Thank You India

So I went back and took a look at those early blog entries, what a riot. In one of the earliest ones, I make a sacred pledge to try to "do better”… Well as Yoda will tell you (and my son can attest), "Do or Do Not, there is no Try". So I realize that I can’t make a career out of ‘the blogging’ (I do just love how putting "the" in front of certain technological things makes me sound like someones technically deficient aunt), as life seems to move a little too fast for me. It's a good thing that my lovely and talented wife had more dedication to the craft, but I did notice a few things left out at the end of the school year.

We bought a new house (in Michigan) just around the time of her last post. We love the place, and we love the location. Also, we spent a fantastic week in Newcastle, UK with some of the best friends that we have ever had. We already miss them very much.

So what else? Well, the whole bunch of us went back to the US for the summer, and at the end of August, I returned to India without my home team, not exactly sure when I would be back in Michigan for good, but definitely before November.

Being back in Chennai again, alone, just like I started this program has been an interesting experience. Unlike those early days I already had some good friends (thanks Clay, Jennifer, and others) to keep me from going stir crazy. It did, however, make me think again about those first days, just being so new and so lost, but sure that it would all work out. Remembering again the most important thing was to be with my home team again, and now really understanding that my home is wherever they are.

Things worked out well here and as it turns out I'll be heading back very soon, so this is the final blog entry of this (mis) adventure, and yes, I know it's a little boring, but I just had to say the next bit...

My family and I have been so blessed, and enriched by this experience. In two years, our ordinary family has had some extraordinary opportunities. We have stood atop the Great Wall of China, trekked through rainforests in Borneo, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, marveled at the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Burj Khalifa, the Mona Lisa, and Buckingham Palace. We have now visited Mickey Mouse on three continents (the mouse has so much of our money...), and found nearly every Outback, Chili’s, Hard Rock Café and Starbucks in more cities, towns, airports, and countries that I can even recall.

Travelling by airplane, subway, car, taxi, bus, train, cable-car, Tempo Traveller, tram, skyway, rickshaw, elephant, and camel, we have seen more of God’s fantastic wonders in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East than any single person has the right to.

We have made friends from different places, cultures and backgrounds. We have learned that no matter where we are from, the love of our families, sports, and music make us all more alike than we are different. We have learned that English is just English, unless you are from America, or Britain, or Australia, or India, or Korea, or Thailand, or Singapore. We met people who became family, We have laughed a lot with our new friends, cried a little, and shared some fantastic experiences.

We have all been taught valuable lessons from our national hosts. Lessons about communication, and community. We were swept up in their feverish struggle to turn this geographically diverse, culturally rich nation into an economic power. I have learned to let go of many of the the cultural norms that I take for granted, and realized that while we should hold on dearly to our beliefs, values, and families, the rest of it is the small stuff... and hey, there is already enough sweating going on in the Chennai heat, so no point in sweating the small stuff.

We have been blessed with family and friends in the U.S. who not only wished us well on the way out and came to visit, but have also welcomed us home with open and loving arms.

We have been profoundly, deeply, and permanently changed by this experience. We thank God for this adventure and for His power and grace that we experienced every step the way.

India - the speed bump to the best made plans!

Well, since the last posting, it has been one change of plans after another. I hope I remember everything....

We were supposed to travel to Mumbai for the travel volleyball tournament. M was excited since this was the first travel team she made that she tried out for. N was excited because well it was another sports tournament. He also made friends in Mumbai, and they had been on facebook chatting with each other about the tournament. Then came the news...

We woke up on Monday morning our time (Sunday night your time) to the news that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. armed forces. Really? Could this be right? Yes it was. Around 11:00a, I received a call from the Athletic Director that the trip had been canceled. It was advised by the American Consulate that unnecessary school trips be canceled until further notice, and it was also advised that Americans living overseas should be cautious of traveling unless necessary.

We still had volleyball practice since we were still planning a tournament, but it would be with local clubs instead of international schools.

