Merry Christmas

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Lots going on

Life has been fairly busy. Moving to India combined with Christmas seems to be a lot for one family to do...especially me! I have spent a good part of the day searching for some gifts Ted brought from India. I hid them but can't seem to remember where. At this point I am hoping they go packed in the sea shipment.

We were able to visit my sister Karen, Matt, Allyson and Meghan in Iowa last weekend and were able to hook up a slingbox at there house. We'll see if if works or not. The kids had a truly wonderful time with their cousins and we enjoyed the visit with Matt and Karen. Ted had Karen rolling her eyes a lot as he mumbled technical computer talk! Logan found a way to entertain himself on the drive home with a paper bag!

This past weekend was spent in Indiana with the Green Family. We had a fabulous time together. We celebrated Christmas a few days early and enjoyed a delicious meal. The kids had fun seeing there cousins (both the young and old ones!). We were thrilled to hear that our neice Bethany is engaged to Andrew...we are just hoping that they wait until we return to get married!

Have house, will move

We have a house to move into it India! Let me just say I am thrilled with this news. Ted will be getting the key this week and will move things in this weekend. The house is a lovely house with a nice yard (or garden as they call it) out front but virtually no back yard. Currently there is no pool but they are installing one. I am not sure if it will be complete by January or not. We are just thrilled that we will have one. The kids are really excited about having a pool and I am sure Millie will love it as well! There is not much in the way of homes in Chennai right now due to all the expat growth. We feel blessed to have this house as the landlord has been incredible to work with. We are looking forward to making this our home for 2 yrs. If anyone ever wants to visit Chennai we have a guest bedroom for you.

Ted's work is going quite well although he is extremely busy. There is a lot to learn plus trying to get the house, vehicles and banking set up takes a large amount of time. He has learned how to iron his dress clothes since I am not there. I have had a nice break from ironing!

Our time waiting for India

I realized today that my blog header is all wrong. Instead of "Our Time in India" it really should appear "Our Time waiting for India." I feel like my life has been constantly focused on India for the past 6+ months! On one hand I am so terrified to board that airplane and move to a new land but on the other hand I am looking forward to living life once again. I am sure that friends and family are tired of hearing the "I" word just as much as I am. I am looking forward to doing things that I just haven't had time or had the energy to work on such as quilting. I am hoping to finish a quilt I began for Mason years ago, plus I have a couple of baby quilts to work on for new arrivals in our extended families!

Ted is doing well in India. He loves his work and loves being at work, could it be because there is constant electricity and no flickering of lights? I think Ted is missing my cooking which is a good thing because I miss cooking for him. The kids really like frozen pizza just the same as a nice meal, so guess what I opt for? You guessed it....pizza! The kids are really helping out around here and are really being good. Hopefully the remaining 3 1/2 weeks will go quickly. It has been great to call him on the Vonage phone number...that works awesome!

Ted is still house hunting, we have one prospect that is a really nice home but the yard is pretty small. There is no pool but they will put one in for us. We will be making the decision hopefully by next week.

I delivered our food shipment yesterday. I warned the man at the dock that this was one mother that was paranoid that there would be nothing to eat in India. Fortunately he didn't make me take anything home. One thing that we have realized we need in India is plenty of storage. India homes do not have basements so it is good to have some sort of storage room.

Air shipment

Well, the air shipment is packed up and ready to go. We were able to pack a 5 X 5 X 4 foot box full of things we really would like when we first move. I guess it won't leave the country until Ted does. It should arrive Saturday but will take some time to clear customs. I hope that it doesn't take too long to get through and that nothing is damaged and/or stolen. Ted is all packed up and is ready to start this new challenge set before him. I on the other hand am in denial, just wanting to stay in my nice little box in Illinois. I do not want to move...as Juanita and Karen have reminded me that is fine, I don't have to want to move today just in January! Oh wise women they are. So I am praying for an attitude adjustment tonight. I think my emotions are more in an uproar since Ted is preparing to leave. I wish we were all going because the waiting is getting old. BUT that being said, I can't imagine going not knowing what our housing situation is.
Ted will be busy enough looking for a house, learning his new job and just figuring out India. I am sure he will appreciate emails and even phone calls...once we know for sure the Vonage will work there.

