First Trip to the Taj Mahal

Earlier this month we had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal and Red Fort in Agra with several of our close friends. It was such a fun day.. long.. but wonderful! 

I'm going to be honest, in person the Taj is a little less than impressive (to me) but it sure does make a beautiful photo backdrop. 

In this pregnancy I'm taking baby bump photos every 5 weeks in front of a different historical place of India. I had just turned 16 weeks when we went to the Agra so I figured that was close enough to count. The baby is growing perfectly and my second trimester has been great! I was exhausted and sick over and over in my first trimester so feeling good is such a blessing!       

                                                        

We were able to take lots of fun photos while we were there. 

And we took this opportunity to capture photos with some of our closest friends, which includes our language helpers and the women who takes care of Ezra while we are in class. 

We set out at 6am on a big bus with 11 of our friends-saw the Taj, ate KFC, then visited Red Fort.. did a little souvenir shopping and got back to Delhi just in time for bed. 

Very tiring but so much fun!! 

Pumpkins, Pizza and Parks

It's really starting to feel like fall in Delhi and I'm thrilled. It has us all in the holiday spirit so this week we took on the challenge to find and carve pumpkins. 

We've caught glimpses of a large fruit/vegetable market on the main street but never had a reason to go until now. From the street you see two large stands of fruit but behind that was a dozen more stands of vegetables. It was amazing. 

Each man has a display of his vegetables. You just tell him how much you want of which vegetable and they gather it for you. They're sold by the kilo and usually weighed out with scales and weighs but this was the first veg guy I've ever seen with an electronic weight machine. Fancy.. :) 

(They cover vegetables with wet brown clothes to keep them fresh.) 

And this ladies and gentlemen is a totally normal way to ride home from the market - a bicycle rickshaw. Most of the times I ride home from grocery shopping on one of these (which is only 7 blocks or less). You usually give 10-20 rupees which is about 20-30 cents. In the summer I give more because it's really hot, which makes his job harder so I feel like he should earn more. 

Once we got home we made some hot tea, put on Christmas music, and started carving our pumpkin. I'm usually the main carver because anything crafty is more my thing. 

It was actually really hard to get that top lid off so I needed Luke's assistance. 

Pumpkins here aren't orange.. they are green and khaki. But they taste and smell the same. 

Ezra wasn't too interested in the carving so he was happier playing with legos. 

This is his current "smile" when he knows his photo is being taken.. haha. 

After pumpkin carving we ordered in some dominos pizza. Pizza here always comes with italian seasoning packets and I have really grown to LOVE lots of italian seasoning on my pizza. 

A family photo with the finished carved pumpkin. 

We ended the night at the park. We have an awesome sports complex down the street that we just got a membership to this month and now go to a lot in the evening. They have a nice small children's playground and just about every (Indian) sports court you can think of. Luke has a friend he meets with to play tennis and his wife (standing beside the slide in the picture below) comes and visits with Ezra and I. She's a teacher, speaks great English, and is expecting their first child in January so I've really enjoyed getting to know her. 

After sitting on our table a couple of days I couldn't get over how creepy the pumpkin looked. We made a happy face but the green color was weird. So I painted it orange.. well I intended to just paint it orange... then I got a bit carried away and added gold glitter polka dots and mint accents.. haha. 

We're coming into our first holidays away from home. Part of me is excited to start new family traditions but most of me is worried that it will be so different that I won't enjoy them. I've heard a lot of expats say the hardest time of the year is the holidays but I'm really praying God will help us to be open-minded, creative, fully depending on him for joy so that these next few months that I usually love so much can still be my favorite time of the year. I may just be naive to the woes of culture shock and away-from-home-holidays but I know my God is mighty and capable and he loves me a lot. So maybe he will help us make it a time we still look forward to. I have faith. You have to on this kind of adventure. 

From the Village to the Golf Course

This past week I had the opportunity to go with some friends to live in the village a few days and experience what life was like there. 

