Madelyn's Nursery

When you prepare for a life overseas you know there are a lot of things you will be giving up and decorating a nursery was definitely something I anticipated not being able to do. But, our lavishly-loving Lord knows my heart and even though it is such a small thing in light of eternity, He provided a way for us to make a sweet and simple little nursery for our precious Madelyn. 

I am so excited to share this lil blessing that we've been putting together these past few months. I love to do crafts and decorate, especially in girly pink, so this has been so fun! We found all the different bedding and blankets throughout town. It was very hard to find things in baby pink and light purple because India likes bright colors and lots of design but God provided literally one crib bedding option, one comforter option, one rug option etc.. at various stores that all worked together in the end. Then I just made all the decorations to coordinate. The flag bunting is actually just laminated paper but it turned out great. The map was was already in our office and was repainted to match the new room. The canvases were made in our local market for just a few dollars! Then I searched on pinterest and copied a design I liked.. I love the way they turned out. 

I tried to take 360 photos .. it's always difficult to take pictures of rooms. This is from the door way. 

I made a little paper modge-podge art for the window to block out most of the sunlight. I can't cover it with curtains from the rod because we have to use the AC above it. I'm hoping Madelyn is not as sensitive to light as Ezra.. if she is then we will decide on a plan B. My mom-in-law brought the large wall decal from the states when she came in December. She also brought a video monitor that we have set up with a voltage converter and is working well. We decided a pack-and-play would work best for the crib since we do a lot of traveling. It came with a clip on diaper changer that we put on the end of the bed to work as our make shift diaper changing station. 

And of course my favorite part of the nursery is the closet of dresses. We have been able to find almost everything we need around town or online and have a package on its way from my extremely sweet friends filled with all the rest that we needed/wanted and could only find in America. Have I mentioned we are super blessed?!

As we were setting up Madelyn's room Ezra really loved her wall decal so we felt like he needed one too. We found a golfing one online and set it up with a chalkboard for him to play with. He is one very happy camper. 

Nursery decorating and crafting is such a small thing in life but it has made our new house feel like home and given an avenue for me to prepare and celebrate our coming blessing in this season when our friends and family are too far to celebrate with us. I just feel so thankful that God hears our silly and small desires and delights in providing in ways we didn't even imagine. He just keeps loving us so well.. I mean, he already gave his Son and salvation and yet he gives these little daily things too.. 

He truly blesses us far above and beyond what we deserve! 

Ezra's First Day of Preschool

Today was a big day in the Cavo house! 

Today was Ezra's first day of preschool! 

We have been praying for a long time about whether to send Ezra to national school, when and where... For this season we have a lot of peace that God has led us to a preschool for Ezra to attend where he will grow verbally (in English), learn Hindi, make friends, have fun and gain a deeper appreciation for the culture we live in. I'm sure every momma cries on her babies first day of school and I was definitely no different. (Pregnancy hormones were not helping!) But the nice thing is that I actually went with Ezra and will sit with him in class this whole first week as he gets to know his teacher, classroom and new friends. Then next week he will hopefully be ready to start on his own. 

We had been talking to him about "going to school" for about a month now and didn't really know how much he was understanding but I think he absorbed a lot because he was very ready to leave. He knew he needed his bag and was so proud to show it off to the camera. 

We found a new preschool in our neighborhood that we felt comfortable with. The commute is only 10 minutes or so. It's a Montessori school which is a very interactive based learning program that seemed right up Ezra's alley. 

Inside there are classrooms set up with all the Montessori gadgets and a front room full of toys. 

There is a playground outside and a larger one upstairs that they enjoy each day.

Ezra really liked the little puzzle activities that they did. He's such a focused lil guy. 

Today was also a field trip day so we went to the vegetable market down the street and learned the veggie/fruit names. The teachers teach in English but most of the kids only speak Hindi still so they are constantly speaking in both languages, something Ezra is quite used to. We told them we really want them to talk to Ezra in Hindi and teach him Hindi because we can teach him English. This is obviously the opposite of all the other parents request so they got a hoot out of it and are happy to share their culture and language with him. 

Some of that culture includes food.. every day Ezra will eat a homemade Indian lunch/snack at the school with his friends. This will be great for helping him experience all the different Indian cuisines. He'll definitely have a broader palate than me. 

Preschool will be such a great thing for him.. great and tiring! 

He didn't even make the 10 minute ride home without falling asleep.

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But when we got home Daddy was waiting to take him to the driving range and Ezra instantly found plenty of energy for that. 

