Keep on going. Keep your faith.

Sometimes I wonder when we will have a little break from our trials. And when I think nothing worse can happen, well... It happens. Today we had really bad news and our faith is once again being tested. This morning Ale went to work to find out he had been laid off. On top of that BYU had notified him they won't renew his I-20.

I just pray we can keep strong, keep our faith and keep on going, just as many, many times before.

All these years Heavenly Father has shown His mercy and has carried us in His loving arms. And despite everything that has happened so far in our lives, we always could feel His love and protection in all times. He has never abandoned us - not before, not now - and He never will.

Good things are yet to come. I know that.

Shopping

Mommy woke up already knowing what she wanted for lunch. So daddy who had the day off took us to Cafe Rio. A few weeks ago I tried their taco and I felt in love with it! It is so good!

We also stopped by Barnes & Noble. Giovanna loves going there just to read some books and play with their table train set. Luckily today we found a lot of cute things with 75% off (things at Barnes & Noble can be really expensive!). We bought books, puzzles and a princess Tiana set, which Giovanna's been playing with and having a blast all day.

Payson Temple Open House

Last Saturday we took Giovanna to visit the new LDS Temple in Payson, Utah.

The temple is beautiful! Everything in there - walls, mirrors, paintings, etc - points us to Jesus Christ and reminds us that we are a covenant people.

The Utah Payson Temple will be open to the public until May 23th. ANYONE can go and walk through the temple. Church missionaries will be there to answer any questions. 

Reserve your free tickets HERE.

When the open house period is over the temple will be dedicated and only members of the church who hold a temple recommend will be allowed to enter. 

 My favorite thing about temples is the knowledge I have that my family can be together forever! Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:

I don’t know how to speak about heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal beauty that we speak of heaven–I wouldn’t know how to speak of heaven without my wife and my children.  It would not be heaven for me.  Now, you can say that’s wishful thinking; or you can say that’s  just because you love each other and you’ve gotten cozy here on earth and you like each other’s company.  It’s a lot more than that.  There is something eternal in the statement that ‘Neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 11:11). That isn't just good sociology–that is theology.  It is eternal.

And I feel exactly the same way.

Little Peanut is a.....

In August we'll be welcoming our new baby... Girl!

Today we had an ultrasound appointment. Everything is fine and our little princess looks perfect!

She was very active the whole time and we could take a very good look on her hands, feet, heart and all the other parts of her little body.

We are thrilled! We can't wait to see her pretty face!

Vamos ter outra princesinha!!!

Cookies Adventure

This is what happens when I am pregnant:

- Things fall out of my hands all the time (ALL THE TIME!)

- I break stuff - cups, containers, toys - pretty much anything I touch

- I salt food

- I forget

- I over sleep and I get late

Today I tried to bake some oatmeal cookies, an Irish recipe from The Pollan Family Table book.

Like I said, I tried, because I am usually really bad when it comes to cookies and breads. During my little adventure in the kitchen I:

- Rolled the cookie dough too big and some dropped in the oven.

- I took them out of the oven and accidentally dropped them on the dish washer that was opened next to me.

- In less then 5 minutes the entire house was covered by smoke because of the dough I dropped in the oven.

- The fire alarms went off

I had to fan each fire alarm until stops, and after all I had a huge mess to clean up. 

But things will be back to normal as soon as I deliver this beautiful baby.

I am posting the recipe in case you want to try.

Good luck and have a wonderful weekend!

Nana Fox's Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup sweetened shredded or flaked coconut

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, coconut and rolled oats in a large  mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Using half the dough, form into 1-inch balls and place them on one of the parchment paper lined baking sheets 3 inches apart. Press flat with a fork. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. To ensure even baking, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through. 

Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer the cookies to a wire cooking rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.

(I also added 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in the mixture)

Accountable Kids

A few days ago I started the Accountable Kids program with Giovanna. Accountable Kids is a parenting program designed to teach accountability and responsibility in the home. It provides several chores and rewards cards for the kids. 

It's really working with Giovanna. She does her chores and gets super excited to get her rewards cards and star stickers (when she gets 10 of them she can pick a special date with mommy and/or daddy).

Giovi has always been a good helper, listener and an easy going child. But I found in the program the chance to introduce new tasks such making her bed, setting and cleaning the table in a fun and rewarding way. She helped to set up the board and pick the chores cards.

Now we need to carve her name on it.

