Winter Jacket

So this post is a little dated... it kind of feels almost springlike now.

We got this coat in the mail from his Nana. So greatful for it in the cold of the winter

He looked like the kid from the Christmas story.

Isn't that the face of satisfaction!

A much needed visit

As many of you know, we had been anticipating Neal's parents and sister coming in January. And we were all so happy that that day had come!

When their plane arrived at 12 am, they were very glad to enjoy a few days of rest in Delhi at the hotel.

Elijah with GB for the 1st time in almost a year. He was so happy to see him.

The girls got their hair done before leaving to go to our city.

Our mall pic... not the best, but we were so happy to be going to Chilli's!

There is more about this trip coming soon!

Only in India #36

Only in India (okay, and maybe china)...

can you get a toy like this...

Welcome to use our products! :)

Much Appreciated

Just in case you were wondering how grateful our friends were to receive their Christmas gifts, then read this:

This is a picture of one of my language helpers with his gifts....

We gave him a new set of clothes because he had holes in his jeans, his shoes were worn out, and his jacket was too thin for the winter. He really loved it... REALLY... so much that he went home (100 miles away) to his mother's house to show her the gifts.

He said that this was his favorite shoes he has ever owned. Before we gave this to him he was wearing flip flops all the time (in the middle of the winter!). Thank you God that we can give to our friends.

Our Family Christmas

In between having three different families over on Christmas, and two unexpected visitors, we had a great and pretty typical Christmas. 

 Elijah ran into the family room, spotted his stocking, and grabbed the bear from the top while I was cooking breakfast. Neal and I laughed because he came running out of the room as fast as his could with both arms around the bear smiling. It was too cute!

 Elijah stopped from running through the house excitedly just long enough to watch Neal shave his face. Then he started putting his own hand up to his face and moving it around as if he was shaving...it won't be too long son.

Our dobhi was one of our unexpected guest, but someone who's always welcome. He'd made a special trip to our house to bring us some good Indian breakfast to eat on Christmas. I fixed he and Neal some coffee as they ate. I'm not a fan of tons of Indian food, and especially not for breakfast, however, this was actually an exception...it was really good. It was such a kind thing to do!

Then our breakfast was ready. The monkey bread we thought looked great and almost like a cake. The breakfast casserole also came out really good...thanks mom for the recipe!

Stocking time! Elijah loved pulling the stuff out of his stocking...he was a pro by the end. In the picture with Neal, Elijah's holding his new toothbrush, which was one of his favorite things in his stocking besides his bear. He loves to brush his teeth...must take after his Mama:)

I think Neal was just as excited...no, probably more excited about two of Elijah's gifts - one from my sister and one from my brother and sister-in-law. Oh yes, an Alabama jersey (Neal was jealous) and a tool belt with a hammer, tape measure, and screwdriver. 

We got Neal's language helper to take a picture of the three of us before dinner. He did a good job. He was proud of himself. 

I was so thankful that even our Indian friend liked the Christmas chicken casserole, green beans, and mashed potatos. I was curious if he'd like the food since he doesn't eat anything but Indian food. I was pleasantly surprised. We gave him some masala (Indian spices) to sprinkle on the food, but he ate seconds just like Neal. 

Elijah loved using the spoon and having his own plate of food without our help, although not much food got into his mouth.

It was a great Christmas and it was very nice being here in India for Jesus' birthday! Although we kept a lot of traditions we had in the states we made some new traditions as well, mostly involving friends we've made here. 

Our Christmas with Indian Friends

Neal and I decided that we wanted to give to many of our friends who are in need here for Christmas. They all know that we are Christians and celebrate Christmas, which is not something they are used to at all. So, we wanted to do something special to celebrate with them and give. 

In the states a family that's poor would normally still have some type of inside home where they live and a coat for the cold weather. Here, however, those things aren't the norm. The weather has turned really cold, which I'm loving, but many poor families still live outside with maybe just a roof over their head. Or, if they have a one room home it doesn't always have glass in the windows or electricity. Also, having a coat is almost a luxury because, again, this is something many poorer families cannot afford. Therefore, it made perfect sense to buy things like coats and heaters, etc. for our friends who needed them. 

We bought 20 coats (and we're still buying some for people), four heaters, two pairs of shoes, four pairs of socks, three sweaters, four blankets, five toys for the little girls, eight toys for the little boys, some stickers (for the family with a lot more kids than we knew to count), and a lot of fruit for baskets. 

