Welcome

It’s Official

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:00:52 -0800

Spencer received his first piece of junk mail. Didn’t take long. I guess this truly marks his existence on this planet, being marketed to... OK it’s actually his health insurance card, but I wouldn’t put it past those sneaky marketing types. :)

Welcome Spencer!

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 18:34:10 -0800

Spencer decided to join us this past Saturday morning... Finally! Emily began to have some regular mild contractions just before 9 p.m. on Friday and since she’d had plenty of contractions prior to this we didn’t get our hopes up. As we left her parent’s house in Cashmere at 10 or so her father joked that the photos he’d just taken of his daughter’s rotund (yet still tiny) belly may be the last. We laughed. At this point we had been through some false labor, enough contractions to make Braxton AND Hicks wince, and had resigned ourselves to a late December (possibly January) arrival.

His official due date had been announced to be November 27th, 28th, or 29th depending on who you asked. We stuck with the latter, which was determined by the final ultrasound, and gave us hope to avoid spoiling anyone’s Thanksgiving. After months of appointments with our midwife, studying heartily, and preparing as best we could, it’s pretty much impossible not to be caught a little off-guard by the REAL THING.

Our bags were packed and sitting by the door. They had been patiently waiting since our “false labor” episode two weeks earlier. Emily had been feeling great for the last while and trust me, we had tried EVERYTHING in the book to encourage some baby havin’! We took walks, ate spicy food, feet were massaged, achilles tendons pinched, we took walks, back was rubbed in that one spot, moved some furniture, did I mention taking walks? I’m sure some folks at the mall wondered where the sale really was as we strode past them in a big hurry. (Freezing weather left us few options for such a blood pumpin’ jaunt :). The list goes on.. “Well, Baby will come when he’s good and ready” we’d say after another attempt to convince him of his readiness.

And then, it happened. We began timing contractions at 12:30 that night, and by 1:30 the contractions were two and three minutes apart, very strong, and Emily said “Call the midwife!” It went from should we call and check in to we’re going in no time flat. We called Emily’s folks.. no answer. We waited for the birthing center to be ready. We called Emily’s folks.. no answer. Dzhan, one of the midwives, calls and tells us we can head to the center. We called Emily’s folks.. still no answer. (When I say we called Emily’s folks that means both cell phones and the house phone.) Clara Field, who requested Emily be at her daughter Ellie’s birth, had been called as well and was on her way to meet us at the center. After another call to the three Towns we enlisted Clara’s husband Ben to drive fifteen minutes to Cashmere and rouse the slumbering soon-to-be grandfolks and return with Emily’s mom Shannon.

2:15 and we’re in the birthing suite. Emily is already at 7 cm and close to pushing. Dzhan and the assistants are wonderful, assuring, comforting, and less than three hours later our team of loving family, friends and experts witnessed the completely natural birth of our new baby boy! Emily was AMAZING! Strong and determined, beautiful and courageous, heeding the encouragement of the team, and the extremely intense sensations she had experienced were soon replaced by the most profound joy and exhilaration nature can offer.. the joy of a mother meeting her newborn child for the first time.

The experience was, of course, the defining moment of my adult life - seeing first hand the amazing perfection of God’s design, and realizing the responsibility that my own life has been granted. The future is full of possibility, and hope, and when I hold my son in my arms, I smile, and take courage... because this little life depends on that. :)

**One side note if I may: My initial skepticism of natural child birth melted with a little education and the consideration of a few points:
~ Women have been giving birth naturally for many thousands of years.
~ Hospital births with interventions and drugs are the farthest thing from a natural birth and are only necessary when serious complications arise. (This became overwhelmingly evident when I saw not a drowsy limp infant but a wide-eyed and awake new life emerge into this world and we went home safely with a strong health baby 3 hours after birth.)
~ It was Emily choice so I ought to embrace such an admirable aspiration.

OK enough soap boxin’

Day 10 - More Shopping!

