Merry Christmas

Christmas In India

Merry Christmas! The holidays here in India were truly unique experiences. We arrived home on Christmas Eve and in traditional Davison fashion, we had soup for dinner. It was not nearly as lavish a spread as we have in Kansas City, but we had real (canned) beef in our stew. We cracked open our holiday poppers, donned the crowns, played with the toys, and read the jokes. Next we read the Christmas Story and opened our gifts from the U.S. Anna then set about the tasks of writing a letter to Santa and setting out milk and cookies. Check out the video on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujkk1BMWffU. Dad was a bit worried that Santa would not make it because we do not have a chimney, but Anna said “don’t worry Dad; Santa can just use the elevator.” She was right, on Christmas morning we discovered full stockings and even more presents. Around 9:30am we left for Servant’s Heart to help our friend Sister Preety with a Christmas program and dance. There were about two hundred kids packed into a tiny hall. After the show, Chris played Santa and tried to hand out gifts and snacks. Things got a little out of hand with the crowd and the distribution had to be put on hold. I think the most wonderful part of the morning was seeing around twenty kids wearing the clothes that we donated a few weeks ago. We often donate clothes in the U.S., but never get to see where they end up. After the festivities ended, we went to Doug and Lucinda Johnson’s house for dinner. It was a wonderful, traditional meal of ham, potatoes, fresh bread, and real pumpkin pie. We were exhausted by the time we got home and had a low-key evening. We hope that Santa was as generous to all of you as he was to us this year. Next up, Anna’s fourth birthday!

Lonavala

A Family Vacation

Thursday, December 20th was Anna’s last day at school before the Christmas break. They had a nice party and Anna wore the outfit that Chris bought her on his first trip to India. On Friday we headed to Lonavala for a little rest and relaxation. Lonavala is about ninety minutes from Pune, on the way to Mumbai. A friend of mine recommended the Fariyas Holiday Resort. It was a wonderful place with a game room, indoor and outdoor pools, and water slides. We arrived late Friday night and spent Saturday at the hotel, eating, napping, and swimming. On Sunday, our driver Kiran took us to a few sight-seeing places. There were wild monkeys and gorgeous views at the first place. Anna and Chris rode on a camel at the second place. There was a kids Christmas party at the hotel on Sunday night, complete with a creepy looking Santa Claus. The look on Max’s face explains why Anna would not go near him. Luckily, we ran into Santa the next day here in Pune and got Anna’s picture. The excursion was a welcome getaway for us and refreshed our spirits heading into Christmas. More to come!

The Athelete

Anna's Sports Day

Hello All! This update is from a while ago, but I failed to include it in our last entry. On December 9th, Anna’s school held a sports day at the Don Bosco Youth Center here in Pune. It was really well organized and a lot of fun. It started with a dance and then all of the kids were dressed up like animals. Anna’s group was little red hens. They were to run to a certain spot, dump flour from a shaker into a bowl, then pick up a loaf of fake bread and run to the finish line. While she did not come in first place, she did manage to get all of the flour out of her shaker before running on. We were so proud to see her follow directions. At the end, the parents were invited to participate in a few silly races. Chris and I were to pass a balloon behind our heads and alternately between our legs while trying to reach the finish line. Needless to say we did not win, but we did manage to look very silly. Thank goodness, nobody took pictures. Afterward, we had brunch with friends at a local hotel and later attended another friend’s 3rd birthday party. It was a long day, but we all had a great time. Next up, our trip to Lonavala!