How was it..? Different, dirty and boring. haha 

First we took a train from Delhi to Agra so we could go to the village of a friend's family and stay with them. 

The village had its dirty areas and clean areas.. this was a nicer part :) 

But my favorite part was the farm fields. When we first arrived I couldn't help but cry a little because it looked just like "home" .. Texas that is. 

This is the room we stayed in on cots. It was a nice house they were building just outside the main village area. There was no AC of course and the electricity was off most of the time. So at night we slept in the heat, with no fan, and were eaten by mosquitos.. definitely the most miserable nights of my life. 

For breakfast the ladies made pakora.. aka bread and potatoes deep fried. 

I was really surprised at the lack of over-all nutrition. 

We tried to help but they refused because we were they're guests.. or maybe they thought we wouldn't do it right? haha (which is probably right..) 

My first day back Luke wanted to check out a golf course he heard about that we thought would allow Ezra to play with us. 

(the fancy Delhi golf course doesn't allow toddlers to play..? haha) 

We had quite a trip trying to find it. We don't have a car so we took an auto rickshaw and an electric rickshaw (similar to golf carts kind of?). We got lost.. made some friends.. I don't think they have seen foreigners before. They were taking pictures of us.. so we took one of them :) haha

Did I mention we got lost..? This is not a golf course. Turns out the course is built right by a slum.. only in India. 

The nice security guard who let us in the restricted area where they were building something so we could finally get to the course entrance. 

And we arrived! 

We played for $4 each. 

It was definitely a hole in the wall course which is why they let us bring Ezra. 

There were stray dogs and monkeys.. yes monkeys. So I was a helicopter mom the whole time :) 

Ezra had so much fun! 

I've seen him play lots of time but it still cracks me up.. what 1.5 year old has this kind of form?? haha 

It's a really fun family activity so I'm thankful. 

It was a crazy week of highs and lows. 

I'm glad to see how different people live but I'm VERY thankful to be back home with my family.. and AC.. and American food.. but mostly my family. :) 

Another Baby Cavo Coming in May! :)

Ezra has accomplished quite a bit in his 1.5 years of life. But I think he's probably most excited about his more recent achievement.. becoming a big brother. 

Well he's not excited yet but give it 7 more months and he'll be really excited.. or really confused.. probably both. haha 

But Luke and I are excited. Well Luke's excited. I'm excited.. then a little nervous.. then excited again.. then a little nauseous.. then excited again.. it's a cycle because with pregnancy come lots of emotions and some morning sickness. whew. 

I am so thankful that we had a baby in the States first though because that first time around there are so many questions, concerns, fears, confusions, and oh the hours of research. But this time I've been really relaxed and at ease. There are elements to having a baby in a foreign country that are.. special. Especially since I had a c-section with Ezra and hope to do a VBAC but God .. oh our really good God.. he is taking care of me. I live about an hour and a half from the really nice hospital that everyone has their babies at and was nervous about traveling that distance in Delhi traffic for all the appointments and the delivery. And.. VBACs are not a common thing here because it's thought to be better to do "by surgery" every time after a c-section. But!, God has provided. He has provided a really good hospital only 20 minutes away from our house and at this hospital is a doctor who specializes in "high risk" pregnancies and is very positive about VBACs. We met her on Friday and she was very nice! Which is great because bed side manners are sometimes not the best here? .. but she seems great and I'm REALLY thankful! 

This is the hospital that we are going to deliver in :) 

We also got to go and have our first ultrasound today. There is a nice ultrasound center on our street, walking distance from our house and the ultrasound tech was so kind, and knowledgeable. She showed us every millimeter of the baby (which is only like a bean right now) and the uterus in 4D. Turns out she's also the owner of the whole facility. The baby is still so tiny but the way she described our growing one in such detail made it by far the most emotionally attaching ultrasound I've ever had. It was wonderful! And in India you do ultrasounds every month so I'm really looking forward to that part of the process. 

If you look on the screen you can see our bean of a baby. 

