"I refuse to eat that stuff anymore"

OK. It's kind of cool to eat food from another country... but not 36 days in a row! We eat in a cafeteria for breakfast and lunch every day. Dinner is our responsibility. I don't know what happened but about 3-4 days ago I really started to loathe the food here in Brazil. I even skipped lunch today, and didn't eat! That's how much I've started to hate it. Black beans and rice is awesome... 4 or 5 times a year. But you might say, "the Brazilians eat it every day so what's the problem?" The problem is "I'm not Brazilian!" And having ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast every morning (that's what they serve, I know... it's weird.) was great for the first few weeks but give me some eggs, bacon, fresh biscuits and a big fat bowl of grits, PLEASE! Lunch is OK about 20% of the time if you want something other than beans and rice. Most of the time it isn't even identifiable. One time I got excited because I thought they were putting steak out. It was part of the cow but it wasn't steak... it was cow's tongue. Sorry, I think I'll pass. Today the choice was beans and rice, spaghetti sauce with no spaghetti, saute'ed peppers and this yellow stuff that looked like a cross between cheese grits and mashed potatoes. That was it. For dinner almost every night is bread with butter or ham and cheese sandwiches. I must say that sometimes we are able to buy this meat on a stick from a sidewalk vendor in front of the grocery store, but that's only happened about 6/7 times since we've been here. I want Shane's BBQ ribs! I want Mexican food, Chinese food, Chic-fil-a or anything that my wife makes with ingredients from the U.S.! It may sound like I'm whinning... that's because I am! I didn't get my girlish figure by eating beans every meal. I need something substantial! All right, I'm finished... whew! I feel much better just getting that off my chest.

6:15 came mighty early this morning, but it sure was nice getting to wake the kids up for a change and not the other way around. HaHaHa! You reap what you sow, kids! We arrived at the Federal Police Building around 8:15. We only had to wait about an hour and we were able to leave... but they said we had to come back at the end of the day to pick them up. While we were there, Marlon and Ana Carolina stayed in the office with our liason and the government worker to go through the paper work while MJ and I tried to entertain the rest of our kids outside of the building. When we finally got in the car and were on our way back to Betania, our liason told us that the government worker told him that she was very impressed talking to our kids. She said it was amazing to see the bond that they had with MJ and I. He also told us that he has been observing us and that he was very impressed with how well the kids have bonded with us as well. He has been doing this for 16 years and he said that he has NEVER seen a child Marlon's age respond so well with his adoptive parents. We just sat there and listened as he went on and on about the issues that normally happen with the oldest sibling in a group. But not with our boy! All the glory goes to the Lord. I know that sounds cliche but seriously... I know that it's because of his grace and the prayers of all our friends and family that this has happened. After we left the Federal Police Building we came back to Betania until around 2:15. Then our liason picked us back up to take us to the orphanage so our kids could say their final goodbyes. Now bare in mind that these social moms and dads are the only family our kids have known for the last 4 years. I didn't even talk to MJ about this, but I was a little nervous. How were our kids going to react? Were they going to want to stay there? Were they going to cry when they saw all the workers that have loved and cared for them for the last 4 years? Was this going to be a negative thing or a positive thing? As we pulled into the neighborhood they seemed excited because of the familiarity of everything. When we pulled up, the car got kind of quiet. When we went inside our kids hugged everyone but that was about it. Robert would not let MJ put him down. He had a look of worry on his face. We think he was afraid we were going to leave him there (don't worry little buddy, that would NEVER happen!). After a little while they started to warm up a little bit but when it was time to leave they gave quick hugs and kisses to everyone and they were ready to go! What a relief. I know that this final visit was suppose to be closure for our kids, but I think it was more theraputic for me. This erased any doubts that remained that the kids really wanted to be a part of our family. These are our kids and they know it! Anyway, we headed back to the Federal Police Building to pick up the passports. We had to wait in a crowded waiting area (there were probably 75-100 people waiting) for almost an hour! But this time I really didn't care that the kids were playing and laughing (like at court last week). I was actually hoping it would motivate them to give us our passports quicker. You should have seen how all the people were staring at us. They called us all back and like a bunch of ducks crossing the street, we all walked single file back to the office, with all these eyes staring at the family with all the kids. It was funny. We got the passports and that was it. The only thing that remains is the visas in Rio next week then we head home! Man, we've really come a long way!That was about it for the day. Nothing out of the ordinary... just another day closer. I think I only had to spank the kids six or seven times today too! It's getting better!

Michael leaves on Saturday so we are going to try and do something with him tomorrow. We love having him around. It's going to be nice to be together again in ATL! Please pray for his safe return home and for favor going through customs.

MJ and I can't thank you enough for all of the emails and for all of your prayers! We miss you all and can't wait to get home.

Love ya,

Starving in Brazil