Our neighbor has a son that's two weeks younger than Elijah. They are doing the same things developmentally and I love that Elijah has a local friend. The house helper that lives with the family loves Elijah and always wants him to come play (she's in both of the videos talking to the babies).
Friday, July 27, 2012
Kristen's Birthday with the Family
When we got back from Delhi we went to see the family and they had a birthday gift for me, which was so sweet.
Kristen's Birthday
For my birthday I really wanted to celebrate by eating something similar to home...although I know it wouldn't be anything like a cookout and fireworks at my parents house, which is the way I've pretty much always celebrated my birthday. So, we decided we'd go to Delhi for a short time where we could swim, eat at Chili's, and go to a movie, which is just what we did. Neal did his best to make my birthday really special, and he did a great job.
The morning of my birthday there was a knock at the door with a man standing with a bouquet of white lilies in hand, which I love! The hotel room was filled with a sweet smell, which brought much joy to my heart. Sweet smells are hard to come by in India.
The hotel found out that it was my birthday, so with the flowers they also delivered a birthday cake. The coffee table was the best place to put the cake, which meant it was within Elijah's reach. Before we knew it, Elijah had pulled up on the table and stuck his hand in the cake. Honestly, it was the cutest thing to see his little handprint on top and chocolate on his little fingers.
After swimming we bathed Elijah in the sink because there's no tub. He's a little too big for the sink, but he liked playing with the water pouring out of the faucet.
Although my birthday was really different, it was still very special.
Elijah Holding the Glass and Drinking
Elijah not only likes to drink from our glasses, but he will reach out and grab them himself now to drink. He's such a big boy!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Only in India #20
Only in India when going to eat at a restaurant at 7:30 are you asked if you're there to eat snack.
(The normal dinner time is 10 o'clock here)
(The normal dinner time is 10 o'clock here)
Elijah and our House Cleaners Son
One of the ladies who cleans our house has a little boy who is one and a half years old. He's such a sweet little boy. Elijah loves it when he shows up at the house every day. When he first started coming he didn't know what to think about me or Elijah...he was so shy and just wanted to be with his mom. It was hard for her to clean when he was pulling on her shirt and crying for her. I would always try to get him to play with Elijah and I, but he wanted nothing to do with us.
As time went by the little boy started warming up to Elijah and I. He started playing with Elijah's toys more and letting Elijah sit beside him. He loved watching me clap and sing the patty cake song. Now he comes to the house exited and runs into Elijah's room. He will usually find me each day and want to put his hand in mine with some pretend food for me to eat. It's been precious having him around with Elijah.
I've always thought Elijah was so sweet and gentle, but compared to my cleaners son he is so ruff. Whatever toy he is playing with is the toy Elijah wants, regardless of what it is. Sharing isn't something Elijah's so good at yet...this is a good time to learn! Elijah is pretty strong and doesn't realize it. He will push the other boy down when going for a toy and not even realize what he did. Whenever he starts doing that kind of stuff, which isn't all the time, the other boy will usually leave him alone. Hopefully Elijah will learn to share and be a good friend soon. I'm just thankful for a sweet little boy for Elijah to play with. Sunday, July 8, 2012
First Dinner Guest
We invited the family to come eat dinner at our house, and they said they'd love to! Yeah! This would be my first dinner guest. Because of the dad's kidney stone the doctor told him he could eat no spicy food for a month (which is very hard to do here). So, the mom and dad reminded me two times each not to make spicy food. I planned to make my Thai curry if I ever had them come for dinner because that's the spiciest meal I make, which is usually a good thing. But, with the request of no spice, I decided on stir fry over rice, and some roti, which is the bread they like to eat with every meal.
When they arrived I noticed the girls were dressed very nice, and the mom even had on lipstick and a new outfit. I love how they dolled up they get for outings! They liked looking around because they hadn't seen our place since all of the furniture arrived. The kids especially loved playing in Elijah's room and jumping in and out of his bed (Neal and I were not in the room while they were doing that, we just walked in on them).