Tuesday morning, I get the M and N up for volleyball practice. At 6:45, I received a call from N. He was at the school, but they had had an accident. He told me everyone in our car was okay, but our driver seemed upset. I asked if our driver was driving safe, and if the other person was okay. He told me our driver did nothing wrong, but the person was on a scooter and he rolled across the pavement. N said that he was screaming in pain. I told him to say a prayer for the man. I asked if he was okay emotionally, and he gave me the "tough man" response...Yeah. I received a call from our driver 10 minutes later. Apparently the man on the scooter had his finger cut off. Our driver took a rickshaw to the hospital with the man. Charles went to the school with E. Grateful we were for two cars at this moment. The man on the scooter came from behind another car and accelerated to overtake the car behind ours and did not see our car. He hit the driver's side (passenger side for everyone in the U.S.), and he crushed his hand between the mirror and and his handle bars. The mirror cut his finger off (just the top - tip really).

Our week was not going so well, but it could only go up from here!

The end of the school year can get hectic as many of you know, but if it is on the school calendar we are good, right? Usually....

My friends and I had planned a scrapbooking weekend for May 13th - 15th. We could not wait. It was at our favorite hotel. I never thought I would have a favorite hotel, but that is how it is in India. When the tournament was canceled, we changed our weekend to May 6th - 8th. Two days later, school events popped up. We changed our weekend back to the 13th - 15th.

Anyway, we received an invitation to the SAISA Banquet Award Dinner for the 13th. No problem, we will leave for a couple of hours and then resume scrapbooking. After all, we had to eat. Soon we found out the volleyball tournament would be on the 14th. Ok, we can change the plans. Before we changed our plans, we starting asking if it was confirmed. The athletic director assured me that the tournament would still be on the Saturday. We walked into the school on Wednesday afternoon, and it was posted all over that the banquet was canceled due to the election results that would be announced on Friday.

Ok, will be still have a tournament or not? I was assured again that it would be okay. Now, we have changed the date to the weekend of May 20th. No problem, the only thing scheduled was a Middle Concert. We could just come and see the kids and leave again. Oh, now there was also a dance scheduled. This is the last dance of the school year.

The banquet was on Monday the 16th. N received an award for Most Valuable Player for the swim team, and an award for Most Improved Player for track. We were very excited for him. These were sports that he had never participated in before.

I am not sure how easy or hard this is to follow, but we managed to get it all worked out. My friends and I had a wonderful weekend of scrapbooking.

We have one more sports assembly this Friday. I have one more card class that I am co-teaching with my friend. We only have 3 weeks left of school. We have one more R&R planned for the week after school to the U.K. to visit our friends. We have 3 weeks left of swimming club.

Living here has taught us to be flexible and keep that smile on your face even when you may feel like screaming. We never thought we would have to cancel plans for elections results. Oh, let me explain. It was rumored that if a certain party one by a little bit, there would be riots in the streets. The kids got a day off of school. We can never predict why things will happen or what the reason is for the things that seem so different to us. The locals live this life every day, most of them for their entire life. India puts speed bumps in the path (figuratively and literally), but we need to approach with caution and drive slowly to get over it.

My driver asked me, "Madam, why not live one more year?"

I did not answer right away. Then he told me that the airline was not answering the phone, and I said that is why I cannot live here. Simple things are so much time and energy.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Well, we are back from an absolutely amazing holiday in Australia. It was nice to get away and just enjoy the beautiful weather, breathtaking scenery, and learning the Australian lingo!

I noticed that the last posting was just after N's basketball tournament. We also traveled to New Delhi for the SAISA Track and Field just before we left for Australia. It was a lot different of a sport than we have been to in the past, but it was good. N participated in relays, high jump, shot put, and discus. He did well, but he was in the 13-14 year old group now. When he was 12, he was so much bigger than most. In this category, he was the same or smaller than quite a few of the boys traveling from the other schools. This made the competition tougher, but he still walked away with 4 medals.

We have moved onto volleyball now. Both M and N made the team and will be traveling to Mumbai for this tournament. It is the first weekend in May. Go Raptors!

Well, we traveled to the Land of Oz (get it?) and had a fabulous time. We started by visiting some friends that we met here in Chennai. They live in Lara near Melbourne. The weather was cooler, but it was absolutely beautiful. Charles and N went to an Aussie Rules Football Game. They had a great time, and N has a jersey as well as a ball.

We spent some time in Melbourne, Geelong, and Lara. We also went for a drive on the Great Ocean Road.