Neal and I invited seven different families to come to our house at different times from the 23rd to the 25th. I served them Christmas cookies and hot chocolate so that they could share in some traditional Christmas things from America. Then Neal shared the Christmas story from the visit of Gabriel to the shepherds coming to see Jesus, God's son, once he was born. After the story we gave everyone their Christmas presents and explained why we give because of God giving Jesus to us.

Here's a picture of each family/person who came to our house.

This is our gatekeepers family. They are always so kind to us and everyone who lives in our building. We have a great relationship with them - the kids come up to play with Elijah often, and even help me cook. 

This is our dobhi - the man who cleans and irons our clothes. Time is always something he and his family are very short of because they work tons of hours for the little pay they receive to provide for their family. He is such a gentle man and Neal and I are very thankful for his friendship. His family is very large (the kids we bought stickers for because there's so many of them) and God's given us many opportunities to bless them.

Out of all the people we gave to this was my favorite! This is the language helper Neal and I share for an hour each morning. He's a sweet guy, but he doesn't smile much because he's really serious, and he doesn't always know how to respond to people. However, while he ate Christmas cookies, drank hot chocolate, and then played Bananagrams with us his countenance changed somewhat into relaxation.  

Then when we gave him his coat he was so surprised and couldn't wipe the smile off his face - he was so thankful! I'd asked him earlier if he had a coat because I knew he had to be cold since he's so little. He remembered that and made a comment about how I asked him and remembered. 

I love this with his hand on his head in astonishment and thankfulness. I won't ever forget his face at that moment!

This is our landlord and his family. Their kids as well love to come play with Elijah.

This is my cleaner's three boys. They of course loved playing in the house (we don't let them run around and play while their mom is cleaning). However, most of all they loved the hot chocolate! Each of the boys wouldn't put the little chai mug down until it was all gone.   

My sweet cleaner and I have a great relationship! I love spending time talking with her and since she doesn't know English it's great being forced to use the little language I have. Neal I help her with things she needs all the time because she's poor and a widow, however, she's always so grateful.

This is our driver and his two youngest boys. He's always patient with us, which we are very grateful for since we tend to run late:) His boys sometimes ride with their dad when he takes us to Delhi, and they're so sweet and quiet.

This is Neal's other language helper. He's such a fun loving guy who's always making jokes and smiling at everything. Neal hangs out with him more than anyone else here...it helps that he's a single guy...but he really enjoys his company. He feels so much like a part of our family that when he's around I can totally be myself and don't have to feel obligated to do certain cultural things. (He also ate Christmas dinner with us)

God was really gracious to us in providing for us in order for us to provide for others. When the Christmas season started it was hard to be away from America, but once our attentions turned to what we were going to do for others my heart was fully here and excited that God had me in India for the season. Of course I missed my family, but I didn't have the tears and longing that was their when the season started.

Thank you God...may you always use us as Your vessel to bless others.

Food Preparations for Christmas

I wanted Christmas day to be as much like it is back home as possible, especially in regards to what we eat. So, I had to make some changes to my mom's recipes for her breakfast and chicken casseroles since I don't have all the ingredients, but I thought the changes would work. Things take a little bit longer here because you can't go down to the store and get anything pre-made, such as cream of mushroom soup, etc. So, everything has to be made from scratch...which takes a while. All the food took two days to make.

Let me just say that I have a new appreciation for all the Mama's making all the food preparations for Christmas and every holiday!

I started by making some Christmas cookies to serve to everyone we planned to have come visit our house. 

Next, the chicken casseroles were made. I made one for us and one for our friends who just had their baby. Our gatekeepers youngest daughter came to help me while her brother and sister played with Elijah. She's always the sweetest thing!

Then the dough was made for the monkey bread.  

Here's me rolling the dough into balls...I think they were supposed to be smaller than I made them (I figured this out after the fact:).

Then the breakfast casseroles were made - one for us and one for our friends who had the baby. They don't do cow meat here (unfortunately), so I used water buffalo meat for the first time. It was a little gross cleaning it, especially knowing the street it came from with the hanging meat...I always hold my breathe on that street. 

This was my attempt at making homemade eggnog (this was actually done after Christmas, but it's a Christmas thing, so I'm including it). For some reason the milk curdled, so the recipe said to put it in the blender if that happens. I didn't think about the temperature of the liquid when I put it in the blender...           Need-less-to-say, I wasn't strong enough to hold the top on the blender, so half of the drink went all over me and all over the floor. However, Neal blended the rest and saved it for me to finish cooking. I was missing a main ingredient - nutmeg, so it didn't taste like Meadow Gold or Purity that I'd drink in the states. It tasted more like a thin custard. Not too bad, but not eggnog...guess that's something else I'll just go without as long as God has me live here in India - sad day!