Smattering of January in Pictures

I haven't been taking my camera out and about with us much, so this post is mostly just from around the house. :)

I am ever trying to get the kids in contact with nature, to learn about God's great big world and observe all we can, as up close as possible. :) Joshua was able to catch a pretty big bullfrog the other day. We had never seen one before, around here, but we hear them loud and clear all night long. I like it! :)

A car ride. :)

Morning Bible time with Daddy after breakfast:
There was a little baby wren hopping around our backyard last week! I have no idea how it got in, because we have nine foot high brick walls all around the backyard, and no trees or other places for a bird nest, so I like to think it was a special gift from God! Since this little birdie couldn't fly, we were able to usher it into the house and then Joshua tried to tame the sweet little thing. We eventually let it go, though. We didn't have a cage to put it in!
Another little nature observation - I have yet to do some real research on this, but I think this is the egg case of a termite. We have been finding them ALL over our house! They are about as big as my pinky fingernail, and the little wormie comes poking out the top - can you see him in the picture? Funny thing is, he pokes in and out, in and out, for a good while and I guess finally decides to come out all the way. Yuck.
Fabio celebrated another year in January too! He wanted ice cream instead of cake, and Johann was more than happy to help him with the candles. :) He is now a ripe 32 years old....
We took the ice cream and candles to some friends' house and celebrated with them:
And these last two pics are back from Santos, at the beginning of January. They were just too cute to not include. In this first one, Johann had just learned how to give a "thumbs up". He had to try so hard to do it, that it almost looks painful! The other boys in the pictures are our kid's second cousins, Denis and Mateus:
Leo and Israel, cousins just five months apart. Aren't they cute? :-)