In Sydney we went to the Blue Mountains and took a bus tour of the city. The night life was amazing. We had to leave our hotel at 4:45a to catch our flight to Cairns, and people were all along the streets and so many businesses still open from the night before. I much prefer the quietness of the country!

In Cairns we drove to Port Douglas. The road takes you along the ocean. It was beautiful. We enjoyed the relaxation that came with this vacation. We also snorkeled in The Great Barrier Reef, visited a crocodile farm, took a train ride to Kuranda, and went to an Aboriginal Culture Park. More Australia pictures than you can possibly stand are just a click away.

For Easter we went to our usual Sunday brunch restaurant. Easter was different, but we were able to talk to my parents and some people from church.

We have started the countdown (as you can see on the right), and we will be returning to the U.S. on June 24th. We are all excited and looking forward to seeing everyone.

M is still trying to talk us into letting her stay here. She loves the school. There is a lot she is missing from home, but she is definitely in her glory at the school. She is in a Glee group, and she will be performing at the Jazz concert. She raised money so they could have another dance at the school before the year ends. I probably forgot to mention this, but in their P.E. class they had to take care of watermelon babies for one week. Since there was track practice, she and some friends started a babysitting service. They watched the watermelons for 30 rupees and hour (60 cents). They also took pictures of the watermelons socializing with other watermelons. It was clever, and they raised enough money for the dance. The remainder of the money will be donated to charity.

N is doing well also. He will have played a total of 5 sports this year, and he did well in all of them. Track and Field was by far the greatest challenge. He very excited for the volleyball. He is almost 6 foot now, so he is ready for some great spikes!

E has picked up swimming and is doing well. She has moved up into the Gold group, and she is actually faster in her breaststroke than her coach! She is still creative and a little comedian as you will see in some of the pictures.

Oh, we have started the process of purchasing a new house in Hartland. It is a nice house, but I have not physically seen it. My parents toured it with Charles, and they took a lot of pictures. If all goes well, we will not have to live in a hotel for long when we return. Our stuff will not be arriving until the end of the summer, but Ford will provide us with rental furniture.

YES, You are more important than ME!

You cannot truly appreciate this title unless you live here or have traveled to India! Whenever we travel in and out of India, it can be so frustrating. As soon as the plane lands, all the people jump and to grab their stuff. They push past you, but they have no where to go since the plane has not even stopped moving!! The aisles are jammed, but they insist they need to get to the front. At the airport check in if you stand in line behind the line, they will cut in front and run you over with the trolleys.

This past weekend I traveled to Sri Lanka for N's basketball tournament. Charles was still in the U.S., so I was going by myself. Instead of having ropes to signal lines, you just get in behind people. I took the line that looked like people traveling by themselves. Big mistake, by the time I realized it, each of those people had 6 or more traveling with them. They were not all in line, and we had to wait. So Frustrating! It took me over 40 minutes to get checked in. Also, each of these groups of people had too many bags and they were too heavy. I had people asking me to take their luggage because I only had one small bag. Ah, NO!

We had a blast at the tournament. I love watching N play sports. He is a great leader on the playing field, no matter what sport. He is always encouraging others. He played well, and his basketball game has improved. They won all the games the first day, and took first place in that tournament. There was a separate tournament the next day. It was a little different, so the first game they played was against one of the local schools. They were really good, and we lost that game. Now we would play later for 3rd or 4th place. We won that game, so we took 3rd place on the 2nd day.

Charles returned from the States the same night that Noah and I traveled from Sri Lanka. It was nice to see him again after being gone one month. He also brought back the American goodies! We have enough bacon to last us through June! We had BLTs and the kids were hilarious. They kept asking how many pieces can we have. At the end of the meal, M asked how many each person had. I think we were up to 7, so M took another piece. N took another piece. E looked at the plate and grabbed the last two and said, "Six, Seven." It was funny. The girls put their bacon in ziploc bags to put in their lunch the next day.

Well, we are anxious for our next R&R trip. We are going to go to Australia. I am starting the research now. Cannot wait.

It is starting to get warmer here. I am bummed. The weather has been great. It has been cool in the evenings, and I have even needed a light wrap at times. Charles is happy to be back to the sunshine. We will see when he is sweating from the 100 degree days!

No, we do not have a return date yet. We are trying to get the final plans in for our time here. We will let you all know soon. Have a great day!

