Before going home, making the analogy!

So, PdC was together again…

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Everything started around two months before mt trip to Ohio, I was in Massachusetts still living with the Phakos.

One day Ellen calls me for a regular PdC update, she really had news that time, one of them was bout the vacation that her host family were planning for June of this year. Her host dad was taking the whole family plus Ellen for a week vacation in South Carolina , and happily for PdC he decided to invite me to come along =)

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After a talk with my American Family (Phakos) and PdC girls the final idea was very fitting.

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So, after my program ended I would stay in Massachusetts for one more week, helping out the Phakos with the new Au Pair and enjoying the surround friends and locations for a little more, after that I would take a flight to Ohio and spend a week there, then from there we would go by car to South Carolina…

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It worked out very well, I stayed at Ellen’s place what was a bless for me, it was really relaxing, Ellen is the kind of person you want to be a guest for…

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PdC hung out a lot, I finally met the corn’s boyfriend! Steven (Monize’s boyfriend) appears to be a nice guy, he is also from our American Church (Full gospel) . We (Ellen and me) for sure were a little jealous as Mo spends more time with him, but we are working this out and he has been accepted by PdC already.

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I know I’m not the same girl that came from Brazil two year ago and I realized those changes just happen but I got surprised by the changes I found in Ohio.

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Yes, PdC girls had change a lot! Monize, like I said she has a boyfriend now and things are getting serious very fast. Moni is the kind of girl that was born to get married and be a mother, she is more mature but very dreamy at the same time, and now she has a new “belly bottom”, like the movie, is all about Steven…

Ellen has been more Ellen than ever, assuming who she is and who she wants to be to the world (most of it) and for herself.

I could understand her better, and kind of find myself on her sometimes. She has more opinions than ever.

On the end of the analogy I’m proud of my sisters. They are so much stronger and well adapted and beautiful as always.

Looks like the only one that still needs to figure out herself and find “the way” is Jessie.

We also spent time with our American church, The people from Full Gospel mean so much to PdC and we were and still are so blessed by them.

It’s funny but I feel so connected with this congregation, it really feels like doesn’t matter where I am or how far I go, this will always be my church.

And then we went to the beach in South Carolina, it was very good! Beautiful place, nice beach house and Ellen to take care of me…

We came back to Ohio, again by car but now with 12 hours driving because of the traffic.

I found a few problems to get to the airport since on that Monday we had this thing with Ellen’s host family’s cars, but it ended up with Matthew saving the day by giving me ride.

Once I got on Kentucky/Cincinnati airport and checked in my luggage without paying extra weight fees but paying 100 dollars for the third bag that is not included by the airline company, I thought “what a day!”, then my flight got cancel. With a flight cancel I wouldn’t make it in time to Chicago, losing my final flight to São Paulo.

Ellen called me to check how I was doing, was when the airline operator guy got me in another connection on the same Chicago airport and I would be on time for a second flight, this one hitting straight to Brazil.

I guess the American life is over for me, at least for a while. Even we complain a little about it and miss “Brazilian stuff”(jeitinho Brasileiro) I can say that I like the American way, and I enjoyed it to the bones, I learned to do so.

Many things can and actually were to be taken as life learning from these past two years. I learned a lot about family, friendship, coexistences and about myself as well.

Honestly, I don’t know what I want, what to hope and run after for the future. For now the basics mind do, but the search keeps going on, I guess it never really ends…

Love. Jessie

PDC's favorite book - Joyce Meyer in the PDC blog =)

by Joyce Meyer

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"I’m only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something, and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do that something I can do." – Helen Keller
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The plain and simple truth is that each and every one of us only get one shot at this life. We aren’t guaranteed a certain number of days, so we must decide today what we will give our lives to. So the question is, will we choose to live a life of love in service to others or will we refuse to do our part because we feel we can’t make a big enough difference? One person has the ability to make a profound difference!So what will you give your life to? It might be easy or feel like the religious thing to do to say we’re going to give it to God, but I’m asking that you take it into your everyday lives. What are you going to give your everyday actions to?
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Why Won’t God Do Something?
We are an army, and it’s going to take everyone doing their part to change this world. And God is calling us to put on love and get to work. One morning I was having my quiet time alone with God, and I said to the Lord, not in a complaining way and not questioning His integrity, but just as a conversation, "God, how can You stand seeing all the pain—starving children, human trafficking, genocide, injustice, degradation, unbelievable pain, poverty—in the world and not do something?" I don’t even know that I was really expecting to get an answer, but I just asked Him. Immediately His answer came back: "I work through people. I’m waiting for My people to arise and do something."
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Do It on Purpose
In order to start helping others and reaching them with the love of God, we are going to have to get ourselves off our minds, out of our prayers and out of our conversations. We have to start living life with purpose—on purpose! Those two little words "on purpose" have become very important to me. They’ve actually been quite life-changing for me in the last few years, because I have realized that you cannot wait to feel like it. You cannot wait to think it’s a good idea. You cannot wait to even want to. You just have to do it on purpose! Now I’m not saying it’s bad to ask God for things for yourself, but if you want to receive true victory…if you want to be happy…you are going to have to start thinking of others first.
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Just a glimpse of the book The LOVE Revolution written by Joyce Meyer.

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P.S. *missing Jessie nos cornfields d'Ohio*

Verdades do PdC in our first year- Ohio

Well, here we go with a movie showing a little about our first year as PDC...

Hope you enjoy!!!

I'm also working in a movie maker edition from our trip to Disney, will be post as soon as I get it done...

