Brynn is 5!

I can't believe our baby girl is 5! We celebrated a few times...with a cake at her school, at home with some friends, and at a company meeting. She is already talking about what she wants to do for her 6th birthday. In this country the birthday person cuts the cake and feeds cake to each other (family and close friends) like the bride and groom do at a wedding. Brynn fed some cake to Luke at school it was very sweet.

Brynn & one of her Aunties (teacher)

At home with cupcakes.

And one last time!

Slum Life

I stood on a balcony overlooking a large slum and observed what was so out of the ordinary to me, but life as usual for them. The kids were fun to watch - when they're not sick, the kids are always laughing and having fun.

Snacks, Parties and Getting Around

You can't walk down the street near our house without passing a vendor selling an unusual looking snack. I think there is one every other block. We weren't sure what they were until our house help made us some. She told us not to eat them on the street, but we can sure see why people like them.

Our favorite Indian Snack ever!! They are crispy shells with some sort of peas, carrots, onions, and a couple of different sauces. Right before you eat them you drizzle cilantro (coriander in India) juice over them. I can easily eat 15 in one sitting, sigh, but I don't. You put a whole one in your mouth at one time.

A typical day for us is jumping in an auto rickshaw to get where we need to go. Here are some pics of some views from where we sit in the auto everyday.

Although I'm used to seeing children and infants riding on scooters and motorcycles now, I still cringe to think what would happen in an accident.

In an auto rickshaw....Luke loves to jump in the very back behind the seat. This is where people will put shopping bags or whatever.

I also was invited to an engagement party. It was almost as elaborate as the actual wedding. I posted these pics on Facebook, but for those not on Facebook, here are some of the pictures:

A Humbling Experience

I went to visit an amazing ministry today. This man began this work by picking people up off the streets and caring for them in his home. These people are mostly mentally and physically challenged who are near dead on the streets. What a wonderful heart he has. Today he now has hundreds of men, women and children in his care. He and his family live among these people.
Check it out: http://www.newarkmission.org/aboutus.asp

Here are some pictures of some of the orphaned babies. Precious. I saw children the same age as mine, and could hardly hold back the tears.

Precious babies helping hang the laundry.

The little one on the right seemed full of mischief...like my Luke.

South Asian Thanksgiving

No turkey, no football on tv in the background, but people did a good job of trying to make all the side dishes taste the same. My contributions were stuffing and apple cobbler (or dumpcake for those who know the term). I'm not good with from-scratch pie crusts, so that was my version of apple pie.

It was not the same as sharing this day with family and eating all those familiar dishes, but we have so much to be thankful for, so for that reason the day was a success!

Luke trying to sing his heart out.

It's not Disney, but they have Teacups!

The rides your mother told you never to ride...those side of the interstate carnival rides that were ready to break at any moment. Slap them in the middle of South Asia and everything changes!  Walking through a park one day, we happened on this little children's area. This could have been Disney World for all the kids cared. They even had teacups...all for the admission price of 20¢ per adult, and children were free. Can't do that at Disney!

And last but not least......

We Can Have Fall After All!

I really didn't expect my kids to have any reason to dress up or attend any fall festivals, but lo and behold friends of ours had one. It was fun, and although costumes were hard to find, the kids had fun playing games and filling up on lots of sweets. It was nice to do something from American culture.

Give Brynn some butterfly wings, and she's a happy girl. Luke's costume was a monkey backpack/leash and a safari hat. He looked pretty cute. Neither made it into the party - he ripped them off as soon as he walked in. Oh well, I made an attempt at a costume.

Knife in hand and toddler climbing my back....can't be good. If I'm ever sitting on the floor, this is what Luke does everyday of my life. Luckily Jimmy was there to make the situation safe.

Pool Time

Lucky for us, their bathtub doubles as a pool. This comes in handy when they have a day off from school, but we still have language class. We can sit at the dining room table for language and watch these guys through the sliding glass door. All was good until we realized some crayons made their way out there. You'll notice the hieroglyphics on the wall behind them.

And I know you're thinking, "Wow that is a fancy green balcony railing."   It does have a purpose: it is a heavy-duty plastic sheeting wired to the rails so that Luke will not climb over them.

Rainy Day...Let's Build a Fort!

Brynn decided our laundry drying device makes for a good fort structure. This is just one of their fort creations on a rainy day...I may have helped a little.

"Beach" Party

Brynn and Luke's preschool had a pool party to close out summer. It was held on the 3rd story roof of their preschool building. The water was freezing, but Brynn would play in ice water all day and have fun (although she did repeatedly asked them to pour hot water in.) Luke was not having it...he'd dip in for a minute, then wrap back up in his towel. His favorite part was the snack time. It was fun to meet the parents and see their friends.

Since I had my camera with me for once, I snapped a few pictures on the way home from the party. The school is about half a mile from our street, but the neighborhood looks very similar.

 A construction worker woman. I admire these people, they are hard workers.

A house currently under construction. More affluent homes can be 3-4 stories tall, which will house a multi-generational family. 

Men push produce carts up and down the streets. Imagine being able to walk out your door in America and pick your produce. I haven't bought from these carts yet, I usually just walk to the produce stands near our home that have everything in one place.

I threw this picture in because Brynn said, "This looks like the big wall of China."  I thought that was funny. Maybe to her it does.