Wax on, Wax off

Andre at Subway in Hastings MN after the Casino...Checking his phone messages!

Andre and Gui......

!SLAVES!
Obrigado Andre & GUI para toda sua ajuda! Amor e beijos.....

Has Gui taken things to far with Andre today?

Working seriously hard for Jim and Scarry Carrie Starry from the Mortuary!

Andre waxing Grandpa's motorhome

Sleepy Andre! Yeap got him sleeping too!

In my office at work!

~~RODIZIO TOMORROW~~

We did not win big at the casino last night but we came out far enough ahead to go to Mojitos tomorrow night! Jado helped us with that by putting a $20 in the video poker slot and I turned it into $101! Andre did well too! I thin he netted $40 bucks. So off to Mojitos tomorrow night to let these men eat until they cannot move! I am so happy that we can go there!

I have more pictures in the camera to post but it seems my only computer time is when Andre and Gui are sleeping! Ok it's not that bad at all! I cannot fault these two for anything! They are so wonderful to have here. Gui is so sweet, very thoughtful and sleepy! It is amazing to me how easily he can fall asleep and how hard it is to wake him up. Trust me I have tried to wake him by jumping on his bed, sticking my finger in his ear, pulling his covers off, tickling him, I tried many things, no success! Funny Gui! He has my heart!

Andre has been working at Hillside Terrace this week helping out Jado and today he will go over to my girlfriends house (Scary Carrie Starry from the Mortuary) to help her husband Jim with some landscaping. I will miss him at work! I have loved having him there this week. The right words are not here for me to tell you how much Andre means to me. Andre is grounded and focused, happy and so much fun to be around no matter what we are doing! I don't want him to leave! I am so spoiled with having him here. He touches my heart so deeply, he has been so wonderful with Evan! Thinking about how caring he has been will make me cry, sooooo.... I will just tell you that I love him tons!

It is to quiet right now in my house! Evan is supposed to be getting ready for school but I hear nothing..........wait here he is! Thank goodness it is almost time to leave for school! Muitos amor e beijos!

Gui! He won't wake up! He thinks he worked hard but he really stayed up too late! Beijos Gui

At least he looks like he is having fun.

Scary Jado!

Andre working at Hillside painting tar on the building.

Andre at work with me. So exciting! Thanks for helping Jado. Digging a hole in the ground is not very fun. Obrigado Andre

One for Julio! Made these for Andre! I can make them for you too!

Ran into the dancers on our way out!

Ok so we got a little hungry!

Making Merry!

Puke and Snot! http://www.magaga.com/ They are so funny!

Strolling through the festival

Phils! Did you see that chick? Puta merda!

Renaissance Lords and Ladies

I love taking sleepy Phils Pictures! Amor e beijos Felipe!

Sleepy Gui! Wore them out at the Renaissance Festival ~ Ok they wore themselves out the night before I just made them get up and go!

Too Cute ~ Look for more pictures tonight!

Heaven landed in my house this week!

When you see the pictures below you will know what I mean! Having Andre and Gui here with me means so much to me! Andre and I had never met prior to him coming to Minnesota, but we became close over the last couple months through email, MSN, phone calls & packages! I loved him before I met him! Andre came to Minnesota with baggage....lol.......Gui! Wow, do I love Gui too! Gui just tore a path to my heart and he will never leave! There are not words to tell you how wonderful these guys are! It is an experience that words cannot describe! I can tell you all the fun things we do but the depth of it is more than words, more than me being lucky, I was blessed! Another blessing landed on my doorstep tonight! I love this guy crazy too! Felipe!! He did everything he could to get down here and he surprised us all tonight when he rang the door bell at 10:20! Phils absolutely rocks! What a great gift these guys have to be together after 2 years! Of course the minute Phils shows up English language leaves.....lol

Andre, Gui and Felipe went out after Phils got here and I know they are having a great time! They have my car though so they better be careful! I know they will! They love me just as much as I adore and trust them!

I have to thank Cris, Gui's Mom and Felipes Mom! You did an amazing job raising your sons! I am grateful beyond words! They are a gift to my life! Amor e beijos Ladies!

Julio is missing and I have an empty place here that is meant for him! Words are insufficient to tell you how much he is missed! I love him for everything he is and believe me, I know more than he would want me to know......lol..........Nothing can take my love for Julio away.......Julio is an imprint on my heart that I am blessed to have! Amor e beijos.......

What did I do to deserve these guys! I am so lucky! I love them like crazy! Trust me I will cry when they go home! Gorgeous, loving, caring, fabulous men! Good job Moms

The Men! Amor e Beijos! Love you all!

Andre is loved!

Andre and Grandpa watching Sophies Soccer

Andre having fun with Sophie, Spencer & Pete

Spencer having a blast with Gui! Gui is having lots of fun too!

Remember this Picture? Look below! Somethings the same but different!?!?

Julio ~ Take a deep breath.....We love you!

