Well read

I've decided that I need to become a much more voracious reader.  My 10 reasons:

1.  So I can add more educated words like voracious to my vocabulary.

2.  I now work in a library.  A librarian who doesn't read is simply a con-artist and I am no such thing.  Plus, I have found that I have new and exciting books at my fingertips daily as I shelve returned and new books.  And I get to see them as I go through the shelves.  My "to-read" list is ever growing.  I've decided I need to carry a small notebook in my pocket each day at work so I can actually make a physical list.  No need to go to a bookstore.

3.  My husband is a serious reader and we'd like Aberly to be a lover of books.  Having your mom not modeling that is confusig.

4.  I have discovered Bill Bryson and he is damn funny.  And he has like, 8 books, so I need to get reading.

5.  The image I have of myself curled up with a good book, tea by my side, blanket over my lap, in a chair by a lamp, is much more appealing than one of myself glowing in the light of my computer screen, zoned out.

6.  Book club.  Being in a book club for the last four years, three back home and now here, has opened me to the what exists in the world of books.  I was stuck in Babysitters club my elementary life, the boring world of assigned books in middle and highschool, text books in college, comic books for a long time in general, and then murder mysteries post-college. 

7.  I have many more friends now that are readers and always talking about books and I feel left out.

8.  You can learn a whole lot about life and the world. 

9.  Challenging what you think you know is good.

10.  Finally, Goodreads.  If you haven't heard of Goodreads or joined Goodreads, it's a website where you list and review (with stars and/or comments) all the books you have ever read in life.  That is also assuming you can remember them all.  I am finding myself hooked on having a high, high number of books, and I spend hours (split among days) adding more to my list.  Colin has been helping me because he has such a great memory and can remind me of books he knows I've read since we've been together.  At this point, I am not ashamed that half my list is from The Babysitters Club, The Berenstein Bears, Magic Schoolbus, and many other kid books.  I want to prove that I read!  And I do have many pieces of literature and "good" books to show that I am well-read.  If you decide to join Goodreads, request me to be your friend on goodreads so we can share and compare books.  And then you can see proof that I am reader and becoming more well read.  :-)  I wonder if I can find college textbooks....

Ironed

If I had a list of the top reasons I loved having a nanny, ironed pants would be on that list.  When I pulled out a pair of my linen pants that looked like they did the first time I found them in Banana Republic last summer, I was shocked and in joy.

Yes, we have a nanny.  Once I became gainfully employed part time, that meant we needed to get someone to watch Aberly and with that, it also meant that our house would be cleaned and our lives put into order.  I didn't quite realize the joy of having help until I had help.  And mind you, this isn't like having help in the states.  This is a profession for these women (and some men) and this is how many of them support themselves and their families back at home.  What is unfortunate is how "cheap" their FABULOUS help is in comparison to what you would pay in the states.  I did a quick estimation, and with what we pay our part time nanny per month salary for 100 hours a month (estimated since each month fluctuates), she earns in US dollars, $2.10 per hour.  And this is for a woman who takes care of our child, cleans our house, and does my laundry.  And again, this is for high quality work.  But, that is the general going rate here and for a Filipino or Indian woman, this is good pay. 

Anyways, so Priscilla comes each week day at noon and takes over the care of my home.  She loves Aberly and is so great with her.  She keeps my house in tip top shape.  I have never seen so clearly through our windows.  Our floors rarely have more than a few crumbs and fallen hairs on them.  Dishes no longer crowd my sink.  My counters and stove top are shiny clean.  Our laundry is done, hanging to dry, folded, and yes, ironed.  On that note, I should explain that Filipinos always iron everything, even their own clothing.  It's just part of laundry.  You are not presentable in wrinkled clothing.  Priscilla actually told me (nicely) that she hated seeing me go out in wrinkled things.  I have since learned that how my clothes look are a representation of her work so being in wrinkled clothes reflects poorly on her.  Iron away Priscilla, iron away.  I am not going to argue having my clothes look good!

Priscilla also helps with any odd jobs I ask, and sees things that need to get done and just does them.  Can you help me cut up these peas for dinner later?  Yes, and she wants to know if I would also like them steamed.  Can you clean the microwave?  Yes, and that is the day my windows also become crystal clear.  I explain to her how we haven't found the correct drain plug size for our one shower.  She shows up the next day with it in hand.  I tell here (this is the first day she is here) that laundry is the one thing we don't expect her help with.  I come home to laundry done and folded (and she finds time to do it since then).   Each day, Aberly's hair is some cute hair-do that I could not master myself.  Etc.., etc.., etc...  Seriously, I'm not sure how that woman gets all the stuff done she does each day.  Even with Aberly's nap being around 2 hours.  She must not sit down.

