So, I didn't get this post done the next day as I'd hoped. Then we went to Dubai (another blog for another day!) and one day turned to three days. Okay, so here I am and ready to roll!
I decided to recap Thanksgiving and Christmas in one blog. It seemed like a fun thing to do since both holidays included family members blessing us with visits and making the holidays so much more special.
My mother-in-law, Nancy, came across a great deal on a ticket at the last minute and jumped on the chance to be with us over Thanksgiving, as well as Aberly's 2nd birthday. She spent a week with us and we got to show her sights. Unfornately, I think she she got the "rougher" tour being the first person here and us still learning about the area ourselves. I don't think our tour guide skills were too perfect! LOL But despite that, we had a wonderful time and Aberly LOVED playing with her GeeGee. And GeeGee loved playing with her. We were truly blessed to have Nancy with us for our first holiday away from home and Aberly was blessed to have her GeeGee there for her big #2! Thanksgiving day, we went over to our friend's home for a large gathering of school friends. Austin and Liz live right on the beach so it was a beautiful place to all get together and enjoy the holiday. Some holiday fare can be hard to find in the stores here, but people did a wonderful job getting ingredients to make traditional Thanksgiving dishes to share. Nancy said it was truly a unforgettable Thanksgiving. She was right.
(I've discovered that my photos won't post again for some reason so unfortunately no fun photos of her visit. I'm not sure what is going on. They upload but when I "add" them, nothing happens and they disappear.)
For Christmas, we had a full house with my parents and brother here. My parents arrived early on the 16th, and Andrew came on the 20th. As much as we loved having them here, three visitors was a lot at times and we all had our moments of stress. Six people in one house is a lot, even if they are each sleeping in another apartment! We did a lot of touring as well and seeing the sights, and went to the school family Christmas party. Lots of shopping throughout the week as well as my parents found souvenirs and gifts for back home. Christmas Day was low key and joyful as we watched Aberly open all of her gifts. We had a few small gifts for each other as well, but we kept it focused on her. She loved tearing into her gifts and seeing all her new toys. It was fun to spoil her a bit since we couldn't bring a lot for her from home. Now she has plenty! We went to Liz and Austin's for a brunch (same place as Thanksgiving) and spent a few hours there in the late morning. After my parents left, Andrew and Colin got in an overnight backpacking trip and we all took a small adventure out to Nizwa where there is huge old fort to tour. He ended his trip with us driving him up to Dubai to meet up with a friend before going to Ethiopia for the last leg of his trip. Dubai is a crazy place. Another blog at some point!
In the end, we were absolutely blessed by our family's presence. Financially, we could have never gone home this year for the holidays and having them make the sacrifice to come to us, and to see our lives here, was amazing. It was hard to have them go. It seemed like just as we were getting in our "groove", it was time for them to go. There was a lot more we could've seen and done, and a lot more talking and playing we could've done. But, the time we did have we valued so much and will cherish the rest of this year before we get to head home in the summer.
Their presence was the best gift we received for the holidays. :-)
I decided to recap Thanksgiving and Christmas in one blog. It seemed like a fun thing to do since both holidays included family members blessing us with visits and making the holidays so much more special.
My mother-in-law, Nancy, came across a great deal on a ticket at the last minute and jumped on the chance to be with us over Thanksgiving, as well as Aberly's 2nd birthday. She spent a week with us and we got to show her sights. Unfornately, I think she she got the "rougher" tour being the first person here and us still learning about the area ourselves. I don't think our tour guide skills were too perfect! LOL But despite that, we had a wonderful time and Aberly LOVED playing with her GeeGee. And GeeGee loved playing with her. We were truly blessed to have Nancy with us for our first holiday away from home and Aberly was blessed to have her GeeGee there for her big #2! Thanksgiving day, we went over to our friend's home for a large gathering of school friends. Austin and Liz live right on the beach so it was a beautiful place to all get together and enjoy the holiday. Some holiday fare can be hard to find in the stores here, but people did a wonderful job getting ingredients to make traditional Thanksgiving dishes to share. Nancy said it was truly a unforgettable Thanksgiving. She was right.
(I've discovered that my photos won't post again for some reason so unfortunately no fun photos of her visit. I'm not sure what is going on. They upload but when I "add" them, nothing happens and they disappear.)
For Christmas, we had a full house with my parents and brother here. My parents arrived early on the 16th, and Andrew came on the 20th. As much as we loved having them here, three visitors was a lot at times and we all had our moments of stress. Six people in one house is a lot, even if they are each sleeping in another apartment! We did a lot of touring as well and seeing the sights, and went to the school family Christmas party. Lots of shopping throughout the week as well as my parents found souvenirs and gifts for back home. Christmas Day was low key and joyful as we watched Aberly open all of her gifts. We had a few small gifts for each other as well, but we kept it focused on her. She loved tearing into her gifts and seeing all her new toys. It was fun to spoil her a bit since we couldn't bring a lot for her from home. Now she has plenty! We went to Liz and Austin's for a brunch (same place as Thanksgiving) and spent a few hours there in the late morning. After my parents left, Andrew and Colin got in an overnight backpacking trip and we all took a small adventure out to Nizwa where there is huge old fort to tour. He ended his trip with us driving him up to Dubai to meet up with a friend before going to Ethiopia for the last leg of his trip. Dubai is a crazy place. Another blog at some point!
In the end, we were absolutely blessed by our family's presence. Financially, we could have never gone home this year for the holidays and having them make the sacrifice to come to us, and to see our lives here, was amazing. It was hard to have them go. It seemed like just as we were getting in our "groove", it was time for them to go. There was a lot more we could've seen and done, and a lot more talking and playing we could've done. But, the time we did have we valued so much and will cherish the rest of this year before we get to head home in the summer.
Their presence was the best gift we received for the holidays. :-)
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