I had everyone sit at the table (the two youngest shared a chair so that there would be enough) and told them we were going to eat American style all together. I gave them all a fork, which they don't use often if at all, but told them I also had roti that they could eat their food with. Then I brought out the food, Neal said the blessing, and I told them how we normally ate this meal, but that they could do it anyway they liked.
The mom served each of the kids and herself while I went around the table giving cucumbers and tomatos to whoever wanted them (they always have cucumbers and tomatos with their meals, so I did as well). The mom served a very small amount to everyone, like the size we serve Elijah. I knew she did this because they'd never had the food before and she didn't want to be wasteful. The dad said it was his first time to have American food and he seemed to be looking forward to it.
Everyone started eating and I noticed that after one or two bites the family was just stirring the food around on their plates and not eating it. They were all looking down and at each other but never looking at Neal or I. Then the dad spoke up and said he didn't like it. He said it was different from Indian food, and to quote him exactly, "I no like, it's different, different food. Don't like it." And that was the end of everyone eating the meal.
My heart sank inside of me as I bit my bottom lip to help push back the tears that wanted to flood from my eyes. Neal said to me three times, "This is so embarrassing, do we not have any food to serve them that they will eat?" After a little while Neal went into the kitchen and brought out an Indian snack that almost everyone serves guest, but not many people actually eat it themselves because it's just cheap. This day, however, they poured a pile on their plates and used the fork to eat it all.
Neal and I took everyones plate to the kitchen. Neal could tell I was hurt and when he approached me about it to say he was sorry for them not eating I almost lost it. I had to hold in my emotion harder than I remember holding it in before. I told him I had ice cream for desert and some toppings they could pick from. Again he asked if there was anything else I could serve them so that they could eat some food before giving them ice cream. I let out part of what I was feeling to Neal there in the kitchen...I'd worked hours on the meal and used everything I had to serve them...it wasn't my fault they weren't eating, and I felt like it was rude, so no, I didn't have anything else to serve them that was it. I didn't speak much more knowing my insides couldn't take it until they'd left.
We served everyone a bowl full of ice cream and they ate it down to the last drop...I was glad I could give them something they liked. Then we played a couple of hands of UNO before they went home.
Once they were gone I knew the flood gates were going to open. I picked up Elijah, got his bottle ready, and went in his room to rock him to sleep and just cried. All I wanted to do was rock my baby, sing 'The Old Rugged Cross' and cry...and that's what I did. I told the Lord (and Neal later) how I prepared the meal for hours to have it perfect to serve them. Also that I was raised in a family where you eat what is sat before you and you say thank you regardless of if you like it or not, which is what they want their guest to do as well. I knew it would shame them if I rejected their food and after two bites just stirred it around on my plate. However, I always ate their food, regardless of if it's my favorite or even if I liked it, and I always got seconds of something because I knew that pleased the mom. I didn't understand. It hurt so much...and they are my dear friends...I want to serve them and eat at each others house, but that's obviously not going to happen I knew.
After pouring my heart out to the Lord there in the dark of Elijah's room, I began singing 'The Old Rugged Cross' again. I felt a new thankfulness for what Christ did as I listened to the words resounding on my heart that was hurting. "On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame..." My hurt, suffering, shame, was nothing compared to Jesus'. It made me "...cherish the old rugged cross..." so much more.
Dinner on the Floor
Although it's very cultural to sit on the floor on top of a mat for dinner here, we had not experienced it yet. Every time we would go to the family's house for dinner they would have us sit at the table with the dad and some of the guest if they had people over, or with the dad and the younger kids if it was just the family. The mom and older daughters never sit to eat with us. They always serve and refill the food to make sure we are well taken care of, and then eat later. Such hospitality!
This day, while our friends were with us, the dinner was a little different than usual. The mom had invited her mother, who visits often, and two of her sisters to come over. Then the dinner was served on the mat on the floor. I was a little surprised, but very pleased. This day the mom and her sisters sat and ate with us as well. I told the mom I was glad she was eating when she wanted me to eat. Her meal was very small though because she said she wanted to eat the rest when her mother did, who was watching the kids.