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:16:04 -0800

About an hour from where we were staying is the largest shopping mall in all of Latin America. We had some time to kill so Rebeca took us out to Campinas to visit the mammoth money magnet. We spent a few hours there and managed to keep our wallets in our pockets for most of the time - but we did take home some excellent Brazilian music and a copy of National Geographic in portugese. There were about nine furniture shops and a shop called ETNA. This is the Brazilian version of IKEA and the most blatant rip-off of merchandising known to mankind - but still a cool place to shop.:)

For dinner we went to Rebeca’s sister’s new house in Indaiatuba. Danny (Daniela) and Carlos prepared some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had and after a delicious meal we enjoyed a relaxing chat in the cool evening air.

Day 8 & 9 - Rio Claro Convention

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Rio Claro convention took place on the first Saturday and Sunday in March and is held on the property of a couple who run a successful language school. I didn’t worry about taking many photos but I’ll remember that place well. There were about 300 or so that attended and a handfull that spoke english so I had a chance to converse in my own language. Everyone was impressed by Emily’s excellent portugese, however, and she got the chance to see many people that she had met during her previous visits.

Day 7 - The Bus

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

We left Sao Lourenzo at 11 am and began our long journey by bus back to Indaiatuba. It was a nice way to see the countryside and the bus was very nice with plenty of room to stretch out. We stopped in Sao Paulo and cought a different bus bound for Indaiatuba. The second leg took almost two hours in the heart of rush hour. For the first hour we could look out the window and see endless city in every direction. Sao Paulo is the 4th largest city in the world with almost 20 million people in the metropolitan area. We made it to Indaiatuba at about 7:50 p.m. and back to the house just in time for the 8 p.m. bible study there.

Then, Sleep.

Day 5 & 6 - Sao Lourenzo

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 04:33:26 -0800

On Monday night we drove to the town of Sao Lourenzo near Carmo. Jaques recommended the Hotel Guanabara, a very nice place to stay that’s close to the city center and local shops etc. The weather was immaculate for our time there - except for when we decided to enjoy the seven-pool swimming area. A few sprinkles couldn’t spoil our afternoon though. This time of year isn’t popular for domestic tourism it seems as the hotel was almost empty. We didn’t mind having the place to ourselves!

Sao Lourenzo, a city of about 100,000 people, is known for the abundance of natural springs in the area. Over 15 springs produce some of the best drinking water in the world including naturally carbonated waters, mineral waters used for homeopathic medicine, and others. The picture above is a shot of the hydrotherapy center called a balneario that is located within the water springs theme park in the city. People move to this city to retire and take advantage of the purported natural healing properties of the various springs.

Day 4 - Café!

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:53:01 -0800

When we were first serious about visiting a coffee farm while we were in Brazil, we decided to take a look at the SCAA website and search for the Brazil Cup of Excellence award winning farms. We found a few that we wanted to contact about visiting but it was difficult to follow up with our busy schedule. About a month later we sent some contact info to Fernando and Rebeca to help us arrange a visit to a fazenda (farm). They were able to get in contact with a man from Carmo De Minas named Jaques Carneiro. He is the director of Carmo Coffees, a business group that is developing the logistics of promoting and exporting quality coffees form the entire region to the rest of the world. His family has had a fazenda in Carmo De Minas for over 100 years and he is the fifth generation in his family to be a coffee producer. He is also the vice president of the coffee association and cooperative that represents over 200 producers from a group of 25 or so small cities like Carmo in the surrounding area. Jaques is personally responsible for the growth of the specialty coffee market for his region - he is barely 30 years old. Needless to say he has a lot to say about coffee production, and we learned a lot, but he is also a very humble individual and his eagerness to learn and share was very refreshing. I didn’t realize it until we we’re already in Brazil but Jaques’ farm was one of the places we saw on the Cup of Excellence site. They have more award winning coffees than any other region in Brazil.