Ellen Garoline e Monize Gazielle, please make a post !!!!!!!!!!!!

love. Jessie

Okay guys, Im right here after all the presures (Mo) !!!!
Just want to say ;;;; i love pdc so much and we sure do have so much fun 2gether n our friendship is 4ever - im gonna think about a post to publish pretty soon =) besitos

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yeap... PdC at Diseny FL- By Jesie

Yeap…PdC was at Disney World few weeks ago, it was great to spend time in such a cool place with really good friends. We also had some guests over, since Margarido offered us such a good apartment at Disney’s Old Key West Resort with enough room for eight, PdC decided to invite Anna that’s a good friend from Ohio, it was a great idea also because besides the good company Anna offered herself to be our tour guide since she knows the parks very well.

We invited Lori too but sadly she couldn’t join because of her work.

We had a lot of fun, we always do when PdC is together.

It sounds childish and silly but we met all the characters we wanted to like: Aladdin n’ Jasmine, Mickey n’ Minnie, Donald Duck, Gooffy, Pocahontas, Marry Poppins, Beauty n’ the Beast, Cinderella n’ Co.

Of course we Laughed all the time about funny and not so funny things, bando de palhacas you know…I really missed that in Massachusetts!

We had a Jacuzzi in our resort room, so you can imagine how awesome and relaxing was the conversation hours of PdC =) PdC celebrated one year and four months of existence over there making plans for the future, besides Monize’s wedding, a PdC little trip to Umuarama and a PdC vacation reunion five year from now in a cool resort we want to move in together, this is subject of another post maybe…

Please Ellen n’ Mo, comment or make a post, pics, video whatever =P

Love and rodando rodando!!Jessie

Margarida at my flower's list

Well, I’m not a super feminist girl but I kind of like to support the sisters against the guys, to see that we can do whatever they do, because they are not superior and that we are equal with some differences. Ok, that’s not really the subject that I want to talk about now but I will get to the point soon…
I see my mom like a warrior, she comes from a family with 7 sisters and 3 brothers where the girls had to study, work and help with the house work and the boys didn’t wash a cup. They were pretty poor and my grandma was a military mother style.
She started working as an employee on a street popular market (really common in Brazil). Few years later she had her own store. Our house, cars and every penny that was used to raise me came from that store. She grew on business on her own. When I was 5 years old she started to honor a Rotisserie in a expensive neighborhood in our city. I grew up over there, my mom honored it for 15s year until she decided to sell it for a good price. After I moved to US and she sold the Rotisserie I though she would enjoy the retirement and a calm home life, but for my surprise she decided to start a Frutarie (fruits and vegetables store). Of course she is my first life example…
Last year I added my first host mom to my females' great examples list. I thought someone like her was an example to follow in many ways. I saw a true Christian, as a doctor, as a friend and as a Mother. About Bonita (the way that I secretly called her) in her motherhood style I really admire the education, the way she applies discipline to her girls and the way she keeps her family on the “good Christian path“. I know we had our problems but I'm still thinking about her in this way and she is still on my list.
Now getting to the point, what I was thinking all over the last two weeks….
Margarida (that’s also not her real name), she is my second host mom, I need to say that she amazed me!!! Why? Well, she is unbelievable.
Margarida is a scientist that coordinate a lab that studies disease or something like that, she also is a professor at the state university. Her strong marriage relationship makes me want to have them for godparents wedding!

She is a mother of five grown up kids that still give her a lot of work, two active babies in the age of three years old that were adopted from South America some years ago, three adopted kids from Africa in ages between 5 and 9 years old that has joined the family last summer. Those kids came to our home with no English at all.

Margarida finds time for her garden every weekend...Wait! My host Mom made her wedding dress! She still finds time to do sewing!

Also, the way that she raises those kids, the way that she loves all of them, all equally, with patience, kindness, just does not exist.
Another day I was walking by the kitchen in my way to the dinner table when I saw Margarida and Margarido (host dad) near by the fridge, They were hugging each other. On her way to the table she stopped me to say: You Know Jessie, I really hope you find a husband as good and lovely as my husband is! After all these years he is still my boyfriend. = )
I know... She is so cutie, so sweet, but she is also very strong and like thinks right, mulher porreta!!! hehe
From now on Margarida is part of my list, and not because she is my host mom, but I really admire and love her!!!
Margarida querida, when I grow up I want to be just like you.

By Jessica Lupiao
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Oi Turtle kkkkkkkkk This is Ellen here. I LOVE your post! You've become a great writer! How could you be so inspired? Did you wear my t-shirt to write this? kkkkkkkkkkkkkk
I'm sure you're gonna be a great woman when you grow up kkkkkk
No, but, seriously, you're gonna be a great mom... if your girls don't spend all your credit card at the Victoria's Secret... kkkkkkkkkkkkk sorry I can't be serious, but, seriously now, you are gonna do a GREAT mother too, Jessie! Not better than me of course kkkkkkkkkkkkk
Love you
XoXo

Who I Am Reflects Just About Everything

Lately, I’ve seen, always more frequently, that people say a lot of things they don’t know anything about. They point, they judge, they condemn, and they make other people believe in what they say. Everyone believes in thoughts and opinions after all. But the fact is that there’s a truth. There is always a truth.

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I believe we should know everything about ourselves before trying to give any opinion on anything and anyone else. Our opinions and points of view reflect who we are, and if we don’t know who we are, we can’t be sure of our own opinions, and we can’t explain them with any reason. For me, it feels annoying to be near people who don’t know themselves. They seem so blind that it bothers me. But there’s nothing you can show to someone who is blind. They just can’t see.

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Sometimes I get impatient and ask myself, “How can anyone not know what they like, what they want and even what they think?” Who would be so nice to the point of letting you decide everything even when it has absolutely nothing to do with you but themselves? Maybe people just don’t want to see who they are. Maybe they don’t, because they simply don’t like who they are. In that case, there's one thing to find about: We are not someone that simply “is”, we are whoever we make of us, and in us. Those people live without confidence of whom they are, what they want and what they do. And I think that lack of confidence is the worst thing someone could ever live with.