I admit that I was somewhat hesitant to get a nanny.  Even though we had to, it just felt WEIRD.  And I realize it is somewhat weird coming from America, but I will tell you, if you ever have the opportunity, it is well worth it.  It's amazing.  The increased family time you have from reduced chores is fantastic.  Getting to actually relax during Aberly's nap on the weekends with Colin instead of doing chores I couldn't do during the week is a gift. 

And having ironed clothes... ahhhhhh
 

LB adventures

I just finished taking a shower.  "Well that's lovely Kelsey, I took one too this morning.  What about it?"  Well, I hadn't taken one in 5 days.  Not by choice, thank you. 

This all started over a year ago when I found a small, pea-sized lump in my left breast (which I will now refer to at LB for all my male friends and family who don't want to keep reading the full on "left breast" words regarding their daughter/friend/sisters/etc..).  My midwife at the time wasn't concerned.  I had recently had a baby and finished nursing, so she was inclined to think it was a clogged milk duct, or something else harmless of the sort.  She told me to not worry and come back in a year if it was still there or had grown.

Fast forward a year plus, and now we are in Oman.  Well, the lump was still there, and in fact, had recently grown since moving here.  And occasionally it felt a bit achy, or made my armpit feel achy.  This bothered me.  So I finally decided to go to the local private hospital our school uses to see one of the OB's.  Let's just say that trip cascaded me into a whole new world of healthcare.  And I liked it, for the most part.

I called to make my appointment and got an appointment for two days out.  Honestly, getting appointments is not hard here.  I got the confirming text to my phone about the appointment, to which you respond "1" for confirm, and "2" to cancel, and sent me "1" reply.

The OB I saw was a lovely woman from India.  Dr. Canchana (sp?).  Despite telling the schedulers why I was coming (who also, by the way, failed to actually have me on the schedule after all the process described above), asked me why I was there.  We went over some basic history for my records and she informed me that routine annual "woman's" appointments weren't covered on my insurance unless it was recommended by a doctor, so would just do the LB exam to check the lump.  Doctors here in Oman tend to be more "business" like and not so personal, touchy-feely as in the states.  Sit there, take your shirt off, and let me check you out.

After the exam, she sat me down and said although she wasn't highly concerned, since the lump had grown over the year, she would schedule me for an ultrasound exam and then a follow up with the surgeon.  Huh what?  How did we get from basic exam to surgeon?  Apparently this was all "just in case" and he would review the ultrasound findings and discuss options with me if they were necessary.  I also have discovered since then that the insurance card I carry with TAISM which is  like gold, and yes, it is actually gold colored.  Wave that card and you are covered.  I have paid a total of $15.50 over the course of my family's medical care in Oman and that was simply to set up Aberly's and my medical files at the hospital.


Anyways, I came back for my ultrasound a few days later.  I couldn't understand about half of what my tech was saying as she had a pretty thick accent (I have learned to decipher most accents here very well otherwise) but understood that there was some concern because the object on the screen showed "vascularity", and on top of the fact that in had grown in the last year, raised more concern.  I headed upstairs with my folder and reel of ultrasound photos for my own viewing pleasure, and waited to see the surgeon, Dr. Ladha.  Oh, and finding him took some time.  Some wings of the hospital are well marked and directed to, this one was not.


Dr. Ladha was great.  He made me smile.  He looked at the records, felt me up for himself (yes, a nurse was present), and suggested scheduling surgery to get it out and confirm it was benign.  I realized he wanted to schedule it that moment, so I said I would get back to him since I needed to talk to my husband to find out what would work best for our schedule.   He said, okay, no problem, get yourself admitted before you leave, and then call to make the appointment.  Hey, I can do that.  I was ready to head downstairs, but oh wait, they wanted to draw blood that moment to have that taken care of before my surgery at whatever future date.  Bleah, I hate having my blood drawn since I have "baby" veins and often have to be stuck multiple times to get a draw.  I tried to convey that to the lovely Asian lady prepping to take my blood.  She smiled, pricked me, and hit the vein first shot.  She was probably smirking to herself thinking, "Lady, I learned to take blood on a bunch of small people, you are nothing."

