Happy New Year

First of all, let us take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy and an exciting New Year '10.








Family picture taken a day prior to Christmas.













Theo crying to carry his cousin, li'l Zaby.













Uncle 'Kumar' with the boys (from left to right): Zaby, Theo & Jayden - they are our next generation, taking up after the 3 brothers!













Our family together at the reunion buffet at the Park Sheraton in Chennai.














The buffet meal at the family reunion.

Off to Chennai

We, as a family, will be travelling to Chennai tomorrow afternoon, with my brother's family to spend Christmas in Chennai.
It was rather unexpected that we go this early, but want to keep you updated as to where we are.
We will be returning on the 29th evening back in Bangalore.
The main purpose for going down there, is to witness the christening of my younger brother's "miracle baby" - born after 10 yrs.


It's going to be a grand occasion with families and friends on the 27th evening.
It's a good family reunion too!














Mum with her grandson 'Zaby' - Prateek Zabdiel Patrick.














Mum with Patrick (my younger brother), Priya (my sister-in-law) & Zaby.







Wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS & a bright New Year 2010.

Crystal Anniversary

Well, it's been 15 exciting and joyful years together.





Reflecting back: it's been a journey. Some are worth remembering and others not quite.
But we are here today and looking forward to many more years of joy & fun together!

15th year is commemorated as CRYSTAL Anniversary.
And one thing which comes to my mind, when I think of Crystal is glass - which is a good substitute. And crystal items are FRAGILE.
I would like to connect that with the phrase: RELATIONSHIP IS FRAGILE .. and it should be handled with care, utmost care!

And we are more aware of this fact, as we stand here today and look back, so we can march forward!

Please pray with us for many fruitful years ahead!

Family Photo

It's been a while since we had our family photo taken. We had an opportunity at the church recently to do that ... so thought, will share it with all of you.















Part of the 'Shibah' church family:
















The kids have finished their Term-II (mid-term) exams and have done really well. They are now practicing for the school 'Annual Day' function, in which both Tryphena & Theo are participating.

We are so thankful for one of Tryphena's classmate and her mother, who has so graciously volunteered to help Tryphena with her Kannada (the regional language).
Tryphena is enjoying going there for tuitions and apparently they both play and learn together - we could see that in her results. I think she came first in Kannada in the entire class. We are proud of our 'little darling'.

Family Birthday

It's a very 'special' day for our family today.
8 yrs. ago, Tryphena came home on this day. We want it to be a memorable one for her & for us specially. And so, besides her birthday, we celebrate this day as our "Family Birthday" - it's a celebration just within our family.

Theo, came 4 1/2 yrs. later in Feb. But we have chosen 31st October '09, to be a day when we celebrate the kids 'family birthday'.
They love it and they look forward to it.

Today being a busy day - the morning is their School Sports Day and in the evening, we have a Practical Discipleship session at church, so we went out as a family last night to a nearby restaurant, where the food is delicious.
We had our favourite Sea-food Steam-Boat and momos.

Back in Bangalore

Here are some more photos taken while in Goa:

Tryphena & Theo on their favourite horsebacks:










































Carmen & Ame learning to ride a mini-scooter:




























Well, we are now back in Bangalore .. a week before time!
The trip back was uneventful ... just gulping the kms, as we drove along.
We left Goa at 6:15 am and arrived home in Bangalore at 7:15 pm - a total of 13 hrs on the road, covering a span of 667 kms, with a few short breaks in between.


As the sun was setting down, we were nearing Bangalore ... and we could see some splendid fireworks on display, as we drove through.
Being a Diwali week-end, where there are plenty of fireworks .. most people were on the road - not for driving this time, but to party and to have fireworks.

Just as we reached the last curve to our house, a rocket firework zipped in front of our car across the street. Rather than taking off in a vertical position it had veered off diagonally. A narrow escape for us, as we didn't want and unfortunate event at the end of a long & tiring drive back!

Back at home, my mum had prepared a nice meal for us ... and we were glad to be back home.
Thanks for praying with us for a safe trip to Goa and back.
Blessings.

