ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Exhibit A:

What? You think this looks kind of like a passport photo? What with the plain white background and straight-on face shot and lack of cutesy head accessories?

Well. It is. Harper is getting her first passport. And after that we'll get visa papers processing.

We're moving to Brazil.

what?!

McKay has an exciting business opportunity there with his brother and cousin and we're taking it! I know, it's crazy! But it will be an adventure and we're really excited about it.

Since we found out we were for sure going {about 48 hours ago} my mind has been racing with questions, concerns, excitement, and lengthy to-do lists. I've been listening to Portuguese podcasts and downloading free vocabulary apps. I found a discovery channel Brazil feature on Netflix and I've been all over Wikipedia learning about our new home!

There are still lots of undecideds and unknowns, but here are the dirty deets so far:

We'll be leaving sometime between April and June

We'll be there for 2-4 years {ish}

We'll be living in an apartment complex in a nice and safe part of São Paulo {with McKay's brother, cousin and another mutual friend - hooray for family!}

And that's about all we know at this point! When we first began contemplating the prospect of moving to a far and distant land I had mixed emotions. I was definitely intrigued and excited, but also a bit scared and apprehensive. I've never lived more than 30 minutes from my immediate family {minus my summer in the Philippines}. We want more kids in the next 2-4 years - could I have a baby in Brazil? I wondered about our house and our car and all our junk in the basement. How would Harper do on a 20 hour flight? How would she do in a new country? I really like our ward and our neighborhood, am I ready to just leave? What about my piano students? etc. etc. etc.

But since making the decision, the dominant feeling has been excitement. We know this is the right next step for us. There are still a billion questions to answer and preparations to be made. And it will definitely still have its challenges. But, thanks to Skype we'll be able to stay in contact with our families. And we'll hopefully be able to make some trips home, as well as enjoy visitors during our stay. I'm super excited to learn Portuguese, and depending on how long we are there, little Harper might just end up bilingual! It will be really great having K and D and their wives and kids along for the adventure. 

I thought 2010 was a year of changes, but 2011 is definitely a heavy competitor! 

Desejem-nos sorte!