Oh, I almost forgot. I was going to say that I think I should have the title of this message made into t-shirts! Okay, maybe not. I guess I just needed share some of the craziness with all of you.

Let's Catch Up!

Another new month, and I have not been diligent with the postings. I can make 100 excuses, but none of that matters now. I also have not been good with the pictures either.

Since I last posted, we have been to Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. For some you may know this as The Golden Triangle in India. In Delhi we visited Ghandi's house and walked the path that he took his final day. We went to a Mosque, drove past India Gate, saw the Lotus Temple, and enjoyed cleaner streets and cooler temperatures. January 26th is Republic Day, so we were unable to see some of the usual tourist attractions.

After a day of seeing Delhi, we headed to Agra. Not really looking forward to the traffic and long drive, but we were pleasantly surprised. The road was not bad, and the traffic was not bad. Some of the streets were closed again due to Republic Day preparations, but we arrived in Agra in the afternoon. The only thing we had time to do was see the Taj Mahal. What a spectacular site! Our guide was truly in love with this masterpiece, so we got a great tour. He shared with us the story of why it was built and just how precise and intentional the builder was.

We got up early and headed to Jaipur the next day. A long drive, but the road was nice. I now believe that they do understand the concept of highways. Something we did encounter along the way, were these men standing in the middle of the highway with a large flag/banner. They wanted us to stop, and our driver told us it was because they wanted money. What people want to do for money!

We arrived in Jaipur and found out our hotel was still 10 kilometers outside of the city. We had to stop at each turn and get more directions. We traveled down a very bumpy dirt road before arriving at the hotel. I can best describe the hotel as a bed and breakfast. It had been a home that had been renovated into a hotel. Really?!? This is where we are staying. Now, if you have not lived in India or even visited, you may think, "What is the issue?". Well, I have lived in India long enough to know better!

The manager of the hotel asked me how many beds we needed? Really? We did have reservations (oh, by the way, we booked this through a travel agency). After not getting anywhere, I asked to see the rooms. We went up the staircase, and I noticed all the signs that said "Mind your Head". The manager showed me the rooms, and we settled on three. Our room had an old door that did not have a lock on it. They used a chain and padlock.

The manager told us that there would be a party tonight since we were staying with them. Oh no, I am not sure if I am ready for this. We also told us that we could do to the restaurant when we were ready. After we got our stuff into the rooms, we headed out to see what was on the menu. Now, the restaurant was closed, but they opened it up for us! The food was amazing, and we were excited to have a good meal. We were again assured that we needed to stay for the party.

At some point in the afternoon, we mentioned that it was my mom's birthday. In the evening we gathered where there was to be music and dancing. A dinner table was also set. Soon, there were 30 people all gathered listening to the Rajastan music. After a little while, the dancers joined them. It was truly amazing! We really enjoyed ourselves, and they even made a cake for my mom. They stopped the music and we all sang Happy Birthday. I am sure she will remember this birthday for a long time.

We spent the next traveling around Jaipur and shopping. We had a good time and rode elephants. Dad was unsure of this, but we told him you may as well. We went to some palaces and heard of some of the history of this country. There is still a King, but he has no power.

We made it back to Chennai safe and sound on the 26th. My parents were leaving on the 28th/29th, so we just had a couple of more days. One day was spent watching E play with her classmates in the annual field day. Dad also went to a marble and granite factory. My dad bought some uniques souvenirs from India. Some of you will never meet my dad, so I will share with you his souvenirs - a 300 pound marble slab and some wood! If you do know my dad, you can keep asking him what he plans to do with these souvenirs. Unfortunately, he cannot take them on the plane, so we will have to bring them back in the sea crate!

We celebrated M's 13th birthday at our one of our favorite places in Chennai - the Asiana Hotel. She wanted a Masquerade Ball. It was great. We managed to get the place decorated in time - a big thanks to my friend, Darlene, and her driver. Most of the kids showed up with masks. It was great. They ate, danced, and laughed. I think she will also remember this milestone birthday.

Since my parents left, we have been doing the usual. Baksetball practice at 6:30a for both M and N. E has ballet class on Wednesday mornings at 7:00a. E is also swimming three days a week. She has learned the butterfly stroke, and she is developing some good arm muscles!