There was a big spread of food - quite a variety.
Our two friends from Mexico (left picture, first two girls on the left side) were having their fill of food for sure. It's very cultural for Indians to continue insisting that you eat more food. It makes them feel very good and honored when you enjoy what they've served. However, there can be a limit, and the family knows what mine (a little) and Neal's (a lot) is. Our friends, though, were being very kind and felt bad saying no...so the limit was pressed, but they enjoyed it.
We'd taught some of the kids how to play UNO and they loved it! It became popular so quickly that everyone in the house was sitting on or gathered round the bed either playing or watching in order to learn. We had about 10 people playing before we were finished. I think this will become a regular game for all of us.
Henna
We had two girls visiting from Mexico who stayed with us for a week. During their stay we wanted them to meet the family we lived with and get a real cultural experience. Upon arriving at our friends house we discovered the dad was in the hospital with a kidney stone, which was why he hadn't met Neal for dinner the night before. The mom was going back to the hospital while the grandmother stayed the night with the kids, so our visit that day would be cut short. However, before we left the oldest daughter decided to do henna on me and my two friends since none of us had ever had it done. She's only 14 years old, but she's so good at doing henna you'd think she was a professional.
They invited us to come back and eat dinner with them once their dad got home and before our friends left.Father's Day
We decided to go to Delhi for the weekend of Father's Day to have a little break, and to do something special for Neal. It was a really fun weekend. For Neal's big day Elijah and I let him do whatever he wanted...so he went to the gym and then took a long shower while I took Elijah to shop for a couple of things we still needed for the house. Later we went to eat at Chili's so that Neal could get a big hamburger, since that's something he misses and craves a lot.
During our stay we of course went swimming.
While we were in Delhi we went to Mother Care, which is like a mini Babies R Us. We like to look around to see if there's something little to get for Elijah. Whenever we're considering something we hold it in front of him to see if it's something he likes, or if he just likes the tag. Not that you can honestly ever really tell. This particular day, however, I just held this bear us, actually not something we were planning to buy, I just thought it was cute. When he saw the bear his whole face lit up and he wrapped both arms around it and squeezed it so tight (it's the first time he's ever been around an stuffed animal his size). He's never done that with anything before, so Neal and I just had to buy it.
Watching Elijah really blessed Neal and I.
All in all Neal seemed to have a good Father's Day.
The Intersection Park
One night while visiting the family they asked if we wanted to go to the park after dinner. We started walking down the street in the direction of the park where Neal, Elijah and I like to go. She asked if this was the park I went to when I went walking and I of course said yes it was. Then we discussed how much we enjoyed this park and how I was surprised it was open at night, etc.
As we approached the grassy median in the middle of the intersection I started walking around it in the direction I would normally go to get to the park. Oddly, they started walking toward the median, so I thought we were just going to walk through as a shortcut. Little did I know...when we stepped onto the grassy area the daughter turned to me and said, "Isn't this nice...it's the University Park." To my astonishment this little area surrounded my the roundabout in the street was filled with people sitting, laughing, and hanging out. 'Park' isn't quite the word I'd use to describe the place, but it was fun with the family none the less.
Neal, the dad, and the two youngest kids all played tag. It was a hot night, so when they were finished they took a rest on the only bench like spot in the 'park'.
Us women sat and watched as they played tag. Elijah was our entertainment (keeping him from eating the grass).
Then the second daughter took Elijah to play tag with the younger kids. They ran around the center monument like they were running away from Elijah...he loved it!
Elijah Loves to Look Out the Window
Here at our new apartment Elijah loves to stand on our new couches and look out the window at the trees and sky. Where we used to live, when you looked out of the windows you would only see cement - the cement shaft, or walkway and wall of the family's house. That helped keep things a little cooler, but it was also very sad to see nothing else. Here at our new place, however, you have a view from all windows - trees, grass, other buildings, the street with cars, rickshaws, bikes, and people, etc. There's such a contrast between the two places. We miss living right beside the family we are so close to, but we thank God for providing a new home for us, one that really feels like home.