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You are who you want to be. If you are not, you make me feel like you just don't want to be anyone.
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Make friends in life, help them and let them help you. But most importantly, make friends with yourself.
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*missing Jessie*
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Hey xoxozinhas,

Jessie is over here!!! I miss you to Ellen=/

My godness, that was deep...

I was reading it and I could almost hear Ellen's voice...It made me remeber about our long talks in the way back to Xenia on the weekends.

Xoxo, you know you are my favorite writer...

LoVe. Jessie

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I miss you so much Jessie *_*

Mo is mad because you called her today and left a voicemail to ME ! LOL

we miss you XoxO

Ellen here =)

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how to make sure you are Brazilian...

Since Moni is having a great time in Brazil with her family, I wanna talk about our country and how we define ourselfs as BRAZILIANS!!!

>>You Know You're Brazilian When...

* You like Guarana better than Coke.

* If someone tells you to be at a certain place at 1:00 pm, you don't show up until 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.

* You know who Xuxa is because you have learned the alphabet with her.

* Your entire family goes to grandma's house on Sundays for a big family get together....even when you guys see one another everyday.

* BBQ means steak, sausage, chicken wings, pork,sirloin, rice,( farofa, molho,...)

*You are the loudest person in the room.

*You travel to Brazil and instead of taking a suitcase with all your stuff, you take presents for the entire family, the dog, the neighbor, not to mention the old/used clothes that you take just in case someone needs it or that you take to donate and make more room to bring back guarana.

* You live in Florida, New York, New Jersey,Ohio or Massachusetts (there's exceptions of course).

* You leave your house spotless when you have people coming over and you tell them"don't mind the mess".

* You understand but does not speak Spanish, but when you say a word in Portuguese no one understands you.

* You can dance better than anyone in the room.

* Your jokes are always about Portuguese people or people from Argentina. (sorry Paola)

* You take soccer too seriously.

* You know a lot about Samba, funk and Pagode.

* You`ve studied the history of almost every country.

* You eat rice and beans at least 7 days a week.

* Everyone thinks you're everything but Brazilian.

* You go to a bar and ask for salgadinhos with guarana.

* You know the years that Brazil has won the World Cup and you LOVE to talk about it.

* You wear havaianas..a lot! * You know how to play volleyball, footvolley and handball.

* You know what it's like to buy liquor without an ID.

* You know how to party, and if the party isn't over after 5am...its not a party!

* You know what feijoada and pave are.

* Your favorite drink is Guarana, Groselha or Caipirinha.

* You dress up to go to the supermarket.

* You are Brazilian and you never give up!

Voce e brazileiro e nao desiste nunca!

I got this from a BRAZILIAN friend and that's all truth!!!

ps:. super hug for Moni's MaeDoCorn, PaiDoCorn and IrmaoDoCorn!!!

love.

Jessie

LOOOL yes... After almost having been run over by a car and having been bitten by a crab and gone to the hospital, Monize's brother is still alive. She'll be back next Sunday by the way!!! yay!

Jessie, that's so brazilian! I found Guarana, Farofa, torrada Bauduco and Coconut Water at Jungle Jim's kkkk I love that place! This is Ellen here by the way kkkk And we had a so Brazilian Feijoada here yesterday, me, Talita, Lara, Vanessa, Lais, Geisi and Paola. We missed you and Monize a lot =(

Ohio vs. Massachusetts-

Oh gosh….I have been in Massachusetts for 3 weeks already! Now I find myself in a non Christian host family that, for my surprise, is really really nice! They are generous, talkative, helpful, so lovely and I feel so welcome…

My new host parents have 5 grown up kids that are 3 boys and 2 girls and 5 more young kids including two little Guatemalan boys in the ages of 2 ½ and three kids between 6 and 8 years old that will come from Ethiopia soon to join the family.

Of Corse I miss Ohio, the fist weekend without the PDC girls and the Full Gospel Church was so bad... I went to the mall with Neriman and Becky (the other au pair from Turkey and the 17 years old host sister), I had fun with them, but it was like missing something...

God knows how much I prayed and for how long I wished friends like the girls from the PDC, how good it would be if we had met each other on our teenager years, but the Lord gave me the gift of their friendship in the moment that I most needed.

I believe, I hope with all my heart, and I pray that the PDC never ends…You girls will be my sisters forever, even when you don't want it anymore .. Hehe

Thanks my Lord, for this amazing year that I had in Ohio, for the people that I met over there, for the friends for the life that I have now, for all that I have learned. I know I grew so much spiritually and I know that all these gifts came from Your hands…

Ellen and Monize: I will never forget you, we'll never be apart because friendship and sisterhood are stronger than the distance ... Thanks for everything !!!!! I love you girls S2

Uma vez PDC, pra sempre PDC.

Com carinho,

Jessie

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AAAwwww!!! I will never forget that day in the airport Jessie, omg, how much we cried!!

I don't know who wrote it, but I love that quote, "If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances". The more you let people come into your life, the more you may get hurt when they move away... it's always like this, the more intensely you laugh, more intensely you cry, but it's all worthwhile! We went through so many crazy stuff together in this OhiO, didn't we? Because we've taken the chance to do everything we wanted to do! that's why we have so many memories, and so many things that, I would say, are more than memories... If I passed away now, I could say I have fully lived my life... Thanks for becoming real friends just when I thought I was alone and when I thougt all my friends would be forever left in BR, and that NO ONE would ever make me love as much and have as much fun!!!

yes... "once PDC, forever PDC" hehe, "Together or apart, you are always in my heart, Jessie!"

hey! when are we going to Massachusetts, Mo? yay! as Mystique says, "oba!"

