the como browns now have a blog

Hey family!
Just wanted to let you know that I will now mostly be rambling on our family blog! The address is thecomobrowns.blogspot.com. We'll still post occasionally here, but now I can spare y'all the LONG ramblings on the Brown family blog! :) We love you guys!

Anda

Happy Birthday James!

James,
We hope you have had a wonderful day with your girls! (April and Lena, give daddy birthday hugs from us, ok?) May the year ahead be full of joy!

Love,
Ben, Trisha, Alex, Katy, Elijah & Olivia

Happy 40th Birthday, Trisha!

BRAZIL TRIP UPDATE 3

Well, once again there are way too many pictures so don't feel like you have to look at them. They are for our benefit as much as anyone.

We are getting ready to leave Iguacu Falls and head to Sao Paulo for one night and then home on Sunday night. We have loved the trip--everything we had hoped. The kids have been amazing, and I am sooooo proud of all of them. We are all getting ready to see our family, eat American food, and speak English.

We love all of you and will see you soon. In Sao Paulo we will meet with missionaries, tour to see where Alan lived when he was born, and then make our way to the airport on Sunday night.

We love you all and can't wait to see you.
Love, grandma

LEAVING CAMPO GRANDE

Bailey has been blessed beyond words by these two beautiful people. She is ready to go, but will carry memories in her heart to last a lifetime. It is time to leave Campo Grande and head to Cuiaba for the rest of our trip. Leila and Zanatta were planning to accompany us to Cuiaba and we were thrilled about that.

At the airport Leila and Zanatta had to make the difficult decision to stay and take Zanatta to the doctor instead of going on to Cuiaba with us. His legs had started bothering him (blot clots) that morning, and it can be life threatening if left untreated. It made for a difficult and teary sudden goodbye at the airport. They obviously love Bailey a lot.

CUIABA

We arrived in Cuiaba on Friday. Saturday we went on a bus (non-air-conditioned) on an outing with the Brazilian missionary team. It was a great time for our family to interact with the Brazilians--none of them spoke English. We had a great time with them.

It was so fun to see our grandkids making friends, playing, and "communicating" with the Brazilian kids. They have all learned a lot of Portuguese and are not afraid to speak. This is A.J. with Daniel, 8 years old.

A.J. hit it off with Evandro who is one of the neatest kids--almost 14 years old--that I have ever met.

Grandpa found this little Brazilian doll--Lais--to cuddle. She is Olivia's age--the daughter of one of the Brazilian missionaries. She really is a doll.

On the way home we stopped at this waterfall to play.

After the heat in Cuiaba, this was a really great break for the kids.

Annie, Allison, Abby Claire, Bailey, Daniel, and Evelyn--cold but sooo fun!!

Annie is loving this cool, refreshing splash in the falls.

After the falls A.J. was dying to get his feet on a soccer ball. The Brazilians and Americans divided up for a fun soccer competition. Alan is working up a bit of a sweat.

Alan used every trick in the book to control these pesky little soccer players. (Annie actually scored more goals than anyone.)

Guess who just scored a goal?

Grandpa and Alan got to preach again Sunday morning at the Dr. Fabio congregation--a church built from scratch out in a very poor district. They were celebrating 8 years.

Evandro was fascinated with A.J.'s Nintendo DS (as were all the other boys). He couldn't believe that A.J. had 13 games. He said a Brazilian boy would be so happy with one game.

In front of the Dr. Fabio congregation with some of the Brazilian kids who jumped in front of the camera every chance they got.

The Granpa-Alan sermon delivered again Sunday night at the Downtown congregation.

Annie with Lais, a precious little doll who is the daughter of one of the missionaries. She reminded me of Olivia--almost the same age.

Abby Claire with some of her new Brazilian friends.

Grandma passing on her bad habits to little Lais as she enjoys Grandma's iPod.

Everyone came to the airport to see us off. My heart and prayers are with these Brazilian families as they labor for the Lord under difficult circumstances.

BELO HORIZONTE

We arrived in Belo Horizonte where we first lived as missionaries. On the way out to the camp to spend the night we stopped by this house where we lived. I can still picture Tod and Cary perched atop the wall in front watching the world go by.

We came to the camp to spend the night. This place has so many memories for us. Grandpa actually wrote the team check to buy this property some 40 years ago. Of course it has changed a lot, but much is still the same.

Our hotel accomodations for the evening.

On Tuesday morning we hiked down to the little stream where they still do baptisms. It brought back so many memories--a beautiful spot tucked at the bottom of a very steep trail through the forest.