If you've been following our blog you know that Gabriel has an uncanny ability to find the only mud puddle in the the vicinity and fall in it, or if there is only small speck of dirt or grease somewhere he will find it and get it on his clothes. Well, we all went on a walk this morning and for an older city the streets are pretty clean. I am not exaggerating when I say that I haven't seen any of 'this' anywhere the whole time we've been here. If you're wondering what 'this' is... I'm talking about dog poop. I haven't seen any anywhere (not that I've been searching.) ! But as we were walking, Gabriel stepped in a big pile of it right on the city sidewalk! Where did it come from (well, I know the answer to that.)? But how is it that hundreds of other people could walk right by it this morning but yet my son has to step in it? Not only did he step in it but he tried to wipe it off on the top of his other shoe. So, now he has dog poop on the bottom of one shoe and the top of another... awesome! We had a plastic grocery bag with us so I tried to wipe as much as I could off. But all I did was smear it into the treads of his shoe even deeper. Somehow I now have dog poop on my finger, I'm carrying a bag with dog poop on it and we're several blocks away from the hotel... this is just great! As we were trying to make our way back to the hotel Gabriel decided to step on the top of my foot (and of course he did it with the shoe with dog poop on bottom and not the top). I had flip flops on so now I have dog poop on my hand and on the top of my foot... fabulous! It's funny now, but I wasn't happy walking the crowded streets of Rio covered with dog poop. I guess it just adds to my experience here in Brazil, huh?
When we were walking through the lobby this morning, all the people at the front desk were staring at me and smiling. So I said, "what! You lookin at me?!" Just kidding. They were staring and smiling though. The concierge motioned for me to come over and when I stepped up to the counter he placed a newspaper right in front of me and said, "that's you!" It was an article abut MJ and I adopting the kids with a picture. That was pretty cool, even though I couldn't read it. One thing we could read though was that they had MJ's age as 47! Of course she was really excited to see that... not! FYI... she is 37.
So today, except for the dog poop incident and having our picture in the paper, it was fairly uneventful. We hung out inside the hotel until around 2:00pm then we went down to the beach. It was overcast but the water was beautiful. Again, the kids had a great time. Of course everyone was complaing about being chapped from the day before (remember the whole male bathing suit thing?). We headed back to the hotel around 5:00pm, showered, fed everyone and 1 more day was complete! Only 1 more to go. We will be boarding a plane here in Rio @ 8:00pm tomorrow, headed for home! Praise God! It doesn't even seem real. We're a little nervous but we know that everything is going to be great once we get back to our own environment. Several people have emailed wondering if we were going to continue this blog once we get home. The answer is yes. We will continue it as we get home and transition the kids into our 'American' environment. It should be interesting because up until 2 days ago they have never been outside of Curitiba, Brazil. We really appreciate everyone who has followed our journey through this blog. Just in case you didn't know it, this has been very therapeutic for me writing everyday. Having this avenue to communicate what we are experiencing has been great. On days when we didn't think we were going to make it, just being able to type out our experience somehow made it more manageable. It has also been a good way for us to chronicle this experience for our kids. Finally, just knowing so many people have been reading all over the United States and Brazil (hello Carla) has made us feel like we weren't in this alone. So, thanks again for being there for us.
Before I finish for the day, I would like to publicly thank my mother-in law and my father-in-law. Howard and Marilyn Moore, in case you don't know them, not only are they great examples to the rest of the family but they are great examples to everyone they have the opportunity to meet. They were very kind to come with us on this trip, knowing full well what they were in for. You see, they did this last year with MJ's older sister and her family. Now I have asked myself, "why would anyone want to do this twice?" Jesus would have to show up personally, in an open vision, point His finger at me and say, "Go to Brazil for 46 days, thus sayeth me." Then I would still have to pray about it! Because it wasn't easy. But that's the way they are. I've known them for over 21 years now and they have been the same way since day one. They were missionaries for over 30 years and have faithfully served the Lord. They retired a few years ago and they are busier now than before. They are always helping someone with something... because they are givers. My family and I will be forever grateful to you for helping us through this time and for putting up with all the drama (mostly from MJ, because I'm so easy to get along with...LOL). We know that this isn't how you envisioned spending your retirement. Wait a minute!... that's it! My father-in-law is 70 and my mother-in-law is 67... they're senile! That's why they volunteered for this. I knew it had to be something. We love you. Thank you.
Love ya,
The Dunn 10
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