Now it's your turn to comment, Mo LOL

Ellen here in purple yay LOL

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Serious post

Hey... look, this is really really serious... I don't know what my life is gonna be like when Jessie is gone... I don't know what Monize's life... what the PDC is gonna be like... It's gonna be so sad!!! WHO IS GOING TO TALK DURING THE NIGHT? Monize and I were just talking exactly about it... Jessie... How is it going to be? We won't have to go pick you up in Xenia every Friday!!! It's gonna be so... boring!!! As Monize said tonight, I don't want to suffer BEFORE it happens... but I can't even believe it's true yet... but why this feeling of "something is wrong" in my heart??? It's ok that God has something else for you somewhere else... that He has new lessons to teach you which you couldn't learn here... it's ok that God has new people for you, new places, new everything... but why is it so difficult to accept it? I don't want to be selfish! I don't want to say I want to have you ONLY for us, for the PDC forever... but a part of me can't solve it so easily... ... our pictures from last weekend...

Other girls are going to be there with you on the weekends, taking pictures, making videos...... and you're not going to be in Ohio with us either... How is that...?

Now I just have to say that you are going to have great experiences in Massachusetts, I'm sure... And you'll be really happy there... You'll do a great job as you've always done, and Mo and I are going to visit you some weekends... and nothing will ever change.......... nothing will take your place in the PDC, Jessie... PDC forever... S2

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Gosh ... i am crying here (neh) I really wanna think that God has the best way for us and i guess we will be friends forever... until 90's but this is the life... we'll not be together forever but our heart...it'll be!!! i'm sure of that!

s2 s2 s2

amo vcs cabeconas!

Monize

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You girls are so sweet!!!! I start to cry when I think about leaving Ohio( I say "leave Ohio" becase I`ll never live the PDC) but God knows what we need and what we should learn.....

Let`s trust Him....By the way, He was the one that put us together....

Ellen, we will be bridemades in Moni`s wedding, and we will be by her side when her baby is born!!!

Moni, we will see Ellen speaking all over the world, we will always be there to see her!!!

You Two will always be part of my life!!!!!!!!!

I DO love you guys....We are sisters forever!!!

Thanks!!!!!!!

Juizo xuxus...

Jessie

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Bible verses and where the corn's power comes from...

Well, It`s almost time to work and I`m trying to make the last 30 free minutes useful...hehehe
So, There are some Bible verses that the PDC would like to share.

* The first one comes from Isaiah 40:31:
"But those who hope in the Lord will soar on wines like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

> Moni wrote this for us in Portuguese and English after we prayed together and left our current big problems in God`s hands...

* The second one makes me remember that night at Ellen`s house, the first "big prayer" that the PDC had together:
"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

* The last one, but not less important comes from a T-shirt that Back2Back ministries gave to my host kids. When I first read that I saw exactly what the PDC means to us. It`s in Galatians 5:13-25 but the message on the back2back t-shirt is a kind of contraction:

Love one another,
Encourage one another,
Forgive one another,
Care for one another,
Live in harmony with one another,
Lift up one another,
Bear with one another,
Teach one another,
Honor one another,
Accept one another,
Greet one another,
Serve one another,
Trust one atother,

>PDC, the power that all the Au Pairs need to live in the US, our power comes from the Ohio`s cornfields... So, we are The Power do Corn...
Once you join the Power, it stays with you forever!!!

hahahaha

Love. Jessie

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PDC won the MatH

solve for the roller coaster x

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Because it will be unforgettable, I want to write in the blog how my day was... I woke up knowing today was one of the most challenging days of my life (and during the whole night I dreamed Monize and Jessie were like "Calm down Ellen, it's just a test like any other", because my math teacher said I would do the test on Thursday, that is TODAY, I mean, the GED official MATH pre-test. I don't need to say I never liked math... i don't know how to explain it.. everyone likes different things for different reasons, and numbers always felt so... "cold" to me, like, they made no sense at all... only words made sense, not numbers... I can't tell you how much my friends and I wanted to kill the math teachers in high school, i mean, i was not a violent kid, so, instead, we killed the classes jumping the school wall all over to the other side, hurting our arms and ripping our pants. Every week we did that at least once, but usually two or three times. I know that's terrible. I was a bad student. I just passed because i took the last math (and others) tests someone could possibly take to finish school. If I had me as a student, I wouldn't let me pass LOL, because of attendance. I know they had mercy on me. TODAY, I woke up and got dressed thinking like "I can postpone this MATH test for next week (again)... I can call the school and say that I'm not ready for the test (yet... and I don't know when I will be)... But I said "See you tomorrow" to my teacher, meaning I would go today, so I felt like I had to go, even because, I would feel a loser if I didn't go because of fear. When I was all dressed, I put my shoes on and looked beside me. I saw Monize's shoes that she left here last weekend. I thought: "i can't take my friends to school with me, but I can take Monize's shoes. This will help me a lot!!! hahaha. makes no sense, but it made on that moment! I thought, the Power of the Corn will be with me. Of course on my mind i knew i was just kidding with myself, but somehow it made me few better to wear Monize's shoes instead of mine... And of course my feet started hurting very soon, because Monize's feet are much smaller than mine... But I wouldn't take the shoes off because... it's a MATH test! Anything is helpful to make me feel better!!!!! A MATH test, a bonafide MATH test (and with numbers)! Anything with numbers bigger than a unit (32, 423 or 1,356) and with the symbols % or . or / has always scared me... but I always loved names like hypothenusa, vertex and adjacent, I think they sound fancy. I have already said my daughter will be named Hypothenusa, and my son Aristoteles LOOOOOL