Trip to Goa & In Goa

Our plan was to leave home at 6 am … so, the car was loaded the previous night, except for a few last minute things. We were able to keep up to our schedule, which was an achievement in itself with 2 kids.
Before I go into more details, let me …

… REWIND A BIT:
Initially, we contemplated leaving earlier in the month, which would have been right after the 2 workshops. But, we decided to attend our church ‘Family Retreat’ on the 2nd of October. We had a team to look after the kids the whole day, which was a blessing.

Pictures at the Family Retreat of the ‘Shibah Community Church’:

Kids excited at the beginning of the Retreat:














The families at the ‘Family Session’:














All participants at the retreat:














… BACK TO OUR TRIP NOW:
We were out of Bangalore and on the NH-4 towards Mumbai within 45 mts. The drive was very pleasant …


… until late in the morning, before we hit a really bad patch. The roads were literally like waves, the only difference was it was not moving. The car was like a boat being tossed up and about … it was dusty, making it very uncomfortable. After a few kms. of such driving, we were back on good road for a while.

Last year, when we drove to Goa, we halted for the night due to inclement weather. This time around we were doing it right through the entire stretch of 666 kms. from house-to-house. Not a very exciting number in the Scriptures :-(
The challenging part was trying to find a better route to enter Goa. Last year, we went one way and came back the other. Though the return was slightly longer, the roads were of better quality. I was hoping to find that link.

And at Hubli, after driving for about 415 kms, there was a sign towards Karwar and we zoomed down that road. It was a very pleasant drive with lot of greeneries. The weather was pleasant too, making it a better drive.

Having seen a few venomous snakes near our house, not so long ago, my eyes were around the roadside to sight a snake .. and I was overjoyed when I saw a black thing slithering on the side of the road .. it was a BLACK COBRA (I think it was, anyway!) … what a sight! Just looked up out of curiosity, enough for me to get this picture & disappeared out of sight.














It felt like we were driving through a zoo, when we came across an Elephant on the road, blessing people who gave alms.















As we were nearing Goa, we saw a few landslides owing to the heavy rainfall in the Northern part of Karnataka. If we had come a few days early, we might have been stuck with the landslide. There were at least 10 big ones enroute ... and some of the boulders were as huge, if not bigger than the car. Thank God for His wisdom and safety.

This was Ame’s first sight of the Ocean .. so, we wanted it to be a memorable one for her!















The drive through this crevice was simply beautiful.














And as usual, it was FUN at the beach in the evenings:
















Playing in the mud:




























... burying the kids leg in the sand:




























And Theo’s ‘masti’ (= heroics) on the beach:














Kids playing at the backyard:















Not without my ‘mother-in-law’:















Carmen’s mum will be undergoing a minor surgery in her eye on 14th early morning …. And we will stay for a couple of days.

We will be returning to Bangalore on the 17th – again, hoping to do one straight drive all the way home!
It's been cut short by a week for a reason, which I can't go into detail here.
It's disappointing for us, & more so for the kids!

Off to Goa!

Tomorrow morning will see us driving through the NH-4 towards Dharwad, and then towards Karwar (sea-port) and to Goa.
It's been a hectic 4 weeks with lots of travelling for ministry purposes; but the next 2 weeks of travelling to & fro and in Goa, is going to be a lot more relaxing.

The Preacher's Workshop went well. Thanks to all those who prayed.
When the dates were set, we didn't realize it clashed with the Dussehra holidays in the South & the Puja holidays (commemorated at the same time, all over the country). Since the dates were set, we couldn't change it. So, the entire time the kids had holidays from school, I was busy with the workshop.

The kids were not happy initially about it, but were more than happy, when they realized they were going to get extra 2 weeks off from school, after their 'official' break.

The kids are really looking forward to this trip and have their own plans and agendas as to what they want to be doing while we are there - some joy-rides on the horse back on the beach; playing along the coast; ...

Visiting Goa during this season is ideal. The weather is good (i mean, not that hot!), and virtually no crowd in the beach. It's very relaxing.

