US and India Photos

Coming to America

Greetings family and friends! After nearly two years in India, the Davison family is headed home. Just before we left for the U.S. to renew our visas, Chris was offered the position of Global Manager Customer & Product Support for John Deere ISG in Urbandale, Iowa. Thus we started another confusing, crazy, exciting chapter in our lives. While in the U.S., Chris worked in Moline the first week of August, then we spent the weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks with our good friends the Longs. On Wednesday of the following week we met Chris’s mom and dad is Des Moines. While they entertained the kids, Chris and I went on a brief house hunting tour. In true form, we found a house and struck a deal in less than a week. We found a great house that was in foreclosure and feel that we got a good deal. On Thursday it was back to India, without the kids, to pack and say our goodbyes. Chris had a big meeting in Moline on September 1st, so we only had a week to tie up all loose ends. Through the jet lag, we attended several going away parties and survived many painful goodbyes. I had no idea how difficult it would be to leave. Uncharacteristically, I cried most of the way home. After arriving in Atlanta, Chris headed to Moline and I headed to Kansas City. I have never felt more loved than when Anna and Max came barreling at me at the airport. They were just what I needed to mend my aching heart. We spent the week playing and shopping and catching up with an old friend from college. Chris joined us on Thursday evening and we spent most of the weekend vehicle shopping. We finally closed a deal on a Dodge Grand Caravan Monday evening. Chris, Anna, Max and I took in the Pittsburg State football game on Saturday and got to visit with our dear friends from that area. We also took a quick trip to Emporia to visit great-grandpa Clark on Monday. Chris headed back to Des Moines on Tuesday and will return on Friday for the weekend. The past month has been such a whirlwind, our heads are still spinning. I promise to keep everyone posted on our comings and goings as soon as we get settled in Des Moines. We would love to see you if you are ever passing through. Please take care. We hope to hear from you soon!

June & July

Monsoon Season

Since we are just a few days from leaving for the U.S. to renew our Visas, I thought I’d better let you know what we’ve been up to for the last month. On Father’s Day we visited the future site of the “Davison House of Prayer” that our friends at Servant’s Heart International are building. We blessed the land, performed a ground-breaking ceremony, and celebrated our good friend Suresh’s birthday with a picnic lunch. It was a fantastic day full of hope and promise. We are continuously amazed with Preety and Suresh’s commitment to the kids in the Ram Tekadi area of Pune. The following Monday, Anna took Chris to her school for a special celebration. They ate snacks, made crafts, and sang songs. Afterwards, they enjoyed lunch together at McDonalds. On July 3rd, I went to Anna’s school to talk about our Independence Day traditions. The kids had a great time coloring fireworks pictures and singing patriotic songs. We celebrated the Fourth of July with a party at our friends Jason and Loveena’s house. It was almost like being home, except there were elephant rides and a tattoo artist for the kids. We also roasted marshmallows and made s’mores and watched fireworks. Last Saturday we went to lunch at one of Chris’s manager’s houses. Vidyadar’s family owns a printing press, so naturally Chris was enthralled. We had a fantastic lunch of butter chicken, chapatti, dal and rice. Anna got stung by two wasps about five minutes apart. She cried a bit, but made it through the rest of the day just fine. Chris was given a traditional Maharastrian hat and I was given a sari. After our visit, we stopped by our driver Kiran’s new flat. It is bright, cheery and spacious and he and his family are thrilled. Chris’s boss Tom was here last week, which is always busy. The monsoon has started in earnest and it has been dreary and soggy for quite some time. Now we are headed home again. While we are not looking forward to the long flights, we can’t wait to see everyone once we arrive. If we miss you this time, please know that you are in our thoughts. We hope this update finds you all well and enjoying the rest of the summer. Until next time, take care!