Ezra had a really great first day. He played a lot, made new friends, experienced a lot of new things and liked that Momma was near by the whole day (And Momma did too!). I tried to stay in the back most of the time and step in only when the newness started to freak him out. I'm really praying that he will quickly grow to like his play group and not feel sad when we aren't there next week. It's definitely one more thing we are trusting the Lord for and walking out in faith that he guides us clearly and has great things ahead. 

Holi Fun!

Today was a major festival in India called Holi. It's definitely our favorite festival because it's basically one big nation wide water balloon and colored powder fight. Everyone plays from babies to elderly. It's so much fun! 

We started our festivities off with Holi-inspired sprinkle pancakes for breakfast. 

Luke and Ezra made hundreds of water balloons the night before. Ezra's friend Tia (also 2 years old) lives downstairs and was on the balcony.. so Ezra ran and got some balloons and dropped them by her.. haha! 

We changed into "Holi-playing clothes" and headed over to our friend's home. He came and picked us up in his car because 3 foreigners walking the streets would definitely get pegged a hundred times before we arrived. 

When we arrived, our friend's mom was already busy making all of our favorite Indian treats. She's the best cook!  

It's a tradition to greet each other with color. Ezra even put color on everyone's cheeks too. They loved it! 

My friend Charu and I were hard at work making more water balloons. 

We went up to the roof and shot balloons to all the other roofs using the balloon launcher Luke ordered from the states. 

Ezra did GREAT this year! 

He threw balloons, tried to work the launcher, splashed in the water and had so much fun! 

No one is exempt from playing Holi.. not even the street cows and dogs. 

After a few hours Ezra was wiped out.. he fell asleep in my arms so we headed back to the house to rest and clean up. 

Post showers and naps we sat on the balcony eating popsicles, enjoying the beautiful weather and watching the neighborhood kids run around throwing balloons at each other. It was definitely another Holi full of fun times and great memories! 

My Thoughts on Our First Year in India

We’ve lived in India for a year - our first year..  whew! It was full of new experiences that brought lots of joy and lots of challenges to my comfort zone. I have definitely grown as a person and a follower of Jesus this year. My character has deepened as I deny myself daily, and my dependence on God has deepened as I come to him each morning empty and asking for everything needed for that day. I have been buffeted by Satan more strongly than ever. I have seen more idolatry than I ever wanted to. I have encouraged and discipled women in a second language and all this has been by the hand of God because he has been so faithful each day to walk with us and use us.

I was told life here would be harder- that I would be a bit lonelier, cooking would be harder, language learning would be a challenge, leaving Ezra each day for class would be heart-wrenching, and everything outside would be dirty and polluted. And all those were very true.

But other parts of life have been so much richer. My marriage is stronger because we are fighting with all of Christ’s strength in us to love each other really well, to be an entire support system for one another and to display Christ to a city of people who literally have no idea of his love for them. Our family time is better because we spend hours pouring into this community and we do it together. Ezra is a trooper, and we hope Madelyn will be too. We are the Cavo Family team, all of us. And my walk with God is so much better because I truly have to depend on him. Circumstances have unexpected bumps all the time, friends I used to lean on are a world a way, roles and places that made me feel comfortable are unfound in this society. God has been my fortress, my counselor, my friend, my comfort, my strength and he has filled me with his Spirit to be more bold, more hard-working, more compassionate, more meek, more loving and so many other beautiful things that I’m so very thankful for.

Our first year has been wonderful and challenging but I think our second will be even more. In our second year we will have our first baby in a foreign country without the family, friends and super trustworthy medical care in America. That’s been a hard one for me to swallow recently. I’ve never had to depend on God to the extent that I do now – to trust that he knows all that is ahead and has planned good things for us. I have to walk by faith that dire complications won’t come, and if they do that he will provide what we need in the midst of it. I’ll be honest, my faith is being tested, and its growing deeper.

In our second year we also hope to reach a strong level of language and really begin diving into the job we came here to do. There are so many questions, insecurities and hopes that fall into that area but I have faith that He has great plans ahead and even though we are weak vessels, he plans to fill us and move mountains.

So, I would describe our first year as.. wonderful. Not because it was always easy, but God used every great thing and every difficult thing to answer our prayers.. that he would make us into whatever he desired, and use us however he sees fit. I’m thankful for the million ways he provided for us this year and I’m more than excited to see what comes next. I pray this is the first of many years of living in this loud, intrusive, dirty city, waking up each day ready to be filled with joy, love and truth.. and share it boldly.

Sri Lanka Vacation

We genuinely enjoy life here in India but with no central heating, the winter has been freezing so we were quite excited for our visa run/ vacation to Sri Lanka where it is sunny and warm all year round. 