We will be in Goa until the 22nd or the 23rd of October.

During our stay there, Carmen's mum will undergo a minor surgery in her eye, which she had been wanting to do for a long time now.

Pictures & other news will follow upon our return.
Cheers!

Tryphena Turns 8

How time flies by?
It seems like it was just yesterday, when Tryphena was so tiny and a little girl.
Well, it was our Princess' 8th birthday on 24th July '09.
















... and time to cut that cake :-)

Though we didn't want it to be a mega event, we ended up with 4 families coming around to celebrate with us on this special day.






.. and open up those presents!









... with the kids who came around for the party ...







Later that evening .. out at a local restaurant for a 'family dinner' - Enjoyed the 'Steam Boat' (sea-food) & momos - yummy :-)

Kids Back in School

The 70 days of 'summer vacation' came to an end!
The kids were getting a bit restless with the thought of going back to school ... on one side it was excitement, but on the other - it was a disappointment for them, as we hadn't gone out anywhere as a family during the vacation.


So, we thought we'll take them to Mysore for a couple of days, which is about 150 kms from here.




It was a nice & pleasant drive! Just getting out of Bangalore was a nightmare, as we started during the peak hours.


Mysore is a historic place, with an ancient palace & a Zoo. The kids always love the zoo - watching the animals and birds.


This is one of the favourite activities for the kids when they come here. A tonga ride ~ a carriage driven by the horse.


Usually, they take a round around the Palace - which is quite a thriller!

Not to mention the people who come to visit the zoo as well. One of the family was sooo excited to be there, that they lost track of their 3 yr old son - who was crying bitterly! The zoo keepers were kept busy entertaining this kid, who was unconsolable.




Tryphena oblivious of the kiss she is about to receive here from one of the Giraffes :-) - well, not quite!!


Theo loves to show that he is in control here!

Not sure where he would be if it was a real one, and how that look would change :-)


Carmen with Ame (from Nagaland), a friend of ours, who is staying with us this year. Ame has been a huge help for us around the house and with the kids.


The kids are now back in School this week after their break.
They have quickly adapted to the routine, much to our relief.
Tryphena is in her III Std., &
Theo is in Upper KG.

Voted for the first time!

Oooh! It was Election day across the State!!
Was desperate to make a difference with my '1 vote'!!

What is supposed to be our right, doesn't come easy in this country!

Though I had a Voter's ID issued a couple of weeks ago - albeit, I am a female according to that - it wasn't all that easy.
Our names were missing from the list ... as we were about to give up and return without casting our precious votes ... the guy at the counter noticed a name written in Kannada, but spelt wrong.

So eventually, Carmen & I found our way in and cast our votes for the first time. Didn't have a clue how it worked also, but I think we did it right!
Great feeling - yes, it is!

I was challenged by the fact that, as Christians we seldom vote .. but then we expect God to do a miracle in raising up a righteous leader!
So, though we had to wait in queue and run from pillar-to-post, we are finally there!

I think we need to be a bit discreet here in not disclosing to whom we had voted for - as that will land us in all sorts of trouble :-)

Let's wait for the final results on 16th May - i hope our 1 vote will make a difference!

Holidays! Holidays!! Holidays!!!

Towards the end of last month, the kids began their summer holidays - 70 days in all!
Though Theo wanted to go back to school, I think he is happy to be home.
They were desperate to join the swimming class, and we enrolled them.
Tryphena has done exceptionally well - she is able to manage on her own in the water; and Theo after some initial excitement felt bored and didn't want to go in the morning, but has eventually found some courage to get in the water and I heard that he is pretty good.

Warming up before they step into the pool


Tryphena & Theo wading in the pool


Tryphena learning to float on water


Playing ring-a-ring-a-roses - to get them used to the water!



Now, that the swimming classes are over ... they are looking for a new sort of adventure!
I think 2 other families with their kids and Carmen with Tryphena & Theo, may visit Mysore. Stay there overnight and visit the zoo & some parks. It will be a treat for them to have fun with the other kids and stay away from home.

Picture taken in front of the Mysore Palace