The day of my surgery, I arrived and was lead to my room.  They are much more casual in that regard.  "Here is your room, put that gown on, someone will be back in 10 or 15 minutes".  And that was that.  I waited, and finally they did.  Dr. Ladha came as well to see me to make sure I was okay and didn't have any questions.  The rest of the experience from there was pretty normal.  I was put on to the rolling bed, wheeled to the OR and asked by every nurse, orderly, and doctor that we were operating on my LB.  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.  My anesthesiologist was a beautiful woman who you would never take to be in the medical field.  She got me hooked up and I was out within the minute.  I woke up in post-op, and then sent back to my room to relax.  I was picked up by Colin and out of the hospital by 5:00 PM to recover at home, but with the strict instructions to not lift things (okay, how do I do that with a 2-year old?), take it easy (again, a 2-year old), and NOT SHOWER until my follow-up appointment to check the incision 4 days later.  What??? 

So, I did well.  I "took it easy" the best I could as a mom, kept lifting things to a minimum, and only took two, mini baths in our shower basin in about 3 inches of water in which I washed my hair with the detachable shower head.  Colin had to help me the first time.  That is why I brag tonight that I took a shower.

And the final report to the whole LB lump?  Benign, just as we all suspected for the most part but wanted confirmed for the peace of mind and since breast cancer is so prevalent and deadly if not detected early on.  A fibrous cyst making a happy home in a very inconvenient place for my state of mind.  My incision is "perfect" according to Dr. Ladha who I will see one more time in 2 weeks for a final incision inspection.  Oh, and another reason why I love the care here.  Dr. Ladha called me personally tonight to deliver the lab results since they weren't in yesterday when I saw him.  Not a nurse, not a hospital secretary, the doctor himself. 

And the amount of money I have paid to Muscat Private for my surgery?  Half of the amount I listed above simply to set up my medical file (the other half was for Aberly's file when she had her check-up).  The rest, all covered by SAICO, my gold insurance.  No copay, no deductible, no nothing.  That's pretty amazing and a blessing.

Papa Skip's visit

How did it become January 22nd and I haven't blogged about this?  I think I honestly thought I had...

Anyways, Skip arrived safe and sound as reported in that quick post back at the beginning of January.  He luckily caught the end of Colin's Christmas break so Colin was home about half the time and then back to work for the last half.  We still managed to show him around and have a great time.  Here are some highlights.







-  Aberly didn't cry!  Okay, that sounds silly but since Aberly had been going through a stage that started around, oh, 7 months, of crying whenever Papa Skip showed up, this was phenomenal.  She was definitely wary and shy, but not a tear was shed!  She took right up to him being around each day, him going places with us, and playing with him.  She never let him hold her, but they held hands one day coming home.  I think Skip hasn't wash that hand since.  She still asks about him, along with all her grandparents, and knows that he is "bye bye far away".  She also remembers that he brought her two new sippy cups and reminds us a few times a week when using them.

-  Dive Center trip:  We take all visitors here because it's relaxing, beautiful, and a great beach cove.  Skip loved dipping his toes in the tepid ocean, laying the perfectly warm sunshine, playing in the sand and ocean with Aberly, and finishing off the afternoon with a lunch and shared bottle of wine on the patio restaurant.

-  Grand Mosque and Palace.  Must sees for tourist here in Muscat.  Colin and Skip enjoyed a morning together at the mosque and we all toured around the Palace grounds.  We had hoped to scale a mountain path we could see behind the palace that led to some forts but it was gated off.

-  Nizwa:  Skip and I adventured out to Nizwa to see some classic Oman.  Colin was at work and Aberly headed to a friend's house for the day.  We could've brought her but she had already been and it's a 4 hour drive round trip.  On the way home, Skip and I found our way to a traditional Omani graveyard that we had seen from the highway.  Traditional Omani burial is simply marked by two rocks at the head and foot, although sometimes you will find ones with rocks around the body.  The graveyard must have been 100's of years old.  It was very expansive and FULL of rock markers.  You couldn't really be sure in some areas where the individual graves were with so many rocks.   I will try to blog on this more later.

-  Daily life:  Hanging with friends, touring the school, enjoying local restaurants!  Skip was also lucky enough to be here for our neighbor's yearly "Chili Cook-off" night and got to meet many of our friends. 

All in all, a great trip.  Just as Nancy and my parents said after their visits, "he'll be back". 

