Happy Birthday Sweet Granmommy!

Happy Birthday from your South Asian Jacksons!  Love you!  XOXOX

Now the real fun begins…

…Ok, so, we’ve found a flat to rent while we’re here in FLL!  Woo hoo!  So, now the fun begins…in corner #1 you’ve got Beth J – couponer extraordinaire who will not pay more than what she has to pay for something…and in corner #2 you’ve got Will J – Excel spreadsheet guy that can’t buy anything if it’s not on the list!  So, this should make for some interesting shopping considering 1) who’s doing the shopping, 2) what child(ren) is with us at the time of purchase and 3) where we are at the time of purchase (bazaar, open market, mall or side street)…pics to come of the new abode!  We will tentatively move in on Feb 1st…We are super pumped and thankful to the Father for providing a place in a safe ‘hood.   Our landlord & his wife have totally painted it and included some new furnishings, so, we are excited to have a semi-new home in Funny Lady Land!

Also, on a more practical note…you see this picture to the right?

This is a pomegranate (is that right?  I always spell it wrong)…I LOVED these in the States and was really comforted when I saw that I could buy these off of the street fruit dude.  They do taste slightly different, but still soooooo good.  This is one of the many things we are finding that is comforting and reminding us of our previous homes…Sprite tastes slightly different, Coke tastes BETTER, the $3 jar of peanut butter (I know, I know, it’s a splurge) is pretty tasty, the boneless skinless chicken is still good, Oreos are still good (according to Will J), and all of our veggies and fruit are fresh, so, it’s been exciting to see the differences of what we like (Hide & Seeks) and what we don’t like (TBA).

To our horror, as we looked at our next to last receipt from the local grocery store the Frosted Flakes we bought were a measly $8….$8 for some Frosted Flakes?!?!?!  you ask…riiiiight, that’s what we said…so, now, Will is having to cope with having Kellogg’s Corn Flakes w/ honey…not a bad trade and I’ve given permission to get him some for his birthday (which is in August!  ha!)…

It’s interesting how different things can be across the world…but I like the simplicity…yet chaoticness (is that a word?!)…we’ll update soon with some more pictures from around town..

Same ‘ole…

…well, not much has happened since the last time we posted.  Basically, the housing hunt is pretty much SLOW right now until the cold weather here has said goodbye.  When I say cold, I mean upper 40′s in the morning and at night and maybe 60 in the afternoon (if the sun’s out)…and when I say upper 40′s in the morning and at night, I mean, that’s the temp outside AND inside.  They don’t have heaters

predominately in the house b/c they make their homes to release heat b/c it gets so stinkin’ hot in the summertime.  So, we’ve been wearing long pants, long sleeves and SmartWool socks to sleep in.  The girls have been wearing their fleece footy pj’s and I think I just saw my breath….whoa.

So, daily life as of now has been, wake up, take Maddie to preschool (here’s a pic of her first day!), come back, study language, play with Bug, clean up, homework for language class, pick Maddie up, have lunch, language class, get girls up (yes, we’ve been having to wake them up so they don’t sleep too late), decompress from language, get ready for supper, eat supper, play, get girls ready for bed, put them to bed, and afterwards decide whether we’re too spent to stay up for another hour and a half to study language some more.

Can anyone guess what we’re primarily doing with our time?  HA.  We’ll update soon maybe with some more exciting news!

What’s up?

So, like in FLL is becoming a little more normal for us…we’re going today (we think) to look at an apt, so, we’re really hoping that something turns up soon…I (Beth) have gone this past week to get 3 outfits tailor made…the material here is beautiful and really inexpensive to get an outfit made that will fit you (and no, I will not be showing my tummy!)…Our first homecooked meal was last night (Friday) and it was…drum roll please…grilled cheese and tomato soup!  haha…I had to start somewhere, right?

We’ve been walking around the neighborhood where we’re staying, just trying to get in some sights and speak the little bit of Hindi we know…it’s been interesting for sure.  We went to this little shop down the road and they had all of this fresh produce (yes, laying on the floor), but I got a few snap peas, a few green beans, 2 carrots, a garlic clove and 4 individual bags of chips for $2 (90 rupees).  What?!  How’s the for a coupon addiction fix?

Adjusting to not being able to wash a cup/dish/fruit and immediately use/eat it (b/c we’re not to drink the water here) has been a challenge.  As has taking a shower in the bathroom (there’s no boundary for the shower) and having to squeegee the floor afterwards into the corner w/ the drain.  (I’m not in any way shape or form a hair person, so, you can see how this would gross me out.)  Things like this can drive a person mad, but the thing I have to remind myself why I’m here is to do His work, not to make myself comfortable, but to see the kingdom furthered.  I can do anything through His strength…even waiting 45 minutes for a hot shower!