We left Indaiatuba at about 5:30 a.m. with Fernando and Rebeca. They decided they would drive us to Carmo De Minas, about five hours away, and spend the day with us at the fazenda! We we’re very glad of course and it was awesome to share this part of the trip with them. The journey took us north from the state of Sao Paulo to the state of Minas Gerais in central Brazil. It was a good trip and the girls got a bit of rest on the way. Nearing Carmo the roads were in very band condition and we were uncertain that we were on the right track but we eventually made it to the small town of about 12,000 people. We met Jaques and talked briefly in his office about the state of the specialty coffee market in Carmo. We then hopped into his Fiat wagon and were off to the fazenda high above the city.

Jaques and his coffee

We spent a few hours touring the coffee plantations and one of five processing stations for the area. A very special part of the trip was the original family home and small museum. Jaques’ aunt and uncle (pictured above with us) live there and are the caretakers of the estate. One frame held pictures of 8 generations of the women of the family. Other things included the awards and press that the region has received recently.

After the estate we travelled into town to the cooperative for all of the local producers. They had a cupping set-up and ready for us to taste some different lots from various producers. This was completely new to Fernando and Rebeca and we had a fun time with it. We cupped five different lots from the cooperative. After we we’re finished with the cupping Jaques told us that two of the lots had been Cup Of Excellence award winners - one was first place in 2006! These both had an amazing sweetness with citrus and fruit notes above the round carmel base - very complex and delicious! Fernando learned what REAL coffee tastes like as opposed to the pre-ground vacuum-packed lower grade coffee typically brewed by Brazilian households.

Jaques, Darren, & Emily Sample Roaster

After the visit to the cooperative, we walked across the street where we met Jaques’ brother and saw the headquarters for his coffee roasting company called (appropriately) Unique. He says it is just a hobby for now while he focuses on coffee production. He and his brother have done an excellent job with the branding and marketing of Unique, now the battle is to educate retailers about specialty coffee. Education is an underlying theme with Carmo Coffees, educating the producers, processors,
roasters, and retailers. Lots of work!

Finally we visited the processing plant for the cooperative that was constructed just recently. Jaques had stressed the importance of updated processing equipment to maintain a high standard of quality for the final product because the old warehouse and processing plant was too small and could not be updated to allow flexibility in processing. The cooperative wouldn’t change their processing routine and didn’t jump on board initially with the new warehouse idea but he built the plant anyway. After other producers saw the increase in quality for Jaques’ own farm, they eventually figured out that he was right. It’s a year later, and now all coffees from the cooperative are processed at the new plant. (This is just one example of how it took a year for everyone to realize that the kid was right. :)

We eventually made it back to the Carmo Coffees office before traveling to Sao Lourenzo (6 km away) where we would stay for the next few days.

Day 3 - Maria Fumasa

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:12:32 -0800

Sunday was a special day for us as it was our first meeting in Brazil. Fernando’s parents have the meeting in their home (where we are staying) so we didn’t have to travel anywhere. We were joined again by the three sisters from southern Brazil, Rebeca’s mother and aunt, Karine, Fabio, Fernando’s parents, a young family with two children and a father and son all whose names I didn’t catch. Emily didn’t need translating but I had Fabio translating for me with a small pocket microphone and headset. When I spoke Fernando translated for me. For any of you that have had the privilege to be in a meeting in a foreign country you can understand how wonderful it is to have the same meeting as back home - just in a different language. After meeting we went to F & R’s to check email while dinner was prepared. It was definitely worth the wait! Fernando’s father used the chorrasco (BBQ) to cook up some excellent sausage and steak. YUM! Along with the other fixins I managed once again to stuff myself on the delicious Brazilian cuisine. I’ve learned now to save room for dessert - there’s always lots of it!

