Sewa Ashram

I've been really bad about updating lately. And I'm going to go ahead and blame that on my mom. That's right, Mommy in America gets the blame. It's all because she's been praying that we'd be super busy and encouraged in our last few months here in India. Boy, has the Lord answered that prayer! We've been beyond busy, maybe even a little too busy but that's okay.  We are definitely thankful.

So while Joe's cousins were here we went to Sewa Ashram for the day. It was an incredible experience. We got to meet some really sweet people and love on some kiddos.

While we were playing with the kids I got a little background story on one of the little boys in a wheelchair. He was a perfectly healthy baby and toddler. And then one day everything changed... His mother died and his father stopped caring about him eventually remarrying.
Due to years of neglect, this boy is now permanently in a wheelchair with visible handicaps. But even though he can't communicate at all, his brain is still functioning normally. He understands everything that is going on around him.

He is living at the ashram right now while the workers there encourage his grandmother to take responsibility for him. Although he can't run and play like the others, he sits in his chair either with a huge smile on his face or singing his heart out.
My heart breaks for this boy. But my heart is also thankful for the ashram, for the love and care he's receiving on a daily basis now, and for the huge grin on his face while I was talking to him that day.

These men have learned to make beautiful jewelry. We were able to watch them while they worked. And shop a little :)

My Hubby-the Celebrity

If you remember back to last year, Joe and I made our television debut with a Russian commercial. It was an experience for sure. Speaking of that commercial, we've still never seen the finished product. Who knows, we could be famous in Russia and not even know it!

Anyway, Joe just recently was contacted by his "agent" with yet another commercial opportunity. This one is actually going to air in America so maybe we'll actually see this one when it's finished. The commercial is for iyogi.

It's amazing how much patience is required for that line of work. Joe's part of the commercial is less than 20 seconds and it took almost 5 hours to shoot.
The make-up had to be just right (even though I thought it was a little too pale).
The hair had to be perfectly messy.
The lines had to memorized and read 1,000 different ways (Joe had to be creative since he only had two lines total.)
The lighting had to be perfect.
The set had to look a certain way on camera. etc.

 Glad I just had to sit off to the side and watch :)

We just never know what kind of experiences we are getting ourselves into.

One of my favorite parts was when we'd have to stop the shoot because this man could hear barking dogs or honking horns in the taping. Surprise Surprise... it's India! What do you expect?!

Hiccup

20 weeks. Woohoo! It was wonderful to get to the halfway point in the pregnancy last week. Joe and I celebrated with a few pictures. Okay, maybe we do this every week, but we have a lot of celebrating to do! 

Last Thursday, 20 weeks and 2 days preggo, we had our first "hiccup" in the pregnancy. I  woke up feeling a little weird, but put it off as gas rolling around in my belly. As the day progressed though my belly felt more and more heavy,a lot of pressure right under my belly button. We didn't let it slow us down though (oops, maybe a mistake) and checked ourselves into the Hilton with Joe's cousins. A treat from Joe's Uncle Brian! We were so excited about swimming, hot showers, comfy beds, movies, shopping, and celebrating Diwali with my friend. 

After checking in, we started shopping around the mall that connects to the hotel. The more we walked the more uncomfortable I felt. I ended up calling a friend and then the Doctor. 

The more I explained to my Doctor the more nervous she got. She kept saying, "Oh Goodness, it sounds like contractions! You must come to the hospital immediately." 

Note: I hadn't even thought about panicking till I called my doctor. I was thinking, this is a definite cultural difference. I don't go to the Dr. often, but I don't think they are usually the ones that make you panic.

So Joe and I followed the Docs orders and headed to the hospital...where we stayed for two days. I like to say, "we traded the Hilton for the Hospital and Diwali for Da-bed." What were we thinking?!

I was thankful for the amazing care! (It was my first time ever to spend the night in a hospital as a patient!) Thanks to a shot of hormones, an IV, and some antibiotics my Doctor was able to stop the contractions and they haven't returned.

Which brings us to 21 weeks!

Mommy-to-be and baby are doing well. I know this baby is growing stronger ever day, because the movements are getting more defined. I'm just hoping that Joe will soon be able to feel this little one wiggle.

We are so thankful for the prayers of our family and friends. Many have been praying for our protection. Between the pregnancy hiccup AND firework fires, the Lord definitely protected us this week!

While we were at the hospital, the rest of India was celebrating its largest holiday, Diwali. I like to describe it as a little bit of Christmas and a little bit 4th of July all rolled into one. The "festival of lights" is all about... the lights :) Everyone decorates their houses with Diwali lights and gets out in the streets on the night of Diwali to shoot off firecrackers. 

While we were away, in Da-bed, one of our neighbor's fireworks ended up on our back porch. Apparently, it burned one of our cleaning cloths waiting to be laundered. Sorry about that. Miraculously, neither our a/c unit or washing machine were touched by the fire! 

We are so thankful for the Lord's provision and protection. So even with the hiccup, we have to say "God is good, all the time!"

Carking

It all began last year with a misspelled text message we received "Hey you guys want to come carke pumpkins with us?"
And from that message the birth of the tradition "Halloween Carking" began.

Even though some of our friends weren't here this year to help us celebrate we had a great time carking our pumpkins.

We ate the traditional (does two years in a row make a tradition?) rice stir fry and spiced it up with some momo's. We also decorate some Oreos for the occasion.

I even made caramel sauce from scratch. What can I say, when pregnancy cravings hit you'll do just about anything!

We had a blast with family and friends!!!

Happy Halloween.