We’ve arrived…FLL “for real” first edition

Ok, so, we (and our 13 bags) left Nashville on Friday, the 6th around noonish and we fully expected to be flying into Newark only to find out that our flight to S. Asia had been delayed or canceled.  B/c you know, Continental Airlines + Newark airport = a shorter trip/vacation than you expected and more frustration than you could ever imagine.  Well, thankfully, we didn’t have to worry about a delay or cancellation digging into our trip b/c we’ll be there for a while…to our surprise, we found no kind of hurdle in the race to get to Funny Lady Land…

So, after a 13 hr flight, some good naps in the carseats, fun packages to open along the flight, watching the movie UP a few times, playing Majong (or trying to), some cricked necks, a 7 hr layover “guarding” our 3 carts of bags while trying not to fall asleep, we with all 13 bags made it to FLL around 9 p.m. (Central, parent, USA time) on Saturday, the 7th…

We were greeted by some of our friends here with a warm and hardy welcome!  They helped us take our bags and ourselves to the house we’re staying in (thanks N&K!) and helped to keep us awake by taking us to KFC (hilarious, right?!) and having us over for dinner (thanks J&K!).  I feel like I’ve had another child by the way they have taken care of us…made us meals, had us over to hang out, come over to hang out, taken us around town, checked up on us, brought us fun things they’ve found at the store/market that we’ve mentioned (especially gluten free things!)….really really cool of them.

We started our language lessons the day after we got here and our teacher is really gracious.

I feel like I’m REALLY slow and Will is zippin through, but he’s having to be careful not to mix it with his Nepali.  You can pray that we don’t kill each other during our language learning….you know how competitive Will is!  :)

Over all, we’re adjusting slowly.  The girls are starting to adjust to the time change and we are actually taking Maddie to the local preschool to check it out tomorrow.  They are kind of clingy right now, but understandably so….they will get it…..we will get it….and we know we need HIS help/strength for that.

Thanks for praying for us, we could definitely not get through our days without it….things that you could please continue to pray for:
- Continual adjustment for all 4 of us
- A lead on housing for us (we are staying in a house of a family who is in the US now)
- On a personal note, for me (Beth), you can pray that I will not compare myself to others here & that I would not be overwhelmed with the demand for “mommy, mommy, mommy” from the girls and that I can also meet the needs as a wife to Will
- Our opportunities as a family or individually to share the Good News (in English of course!)

Well, here we go!

Ok friends….tomorrow (today, tomorrow, I have no idea where I am!) is the big travel day!  We are on our way to begin our journey to Funny Lady Land…and here’s a funny picture for the occasion…

Are they ready for us?  I just don’t know….

Some things to pray about:
- We would have a fun journey as a family (I know, I know they’ll cry, but at least so will some of the other kids on the plane too, right?)
- Mahaney especially, she is cutting 4-5 teeth and has BAD diaper rash right now…TMI for some of you, specific pr need for others…
- That all 13 of our bags make it there without much wear and tear…yes, I said it…13…..sheesh! (Also, we know it’s just “stuff” too…)
- That Will & Beth’s marriage would be strengthened through this whole travel ordeal (We are both very strong planners and if one thing goes wrong, it could be more detrimental than a game of Settlers of Catan)
- Most importantly, that maybe on the plane, amongst the LONG flight, there might be a chance or small moment that we can share the love of JC with another….did I mention the flight is LONG?

Stay tuned for an update when we arrive in Funny Lady Land next week sometime…..and so it begins – South Asian time!

Did everyone have a good Christmas?

Alright!  We have moved from VA to TN in the last 2 weeks and we’re spending some time with family before we head out to Funny Lady Land officially.  It has been a sweet time of visiting and sharing.  We have all 4 gotten our visas & we are awaiting final confirmation on a date for departure.
Already?  I know, it’s crazy!  We are looking forward to this new adventure, even though goodbyes are hard…you know who you are!!  Here are some recent pics of what’s been going on during some transition, and yes, we’ve been making a lot of cookies!

      

Thank you all for praying for us…we could not have gotten through this time of packing, Christmasing, goodbying, crying, hugging, and transitioning if it wasn’t for your prayers and God’s strength!  Dhanyavad! (Thank you in Hindi)

A little late, but too cute not to share…

Happy Turkey Day!

On Thanksgiving, I let Maddie wear her turkey shirt and told her it was “Happy Turkey Day”…..this video was during snack time….what a silly goose….or turkey….

A little late, but too cute not to share…

A little late, but too cute not to share…

On Thanksgiving, I let Maddie wear her turkey shirt and told her it was “Happy Turkey Day”…..this video was during snack time….what a silly goose….or turkey….

Happy Halloween!