January Memories

The last couple of years I have been really bad at consistently updating our blog but as we went back to the States this past Christmas I heard over and over from others how they loved keeping up with us through this blog so I am determined to do better at month by month updates of our family fun and memories we're making. 

To start with this is the front of our house and I've been intending to paint the pots one uniform color since we moved in back in June and I finally got around to it. It looks beautiful and gives the front a very put together look. 

I brought back a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workbook full of ideas and problem solving dialogue for Ezra because he is very interested in STEM. We do one project every weekend and he LOVES IT! This is him making a paper jet that would fly 10 feet. 

The kids are so cute in their winter uniforms. I still get so giddy at how sweet they are in matching uniforms. 

I try to have a "special movie night" once a week. We used to bake something that correlated to a movie we watched that night but we're eating very healthy as a family now a days so now I'm finding crafts we can do that go with the movie of the night instead. I found this cute penguin idea off of Pinterest to go with Happy Feet. The kids really enjoy crafts so they love our new "special movie night" just as much as cookies. 

Our neighbors and dear friends have enrolled their daughter in Madelyn's class which means we get to see each other after school each day and even play in the park for a bit. 

This is the kids on a hunt for rocks which they then painted. I try to do something "fun" with them everyday. 

We love our precious friends! They go to our church and live down the street from us! So thankful to be back in town together. 

I took this adorable picture of Madelyn and her friends in sunday school class. I help/teach each week and she was totally not paying attention. But, she was SO CUTE with her friends that I couldn't complain. 

Our church is a small bilingual (Hindi/English )congregation of about 80 people that meets in a school. During the sermon, we have a children's church upstairs in a classroom. It's been a joy to serve in the children's church and the kids really love it. Their best friends are almost all from our church so Sundays are very fun! 

We really enjoy going to the driving range! 

The weather has been really cold so when a pretty day comes we take advantage. This day we went to the nature trail in town and let the kids ride their bikes while Luke and I chatted and followed. It was really sweet. 

We brought back some pretty cool new dress up clothes. 

Whenever possible the kids and I love traveling with Luke. They are so great at playing with the other kids (many of which they know well by now) and happily enjoying all the Indian snacks and food we have before and after meetings. 

I love how big Madelyn looks in this picture, hanging out with the girls on a scooter. 

This picture is adorable. Aaron is one of Ezra's best friends. 

Aniya is one of Madelyn's besties, and their mom is one of my best friends. The guys are friends too but we usually get together for playdates while they are at work. 

One day after Amina and I came back from a meeting, we picked up our kids who happen to all go to school in the same neighborhood and went to KFC for lunch. They were surprised and so delighted! 

We heard about this new playground in town. The kids definitely approved! 

We went into Delhi to see our teammates because they just had a baby. Outside the mall was this sign which "Melissa" written on it.. so I had to take a pic. 

In the fancy Delhi grocery store there were miniature carts for the kids. It was awesome! 

We took the train to and from Delhi. The kids LOVED it! 

They especially loved the chai and cookies time. 

Behind our house we love to play tennis, soccer or ride bikes. I thought this community center would be a bother because of parties in the evening but this big empty space right outside our backyard has been such an incredible blessing for our kids. 

In the community center there is a sign of numbers to call with questions. Madelyn is learning her alphabets so well now a days and is excited to read them wherever she is even in the middle of playing. 

January was a great month of getting over jet lag, meeting back up with friends and partners and getting back into our busy but wonderful life here. 

Back to India - Jan 2019

After 7 weeks in America visiting friends and families and enjoying the holidays, it was finally time to return back to India. We usually take a 3 hour flight from Austin to Newark then a 13 hour flight from Newark to Delhi, followed by a 5 hour drive through the night to our city. Its a very long trip but God was so gracious and the flights were really easy! 

The view of NYC from the sky.. so many lights and people. 

Madelyn got a little bored in her seat, but both kids stayed in their seats both flights, only getting up to go to the bathroom a few times. I'm so impressed with them. 

We arrived at Delhi still smiling and were so thankful that all our luggage made it too. We've flown internationally ALOT of times and have yet to lose our luggage on the trip, which I find surprising and am so thankful to the Lord. 

Jet lag lasted about 5 days. Its always alittle hard to get back into the groove of making meals, fixing things around the house and being productive. The kids and I have done a lot of homeschool while on break so they are still up to par with their classmates when they return. 

The kids used to share a 14 in bike but when we got back we went to a bike shop in the market and purchased them 16 and 20 in bikes. They go so much faster on their big bikes! They were very excited! 

