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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, October 12, 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
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!
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!
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