families that care about us. We both grew up in unique parts of the US, and we hope to visit those places again with our own family someday.

We've been blessed to have families that have taught us how to stay positive in the face of trials. Whether it be physical, spiritual, or financial trials, we have an example to follow.

We've been able to spend a lot of time together. I know I harp on Todd sometimes for having to do that yucky thing called studying, but he's been able to set aside plenty of time for us to have experiences that we will always remember (go Broncos!)

In our travels, we've stepped off the beaten path to see some crazy places. Those places have become a vital part of our earthly experience. God created it, we are exploring it!

(Craters of the Moon National Park)

As a girl, I never thought I'd marry someone who would wisk me off to Central and South America :) But I wouldn't trade going there for anything. I learned to really appreciate America for its indoor plumbing, for the fact that as a child I didn't have to sell items on the street to make money for my family, for the education I was able to have. But, I also learned to see the value in other cultures, and explore equally beautiful places as those in America. Oh, and ziplining in Guatemala is DARN COOL!

I can't predict what will happen in the next month, year, 5 years, etc. But I will be forever grateful for the positive experiences I am having now, and the fact that perspective helps me get through hard times, for they will be "but a moment." I'm grateful for an eternal companion who has helped me see the world, and who is my best friend. These experiences wouldn't be nearly as rich without him.

Gringo News

Todd and I got to talk to our contact in Brazil about final arrangements. We felt really good after the conversation, and a lot of our questions were answered.  Here's what we found out:

• We will be living in senior missionary housing...woo hoo! In return for living there, we are supposed to volunteer in the Sao Paulo temple twice a week. I think that will be a really neat experience, seeing as I've never volunteered in any temple, ever! I'm a bit nervous about being around others who speak Portuguese but I hope it's okay! The nice thing about this trip, too, is that we will be in ONE place the entire time, aside from traveling. That was the hardest part about Guatemala, moving every week or so. 

• Our housing, Todd's internship, the temple, and the ward we will be attending are all in the same complex. That means we won't have to take a bus, or walk, or take a taxi to get anywhere. PHEW! Sao Paulo has 20 million people and the thought of trying to navigate the streets with all those people made me gag at times. So that unease is settled!

• Todd will be working in the office of the General Counsel for the Church in Brazil. He may get to attend some hearings in the Brazilian Senate while he is there, but mostly he'll be working on projects for the General Counsel.

• I'll be volunteering in several possible ways. It could be in the temple, it could be with some of the senior missionaries, it could be in the Perpetual Education office. Apparently, they will be keeping me busy. I'll be grateful for that, as Todd will be doing an 8 to 5 in the OGC.

We are both excited and nervous...I keep getting butterflies thinking about it. In fact, the scariest part for me is the trip there. I HATE customs, both in the US, and in other countries. I always feel like a criminal, and it's worse when you are in another country and the agents have accents and I can't understand them, and it's so awkward! Plus, I'm usually going on no sleep, and this flight is a LOOOOOONG overnight flight. So wish us luck there!

Ciao!

Countdown

15 more days until we trade in our homeland status 

for that of 

GRINGO 

and our 

"hellos" for "obrigados"!

(oh, how I am going to miss American plumbing and real hamburgers. Just sayin'!)

Summer Scorcher

Contrary to popular belief, we are alive. Life has been good and carefree and filled with FREE TIME in the last few weeks. Fortunately, Todd got sick last week so he was FORCED to stay home and watch movies and sit around and see his wifey, and I took full advantage by coming home after work and watchin' movies too :)

Uh, let's see. We went to Omaha, and to the temple and did two sessions. We have never done that because its a 7 hour round trip and we're lucky to get in one session. However, thanks to Groupon, we had a hotel stay in Omaha, and got to take life a little slower :) The pictures are on facebook, but here's one for the blog to break up my blah blah blahing!

We really enjoyed the zoo and the Imax movie we watched. My favorite part of the zoo was definitely the gorillas, maybe because they are the most human-like :)

We also caught up with a friend of Todds back from our pest control days in Columbus. No regrets about not doing it this summer (except for the money...we'll always miss the money!) However, I am making the big bucks at summer school, so it's all good right? (And can I just say, that teachers do NOT get summers off...many choose to teach summer school, or teach classes, or TAKE classes, or end up moving their classrooms, etc etc...no teacher takes the entire summer off!)

Anyway, we returned from Omaha and I started summer school. I.LOVE.IT. I have 6 cutie students who are smart cookies and do whatever I ask...a girl can get TOTALLY used to that! Actually, it's weird, because we get things done a million times faster...I have to think of things to challenge them, which is a stretch because they are fourth graders, and already know more things than I'm used to my third graders knowing! Anyway, it's been great. I have Fridays off and I get off at 2.

So what else fills my days? Well, let's see, I've been sewing, reading up a storm, finally getting back to the gym, watching movies, spending time getting my classroom ready for next year, etc etc. Todd has been studying his Portuguese and finally getting in some "fun" reading (no, law books do NOT count as fun reading!)

We are also slowly preparing for Brazil. It's coming up fast, and with doing summer school, it feels like it will be here in no time. I am getting more nervous as it approaches. I feel slightly better because we've done Central America, but I'll be back in a country with an unfamiliar language and I'm running out of time to prepare...I know NO Portuguese. My intentions have been to study it some, but the days fill up quickly!

Our passports and visas are are back and ready to go, plane tickets have been bought, and the packing list and pile has been started. We both realize that the first two weeks in a new country are always awkward and uncomfortable (as it is whenever you move someplace new). You would think moving 6 times would lessen this feeling, but it happens every time! However, we know that after the initial few weeks, it'll feel more natural to be in Brazil, and the nice thing will be that for the most part, we'll be staying in the same city.

So there's the Thomason update. It's exciting to be embarking on another new adventure...I think the adventures will probably continue through the next six months as Todd prepares to graduate and we ponder heavily over where life will take us next :)