Cliff Hanger

And once the clouds came... so did the RAIN!  (for 15 minutes)  But it was rain nonetheless.

Then, it was necessary to play outside in the rain.

I kept asking Aliza over and over again, "Do you know what rain is?"

Sometimes she said yes and sometimes she said no...

But she sure knows how to dance in the rain in style.

And so does this girl!

The Clouds Came

On Monday, the clouds came.

I called them five weeks earlier asking if they would make an appearance.  However, due to a bad connection problem, they didn't get the message until this past weekend.  After arriving in Mirdif, they apologized for any inconvenience they may have caused.  I sweetly replied: "It's really no problem, thank you for coming.... I've missed you."

You'll have to check tomorrow for what happened next.

It's good to stay in touch...

Because you get to be in the day-to-day lives of people you love.

Like Watkins.  Otherwise, how would I have known that she is reading Laura Bushs' biography....  It would have been impossible.

Everyday, Everyway.

It was an honor to giggle with you tonight, or should I say... Giggle at you.

Just like the old times.

Cruisin' Outside

The temperature forecast for the rest of this week is as follows:

Wednesday ~ high of 87
Thursday ~ 87
Friday ~ 91
Saturday ~ 91
Sunday ~ 90

That's why if you come by, you'll see us cruisin' around outside.

Yesterday we "went" to Oman.

And Outside...

The UAE is beautiful.  Especially right outside our villa.

Bougainvillea

Basil

Night-blooming jasmine

This last one is for Kimberly.  In honor of her bird watching heart.

Carry

"I'm willing to get my hands dirty.
I'll expose myself to things that I wouldn't if I weren't called into community.
Because Jesus bore things that weren't HIS to bear- I'm willing for my life to be complicated.  I'm willing for it to become messy.
There's no such thing as love that doesn't require sacrifice.  No community that doesn't require suffering."

- Paul Tripp

It's important to remind myself that this quote comes from a heart that yearns to grow in community with others.  It is gospel-centered.  Carrying each others' burdens means that I'm not focused on what I get out of the relationships in my life, but instead I seek to be in redemptive relationships.  This is something I'm continuing to learn every day, every way.

The Baby Shower

This weekend we threw a baby shower for two of our dear friends.  The funny thing about baby showers is that most people over here have never been to one.  It's an American occasion not found in many other parts of the world.  So in honor of many peoples' first experience....

Gifts were given.

Beautiful cupcakes were made.

Now I claimed credit for these, but really- Donny made them.

She makes the best cakes in the world!

The spread was created.  Sweet and savory!

A chocolate boat floated over looking very Arabic.

(And it was the best chocolate I've ever eaten...)

And of course like any proper baby shower, games were played.

Fort-itude

Courage

Bravery

Strength of Character

Spirit

Grit

Guts

Mettle

Resilience

Moral Fiber

We all wonder what the best way is to raise children in this world.  We desire for them to be people who will one day affect and change their world for the better.  If they are going to do this in their later years, surely there is something we can do to ensure this when they are young.  Books and books are written on how to make sure your child has the fortitude, resilience, grit, etc. to thrive when they are teenagers and then adults.  In the villa, we have found the way to produce fortitude...

Build a fort, duh...

What I Missed on the 31st

Living in the Middle East means that you don't celebrate some holidays the way you would in the States.  The first of those for me was Halloween.  It was just like any other day.  There weren't any decorations anywhere and no real prominence of orange and black around.  The only place I really saw any Halloween treats was The Lime Tree Cafe (because they know how to do it right!).

Yummy!

But I was able to experience some semblance of Halloween over skype.  It's a tradition in our family to carve a pumpkin.  My mom always draws the face and my dad cuts it out.  When I finally saw the pumpkin over skype I realized something... it looks the same every single year. ;)  Sometimes the eye shape changes a little, but he always has eyebrows.  The nose might vary and one year he might have teeth, but he always has the same smirk.  And that's the way it should be.

Good going Rodger and Shirley!

Lost in a Car and Loving It

Last Sunday my friends and I got lost in Deira, which is one of the neighborhoods here.  I've told some people, but you should know that driving in Dubai is much different than driving in the States...  It's way more confusing and it involves making a lot of circles.  Those circles usually happen when you're lost.  You'll get on one road following some signs around, turning where you can and then you end up right back in the middle of the same place.  This is what it looked like...

Anybody notice anything unusual here...  

It's a shoe store.  A seller of fine sandals.

I may look upset, but I wasn't.

 This is just my example of a "we're lost in Deira and we can't get out after an hour and a half "face...  Hehe.  Really, at the end of it we ended up singing and dancing to "My Girl" as it came on a local Dubai radio station.

Riding in Cars with Girls

This is what it looks like to ride in the back seat with Aliza & Norah:

Someone got a hold of the tissue box...

Yep, it's true.

And someone else was the target.

Remember what it was like to be stuck in your stroller at crucial times...

Like when your family gets to the beach to walk around...

"Has everyone forgotten about me.... I'm still in here!!!  Yooo hoooo!"

"Oh, I give up..."

The people out of their strollers get to have all the fun.

A Show At Chazzanos

On Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:30 am to see my nephew play a show at Chazzano's in Ferndale, Michigan.  It was 8:30 pm their time.

This is what I got to see:

This was the first time for me to see one of Dano's shows.

Doesn't he look cool?!?!

Who answers a phone in the middle of a set... hehe

I had to move seats because I was taking up too much room.

That happens to me every time I go to a concert through computer...

It was the night before Halloween.

Kim and Adam were dressed up for a party they were going to after the show.

They were both splicers (from bioshock).

I don't know what that means; all I know is... Kim lost an ear.

But I made sure to show a picture of her with the mask covering up the wound...