I have had the pleasure of visiting my brother Michael and his beautiful wife Patience nearly every year for the past few years. This family picture was taken about the time I was there this year during Spring Break from school.

My first niece, Amanda, is growing like a weed. This is a picture of her taken in summer 1999. She is now 3 years old. She is an extremely charming child. She started preschool this past fall and has made a number of friends in her class. Michael and Patience found a really good school and they are very happy with it. Patience also likes it because it gives her an excuse to get out every day with the girls as they walk to school.

Michael and Patience's goal is to raise a bilingual child. They speak almost solely Portuguese around her. They want her to be able to speak to both sets of grandparents with equal ease. When Amanda started talking, it was more English than Portugese, because most of the books Michael and Patience read to her were in English. Now that she is a little older, I hear more Portugese, but Patience says now that she is going to preschool, she is speaking more English, even to Patience, and even to the point of occasionally asking her mother how to say a Portuguese wordin English. She'll have them both with native quality by the time she gets to Kindergarten or First Grade. She was born September 20, 1997 and lives with her parents in New York City. If you would like to see a couple more pictures of her, her proud parents would love to have you do so.

Lisa Barros Farrar was born on April 14, 2000, in New York City. When I saw her at Easter time, she was just starting to walk. She is really starting to get into things, so I think Michael and Patience are going to have to rearrange their apartment (again). Patience says the most recent thing she has discovered is that the toilet has WATER in it. How exciting!! The good-looking boy in this picture is my son David.