Maria and part of the group

After dinner we piled into two cars and drove about a half hour to meet Maria Fumasa. She is an old steam locomotive that has been preserved as a moving museum of sorts. For a few hours the train tours the countryside, showing visitors what used to be coffee farms in the region. The tour guide was super animated and told very interesting stories of each farm that we passed. They had taken out a lot of the coffee farms in that part of the state because of the lack of demand, and replaced some of it with corn. However, the coffee farms are being reopened due to rising demand. There will be so much more about this when we write about our Monday visit to a coffee farm in the state to the north - Minas Gerais. At the end of the ride, there were some musicians that came to our car to entertain us with many traditional Brazilian songs! After the train ride, we all returned together to Fernando’s parents house for dinner. We tried to go to bed earlier because we knew that our big trip the next day would require us waking up before 5 am! Of course, we still didn’t get done visiting wrapping everything up until after 10, but oh well, we made up for it the next night!

Day 2 - Shopping!

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:08:04 -0800

We slept in on Saturday as our phones were still on Dallas time. Our patient hosts had a delicious breakfast waiting for us consisting of fresh baked french rolls with a yummy sliced cheese, fresh fruit, and filter coffee served with warm milk and sugar (which I’ve enjoyed now many times.) We we’re introduced to a young lady from Campinas named Karine Garzo (car ee nee).

The five of us set out for downtown Sao Paulo and the main shopping center at Morumbi. The mall there is 5 stories similar to Bellevue Square but with more stuff. When we parked and went inside I learned that shopping in Brazil is EXACTLY the same as in the US - the girls left the boys at the electronics store and went to every shop in the place while we oogled at the fancy tech gadgets. (To our credit we also looked at the book store too. :) We spent a few hours shopping and left for the rustic outdoor marketplace in a town called Embu.

Embu was an exciting place with tons of local character. It consists of stone streets lined with small shops and kiosks weaving their way through this charming village. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the shops and carts filled with handmade treasures and trinkets, and some very nice and expensive housewares to boot. We found some cute little figurines of coffee farmers and I bought a little hand made cuica - a traditional brazillian percussion instrument.

After a day packed with touring and shopping we made our way back to the Campinas area. The car was quiet as some slept and others almost did. It was planned for us to got to Valinhos, a town next to Campinas to see some friends of Emily’s and have dinner. We ended up taking the scenic route including a few u-turns and finally found our way to our destination. It was an exciting reunion for Emily and another round of introductions for me. One of Emily’s very good friends from her previous visits, Cristiane (kris-chee-á-nee) was there along with her fiancé Marcio and his family. Marcio’s father Elias was the man of the house and I met his wife and other son Filipe. We had a great chat mostly in portugese with some english as Elias and Marcio speak some english. We shared a typical light supper and talked more. The night ended with a round of hymns by the piano and a hearty Brazilian goodbye. On the way home the car was alive with chatter about the fun evening and the journey back to Indaiatuba seemed quick.

Embu marketplace Dinner in Valinhos

Day 1 - Welcome Home... For Now

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:17:53 -0800

We drove to the house of Edgar and Conceicao Vieira in Jundiai, a suburb just a short jaunt from Sao Paulo proper. It was a time of reunions and introductions for Emily and I - both to friends and to customs and cuisine. (My first real introduction to Guarana, the beverage of choice for most Brazilian dinner tables, was a memorable one! ) We got to meet three sisters form the south of Brazil who were traveling up to Sao Paulo to be at Rio Claro for convention next weekend.

The lovely house in Jundiai Enjoying lunch and company

We were ready to relax after the plane trip and a big lunch so we made our way to Indaiatuba where we would be staying. Indaiatuba is a town of about 100,000 people about an hour from Sao Paulo and home to Fernando and Rebeca ( F & R ) and his family. We are staying at the recently completed home of his parents on a beautiful hillside over looking the southwest valley in Indaiatuba. F & R’s house is less than a block away. I enjoyed a nice refreshing nap and shower and awoke in time for the arrival of the three sisters we met a Jundiai and Fabio, Fernando’s younger brother. We got to know each other before dinner chatting and sharing maté tea while I got a brief lesson in Portugese. Below are photos of the teas sharing and the Brazillian savory pastries called pastel. No not colors or crayons but a delicious deep-fried meat stuffed delight!

Maté, not latte Pastel, not pastel