I'm a blogger!!!

I've resisted for so many years, but now that we will be a hemisphere away from family and friends, I've decided to give in and join the blogging world. :) For anyone who hasn't already heard, Tiago and I are moving to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. Our flight out is Wednesday, January 12. Lots of people have asked us the same question about our plans: WHY? I guess the shorter answer is "because Tiago has a job there." But for those who haven't heard the longer story, here goes:

Even before we were married, we have discussed the possibility of one day living in Brazil so that I can learn to speak Portuguese and get to know his side of the family more. But we knew we wanted it to happen at a time that made sense for our family and would be minimally disruptive. For example, he needed to be an American citizen first, or he could lose his permanent resident status while we were gone. He also needed to finish his degree as colleges/universities in Brazil are very different from the US and ideally, he would find a good job here first to get experience in his degree area. So we did not expect to make such a drastic move for at least a few more years. As most of you know, Tiago finished his degree in May 2010, and has been job-hunting for nearly a year now, mostly looking for biology-related or laboratory-type jobs. In the meantime he has gotten to be a stay-home dad for Elissa (which has been great!). Well, after very few responses to many many job applications, of course we began discussing other options, one of which was working with family in Brazil. As you can imagine, this was definitely not my first choice. But we prayed for guidance and studied out pros and cons for all options, and we received answers. The answer I received was simply "Trust my husband." Tiago then told me that he felt we needed to move to Brazil, and that it should happen at the beginning of the new year. I was still skeptical at first, seeing that he still was not a US citizen at the time and I thought for sure he would have to wait at least another 6-8 months just for the next step in that process. So I wasn't quite convinced, still insisting he needed to be a citizen first, but he felt very sure everything would work out. The next day I checked the mail and we had received a letter from the immigration office regarding his next appointment, and we found out that the timing would work out almost perfectly! (I think that was Heavenly Father's way of saying "See? I told you to trust him." :)) So then we were both on board with the Brazil plan, and everything has fallen in to place one step at a time, to make this move work.

There are still many challenges ahead for our family, but we know that challenges are a part of life no matter where you live. And we know that we are going where our Heavenly Father needs us and if we follow the Spirit and keep the commandments, He will continue to help us through difficult times ahead. Meanwhile I am planning to keep everyone updated on our adventures - both good and not so good - through this blog. So stay tuned!!! :)