Elijah Playing Around the Coffee Table
Elijah has enjoyed our new coffee table! He loves to crawl under it, and pull up on it and bang the top.
Only in India #17
Only in India when you order out does your chicken come in a bag like this...
Nestle Cerelac is a brand of baby food, such as infant milk, rice cereal, etc.
Visiting the Family
Although we've moved we still go over to see the family we used to live with about once or twice a week. We're actually invited to dinner a lot more often now...I guess because we have to catch a rickshaw to get there and not just walk a couple of steps. Eating with them is something Neal and I have really enjoyed. We like not only experiencing the way they serve and their food, but as well the fellowship around the table (or floor, which is very cultural).
Elijah always feels as home and shows his true colors when we're with them, especially when we all sit on the bed together to talk.
Elijah Loves His New Room!
Elijah loves everything about his new room...even the monkeys on the wall!
It was the cutest thing watching Elijah touch the monkeys and tree over and over the first time he saw them. He was excited!
Elijah's always talking to me or Daddy, and even to himself. And his noises have become so animated! He entertains himself well.
Elijah and Daddy Building Together
Elijah and Neal built Elijah's last new piece of furniture together. Elijah loved having all the wooden boards spread all over his room...he thought he was such a big boy working with Daddy. His favorite thing to do was pick up the boards and slam them on the ground.
After all the work was finished Elijah had the best part of all...playing in the box.
This reminded me of my own childhood when my brother's and I would play in boxes and slide down the stairs in them.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Our Furniture Arrived!
All of our furniture arrived! We have everything in it's place except for a couple of little extra stuff, such as pictures on the walls, mirrors, exhaust fans, a couple of bookshelves, rocker in Elijah's room, and desk in our room, etc. But, those are things we will be getting in time. When my whole house is complete I'll make a video for everyone to see, but for now this is what the apartment looks like.
When you walk in the front door you're in the living room.
The opposite side of the living room looking back at the front door
From the living room looking into the dining room (which is the room in the center of the flat). Having curtains to cover all doorways is cultural so that if there are both men and women in the house there can be something to separate the two without closing a door.
The other side of the dining room looking into the living room. (We are using Elijah's stroller as a highchair until we get a real highchair.)
This is looking into Elijah's room from his door. So many Indian's are fascinated by Elijah's room because having a room for your baby is not cultural. All children sleep with their parents until they are five, and then if there is another bedroom in the house they can start sleeping in that room, or at least another bed once they reach five years of age or older.
Elijah's room gets really hot, so we have curtains that cover not only the windows, but also the door that leads to the deck outside.
Looking into mine and Neal's room. Our room also has a deck that connects to it that wraps around the side and front of the apartment building. We also have a bathroom in our room.
Looking out of the door from our room onto the deck.
This is our favorite view that can be seen from our deck and the window and deck in the family room...you don't see much grass here so the little patch is beautiful to us!
This is a very famous house in our city where the old police commissioner used to live. The yellow and green building is one big house, which is really large in our city. It's divided up into many small apartments now.
Looking down our street...just a little farther and you'd hit one of the main markets in town.
This is our family room. It's actually the third bedroom, which looks like it should be the master bedroom, but we use it for our family/TV room (we don't have the TV yet...but maybe soon). There is a bathroom, with the only western toilet in the house, and a little deck connected to this room. (There are three bathrooms and three decks in the flat)
Looking from the bathroom into the family room
And last, but not least is the kitchen. We don't have our exhaust fans up yet, so we have a brown bag covering the hole in the window where the fan will go. All Indian homes have a stove connected to a gas can, which is why there's a green tube going from the stove under the counter, but no oven. However, we plan to get an oven. You can find them here but they are rare.
We love living here. It's so peaceful and a blessing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)