By the way, I want to mention Marty. Yes, my MATH teacher. She changed everything! I always believed the teacher can make a difference. She is my kind of teacher. I just realized all the idea I had about numbers was stupidly wrong. Math makes all the sense. If you practice it at school, you will be ready to solve hundreds of problems in life, plus, even at school it can be fun. The scary way the word MatH makes me feel has been changing fast. I could never understand fractions BEFORE (maybe because I used to run away from school.. I know that's a shame). Now I see it is everywhere... math opens your mind to a new side of the world. Marty always tried to make me feel confident about what she found out I had just learned.
Oh yes, I will never forget when Marjory Nunes, a teacher at college, said (she taught Psychology of Education and was a GREAT teacher... I was so sad when they replaced her, cos she was like the only good teacher i had LOL) "Ellen, you have everything you need inside of you, everything but confidence, that's all you need to launch a successful life." (wow) Then, when I got to the MATH class, that's all my teacher talks about! Confidence! And she made me write a couplet about confidence LOL (I thought, "What? me??? about confidence???) That's when I realized, "Wow! There's something God wants me to learn!" Yes, that's when I realized it's all about believing! Believe God can make what's impossible, and KNOW that what's possible is supposed to be made by you. That's why it's important to believe in yourself... I'm still working on it in me... It's easy to ask everything to God, right? Maybe this idea came from a group of "Christians" in the Middle Age who didn't like to work LOL. Isn't it amazing the way God uses people to teach you? I always found that so amazing! So... I was driving to school - it was almost 10 am - super nervous, and I felt like "i will call my friends right now and ask them to pray for me" LOL, then I heard on the K-Love station "More Music K-Loooove K-LoOoOoOve. Today is the National Day of Prayer blablabla!" woohoooooo, i said "now is the time!" I got my phone and asked Monize, Jessie, Mystique and Matthew to pray for me cos I was (finally) going to do the MATHOMG test! Yes, that's the way I said. And Mom and Dad had been praying about the MatH test since about two months ago LOOL
PRAISE GOD I thought the test was NOT hard, and I didn't have one mistake, NOT ONE!! Isn't that a miracle? Yes, because everything is a miracle. You are a miracle, I am a miracle.

You can think I studied enough. I may have studied enough, but nothing happens in my life without the "permission" of God, because my life is in His hands since before I was born. That's what my parents always said, and I see it's true, everyday.

Today I didn't get just a perfect score... I broke one of my biggest fears... yes, a fear...

Now I'm confident to do the official test.

I realize that, with time, we always start seeing what we coudn't see before, so we can never judge anything, or be afraid of anything...
I thank God for lots of special people who made and make a difference in my life. The people I'm most thankful for, they haven't done anything "special" for me, they have just existed and done their job and been who they are... You know, it's not all about what you do "on purpose" to others, but about who you are inside. That's what makes the whole difference.
When I got home I called everyone back again to tell how it was and Monize's shoes helped me a loooooot LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
I called Elaine to tell her, and she said "Ok! I'll call you back in 5 minutes, I'm eating right now!" LOL She does that sometimes. Then she called me back, and we stayed like one hour on the phone? I don't know, i just know that we talked so much that i got so hungry and said like "now it's my turn, I need to eat!!!! byeeeee" LOOOL i know you're reading this, Elaine! that was so funny! i laughed a lot! LOL
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About eating, did you guys know that Jessie always calls me to ask what she should wear before going out? Yes, but that's nothing! She has just called me to ask WHAT SHE SHOULD BUY TO EAT!!!!!! LOLOL she was at the store (this late at night) and as she knows i'm an example of 'healthy eating' LOL, and she was confused between donnuts and blackberries LOOOOL - you are unique, Jessie - if she had called Monize she would have been advised to buy the donnuts because Monize is all about DoNnUtS, but i'm all about being healthy LOL, I told her to choose the berries. LOL
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well, it's too late now, i'm going to the zoo with Jake and his classmates tomorrow morning so can't sleep during the morning LOL, so i really have to go, otherwise i could write all night long heueuoeuhe... hope you enjoyed my post =)
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ellen
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ps. enjoy the picture below, Jake eating watermelon LOL

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Hahahahahahahahaha....

Ellen, you are a banana girl... The PDC is so proud of you!!!!!!!! good job dear!!!!!!!!

About Moni`s shoes, haha!!! I did the same with your T-shirt this week before I sent an e-mail for a host family. Funny uh?!

ps:. Isn`t Jake so cutie in that pic?!

That's all =)

Love, Jessie

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Hey, it's Ellen again, LOL i'm back from the zoo... i'm so tired! But Jake is much more tired than me of course... He was able to stay in the zoo for almost three hours! That's great!!! We saw all the animals except the ones that were hiding, and only the female lions show up, the males were scared of so many kids LOL! Oh yes, before arriving at the zoo I thought: Well, at least Jacob is wearing a red t-shirt, thank God his teacher had this great idea. If he tries to run away from me, i cannot lose him because he will be A CHILD WEARING RED!!! Then I realized in the zoo that there were about 2 thousand children and half of them were wearing red, that's about 1,000!!! 1,000 Jacobs!!! I didn't lose him because i didn't take my eyes off him. The thing about having your child wearing red in the zoo in good. But I think all the teachers of all the schools of Cincinnati and area had the same idea. How can't you lose your child in red if everyone else is in red? LOL ... Next time I'll ask Bill if I can have Jake dressed as Spiderman... one more picture of Jake below. Today is a special day for him, because he went to the zoo, yay!

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do you think he's cute?

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This Moment

Hello ... my first time here !!! uhullll
Well... I wanna say something really important ... I love u girls of power ... We know what's going on in my life ... (Mexican, Lindo) but my heart is So broken that i need to say that : - I will never forget you (NannyEllen & NannyJessie) If i change my life these days anyway... move from this city, state or come back to brazil ... I will never forget all our dreams like disney, to rent a house, to buy a car, "my marriage"... Just please ELLEN ... you can realize all these things because just you are sure that u will stay here ... so if something happens in my life or in jessie's life, please U keep going... take care of our dreams <> (Lindo is mine, in my heart forever, and if he is not Mr. right, that's fine)... take care of our church... and of my boyfriend Jacob... LOL
And JESSIE and me... it's time to go ... we need to move this hill in our heart (mustard seeds) I'm sure ... GOD is looking after us ! Let's show that we can do it ... He will do "the best"...