Wheeler Farm

Spring Break was great. We stayed up until late and spent longer morning hours in bed talking, laughing and planning our day. Some days we'd just stay in our PJ's  watching movie,

 playing on the floor and cooking delicious food. Last day of Spring Break we took Giovanna to the Wheeler Farm. I haven't noticed that place is actually huge! It was fun!

Potting

Every Spring I try to plant veggies and herbs. I am pretty good with herbs since they are easy to grow and keep in pots, but I have been struggling with vegetables. 

This year I bought the seedlings instead of starting from seeds, and transplanted them into a big pot. Since we live in an apartment, potting is our best shot to grow veggies. This Spring we are growing delicious, juicy cherry tomatoes! We might also try to plant cucumbers and lettuce. 

Giovanna helped on the whole process - watering, lightening and finally planting it.

Now I just need to buy a conical cage for a good support and wait the right time to harvest them! =)

Enjoy your weekend!

20 Week Visit

Baby is doing great! Mommy's belly is growing bigger and bigger and I already can feel some soft kicks. In two weeks we'll know what we are having. We are very excited! 

We've been thinking about some girl's names for the baby, but haven't decided yet. Mommy likes Helena, Clara, Emma. Daddy likes Selene, Chiara, Bianca. If it's a boy we'll name him Enzo.

Easter 2015

As I always do, a few days before Easter I worked on Giovanna's Easter basket. 

This year, as I bought goodies to put in her basket, I thought about next year when I'll be making two Easter's baskets. I thought about things I would buy if I have a boy or another girl.

So this year I filled Giovi's basket with a Frozen puzzle book, egg shaped chalks, a notepad (she loves "taking notes"), bubbles and a giant chocolate Easter egg (Brazilian style!).

Then we took Giovanna to an egg hunt with the Matute Family. They are good friends of ours and they are always very receptive. 

 

Today I have my monthly prenatal visit before my ultrasound appointment in a couple of weeks.

I'm so excited to find out what we are having!!

Happy Birthday mom!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing woman I know!

I love you so much for so many reasons I  just can't enumerate.

I hope you have a beautiful day. You deserve it and even more!

Love you forever!

185th Annual General Conference

As always the messages from General Conference have deeply touched my heart.

I'm grateful for the teachings of the prophets that help me to be a better daughter of God. 

I am not perfect. I am far from that. But I know I can be perfected through Jesus Christ.

Here is my favorite highlight from the April 2015 General Conference:

Elder M. Russell Ballard

Please ponder in your heart the answer for these questions:

 Do you study the scriptures regularly?

Do you kneel in prayer and talk to your Heavenly Father each morning and each night?

Do you fast and donate fast offer each month, even if you are a poor, struggling student who can't afford to donate much?

Do you think deeply about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice for you when you are asked to bless, pass or partake of the sacrament?

Do you attend your meetings and strive to keep the Sabbath Day holy?

Are you honest at home, school, church and work?

Are you mentally and spiritually clean? Do you avoid viewing pornography or at websites, magazines, movies, apps or photos that would embarrass you if your parents, church leaders or the Savior Himself saw you?

Are you careful with your time avoiding inappropriate technology and social media, including video-games which can dull your spiritual sensitivity?

And is there anything in your life you need to change or fix beginning tonight?

I treasure this talk and these questions in my heart, and I promise myself to work hard every day to always positively answer each one of them.

Easter Season

Do you have exciting plans for Easter?

I'm planning to take Giovanna to a couple of egg hunts tomorrow. Also this weekend our family will be participating in the 185th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We got tickets to the Saturday morning session. The other ones we'll be watching at home.

 I hope you have a wonderful weekend and Easter time!

                       

Busy Thursday

What a busy Thursday!

Incredible how I get tired 1000x more when I'm pregnant. Giovanna is sleeping and I can finally relax.I'm finishing my day listening to one of my favorite Brazilian singers Ivete Sangalo. I would like to share this beautiful, relaxing song with you. (Reminds me of my youth times!) Her voice is amazing.

"Eu queria

Que essa fantasia fosse eterna,

Quem sabe um dia

A paz vence a guerra,

E viver será só festejar"

Spring Break

First day of Spring break we headed to Red Butte Garden. It was a little chilly but still we had so much fun. 

Giovanna is so sweet! I love spending time with her. She enjoys the simple things in life and she's happy pretty much with anything! She is always praising what we do for her, and she never goes to bed without telling us how much fun she had and how thankful she was.

I just love her so much! She is such a joy in our lives!