Fun Photos

Happy Hong Kong

Namaste family and friends! We are back in India after our wonderful trip to Hong Kong. Here is an abbreviated play-by-play of our activities. We set off Friday afternoon on the long journey to Mumbai with our good friends, Andy and Emma and their kids Eric and Mycha. Our flight left at 12:30am and arrived in Hong Kong around 8:00am Saturday morning, which is 5:30am in India. After checking in and having a nice lunch, we took a rare but much needed family nap before partaking in the playground and the pool. The kids both really loved the hot tub and the water slide. We spent Sunday at Hong Kong Disneyland. The Cinderella Carousel, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the Mad Hatter Tea Cups, and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters were among the favorite rides. On Monday we took a cable car to Ngong Ping Village to see the Tian Tan Buddha, a bronze statue that symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. The views were spectacular and the walk up the hill was great exercise. My trainer would have been impressed. We went back to the park on Tuesday and enjoyed the Jungle River Cruise, Tarzan’s Tree House, the Festival of the Lion King, Mickey’s Waterworks Parade and It’s a Small World. Wednesday started with a workshop on how to draw Disney characters and a dip in the pool. We then went into downtown Hong Kong for a ferry boat ride and some shopping. We ate dinner at a revolving restaurant, which was stunning given our surroundings. After all of that fun, Chris and I took the kids to the Temple Street Night Market where a wide variety of goods are offered at extremely low prices, if you are willing to bargain. We returned back to the hotel after midnight, exhausted but excited about our purchases. After sleeping late on Thursday, we spent the day at the park again, while Andy and Emma took their kids to a water theme park. Our big accomplishment that day was a quick photo of Anna and Mickey Mouse, being that both of our kids are terrified of masked characters of any kind. On Friday Chris and Max went shopping while Anna and I enjoyed the park again with our friends. We stayed late to enjoy the fireworks display. It was amazing! We did some last minute shopping on Saturday morning and left midday to catch our flight back to Mumbai. Overall, this was a magical trip. We loved Hong Kong Disneyland; it is just the right size for our kids. Anna’s favorite ride was Space Mountain, which she and Chris must have gone on at least twenty times. Max loved Autopia, where he got to drive “like Kiran” (our driver). We loved Hong Kong for its beauty, its clean, unobstructed sidewalks, its energy, and its infrastructure. It was difficult to come back, as it is after any vacation. Anna started kindergarten at a new school the Monday after we returned. So far there are three kids in her class and she loves it. She even gets to ride the bus (small van) home, which she’s wanted to do for some time. Max is very jealous, but enjoying the alone time with Mom every day. Next up is a trip to the Quad Cities to renew visas. We leave on July 31st and return August 18th. It’s our shortest trip home so far, so wish us luck. Hope to hear from you soon. Take care!

A Few Photos

A Long, Hard Two Weeks

Greetings once again from India! Summer is rolling along at a scorching, snails’ pace here, but we have managed to stay busy. I celebrated my birthday on the 9th with breakfast in bed followed by a day at the salon/spa. Chris pulled out all the stops and treated me to a body scrub, massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, and hairstyle. Needless to say, he set the bar high for all of my friends’ husbands this year. The following day we celebrated Mother’s Day at a local water park with our friends Tomer and Ilana and their kids Maya and Yarin. It was a bit run-down, but the kids had a blast. Anna is fearless and Max is content to empty the pool one cup at a time. Chris left late that evening for two weeks in the US. In his absence, the kids and I have kept busy with playgroups and visiting friends. Last Friday, we went to a Rajasthani village resort called Choki Dhani with our friends Shane and Shiney and their kids Shayla and Sumaya. The kids enjoyed the camel and horse rides as well as the dancing, magic show and puppet show. This week Anna started golf lessons and is attending a summer camp at one of the local schools. Max is in the throes of being two, complete with bossiness and uncontrollable volume. We are all getting a bit restless without Chris and are anxiously awaiting his return on Saturday morning. Next Friday we leave for Hong Kong! We’ll have lots of pictures of that adventure to share, I am sure. Until then, be happy, be healthy and be safe. We miss you all!