I have been working in my craft room more. I did not think I would be so busy, but I have manged to keep busy and out of my craft room. I will need some weekend retreats to catch up!

We have not had as many exciting stories since moving into this new house. We do not see the bugs, and the power is a lot for consistent (spoke too soon - just lost power). There has been a few lizards, but we are no longer having them exterminated.

N made the boys basketball team and will be traveling to Sri Lanka. M made the 1st alternate, so we are not sure of her chances. If someone cannot travel, then she will be able to go. They both have decided to go out for track and field.

We are planning our next holiday - Australia! It will be great, and we will be visiting some friends that we met here in India. It will be a few short weeks after that when we will be making our final trip home!

I am not sure if our life back home will be too boring after all the "fun" we have had here in India.

Where are the Marshalls?

I know it seems like I am getting more and more behind with this blog, but I do think of it often!

We spent Christmas in Dubai! What a city! Skyscrapers and shopping malls everywhere. Some of the most interesting buildings in the world are built here. No two look alike, and it the roads are smooth! My parents flew into Dubai from Michigan in time to celebrate Christmas with us. I bought a small tree and decorated it with ornaments. We put all the presents on the small table and floor around the tree. Christmas in a hotel room - just one more experience to check off the list!

We took the kids into Ski Dubai. They loved getting all bundled up again to go sledding - plus hot chocolate. The girls made some snowmen. We also watched a couple of movies. One of the many highlights of the trip was the camel ride in the desert on Christmas Eve. We usually spend our Christmas Eve in church, but this year we pretended to be like the Wise Men following the star to Baby Jesus! We took a 4 wheel drive SUV into the desert for dune bashing. N rode up front. We were surprised, but he did well. We never tipped over, but we really thought we might. I really enjoyed walking around the city. It was nice and cool. We rented a car, so we also had a chance to drive ourselves.

We arrived back in Chennai in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with some of our friends. We had a great time. Chennai really does like to celebrate with lots of fireworks, so it was a nice finish to 2010.

We have celebrated my birthday. Yes, it is 40th, but I have no worries there. Charles arranged for a celebration with some of my good friends here in Chennai. He even went to one of my favorite stores to get my gifts.

We will be celebrating number 13 for M tomorrow! How about that turn 40 and get a teenager (well two - N will be in March) all in the same year!

This weekend is Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur get away. Going to see the Taj Mahal. I will promise to post pictures when I get back.

It seems like my computer is working good again, and we have had internet connection steady. That will help me to get the pictures posted.

It has been fun sharing all the amazing, frustrating, and developing nation things with my parents that Chennai has to offer. I think Dad is happy that he will be able to get back to his Starbucks soon. He has a lot of coffee stories to share with everyone, and we are headed out to India's equivalent of "lumber yards" today. Yes, he wants to find some wood to take back home.

Something else that was very exciting for M was her trip to Doha in Qatar. She traveled with the school for a mixed middle school choir. She loved it. She was enjoying Starbucks, a nice grocery store, and staying with a host family.

Well friends, we do miss all of you. When we have our return date set, I will put a countdown timer on the blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It does not feel much like Christmas here except for my endless stream of Christmas music and making cookies with kids!

I know it has been forever, and I must apologize for that. I cannot believe how incredibly crazy, busy, frustrating, joyful, etc. my life has been in the last few weeks. This email will be long, but please bear with me.

When we got home from our fall break, we were having internet issues. Of course, I have a husband that prides himself on being extremely resourceful in the area of electronics. I call him my I.T. Help Desk! Despite our lack of permanent connection (6 weeks and counting), we have had a backup connection. We unfortunately do not get the greatest speed for connection, but the kids can still homework and we can still surf the net. We also had a problem with our phones which also use the internet, so we have not been able to make calls back home.

I think I mentioned that we were moving. We have moved, and we are officially unpacked. The movers were efficient but not necessarily as careful as I would have liked. We had the "B" team since the "A" team was at another Ford family's house packing them to go back to the States. We lost another plate, couple glasses, and one of our dining room chairs. All in all, that is not too bad considering them packing boxes larger than any human should carry filled with canned goods!