This looks like a familar picture

At Grandma and Grandpas house Saturday night!

After Sophie's Soccer Game!

Driving home from airport

Andre arriving at the airport!

~~~~~~~~~~ SLACKER~~~~~~~~~~

Ok Ok Ok I have been a slacker, I know! Not writing or posting pictures is not a good thing! Sorry! I have a valid reason for not posting pictures! My uploading program is malfunctioning on me. Ok, fine, you can think it's the operator and not the program, and maybe it is but I can't get it to work! I have some nice pictures of Andre and Gui that I really want to share! I am sorry! I am working on both ends of the malfunction...Hoping it is more program related than operator error.

Evan has a bike Marathon tomorrow that he would like Anre, Gui and myself to meet him at and then Sophie has a soccer game at 11:30 that I would like to take Andre and Gui too! Andre met Mattea and Jess tonight. We stopped by Tom and Jill's house on the way back from dropping Evan off with his Dad. It was pretty mellow there. But Andre had a chance to meet everyone but Sophie!

Tonight we are having steak for dinner and then maybe go downtown to see what is happening down there. This is the first night I can do anything without worrying about going to work in the morning. Phils has to work all weekend which is a total bummer all the way around. We will have to figure out some way to see Phils before the guys go back to Pensacola!

I promise to get pictures here soon! Beijos

Off to the airport in a bit!

Looking for more pictures on my blog and less of my insane chatter? Look for pictures a little later after I pick up Andre and Gui! I will be taking pictures while they are here and posting them regularly! Amor e Beijos......B

Scary isn't he! Just want to put a smile on your face! Evan says it's stupid! But he smiled so it can't be that stupid. Evan is a little mature for his tender 11 years! Needs to loosen up a bit!

Crazy Angel?? Just a girl with a big heart!

It is in my soul to care for others like I would want them to care about me! I can't help it! If you have read my profile I said I was a definite Gumby. I don't know if that is the right description but I am sticking with it! Cause you know I will bend over backwards to help the people in any way I can! It makes me happy to help! It is rewarding in an unseen way! It is selfless and therapy for the soul! I won't get to Heaven because of the things I do to help people, I know that, but my soul commands it of me to do whatever I can to help those I love and those I have yet to meet!

Felipe just called! He is my sweet Phils! Felipe is so very excited about the news he received today! Having Felipe as happy as he is tonight means so much to me! He has not seen his cousin Gui in a little over two years. Felipe and Gui grew up as close as brothers. As devastating as Hurricane Ivan was to the people caught in the path, it has also been a gift in many ways. It is a gift to Felipe and a gift to me! Why is it a gift to me? I will finally meet Andre! I am very grateful to my parents who unselfishly gave their frequent flyer miles on Northwest Airlines to get these two guys out of the devastated area of Escambia County Florida! Thanks Mom & Dad for helping me help Andre and Gui! I am truly grateful and appreciative to my parents for their unselfishness and for supporting my efforts to help Andre! I could have not have helped them without you!

I have to say this because it is so true of me, Please do not worry about thanking me! I do not do this for anyone to feel obligated!...........ok, well mostly! I tease!!! I have told Andre & Phils that they must now bestow their undying gratitude and love on me! LOL...... I told them that in all silliness!

Bottom line.....These guys are experiencing the love and caring of a person in their life that they don't know that well. They will have this memory with them for the rest of their lives! They will always remember the kindness that they received! They will, when they can in their lives, give this kindness back to someone they may hardly know and make a life easier because of their kindness and compassion. It is the gift I give today that will be given over and over again by many people in many forms.......Pay it forward! What more could I ask for?..........ok, really let's not go there! There will be a post someday when I lay it on the line of what I might ask for if courage wasn't so scarce in me!

See you tomorrow! Amor e Beijos!

ps....... Julio~I miss you! What more can I say! It is up to you to now! Minha casa é sua casa! Amor e Beijos!

This is Gumby! He has a pony named Pokey. It was a kind of cartoon when I was little. The thing about Gumby is he is very, very bendable! I called myself a definite Gumby cause I am so bendable! In a helpful, caring sort of way!

Updates and Thoughts

I want to post more pictures but I have not taken any of my own. It is dreary and raining here today anyway. My mood this afternoon coincides with the weather. Thank goodness I did not say my personality matches the weather.......I would have run from myself!

Andre is flying to Minneapolis tomorrow and will stay here with me until he UWF is open for classes again! Andre mentioned that it is closed until October 4th and possibly longer. He mentioned that they might cancel the current semester. That is a scary thought! I can't imagine what all those students will do (not to mention the faculty) for a whole semester without school! I asked Andre if his scholarship was transferable........But the chance of getting into classes in another college at this late date is scary to think about!

I am trying my best to work something out for Gui! I know he wants to come to Minnesota too, especially to see Felipe. I don't think they have seen each other in a couple of years! I will do what I can to help Gui. I know that it would be hard on him to be in Florida with Andre up here. I'm trying guys!