We could see the tiny heart of our baby pumping .. it was incredible. 

For the first trimester I feel great! A little nausea comes every day but not bad. More tired than usual definitely.. but that's probably because I'm drinking less caffeine as well as making a person. And more emotional which doesn't come out in mood swings or anything but I still notice it. I'm a pretty stable person so I just notice more feelings now.. such as joy flowing over me then a couple hours later I'll be homesick, then a breeze will come by and feel like fall and I'm happy again. haha. I'm not a fan of the emotions part. I prefer to just be steady and full of joy and gratitude. It's what I pray for and aim for but these pregnancies hormones can come on strong.. ha. 

So life is, as always, full steam ahead into the slightly unknown but guided by a God who knows everything and works it out to our good. AKA.. life is good. :) 

Adventures in Nepal!

We just returned from our first retreat to Nepal and it was such a great trip! 

We met up with lots of other expats and had a week of awesome food, fellowship, encouragement and adventures. 

Can I start by saying there is SUCH a difference between a 1 year old on a plane and a 1 1/2 year old on a plane! 1 1/2 year olds are the bomb! 

I say that to Luke about every day because Ezra is just awesome now a days! 

He can play, eat, sleep, understand and communicate so much easier and that makes everything easier. We started our trip out at the airport where we found a perfect Ezra sized playground. We actually sat right beside this playground a few years ago on some travels and didn't notice it.. this time I was praising Jesus. It's funny how kids will change your priorities. haha This airport had a playground and a starbucks so the whole Cavo family was very content! 

Ezra loved playing on the playground. Then once we were on the plane, he fell asleep on take off and slept the whole 2 hour flight!!... Did I mention that 1 1/2 year olds are the bomb!? And the grace of God!!  

Once we arrived to Nepal we went to an amazing resort. We had low expectations to start with and this place blew us away. They had beef.. real beef.. like roast, steak, hamburgers and BACON.. almost every day. We haven't had beef in 6 months.. we ate a lot! and it was good. haha

They also had giant tubs in the bathrooms. There isn't beef or bath tubs where we live.. so we also enjoyed this almost every day. haha 

We had fun with good friends and met a lot of new people too. The fellowship was so great!! 

We even hung out with friends that we knew from Fort Worth. There are few things that make a heart happier than friends from home. 

Ezra loved having play time with Jud the Stud all day. 

They were inseparable and SO CUTE! 

Here they were sitting on the stairs watching the big kids run around. 

There was a driving range and golf course at the resort too. Basically it was the perfect place for our family.. haha. 

People were amazed that this 1 year old plays golf.. (I still can't get over it either so I understand). Ezra carried his club around everyday, all day.. haha. So Luke took him to driving range a couple of times. 

We got on the course with some friends a couple of times too. 

In the middle there is a river with about a 100 monkeys and deer around it. I couldn't get a good picture because of the sun but they were laying around together in the shade. It was so cute.. and a little scary because monkeys here can be mean. 

After all that fun Ezra was wiped out.. He fell asleep on the floor by himself for the first time ever.. and slept for 3 hours! haha 

Sweet sleepy guy. 

We also did some touring. We went to the a big market full of good quality north face knock offs etc. Luke found some nice shirts and we got a wood carved chess set... all for a steal! Luke is a HARD bargainer. He does the walk away like a pro... haha. 

The mall there had an amazing play area. This is only a quarter of it.. the place was huge! It had slides, tunnels, swings, ball pits, bounce house, trampoline, and much more. 

Ezra's a man of few words but his motor skills are off the charts! 

Here he is climbing up a wall. 

We met up with some great new friends to climb a mountain together. 

It was a beautiful view and fun fellowship!

Along the way we saw some cows so I fed them some lunch leftovers. 

I like cows a lot so this was a highlight for me.. haha  

When we got back to the bottom there were some goat shepherd ladies (don't know what their called?) and a herd of goats. They had lots of baby goats and were so cute! 