On January 1st we had our friends over for dinner and playing. We were supposed to meet on New Year's Eve but most of our family was asleep by 6 pm so our New Year's celebration was postponed a day. 

Now that we're back in town we're having different friends stay at our house to hear how their work has been these last couple months and talk about the year to come. We also try to do a lot of fun things together to build relationships. We had 2 families in town this week and showed them how to play Rock Band, foosball and bowling. They loved all the games.  

We like to have special themed family movie nights. For our first special movie night we went to the market with the kids to buy new fish for our aquarium and then snuggled up to watch Finding Nemo. 

We went to buy the kid's school winter uniforms. Madelyn's best friend got a spot in her class over the break and we are so excited for them to get to go to school together. 

When we rented this house in July the summer heat was blazing, especially on our top floor, but we talked about what a great quiet time place it would be in the winter. 

The winter has come and it has been a great morning spot for me. 

I usually wake up really early for my quiet time and at 6 am the Muslim call to prayer sounds out into our neighborhood. Its a great reminder. 

Lots of December Festivities

When we arrived back home from our family cruise we dove right into lots of Christmas festivities as well as a few celebrations of Ezra's 6th birthday. 

This year I bought 24 fun little Christmas story books to read to the kids before bed. Each night they picked one out, opened it and then we read it together. Its a new tradition and definitely something we'll do each year. 

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is decorating gingerbread houses. Gage was spending the night so he was able to join the fun. They did a great job decorating the house together. 

We took all the kids to Main Event for bowling and rock climbing. They really loved it. The two boys on the wall are Ezra (in the gray) and Gage (in the red). 

Every year we decorate Christmas cookies. 

We did trees this year and I love how creative they turned out. 

The artists with their artwork. 

So many games were played on the floor with Nana.  

Ezra's birthday is the 18th, so we had an early celebration with Luke's side of the family before we drove back to Dallas. All the siblings and their families came and we had lunch and played games all day. It was great. 

We went to the ICE at the Gaylord. It was sooo cold but really cute. 

When we arrived at my parent's house the kids went ahead and opened up their stockings and presents so they could play with them for a long time. 

Near our house is a fantastic Land of Lights that we go to each year. It is really impressive. 

My favorite parts are the tunnels that are literally covered in lights and are so bright. 

Back at my parents house the kids were excited to open up presents. 

Ezra's favorite gift was his giant remote control race car. 

Madelyn was most excited for her pink electric scooter. 

My best friend from high school lives 30 minutes from my parents so we were able to have lots of playdates with our kiddos. 

One day we went to a petting zoo and the kids had a blast! 

There were small animals they could hold and pet. 

There were also large animals they could spoon feed. 

My favorite place in the world is the lake at my parent's house when the sun is setting.. its so beautiful and peaceful. 

While Madelyn and I snuggled, the boys were catching fish. 

These two are too cute! This is my best friend's daughter. We are so thankful God gave us daughters the same age. We dreamed of that back in the day. 

My mom got a hoverboard for Christmas and Ezra learned how to drive it by himself after a couple hours of practice. I was very impressed! 

For Ezra's birthday we went into Dallas and took him to Legoland. They had rides, 4D movies, building stations and playgrounds. It was very cool. 

After lunch we went bowling which is always a family favorite. 

We ended the day at The Cheesecake Factory. This chocolate cake was very good! 

I got this pj set for Ezra but the kids like to wear them as matching pjs. Its too cute! 

When we went for another play date to my friends house after Ezra's birthday, she surprised us with a party that included decorations, cake and a slime set for the kids to create. 

My parents babysat the kids several times in the evening while Luke and I went to the movies, or out for a late night coffee. Such a blessing! 

We had a Christmas get together with my grown siblings and their kids too. Such sweet memories. 

Our last few days in America were spent back in the Austin area with Luke's family. 

Ezra was excited to get more play time with his cousin Gage. They were working on a science kit. 

Christmas Eve means matching pjs. 

Ezra requested pancakes for Christmas breakfast. 

We went with Rudolph. 

Once the rest of the family arrived, we opened presents. 

Then we had a big Christmas meal.

We had so many people we required 2 tables. 

Then in the afternoon there was a big family Pitch card game tournament. 

Its such a treat to get the whole family together. 

Our last day in America was spent at Gatti's arcade, bowling, then dinner with the whole family at Olive Garden. 

It was such an incredible time with our friends and family this holiday season. 

We are so thankful for all the memories.