Now onto a subject that I hesitate to bring up. This should make no sense to anyone morally, the outrageous and barbaric act of a cowardly group of people, who would behead American (with hope that British hostage will be spared) contractors working in Iraq. Trying to stop these unspeakable, inhumane acts by a militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is difficult at best. Every precaution is taken, but it is the minds of deviance that break through those precautions! Do we all now need to think as deviants now to protect ourselves from future attacks, kidnappings and beheadings? In my humble opinion it would not have mattered if we actually had women prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison and set them free! Anyone who can behead another human, would not stop the the beheading just because they received what they asked for. These are not reasonable people! They cannot be counted as being human because that, would include being humane?

Eugene Armstrong, Jack Hensley, and British hostage Kenneth Bigley went to Iraq to help. These brave men brought their skills to aid Iraq in building it's new future. They did not hesitate, they new the risks! It was their dedication to humanity that brought them there and we should remember these men and their families for their dedication to the Iraqi people. I will keep British hostage Kenneth Bigley in my thoughts and prayers that his life may be spared and he will be returned home to his family.

Andre and Gui! Relaxing in the Jacuzzi in their suite on Jacksonville Beach! Courtesey of Amy. They are having fun! Amor e beijos Andre & Gui!....Nice hair Gui!

Aftermath of a Hurricane! Click here to see Photos!

By the look of the photos below and press releases, the clean up in Pensacola will cost billions of dollars and will take months before anyone feels like their life might be getting back to normal. Major interstates are closed due to the damage caused by the storm and that alone is making it difficult for residents to get back to their homes. It is too soon to return at this point anyway, the gas supply & low maybe non existent, grocery store shelves bare, homes that are not safe to stay in, the list goes on.

Today I spent much of my work day doing as much as I could for Andre, Gui and Luis. They had planned to return to Pensacola today after 2 nights in a hotel in Jacksonville. But this morning they realized that going home was not an option at this point. We scrambled to think of who we could call in Florida and where they could go. Gustavo has connections in Miami, but that is a 10 hour drive through already ravaged hurricane territory. I called a friend in West Palm Beach which is 2 hours north of Miami, and when she told me the lines for gas were hours long I knew that sending the guys south was not an option! We contemplated calling my cousin in Atlanta but that is a long drive too! Gui's car is in need of a new transmission and they were lucky to get it to take them to Jacksonville I think.

Tonight Andre, Gui and Luis with 2 girls are staying on the beach at Quality Suites. My sister got them a 2 bedroom suite and I think they will be very happy there tonight! They need to have some fun now!! When they get back to Pensacola, it will be difficult with all the problems in the city from Ivan. They will be helping my sisters friend Jill board up her home in preparation for hurricane Jeanne. The Hotel that Andre is staying in is only a couple blocks from Jill's house so it will be easy for them to help her!

I talked to Felipe today! Sweet Phils! Of all of you Brazilian, Phils gets spoiled the least! Phils, ya know I love ya! Felipe needs to be spoiled, but he doesn't want cookies, so what's a girl to do? I told him that I would come up to Duluth Sunday if he wants and help him organize his new apartment. Apparently he moved down a couple floors because of a water leak in his old place that made the carpet stink! He is working a 12 or 13 hour day tomorrow at the football game! I know he could use my help on Sunday, I would like to help him however I can! Even if it is helping with his laundry.....not a lot of fun......I would do it though, cause it's for Phils!

I have so much respect and admiration for Felipe and Gustavo! They work extremely hard at their jobs and at school!............They have incredible futures ahead of them! The same can be said about Andre and Gui too! Andre and Gui will have a tough few weeks ahead of them with no school & no work! I wish there was more I could do for them! Luv ya Andre, I'll do what I can!

Click on the header of this post to see photos of Pensacola in Escambia County. They are hard to look at! Pensacola was nearly destroyed. My heart breaks for everyone who lives there! Unbelievable photos! Horrible Hurricane!

Pensacola News Journal Photos

Cape San Blas ~ Pensacola

A different view of Interstate 10......This goes over Escambia Bay

I found this Photo at the Pensacola News Journal web site! Incredible Images!

A sign directing drivers to the on ramp to Interstate 10 sits half submerged in flood water from the Gulf of Mexico

A bridge over Escambia Bay north of Pensacola, Florida is cut in two by Hurricane Ivan with a tractor-trailer rig swallowed by the gap, September 16, 2004

Divers recently found the body of 46-year-old Roberto Molina Alvarado of Donna, Texas. The truck driver had stopped his 18-wheeler in an eastbound lane of the bridge late Wednesday night or early Thursday when Ivan made landfall, according to the Florida Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation. The bridge collapsed, causing the truck’s cab and part of the trailer to fall into the bay, according to an FHP news release.

Damage to a building in Pensacola Beach