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Hey, Mo! You finally posted!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaleluia!! FINALLY, i was like "i think Mo will never post!!!!!!" i log in to our blog everyday to see what you girls have posted or not... you do it slowly, but you do it LOL

What I have to say is I'm extremely sensitive right now, i just feel like crying, i'm feeling so alone, you know those times you just want to be embraced by your mommy, yes... i've been like this for a while... and if i lose you guys here, What the Heck!!!!! i'm not going to do any of those things on my own!!! I can't even think of losing you! it's just the most depressing thought in the world..

this is a depressing comment cos i'm sad tonight...

i don't like to be negative, so let's look at the positive sides!

-God REALLY is in control of everything, even though life is made of learning lessons and the lessons God teaches us are painful at times, let's keep asking for what we want (to stay together) until the end, until He gives the last word, and whatever it is, we're supposed to be fine.......

and... come on

-this weekend was the best and the wildest ever!!!

i screamed all day long, n i still have no voice... next time i'll use a microphone.

keep the faith, Mo and Jessie, eyes on the prize LOL

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

(i'm writing a scream cos i have no voice to scream, tee hee)

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ellen

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Ai ai ai...

You girls of the PDC just made me cry again!!!

I know that it's not easy to wait for God's answers, and we want what we want, but only He knows what really is better for us. Everything will be fine guys!!!!!

I DO love you guys.... I don't have just good brazilian friends in the USA, I have sisters in the USA, and that will NOT change even if I need to move for another state.

The PDC is a gift in my life, we will always be the PDC girls, hahahahaha... Can you guys imagine us like.. really old ladies? Moni giving us only 5 more minutes to find our dentures and telling us not to be late for the "bingo", Ellen driving her BMW with her white hair in the wind, and Jessie shopping at Victoria's Secret with her granddaughter... Creepy uh?

Anyway, let's enjoy our time together and do not get stressed..

So, let's keep praying =)

See you guys this weekend, right?

love. Jessie

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Jessie, i made you cry? because you can't make me cry!!!!! LOLOL i can barely breath, this is just so funny kkkkkk!!!!!!!!! i liked this thing of the old ladies LOOOOOL!!! kkkkkkkkkkkk neee- (ellen)

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below,,, my favorite videos from last weekend in the kings island teehee
1st the girls making Charlie Chaplin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JhYiIAhCG0&feature=related
2nd the most dangerous ride, is it a spider or an octopus? LOLOL
last minutes, last ride...

obs 1: i was saying Fear of Flight all the time, but it's Flight of Fear LOOOL
obs 2: at the very end of this video Jessie says "We rock!!!!!" HAHAHAHA

obs 3: the Son of Beast is bigger than The Beast... cos usually when sons

grow up they get bigger than their moms!!! kkkkkkkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiHynBjKDKk&NR=1

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3rd Mystique making "This is my communication" LOOOOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMc_gG0bvMo&feature=related
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4th and finally, the video Ellen=Monize, i'm using Monize's shirt n making Monize's body LOL
and some ridiculous dance + the crab dance to finalize loooool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG7Uo1-1gbE&NR=1

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Things about the PDC

>>Important and not so important things about The PDC...

The PDC is never “on time” without Monize.
The PDC is driven crazy with Ellen.
The PDC cannot survive without Camera, K-love songs, coke and Internet.
The PDC is not dramatic without Jessica. very true
The PDC is not “kudos” without Ellen.
The PDC’s boyfriends don’t really know that they have girlfriends. LOOOOL
The PDC loves “se esticar com a Me Estique”.
The PDC thinks that everything is a little “Xenia”.
The PDC cannot go shopping without Jessie. you don't say!
The PDC is not nerd without Ellen. I'm not nerd!!!!!!
The PDC just goes on trips with Monize's advices. PDC's travel agent!!!
The PDC stays on Bell/ Bio/ Bill’s house on the weekends.
The PDC always wakes up with Jake saying: - AAaaahh.. MO! LOOOL
The PDC has dark hair, of course…

The PDC just accepts Brazilian models... like Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima and Gisele Bundchen, but they ought to dye their hair black ahuiaoiahiua :)
The PDC needs glasses. very true LOL
The PDC gets lost without Neuza. the gps LOL
The PDC donated Nikki back to the store 'cause he was too smelly.
The PDC loves to listen to Mathew and Mystique singing at the church. (who doesn’t?)
The PDC loves the songs: Give me Your eyes, Jesus Messiah, By your side and Whatever You're Doing!!
The PDC loves Susan Prewitt and Larry!!!
The PDC has breakfast only at Mejer or Mc Donald's on Sundays.
The PDC will break Lindo's face, arms and legs if Lindo Breaks Monize's heart. (maybe we can break a little more than that)
The PDC is a little emotional once a month. LOOOOL
The PDC makes a really good FEIJOADA!
The PDC really likes their kids.
The PDC wants to stay together.

The PDC speaks fluent... in Portuguese.
The PDC always stays in the fields. LOOOOOL
The PDC…

The PDC is the original, first and unique POWER DO CORN!

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i loved it, Jessie

ellen here LOL

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How would our lives be without Jessie?

