An Ecological Holiday

When the temperature is 80+ everyday, it is really interesting to see what Brazilians do to get in the holiday spirit. This is one of the greatest examples I've seen so far. At first glance, this is a traditional tree. When you get closer, you see the whole thing is made out of recycled green plastic pop bottles. Very cool. Brazil is really into the environment. The country is energy-independent, relying on sugar cane alcohol to fuel cars. Recycling trash containers are everywhere. But a recycled tree??

Our tree is going up this week. This will be the first time we've ever had a fake tree. We'll have to see if we can find something recycled to hang on it.

Giving Trees

I am in a wrapping frenzy today. Our living and dining room are a mess with paper, gifts, tags and ribbon. (Java can't resist getting in the picture.) We adopted two senior citizens through church and two nine-year-olds through GM and of course, all the presents are due today and tomorrow. I finally have everything bought. Their needs are so simple: shoes, pants, shirts, socks, towels and a hygiene kit with toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc. The kids also got a couple toys and the seniors got a panettone (cake) and some bedding. Wrapping is a big thing. They want everything individually wrapped.

We are going pretty low key on our own Christmas this year. My Mom and Dad are arriving on December 11 (yea!) and we're going to visit Iguassu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border. That's our Christmas splurge this year. That's enough. We really don't need anything. And when you think about people that are going to be excited about getting our small gift basket with simple necessities like shampoo, that kind of puts it in perspective.

Hannah and I are solo today. Ro left the apartment at 1 a.m. to meet some GM guys. They are going fishing on the ocean today. Jackson is due home sometime today. He's been at the beach for the past three days on his "unofficial" senior trip. Both guys are going to be excited, full of stories and exhausted when they get back.

Surprised I Remembered My Password

Sorry I haven't posted in ages. No excuses. Jackson's basketball team won the Big 8 Championship last weekend in Nosso Recanto. This video was created by the tall blonde guy cheerleader, Matt. Jackson and Hannah are going crazy in a couple of the frames. Check out the ninja fans. Hannah, Ro and I went up to watch and stayed in a great town nearby with a couple other families. (Hannah wasn't allowed to play with her team because she went to Portugal with the Model United Nations Club and Graded has a rule you can't miss that much school.) Big fun!!

A few snaps from the action are below. Jackson took an elbow to the eye from another player and got three stitches. For fun, I also included a picture of the Portugal gang too. A little different vibe than the basketball tournament, but still very cool.