Special Visit Photos

Special Visitors

Greetings family and friends! Again, it’s been too long but you are all used to that by now. A lot has happened since the last update. Shortly after our return from the US, Anna performed in a dance concert at her preschool. She was by far the best guitar-playing rock star in the lower kindergarten class. Check out her fancy costume, it made her look about seventeen. The following week we celebrated Holi, a popular Hindu spring festival. Also called the festival of colors, it is a time when people throw colored powder and colored water at each other. In the morning we “played” Holi with the drivers and some friends at our building and later went to a playgroup party and let loose with water pistols. Needless to say, with our light hair, the color lasted a long time. That weekend Anna and her best friend Maya attended a buddy day at Anna’s school. A few weeks later Max had his first haircut in India. Our driver, Kiran took us to his barber for a fantastic cut and the whole thing cost twenty rupees, which is about forty cents. What a deal! On the 25th our second set of visitors in eighteen months arrived! Chris met his mom, dad and brother in Delhi for a trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Finally, after a long week of anticipation, everyone made it to Pune. Unfortunately, there were a few upset stomachs the first few days, so we laid low for a while. Once everyone was on the up-and-up, we went around to some of our favorite restaurants, the fruit and vegetable market and the grocery store. On the 31st we toured the Shaniwarwada fort and visited the gold Ganesh temple on Laxmi Road, where unfortunately no photography was allowed. On April 2nd, we celebrated Chris’s dad’s birthday and on the 4th the guys hiked to the top of Lohagad Fort. Chris also visited this fort back in November 2007. We spent Sunday at the Royal Orchid hotel having brunch and a dip in the pool. Anna is almost an independent swimmer now and Max likes to bail in off the side, regardless if anyone is there to catch him. On the 7th we toured the Aga Khan Palace where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned during the Quit India Movement in 1942 and took in a local museum. That night we attended the wedding of one of Chris’s colleagues, Sandhya. The bride and the flowers were truly beautiful. The following day we visited our dear friend Preety, who along with her husband Suresh runs the Servant’s Heart International children’s ministry. We were honored to visit a few families’ homes during our visit. That night we celebrated Chris’s brother’s birthday and Grammy and Gramps’ last night in town at the Hard Rock Café. The next morning Reid and Sue left for London and went on a European tour through Germany, the Netherlands, and France before heading back to Phoenix. They arrived safe, but a bit exhausted. Spencer stayed on a few weeks, travelling to Ahmadabad and Chandigarh, one of India’s first planned cities. As I did not accompany him on either trip, I cannot provide any details. We all had a fantastic time during this unforgettable visit and welcome anyone else brave enough to make the trip. Somewhere amid all of the chaos of the past month Anna learned how to ride her bike without training wheels and Max is almost potty trained. We are truly blessed to have two such amazing people in our lives. Next up is my birthday, Mother’s Day, a quick trip to Moline for Chris, and then Hong Kong in June. We are treating the kids to their very own vacation to Hong Kong Disneyland. Please take care, enjoy the weather (it’s HOT here), and keep in touch. We like hearing from you!

US Photos

Home for the Holidays

Given the tremendous amount of time that has passed since the last update, I will try to cover as much as I can in a short amount of space and time. We left for the U.S. on December 12th and arrived in Kansas City nearly forty hours later. The trip was lengthened by engine trouble, a plane exchange, and a missed connecting flight. All-in-all we arrived safely and relatively unscathed. The first order of business was decorating Grammy and Gramps’ tree. Anna was very helpful and Max followed behind undoing most of her hard work. Early in the week we attended a Christmas party at Aunt Pat’s school. It was great fun with crafts, stories, and a visit from Santa. While Max was not thrilled about sitting on Santa’s lap, he did enjoy his gifts. Later that week, Anna attended her very first ballet class. She absolutely loved it and the teacher said she is a natural. I have tried to find a ballet class here in India to no avail. She will just have to wait one more year. On Saturday Grammy and Gramps hosted a lovely holiday open-house so we could see as many people as possible during our short stay in Kansas City. Later that night Chris, Anna and I took in the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. It was a stunning show! The costumes, dancing, and lights were amazing. The following day we all met Grandpa Clark and Alline in Emporia, Kansas for a small holiday celebration. While it was bitterly cold in Kansas City, we enjoyed the feeling of being home for the holidays. The kids reveled in the snow, which they had all but forgotten while living in such a hot climate. We spent Christmas Eve at Grammy and Gramps’ like we usually do and opened gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. We then went to Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom’s for dinner. My Mom arrived from Michigan later that night. A few nights later Sue, Mom, and I took Anna to see the Nutcracker. It was magical! Anna loved the beautiful costumes, dancers, and decorations. Toward the end though, she did comment that Clara was having an awfully long dream. It was getting a bit late. On the 29th, our sweet girl turned five. I still can’t understand where the time goes! We headed to Phoenix that day to meet Chris and his Dad, who had driven out a few days before. Reid and Sue’s new place in Gold Canyon is wonderful. The kids loved the local library, parks, and of course the pool. Chris headed back to India on January 4th while the kids and I stayed and soaked up more fun in the sun. We attended a nice bluegrass festival and were able to see the Budweiser Clydesdale horses. Chris and I celebrated our ninth anniversary, apart for the first time, on the 15th and Max turned the big two on the 22nd. Again, where does the time go? Chris flew back to Chicago for a conference on the 23rd and the kids and I met him the following day. We spent Sunday at the Field Museum and the kids and I headed to Michigan to see my family on Monday. While we were there we packed in library story time, a birthday party, bowling, and lots of visiting. We met Chris back in Chicago on Friday and headed for Moline. While there we soaked up time with our friends, the Longs, and made a quick trip to Waterloo, Iowa where we visited with our friends, the Perrys. We all headed back to India on February 6th and arrived safe and sound the following day. It was a whirlwind trip, but we wouldn’t miss the time spent with our family and friends for anything. By the way, sorry about not sending out Christmas cards this year. Between the jet lag and all the running around we did, we’ll have to catch you next year. Until next time, be happy, be healthy, and be safe. Take care!