I caught one so Ezra could pet it. He loves animals and was very gently stroking it. 

He loved the goats and the goat ladies were so nice too. 

When I called Ezra back to the car he happily walked away with the goat lady for more petting... haha 

After all our adventures were over we got back on a plane.. once we were boarded we had an hour delay. But God was so so gracious and had Ezra sleep the entire delay and the flight.. after 3 hours I was waking him up to leave the plane. Our God is amazing!  

We had so much fun! It was an immensely blessed time! And now we are glad to be back home, settling in and ready to attack our Hindi learning even stronger. 

Actually we have a test to see how we are doing soon. I'm trying not to be nervous because there's really no reason. But those kinds of things always seem to bring some anxiety with them. If could pray for our Hindi learning to be just plain awesome these next 6 months we would really appreciate it. It's only by God that we learn well and he works mightily through prayer. :)

Beating The Heat With Fun

We are praising the Lord these days because the hot season (100' to 120') is almost over and we have gotten through it joyfully! We have finished our first 6 months here and feel extremely blessed. 

Our church doesn't have a Sunday School so Ezra and I enjoy the worship on Sundays and then listen to the sermon from outside. There is a great little play ground right outside the windows so we swing, slide and I can still hear the sermon. Though.. it is in Hindi.. so I don't understand most of it. haha But, afterward we head back in to fellowship and drink lemonade. We are very thankful for our church. 

We also have had the opportunity to start fellowshipping with lots of families that speak very little English. We have really loved having them over. I ordered the Indian food but I did make chai for everyone. You always drink chai tea and eat cookies with any visit. It's a pretty fun tradition. 

We go to their houses a lot too which has been great for getting to see more Indian culture. They are so sweet and LOVE Ezra. 

Ezra loves India! 

Ezra loves Indian food. haha 

He now can put his hands together to greet people when we say "Namaste" ... similar to hello here. The people are so happy when he does it.. it's really sweet. 

There are a few things we miss from America but our families and friends have been so so sweet to send us those special things that we love and can't get here.  

A new love in the Cavo household is golf.. well Luke has loved golf for years but Ezra is a new fan. Before Ezra could walk he was playing putt-putt and now one of his favorite activities is to watch golf highlights with Daddy. He can't watch a whole Disney movie but he zones in on golf. haha 

It's hilarious. 

Another new treat in the Cavo household is our fancy expresso maker (Luke's father's day gift). We found a guy who can sell us coffee beans (they aren't in the stores) and Starbucks agreed to grind it for us (we're regulars there.. we're friends now) so now we can make Caramel Macchiatos at home! We're still perfecting our skills but it's been fun.. and tasty! 

In these hot summer days, we haven't been able to go to the park as much so Ezra's new favorite game is playing with buckets of water... especially when we splash and throw water on each other. He just giggles and giggles. It's so sweet! 

But my sweet neighbor friend downstairs came up with her 2 year old daughter and Ezra threw water on her.. whoops.. how do you explain to a 1.5 year old that you aren't playing that game anymore..? hehe But Tia loved it and my friend didn't mind. 

Ezra is growing up so much! He finally has hair, he's getting so tall and is SO MUCH fun to play with! We just keep falling more and more in love with this sweet guy. 

We leave this week for our first visa run and will spend a week in Nepal with some friends. We'll be there for the 4th of July so I made Ezra a shirt to celebrate. I actually saw this idea last year and loved it. So I was excited to finally get to trace and paint Ezra's sweet little hand. 

We probably won't have a BBQ or fireworks but I'm sure we'll have fun and be able to thank God for letting us be from such a wonderful country. 

Sometimes you have to leave America to realize how great it is. I'm glad to have a deep appreciation for it now. There are definitely so many people and things that we miss from home but I can't express enough how much God has blessed us here. There hasn't been a night I've gone to bed wishing I was back in America and that is such a huge testimony to how much joy, peace and contentment God can place in one's heart no matter the circumstances. We serve such an incredible God!