2017 Christmas Letter

Two thousand seventeen.

We knew even before it began that it would be a big year. A year of new, hard, and remarkable things.

And now we’ve made it to the end, as a family of four, with a Christmas tree that sways ever so gently in a warm breeze. New, hard, remarkable… indeed.

Much has changed, but the “new” we love most would be the addition of London Isaac Dickson to our family on February 23rd! He is a serious delight. Now 10 months old, he loves splashing in the bath, chasing after balls, and eating… actual food, watches, Cora’s toes… really anything goes. He’s always on the move, but frequently redirected by toys / furniture / walls that get in his way. Somebody really should teach his walker how to avoid obstacles :) Big, toothless grins abound - and if you can battle through defensive fingers and feet, kisses on his tummy bring out the best laugh :) He is our “bud” and we love him dearly.

Now, something strange happens when you add a new baby to the family. Almost in an instant, your first baby ceases to be. This year, Cora transformed into the most remarkable little lady of 3 ½ years. She is a tender caretaker of hurting friends, a lover of “twirling socks,” a singer of sweet serenades. She takes breakfast in her “rocket ship” of cereal boxes; and bedtime nearly always involves a bit of coloring and two rounds of I’m a Little Teapot :) A growing vocabulary inspires oh-so-many smiles and very accurately reflects the lingo of her parents and favorite books. Playing trains, chasing birds, spotting helicopters, and loving on London… these are the little things that make her days grand.

As for Greg, his long anticipated new job as Financial Reporting and Internal Controls Manager (within a Compass Minerals business acquisition) began on January 10th in São Paulo, Brazil. Learning a new business, in a new country, in a new language is no small feat… just getting to work is challenge enough some days (hello traffic)! Thankfully, he still gets to wear jeans :) At home, he has become the best hugging machine / builder of body-mazes / maker of popcorn / inventor of games a kid could ask for… and oh how often do his kids (one in particular) ask… :)

And me, I am mostly still in awe that this is our real life :) This season has me savoring time at home and appreciating the big love between a sister and her little brother. It has given me reason to write, both to process these many changes and to remember these many adventures (ourhappening.wordpress.com!). And it has offered a bit of familiar and much stretching through the study of Romans with Bible Study Fellowship.

This year the challenges were many, but we have seen grace triumph over and over again. We celebrate Him now… the Giver of this grace… who loves deeply, recklessly, perfectly.

Whatever new, hard, or remarkable thing lies before you this next year, may you invite Him - and His ever-triumphant grace - to join you along the way.

Merry Christmas!

Greg, Emily, Cora & London

PS: The kids were not having it... obviously.

Brazilian Thanksgiving

This year, we ate a Chester on Saturday night.

Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday down south, so Greg spent the day at work and we ate sad leftovers for dinner. Our grand family dinner was slated for Saturday evening.

I considered buying a turkey, but settled on a Chester. The Chester is a uniquely Brazilian, genetically-modified chicken. How does that not sound like the perfect alternative for a food-centric, American holiday? “Let’s explore a bit more of our new culture while maintaining our American celebration.” It felt like the right thing to do.

The morning of, Greg woke to a terribly debilitating cold and spent most of the day in bed. We managed though, to whip together a quasi-nice dinner of our lovely Chester, sautéed chuchu, and mashed potatoes (because at least one traditional food should make the menu). We ate ridiculously late then scrambled into pajamas and bedtime stories, taking time for one obligatory family selfie.

No turkey. No dessert. No football. No extra family.

It felt not at all like Thanksgiving.

One week later, we are still working through our Chester leftovers. We’ve had Chester quesadillas, Chester stir fry, and Chester pasta so far. London has also had his fair share of Chester, in the form of pleasant purees.

The leftovers that will not end, that feels very much like Thanksgiving.

the beach

The highly anticipated first weekend exodus to the beach!

(insert deeply-satisfying exhale here)

The week before friends warned us about the massive mosquitos that live near the beaches. Their bites swell and bleed SO BRING SPRAY.

That night I had a nightmare about 4 foot tall mosquitos chasing us down streets (ei: running after us on flamingo-like legs).

Thankfully, they were not actually 4 feet tall and made only one appearance - which we experienced within the safety of windows / walls. Win.

But I digress.

We left Friday evening amidst rain and oh-so-many friends heading out of town with us...

Three hours later we arrived in Boiçucanga and transferred sleepy kids into bed.

Seven hours after that, we woke to a no-shower-necessary, salty, sandy kind of day.

It was perfection.

Morning discoveries: Waves and oh-so-much-water... a bit too much perhaps. Cora had zero interest in any part of her body touching any part of those waves. But sand castles are totally her jam. London was far more willing to dabble in the unfamiliar, but sand proved sadly disappointing to his taste buds.

A quick lunch and a long nap preceded the afternoon outing... which consisted mostly of more sleep for the littlest and more sand for his sister. Like a true mid-western American, Cora's pretend play involved "trains" (blocks) getting stuck in "snow" (sand) :)

Pizza paired with this view wrapped the day.

By Sunday morning London had developed a terrible cough and his voice was increasingly hoarse. Ordinarily, this would (most likely) not cause an abrupt end to a delightful weekend. It just so happens though, that London had swallowed a small rubber band on Friday evening before we left (the kind we use for Cora's ponytails). We had figured it would "pass" and went on with the weekend. The cough though caused all sorts of what-ifs to spring forth:

Did it get stuck in his esophagus? wrapped around his vocal cords? Is that even possible? I'm sure it is. 

We packed our bags and headed home, uncomfortably... because this heart of mine could only handle about 20 minutes of listening to London's sweet cry before I squished myself into the 6-inch gap between carseats for the remainder of the ride... which was only 2 hours thanks to Sunday traffic and a highly motivated father.

X-rays and tests and waiting rooms, 4.5 hours of them, revealed only that our son was getting a cold.

Because, of course.

Next time, we stay for day 2 :)