Friday, October 26, 2007

New Baby


We have a new baby in the house that has caused quite an uproar, or should I say an "up-mew"...a new fuzzy baby kitten that is. Elijah has wanted one ever since his Grandma and Papa's cat had kittens in the States. He now has someone to tell all his stories too.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Stuffed to the Gills



Today marks the last day of the month long fasting holiday, or Ramadan, that is celebrated in our new country. Today is actually called Eid ul-Fitri and I'm not sure how that is translated since it is arabic, but I am guessing that it means "Eat yourself comatose." Either way, that is exactly what everyone here does. Everyone makes large quantities of sweets, cookies, cakes and fruit punch, which is an appetizer for the traditional meal of steamed rice cakes that are topped with spicy curried vegetables, boiled egg and topped off with a side of stewed beef in spicy coconut broth. Tradition dictates that you drop by each of your friends homes and eat some of their food. What I didn't realize was that you eat the full spread at each house! Thankfully, we only had two homes to visit today, but lets just say I have never been so glad in my life to come home and put on pants with an elastic waist!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

washing away our cares











Water has always been an escape for us as a family. No matter what else is going on, or how crazy the children are, water in any form (oceans, rivers, ponds or even wading pools) seems to have a calming effect. It's a good thing for us that we live on an island. With some guest from the States, we had a good excuse to take a trip to a water fall and to the beach. The waterfall wasn't really a place to go swimming, but we couldn't resist dipping our feet in at least. At the ocean however, we stayed as long as the setting sun would allow us.