The Monday before they were scheduled to arrive it started raining. It continued off and on, and them the skies opened up on Tuesday! This means that they cannot pack, load, and then unload the new house. They stayed in the old house all day just packing. They packed the kitchen (why is that the room that they always pack first). This meant no dinner. They also wrapped all the furniture, so we had no where to sit. The rain had also made them an hour late. I had no way to make lunches the next day either. You cannot buy lunches here like the U.S., so we had to get creative!

Wednesday, they arrived almost on time, and promptly started packing. My friend came with her driver, so her driver could stay at the old house and supervise. My driver would take us to the new house, and we could get things started there. Things never go as planned, and the driver that was supposed to be at the new house phoned and said that he would not be there for another hour. My friend decided we should go to get lunch, and then it would be time for the keys to be there. When it was time for us to be at the new house, the moving people decided that they needed lunch. REALLY! Now, we were not able to stay in the house until the landlord received the check from Ford. We told the movers to leave the beds for last...I think you can see where this may be going. I received a call from Charles around 3:00p. He said that maybe we were breaking them down, and we could sleep at the new house. Just as he said that, the doors opened and in came our beds. I told I hope so since our bed just arrived!!!

Wednesday night was the first night in the new house. Thursday I worked on unpacking and getting things put away with a lot of help from my friend, Darlene. Her driver helped put things away and unpack. My friend, Karrie, was kind and made us a dinner, so we had food! I really appreciate these ladies taking time out of their busy schedules to help me. In addition to all of that they also helped me shop for hours for curtains.

I know what you are thinking...moving is a pain, but you had movers right? Yep, but let me share something else.

At our school, we do have local schools that will come and play our kids in sports, and then we finish the season with a big tournament with schools locally as well as other parts of India. This year I offered to help with the tournament. We house kids who have to travel as well as provide a hospitality room for the coaches, event volunteers, and referees. I volunteered to coordinate the hospitality room. I had to organize breakfast and lunch for two days. This tournament was on Friday and Saturday of the week we moved! M and N were also playing in the tournament!

We managed to get it all done, and we are no worse for the wear! The next week was a short week because of Thanksgiving. That was our reward for all the other stuff!

Singapore was great! It is so nice to be able to walk around and enjoy the outdoors. We stayed at that Hard Rock Hotel o Sentosa Island. It was pretty cool. There was a place behind the hotel with restaurants and shopping! We arrived in Singapore on Thanksgiving morning. After checking in and finding our friends, we headed out for lunch. We found a Chili's! I can only imagine the stories after we left. We ordered so much food! I love the chips and salsa, and the fountain coke was awesome! We did some shopping in the afternoon, and we found two scrapbook stores.

On Friday we went to Universal Studios. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed the rides, shows, and food! I know our theme is shopping and food!

After 4 days in Singapore, it was time to head back to Chennai. I was not really ready, but we only had three weeks of school before the Christmas break.

The week we got back, I had to help with another tournament which was 3 days this time. It was high school basketball. Long days, but it went well.

Just some tidbits...

kids are doing well...finishing up projects before we leave on break

Charles got a second car...why not, it will be fun

I have been making cards with friends...

Mom and Dad will meet us in Dubai....cannot wait

24 plus hours of rain...streets flooded...no school for two days

It is hard to believe that I have been here for one year. There are still so many things that just baffle me, and all we can do is just shake our heads and say "oh well". I have come to realize that there are some things in life that are just not worth the effort of getting upset over. I will have many more Christmases and Thanksgivings in the U.S.with my family. I have come to realize that so many things should not be taken for granted. You never now when they will not be available to you. I am looking forward to the last few months here in India, but I am making sure to use my time wisely. God has provided an opportunity of a lifetime, and my kids as well as myself are all the better for living it. We all have friends now throughout the world. M and N are finding things at the school that they will not get back in the U.S., and they are both using it to make the best of their time here. M loves the academic challenges, and N loves his "celebrity" status. E is just E floating along.

As the year closes, I have done a lot of reflection, and I am looking forward to the next year. I want to thank all of our friends and family that have taken the time to send letters, emails, packages, called, and most importantly your prayers. I know I could not have made it through without all the support of so many.

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We miss and love all of you!

I was trying to post this before we left on our holiday in Dubai. Sorry, but my computer and internet had enough and made me take a break. I will post our Christmas and New Year's celebrations in a day or two.