When I was packing Ezra wanted to go ahead and wear his swim trunks.. haha. The boys got this really nice putting green for Christmas so they've been playing every day and getting really good. 

To make good things even better, Luke's mom flew to India after Christmas and stayed with us for 3 weeks. What a wonderful way to end one year and ring in the new! 

Ezra was such a trooper on the flights. It's crazy how much easier a 2 year old is to fly with rather than a 1 year old. 

We stayed at the Royal Beach Hotel and it was wonderful!! 

It had a really neat open concept right on the beach so we could enjoy the view of the ocean with each meal and when swimming. 

It was so clean, quiet and beautiful! 

We spent the whole day every day in the pool and laying out in the sun. It was so fun! 

 We took my 20 week photo with lil Madelyn while there too :) 

Ezra LOVED the pool!! We bought this duck float, some beach toys and brought a swimming penguin with us so we had loads of fun playing in the water. There is a pool near our house that opens April 1st. I'm really looking forward to playing there this summer because Ezra does great! 

We've always slept in a different room than Ezra but this vacation we all snuggled in one bed. It was so sweet.. Ezra woke up a very happy camper! 

And when we came back home he transitioned right back to his room like a champ.. praise the Lord! 

Every morning we had coffee served very fancy like this. It was awesome! We drank it with breakfast while talking and enjoying the peaceful ocean view and breeze. 

Luke and I took a few excursions out fishing and enjoying the water. I grew up on a lake and it was so refreshing to my soul to be in a boat again, hearing the water, feeling the breeze... 

We even came back with fish a couple times. We gave it to a restaurant and ate it for dinner. That was the first time I've ever eaten fish we caught so that was fun. This queen fish was huge and the chef cooked it SO GOOD! 

We went to a Sea Turtle reserve where they hatch found turtle eggs and return them to the sea. We got to see lots of turtles and hold a few as well. Ezra really, really loved holding them. It was such a sweet and memorable time. 

The excursions and swimming wore Ezra and I out most days so we took long naps on the beach. We usually go to language class for four hours a day so I really cherished all the sweet uninterrupted time we were having with Ezra. 

After 10 long days of soaking in the sun, playing and relaxing it was time to come home. We were definitely refreshed by our vacation. It was the first time I've ever "needed a vacation." I didn't even realize I needed one until I saw how relaxed I became after a few days and how ready I felt to take on the next year. 

We loved Sri Lanka so much that we already have plans to go back next year. It was definitely my favorite vacation I've ever had, full of memories I will cherish forever! 

First Holiday Season in India

I've been told that the hardest part of living overseas is going through the holiday seasons without the festivities, family and friends that you are used to, especially your first year.

But I'm praising God that I can honestly say we really enjoyed our Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. It was different, of course, but still wonderful in its own way. 

I decorated a lot this year! 

There were no decorations in the community so I made up for it in the house.. :) 

My sweet mom-in-law sent us everything we needed for an authentic American Thanksgiving dinner and we were able to order a turkey from our meat man. Our dinner turned out just like we're used to! It was so delicious! 

Our friends came over on Thanksgiving day so we made lots of food, watched movies, played games and ate a ton! 

We had so much food! After lunch all the kids crashed on the couch watching The Polar Express and the adults got to sneak in some fun times playing games. 

This was actually the week before Thanksgiving.. a little pre holiday fun- making sugar cookies in Thanksgiving shapes. Then eating them all.. they were really good. 

I've always liked the idea behind the Jesse Tree ornaments so this year I made salt dough ornaments and painted them for our tree. As the kids get older we will go more in-depth each morning of December to really stay focused on the joy and gift that Jesus is to us. 

I decorated a ton for Christmas too. Our kitchen was probably my favorite. 

I don't have a picture of it but I also made a faux mantle in the living room area to put decorations on and hang our stockings from. Since this is our first Christmas here I spent a lot of time making all of our decorations, stockings, tree skirt etc because we didn't use our luggage space flying over here for holiday stuff. Our home feeling Christmas-y was a concern of mine and I'm really thankful to say that it still had that real Christmas feeling. 

On Christmas Eve we made a big family dinner and snuggled in for a Christmas movie.. we started with The Nativity, but that didn't keep Ezra's attention. haha We want that to be a family tradition but we may have to wait until after the kids go to bed for a few more years. haha 

Christmas morning we opened presents and skyped with family then that afternoon we went to our friends house and had Christmas dinner and festivities with them. It was such a sweet time of fun and food. 

Our favorite Christmas gift this year was definitely learning that we would be having a girl! We got to surprise family when skyping with them and it made for a very special moment - especially since she will be named after Luke's mom. 

A little Madelyn Cavo is on her way!