Hello-O! It's almost May, people! We have to pray for a miracle... because Jessie's agency said it's hard to find host families around here... And she can't stay with the current host family because they are moving to the far away kingdom!!! Actually they are going to Mississipi so... there are no aupair conselors there, because no au pairs want to live there anyway... but her current family is wonderful, they are funny, disciplined, polite and the girls are so smart!!! also they eat healthy and that's so cool... We are sure Jessie will miss them so much, Grace, Emily, Eliza... but unfortunately, not everything that's good lasts forever... We cannot be separated! It would be so hard, and our PDC would be so unbalanced! We definitely need you here Jessie! Who will mess the pictures? Who will talk to the camera? Who will wake us up in the middle of the night crying: "I will not stop speaking at night!" or... "Where is the back door in this Mc Donald's?" or trying to kill ants on Ellen's face... omg... anyway... Who will say "THE BRIDGE! THE BRIDGE!" on the US-22? Who will get lost inside the stores and be found in the clothes section or next to the berries? The other aupairs don't know about that, Jessie, if they lose you in the stores, they don't know how to find you! And they don't know you never hear your cell phone ringing, so they would think you were kidnapped!! Well, seriously now, Jessie... We were also sad to leave the party early that day honey, you are so sweet and dear, and we missed you so much at the play at night, just like last Friday, but, more seriously... YOU MUST find a good family around here, Jessie... a very good family, a family that rocks... you will NOT go to New York or California! You ain't going nowhere, No! We all are staying in the corn fields!!

we love you ♥

Easter Thoughts

Easter thoughts

My mind is blowing with all I want to say but when I try to write this down it's just impossible…
Friendship has been really important for me, why? Well, this happens when you are far from your family and close friends. So, the ones that you spend more quality time with turn into a family to you.
I get sad, a little mad it's true…I guess I fell a little alone when they left the party before it ended, maybe because, in my mind, Easter is a family day, and they are like a family, my family here!!! Even if I was not really alone, I felt like I was. Peculiar? That’s what I thought ah!
Anyway, I really understood the reasons of my friend “in love”. If I was in her shoes, feeling what she probably was feeling, I would do the same…
Isn’t it funny how, in a dinning room, with almost twenty people you can feel more alone than when you are really alone in your room?
By the way, I learned a good lesson for the future today, one that I can use in a lot of areas in my life.
Friendship > Of course that friends are there for laughing and having fun with, for sharing good and bad things, for telling them your secrets and praying for one another, but, more then that, it's for understanding and loving one another, seeing things from their point of view, giving up something that you want for something they want…
Jesus teaches us about that, right? Love one another even when what they want is not what you want…
Ok,
EU AMO VOCES MENINAS DO PDC…
I`M SO THANKFUL THAT GOD LET YOU GUYS COME UP IN MY LIFE, BLESSED GIFTS!!
lindo eh o premio da semana!!! Hehe
Jessica Lupiao

Happy Happy Easter

We finally created our PDC blog!!! Thanks, Jessie, for finally making it!!!

It was a very special weekend!

Well, a lot of things happened to all of us... but this picture was taken on a fast trip we made to Japan... I'm kidding. We were in Jessie's house... So, we had great food (that's the most important), jk.. so... i want to say what i'm inspired to say... as i'm not really inspired to say anything... i'm talking to my mom right now so... let's go to our commercials...

why do you shop at meijer? MEIJER HAS LOWER PRICES! but why would i go to meijer if i always shop somewhere else? MEIJER HAS LOWER PRICES! but... MEIJER HAS LOWER PRICES! Go Meijer! Go Meijer! Go Meijer! Go, go go! Higher! GO MEIJER, GO MEIJER, GO GO GO! Lower! go meijer, go meijer, go meijer, go go go! Like a cat! Meaw meaw meaw, meaw meaw meaw, meaw meaw meaw, meaw meaw meaw! We are back from our comercials.. I will post my last text about aupairs so you girls can read, this is the "How it feels like for a Brazilian girl to be an aupair in the USA" number 2 but I changed the title... Susan Renner, my english teacher, told me i should send it to aupair in america agency... tell me, Mo and Jessie, what you think...

Being an Au Pair in America - Things I Will Miss

Eight months are gone now. Every day it gets harder and harder to think about leaving this country someday. Time seems to fly by. Seasons are wonderfully changing faster than ever.

When you become an au pair in the United States, you think you are coming here, above all, to learn English. Nothing compares to being in the country where people speak the language you have studied all your life in your home country. No matter how much you have studied, you’ll never learn as much of that new language as being immersed in real daily situations. It’s amazing how much English you learn in one day in the United States! It’s… wow! I used to have a personal dictionary where I wrote down every new word I learned, but I lost control over it! I don’t care about it anymore, because now I need to use those words daily, so everything I’ve learned comes more easily to my mind.

The second reason for coming to the United States as an au pair, besides the fact that it’s a program that guarantees you a familiar environment to live in, which makes your parents trust that you are safe and sound in another country, far from them, is simply to acquire life and cultural experiences. Like the French philosopher and writer Michel de Montaigne said, “Les voyages forment la jeunesse”, which might be something like, “Trips model youth.” I believe everyone needs to travel. Children, youth, adults and elders need to know the world. We need to know it is not as small as a book, a painting, a picture or a TV screen. No matter how much your teacher told you about its geography, physics and history. Nothing compares to seeing the world as it really is. We all should touch it, see it with our own eyes and feel it with our own hands.

What many au pairs don’t expect is that their host kids will soon occupy a special place in their hearts. More than that, they would carry a piece of it with themselves. An au pair divides her day in two parts: the moments when she is with the kids and the moments when she is not. When she is with them, it’s hard to think about her own interests, about her studies, about the plans for the weekend, and even to answer the phone when her friends call! It’s not because she is busy helping them with homework, or making them Macaroni and Cheese, sandwich and pretzels, no! But because she doesn’t want to deny one second of attention to them! And, believe me, they demand so much of it! Yes, American kids like attention, more than anyone can give. But when their parents are not home, you are the only one who can do it! You are their world! You will evaluate their Lego construction, determine if their new videogame is cool or not, determine if they are cool riding the skateboard and even discuss what they should do when they are bored. You are the one who can make them laugh with a joke, or make them cry, reminding them of the house rules.

