Portugal

We had this beautiful view from the balcony of our rental house near Sintra, Portugal.

We had this view from our door.

We used airbnb.com to find this place and it worked great! It was much better than a hotel room (or two.)

We had an amazing Valentine´s Day Dinner in this fishing town.

The boys got to sleep in the attic!

Quinta da Regaleira is an incredible estate.

We enjoyed having the freedom to climb around.

Our artist appreciates beauty.

Do you ever feel small?

Since we are needing to redo the ceiling in our dining room and the doorways in this room looked nearly exactly like ours, Anthony and I decided we would copy this style of illuminated family pictures in our dining room.

There were many unique places to explore.

I lost track at some point, but the boys climbed up and down 6 or 7 towers.

WOW!

The coolest bridge

was only topped by stepping stones leading to extensive caves to explore.

This guy decided to do the stepping stones after all, when he heard the excitement of his brothers about exploring the caves.

We managed to keep our feet dry.

Is this a well or a subterranean tower?

Maybe both.

another tower

and another, overlooking the old tennis court.

Sadly, when we returned to our rental car we discovered that robbers had broken the window and stolen all of our backpacks from the trunk. It was scary and sad for all of us, but the boys even waited patiently until 4 pm at the police station when they had not had anything to eat since 9 am. The police were able to recover the backpacks, books (including library books and homework), stuffed animals, and school uniforms. However, the thieves kept Anthony´s computer, the iPad, Micah´s Kindle, and all of the little electronics (chargers and stuff) Anthony keeps with him to be able to work while the rest of us play.

There was a lot of hassle with the glass-filled, cold, unprotected rental car, but we really tried to choose to have fun anyhow. In the midst of feeling violated, vulnerable and sad, we had a lot of good conversations about what actually protects us -- a window is not what protects us. We choose to take up the shield of faith. (Ephesians 6:16.)  We talked about the difference between the stuff that people can take from us and that which cannot be taken. (Matthew 6:19-34) I want treasure in heaven where thieves do not break in and steal. I want my heart to be attached to that treasure rather than the earthly kind. I do not want to be anxious about the large amount of time that was stolen from Anthony. I want to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

We are hoping that we can remember Portugal fondly -- there were many kind people who helped us in a beautiful place.

However, I think we saw a glimpse of how sin ruins good things, like the trash on the beach. God´s redemption (undoing the ruin) through Jesus is great.