Happy Thanksgiving!

We have officially completed our First Major Holiday Abroad :)

We were able to pull off a "Traditional Thanksgiving" complete with the usual staple foods including a Butterball Turkey, Canned Cranberry Sauce,  Green Bean Casserole, Pumpkin Pie and of course Pecan Pie :) 

This was our first Thanksgiving that we have ever celebrated where we actually made all the food and preparations ourselves. 

Handmade Table decorations that Hudson and Mommy made.

Getting Ready to Sit Down & Enjoy the Feast!

We did have on minor "goof-up." Being that this was the First Thanksgiving that we had cooked the turkey all by ourselves, we didn't realize that when you are preparing the turkey, you need to not only take out the neck (which is in one cavity) but apparently there is a plastic bag full of Turkey Organs in another cavity!

So we cooked the turkey with the plastic baggie full of organs and didn't even realize it until we started carving up the bird!

Making a wish with the Turkey Wishbone ;)

Bo Goes to the Hospital....

It has come to our attention that there has been some confusion as to "what exactly happened" to Bo that he ended up in the Hospital, so this post will hopefully clarify some peoples misconceptions :)

The first week we arrived in The City,  Bo woke up in the middle of the night with extreme chest pain. We assumed that maybe it was something that he ate (since the foods we have been eating here are quite different from what we have been consuming these last few months in the mountains.) 

So a trip to the Hospital didn't seem necessary.

 However, the same thing happened again about a week later and thats when we decided that we better get "this thing" checked out. 

We hailed a taxi at 3 o'clock in the morning (which was an experience in itself... ;)

[[I am sure you can imagine what it must have been like having a Man hunkered over in severe pain and a Pregnant lady holding a 3 year trying to get a ride to the hospital in a foreign county ;) ]]

Once we finally arrived at the Hospital, we were rushed to a the emergency room and Bo started to undergo a battery of tests. 

He had Ultrasounds, X-rays, Blood tests, Body scans, Needles stuck in his arms and Tubes stuffed down his throat (all while still being in server pain)

The pain did not subside until somewhere around late morning/ early afternoon! (even with the the pain meds he was administered)  

Finally, somewhere in the the early afternoon, the doctors concluded that he has Ulcers. 

However, he does not have just one, or Two, or even Three! O no, Bo has a grand total of SIX Ulcers! That's Six Open sores in his Stomach!

(No wonder he was in so much pain)

(In the Emergency Room, trying to pretend that the pain is not there.)

He was treated with Medication and put on a Strict "Bland" Diet that included, No spicy food, No heavily seasoned meats, No acidic fruits or vegetables, No Sugar or Creamy foods, and the list goes on :(

So even though the endeavor was quite the experience, we are Soo Thankful that the problem was diagnosed and treatable! And are Happy to report that Bo is doing well. He has had only one more "incident" since the Hospital visit (and it was not as severe, lasting a much shorter period of time.)  

Requests

1. Continue to the Lift Up Bo as his body continues to heal

2. Ask that would we have a smooth and easy transition into our new home. 

DiWali!

So we have experienced our first Diwali Festival!

It is commonly known as "The Festival of Lights" & is a Super Popular Festival in this part of the world celebrated by Most of the population with a wide range of traditional activities. Some of the activities include sharing special meals and exotic foods with family, Special Decorations such as paper lanterns, Flower Garlands, Twinkle Lights, etc. 

However, the most common traditional activity seems to be that of setting off Fireworks!

The Fireworks start early in the evening and last all through the night (for a few consecutive nights.)

The best way I can describe this festival is the the Commercialism of Christmas 

meets the

 Explosions of Independence Day ;)

The Nonstop fireworks were a little too loud for the Boy ;)

Candles that are commonly seen and lit around Diwali

Enjoying the Diwali twinkle lights at a local mall.

Requests:

1. Bo has recently been diagnosed with Ulcers. 

Please Lift Him Up as he is going through treatment. 

Ask that the Ulcers will be under control quickly to avoid further pain and discomfort and so he can get back to his Normal Routine. 

'reverse-reverse' culture shock?

About two weeks ago, we left our home in the Mountains to move to the City. It was almost a bit of "reverse" culture shock, going from such a rural setting to a very urban "metropolis".  In the Mountains, things like reliable electricity and running water were never a constant.  We had also grown  accustom to doing all our grocery shopping in Open Markets; buying produce from random roadside vegetable stands and meat from Butcher shops (where you actually pick out an animal and they slaughter it to your liking right there in the shop.---talk about Fresh! ;) 

 However, now that we are back in the City, our way of life has changed again. We had to get used to there being grocery stores, using public transport like metros, shopping in malls and we had to get ourselves adjusted to not hoarding buckets of water for when our water would run out (because in the city, this is an irrational notion ;)

We are also enjoying that establishments are still opened later than 8pm :)

The Train ride from the Mountains to the City was about 7 hours, however we must have eaten about 8 times through out the duration of our ride. They just kept bringing treys of food down the aisles; bread rolls and soup, yogurt, chicken and rice, ice-cream, etc.

All the eating wore the little guy out ;)

To celebrate our arrival to our new home, we had a "Cup-Cake" Party.

While trying to take a more-up-to-date Belly shot, Hudson kept photo-bombing ;)

This years' Pumpkin Party. Hudson was BatMan (making his Daddy Proud ;)

Requests

1. Ask for continued guidence in the Work we are doing here.

2. Language Learning Comprehension. Ask that we would be able to communicate effectively in the local language.