I will miss the American smell of my host home. I will miss Joshua and Jacob. I can’t imagine myself living without them anymore. They are like my own kids now. I will miss their smiles above everything. It’s impossible to describe how it feels like to be around when they smile. I don’t want to miss any smile! Each one of them is indescribably special.

I will miss my American community and new friends, the services and the people from my church. Before coming, someone told me that North Americans are not big huggers as South Americans are. But, I’ll tell you, if those guys in my church are not big huggers, not even South Americans are! I feel so loved, and I value everyone in my American community. I have little 8-year old friends and 80-year old friends. It’s much easier to make friends with older people in the United States, because they love to talk. And they like to tell their whole life to young people, because they know we prefer to listen to their rich experiences rather than say something silly.

And I will miss it when everybody starts laughing at once, and my friends and I stare at one another, laughing because none of us could understand the joke. Yes, jokes are the hardest things to understand when you’re in a foreign country. So, a hint for you who have just arrived in a foreign country: Go with the flow! It’s better to laugh at the very present because, in the future, when you recall your memories, you will laugh anyway!

There are lots of other things I’ll miss, like hanging out with the other au pairs. It’s so much fun to share the cultural shock with them! It’s like a pain released a hundred times on the right moment they say “Oh! I feel the same!” I will miss going to the mall and looking for things on sale with them, going out for breakfast, lunch and dinner with them and complaining about the caloric food. There’s nothing like getting together with the au pairs, cooking Brazilian dishes and eating like it’s the best food in the world. By the way, one of these days, we had to go to the supermarket at 2 AM because we forgot one of the ingredients should be left to soak all night long!

We will miss the machine saying “Thank you for shopping at Mejer!” And saying “You’re welcome!” I bet only au pairs talk to machines. I will miss the stores’ employees saying “How are you today?” And “Have a nice day!” And people saying “You can’t take pictures inside the store.” By the way, if you need to do that, you can pretend you are texting someone with your cell phone and take the picture anyway!

I will miss having to turn aside from the dead raccoons, squirrels, moles, minks and opossums on the roads, and from the ducks in the parking lots. By the way, why do they love parking lots? And you can honk your horn, but they don’t go away! I think Obama should approve a law to build parking lots just for ducks! There are other laws related to animals in Ohio, for example, it is illegal to get a fish drunk, to fish for whales on Sunday, to walk a cow down Lake Road, to display colored chickens for sale, and if one loses their pet tiger, they must notify the authorities within one hour. I haven’t seen many pet tigers so far, but... do you think these laws are crazy? I didn’t mention the other states’! It is considered an offense in Alaska to push a live moose out of a moving airplane. Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs in Arizona. In California, it is illegal to rob a bird’s nest from a public cemetery, and to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time. In Connecticut, any dogs with tattoos must be reported to the police. And in Idaho, residents may not fish from a giraffe's back. Do you want to know more? Search for “crazy american laws” on the internet!

On a cloudy day, during the changing period between winter and spring, I was driving the first streets around my house, and I didn’t know if it was snowing or if the streets were covered with white flowers. Then I realized the streets were covered with white flowers. I was happy it was not snow, but at the same time I missed the snowy weather. I know, I know, Americans love summer, and snow is good only on Christmas day, but where I come from, the temperature gets to 107 °F, so I prefer winter.

When I arrived here, everyone was so red! Summer was almost over. I said to myself, “I thought most of Americans were white”. Then I could see North Americans are like that, they get red like a shrimp in summer because they love swimming pools and driving convertibles with the top down, and in winter they get white and fat because there is no sun and they eat a lot more than often. In Brazil we have sun all year long, so we are bored with swimming pools after childhood.

There’s nothing I won’t miss. I have learned more in eight months than during my whole life. Not only because I am in the United States of America, but because one day I wondered how it would be to know new things, to know somewhere else, to make friends around the world, to have another home, without the protection of my family, on my own. There’s nothing that someone can’t teach you when you want to learn something new, when you want to find out how life is, how the world is and how other people may be. In the beginning I missed my home country, my family and my friends like crazy. Now, missing is part of my life, and I realized life is made of missing things. As long as you gather good memories, life is made of missing things. And as my father once said, “Sometimes the house feels sad without you here, but it’s good to miss you, it’s good to feel this, it would be bad if we couldn’t feel anything.”

I’d like to end with the words of Amyr Klink, a Brazilian writer, who said, “A man needs to travel. By his own means, not by stories, images, books or TV. By his own, with his eyes and feet, to understand what he is. To some day plant his own trees and give them some value. To know the cold, to enjoy the heat. To feel the distance and lack of shelter, to be well under his own ceiling. A man needs to travel to places he doesn’t know to break this arrogance that makes us see the world as we imagine it, and not simply as it is or may be. That makes us teachers and doctors of what we have never seen, when we should just be learners, and simply go see it.”

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hope you guys enjoyed... more texts of mine coming soon...

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Premiere do Corn!!! -

HEY HEY HEY!!!!

Heita piga ess PDC viu =) estamos na fita, no dvd e na net...=P

Anyway, Jessie is here to say: voce eh mto Welcome no blog do pdc =D

A IDEIA> com a globalizacao, as expancoes agricolas e a crise financeira nos USA o Power do Corn teve que cair na rede...

serio, nos tentaremos manter esse blog sempre atualizado, voce provavelmente encontrara aqui os videos do pdc, fotos, textos e problemas de acentuação ( pq meu teclado esta em ingles)...

esperamos que vc venha a "enjoyair" o nosso conteudo.

Thanks, Jessica Lupiao

ps: Moni e Banana, lembrem-se de postar uma foto ou video...ok?!