Getting things checked off

Well, time is approaching for Ted to head to India. It is hard to believe that at one time we were all supposed to be heading the end of October as well. Ted is anxious to get started about the job. Unfortunately he has the task of finding a home for us as well. I am hoping with the new real estate company and email that I can be included on housing information as well.

Our pile for the air shipment is rapidly growing. We are trying to make a list for the sea shipment as well but that is tricky since we don't know what the house will have and won't have. That shipment won't leave until the later part of November so we do have some time. We purchased Millie's air crate and I have confirmed that it is indeed what we need. I am still trying to figure out for sure what kind of documentation we will need to bring Millie to India. It is very confusing! I have asked one of Ted's colleagues to call a quarantine officer in Chennai to figure out exactly what is needed. We are struggling to figure out how to get Christmas gifts to India. Unless they are small and can be put in our luggage they will need to be sent in the sea shipment...before Christmas. So how does one open up a present that is not there? Please share any suggestions!

We have our last round of shots tomorrow afternoon. The kids are not looking forward to anymore but are relieved that this will be the final trip to Caterpillar! The nurse has been great with the kids. After shots Mason has his 6ht grade band concert and will be in the Jazz band as well. He is so excited about music this year. He has really improved on his saxophone.

Tonight we had our 4H meeting and were thrilled for the new leaders that will take over while we are gone! Thank you BW and KK for resuming this post. It has weighed heavily on my mind to have to vacate this position after a year but Lord willing we will be back soon! 4H is such a great thing for kids and we have an awesome club. It seems slowly but surely we are weaning ourselves away from responsibilities here. The goats have already left (and will have their first babies in February~Claude better send photos!). We have homes for the cats (unless we decide to take them with) and homes for our 2 other dogs. I think I have a home for my hens but need to double check. We have the truck put up for sale (2005 Nissan Titan) and will list our 03 Honda Odessey van soon.

Feel free to continue to pray for our family as we make this transition. We have been so comforted by all the support and encouragement from our friends and family...thank you! We know that God is in control always, we just need reminders sometimes!

So much to do

Today was a day once again busy with appointments...doctors appointments. All of us had to go and get immunizations. The kids had to get there second round of shots, the next time will be in mid October. I must say they were quite brave! Not a fun thing but at least we know that they are protected against typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, and some others that I just can't remember! Everyone has also gotten a physical and received a clean bill of health, for that we are thankful. So I guess we really get to move!

We still do not know if the house we would like to live in will work out or not. I was thinking about it today and realized that I may not know which house we will live in but God does. Ultimately he has the perfect house picked out for our family. It is hard to believe that just one month ago Ted and I were in India! Time goes so quickly, just remind me of that in six months!

India here we come

It is just amazing to think that we are moving to India. My sister is convinced that God has been grooming us for India all along, after all we are from INDIAna! Some days I feel so overwhelmed at the thought of moving and think there is no possible way we (mostly me!) can make this move. But I am just learning that I really just need to trust in God. He has taken care of our family this long and I am sure he won't forget about us in India. There have been so many things occurring during this process that you can clearly see that God has his hand in it. The encouragement that we receive from family and friends has just been incredible. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. Hopefully India will be an incredible experience for our whole family. Ted is so excited about the job and the opportunities that come with it. We are looking forward to seeing parts of the world that would never be in reach if we stayed in Illinois. I think that it will be wonderful for us to witness how a huge percentage of the world's population live. We will truly realize how blessed we are as Americans and will look forward to coming back here.

I must say that our visit to India wasn't as bad as I expected. I didn't see any snakes, I was certain as the plane landed they would be slithering all over the runway. But no snakes! It is funny how we have these preconceived notions of India. I also imagined seeing dead people on the street. Well, I only saw one dead person and it happen to be a funeral procession. Although someone in India reminded me that I might have seen others but I just thought they were sleeping. I will like to continue thinking they are just taking a little nap! My oldest brother reminded me when I was whining about moving that this move was not all about me. Well, in an email to him I agreed that it wasn't just about me, it was about me living with 5 million other people! Actually Chennai doesn't feel that large of a city. They do not have the tall buildings like you would expect. There are lots of people but everyone seems to be going somewhere. Traffic is...well lets just say interesting. I had to laugh because the lines on the road are merely decorations. No one pays attention to them. The traffic is amazing, it works. In the states there would be so much road rage if people drove like the Indians do. They are amazingly polite to each other.

If any one would like to come visit India, now is the time! So get your passports ready!