Holiday Fun

Getting Ready for Christmas

Greetings family and friends! We hope this update finds everyone healthy and happy and enjoying this holiday season. The weather here in India makes it hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away. Right now it is almost eighty degrees and Anna went swimming twice this week. I know, no sympathy from those of you who are enjoying snow and ice right now. We found a small artificial tree and made a few ornaments. Chris and Anna made a beautiful star out of cardboard and tin-foil. Grammy and Gramps sent us these great stockings with iron-on letters, so Santa will know where to put all of the presents. An advent calendar rounds out our decorations, but the kids really seem to be getting into the spirit. Unfortunately, Chris left for a training class in Jaipur last Friday and missed our Christmas party. It was great fun, we had almost twenty people in our flat. Anna and I made Christmas cookies and decorated them with Easter sprinkles and M&Ms. You should have seen the looks I got when I asked for colored sugar at the grocery store! This week is dragging with Chris gone, but we are getting by. Anna and I have been enjoying a wonderful magazine called Highlights High Five, which has activities, games, and stories for preschoolers. For anyone out there with preschool children or grandchildren, it's fantastic. Please check out the pictures of the paper bag village and the finger paint. Lots of fun! Anna is continuing to enjoy preschool, but they start writing here earlier than in the U.S. This has been a challenge, but she is managing. Max has discovered the joy of tearing all of the books off of the bookshelves. He does this at least once per day. I have started just leaving them on the floor until bed time. For those of you who really know me, you know that this is almost more than I can handle. The big guy now has two teeth and flat out refuses to eat baby food. He is onto meat and potatoes! He can stand on his own for a few seconds at a time and we know that those first steps are right around the corner. I have been busy this week helping my friend at Servant’s Heart get ready for the big Christmas program and party. We got to go shopping for decorations and gifts today. Chris will return on Thursday and we are leaving on Friday for Lonavala, where there is a hotel with a water park. It will be a short trip and we’ll return on Christmas Eve. Our next update will be filled with our Christmas experiences and lots of photos, we promise! Until then, take care and have a wonderful holiday. Love to you and yours!

Lots of Changes!

We're Back!

Hello again from India! I cannot believe how much has changed here since our last update. We are in our new flat and our shipment arrived on schedule November 21st. We were astounded! The moving process went smoothly, but do check out what passes for a semi-truck here. I thought my dad would get a kick out of that. All of our pieces fit into two trucks and about fifteen people were here to unload. Most everything came up in the elevators, but the big things were hauled up all seven flights of stairs. Thanksgiving was fun. We finally received our Halloween package from Gramps and Grammy. Check out the adorable costumes! We dined with a group of about twenty expatriates from John Deere and General Motors at a nice hotel called Le Meridian. There was an actual Thanksgiving buffet, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a bunch of other very comforting foods. It was a bit pricey, but worth every penny. We met a very nice family from England at Anna’s preschool and have spent some time with them recently. They are around our age and they also have two children. They have been here longer than we have, so they have lots of good information. Chris went to Germany last week, which was a bit harder for us than when we were in the states. We couldn’t run off to Kansas City or Michigan like we used to. Some shopping and a few play dates got us through. Chris’s trip went well and he returned safely early Saturday morning. I picked up Anna’s preschool information on Saturday and found out that her school is vegetarian, like many places here. I got a day-to-day list of what to send for her lunch. I am not even sure what a few of the items are, thus continues my Indian education. This past Monday was her first day. She did great right up until it was time for me to go. She looked like she might fall apart, but her teacher whisked her away to the sandbox and all was well. When I picked her up, she said she had fun and got a smiley face sticker for dancing really well. Our new car arrived last week, so we have permanent car seats again and we’ve been assigned a regular driver, for which I am extremely grateful. Everything seems to be in place and running smoothly for the moment. We are planning a short excursion over the Christmas holiday, but we are not sure where yet. We are attempting to curb our home-sickness with a change of scenery. Chris remains busy at work and I am planning to be with Sister Preety at Servant’s Heart during the Christmas break, much like I was during Diwali. The kids are getting bigger and brighter every day and continue to amaze us with their good spirit and tolerance. Anna has been busy re-discovering all of her books and toys. Max is almost twenty pounds now, is almost walking, but still has only one tooth. In closing, please feel free to send good thoughts our way, and remember that we cherish any connection to home (telephone calls, emails, letters, etc.). Our address and telephone number are listed in the first entry dated September 24th, just click on the “September” link on the right side of the blog. The only change is that we are now 11½ hours ahead of Central Standard Time. Please take care until next time. Love and good wishes!