However, as much as we loved having Skip, it also marked the end of all our visitors and a chance to get back to just the three of us.  We were SO BLESSED to have all our parents (and Andrew) come to see us but we have enjoyed getting back to our normal routine and quiet house.  Visitors are always loved and welcomed, but it's tiring at the same time!  Despite that, of course, we look forward to any and all our future visitors and those that come again.  Oman is truly a place to be treasured!

Happy Traveling!

Car passenger safety

Something you notice right away when moving here is that seat belt laws don't apply here.  There are no regulations on baby/child seats or anything like that.  You notice because you see cars drive by where mothers hold their babies in the seats or children are simply standing on the floor behind the front seats, watching out the windows.  It's a weird sight to behold.  You also see cars go by stuffed with families or groups of people.  A Suburban for 6-8 persons is holding 10 people.

At first it really bothered me.  It still does, mind you, but not as much as before.  Like my mother-in-law pointed out, it's like it used to be in the states when she was a kid.  The problem just lies in that there are a lot more cars on the road now and people drive faster.  Also, I remind myself that they have different views on life here that contribute to them not using seatbelts.

First, the biggest factor is In-shallah.  In shallah means "God Willing" and it is used often.  It's part of every conversation you have with a Muslim.  And they believe it.  What God wills is how it will be.  End of story.  If it is your time to die, that is God's will and there is nothing you can do about it.  If you are to be in a wreck, In Shallah.  If you are be injured, In Shallah. 

Second, they tend to view seat belts as dangerous.  A few years ago in another Muslim country, Bahrain, I believe, the son of a high up official was in a wreck and died due to be belted in to the car and unable to escape.  Although this is a very rare occurrence, the instance made a large impact on how seat belts were viewed around the area.  I do recognize that this goes against In Shallah in a way since one would argue that God willed him to die in the wreck, but nonetheless, they view seatbelts that way.

Luckily, there is a movement here among some women to reverse this view, especially when it comes to children.  And it is very easy to get a good car seat here.  They are widely available in large stores.  So that is good.

I have to admit that it's rubbed off on me a little bit.  I'm not as good about belting Aberly for short trips, as in, the 1/2 mile drive to the school or if we are going to a friend's house in our neighborhood.  If we are taking that short trip, I will let her sit on the seat without being belted.  She thinks it's so fun because we cross the wadi (dried up river bed) which is bumpy and full of rocks.  The total trip is about 5 blocks and you don't encounter other cars.  If I was seen in the US you know I'd have the police all over me with endangerment charges or something like that!  LOL  Sad how true that is in the "over protective" mindframe of the US.

Anyways, the point of this post is to showcase another way life is very different here in Oman and how it's changed my mindset a tiny bit.  I will always cringe when a car goes by me with a baby in a lap and a kid standing in the back, but I take a breath and say a quick prayer for them to stay safe.  And I'll let Aberly have those small joys of not being strapped into her car seat every once in awhile :-) 

Employed!

The last 24 hours were a whirlwind.  At the end of it, I was employed at TAISM for next year and this year.  Well, I need to wrap up a few details for this year but it should be set in stone soon.

Last month I found out about a full time job being available in the library for next year.  I contacted our admin department and scheduled a meeting with our school head for today, January 11th.  Yesterday, I received an urgent text message from the library head that read, "We have a position available immediately if u r interested.  Willing 2 consider part-time if match is good.  Stop by the library sometime this week is possible to chat."  So, I stopped by that afternoon and learned that the person who had been hired for the job couldn't end up doing the job and backed out at the last minute.  They were ready to have me jump in knowing it would be a perfect transition with learning the library and being able to pick up in the fall next year ready to go.  I could work half time no problem (if that was okay with the school head).

So I went into my meeting with him the next morning (today).  It turned out the job was a shoe-in, for this year and next.  No interview.  Just talking through the position, discussing pay, etc...  I was floored.  I expected a "here is what the job is about and we'll be doing interviews in the next few weeks if you are interested".  I had a job in my hands and when I started the part time was dependent on me and the library head working things out.

The only hitch for us is that we don't have a nanny and we don't have housing that allows for a nanny to live with us this year (that is how it works here, nannies live in maid's quarters in your home).  We would have the housing next year as the school would move us to allow for a nanny to live with us, but this year we would have to stay where we were.  I knew that we had two options to make this work. 

1.  The nanny that usually watches Aberly when I sub could agree to take Aberly on if her family was okay with that.

2.  If a former school nanny, who is currently doing part time cleaning jobs, had the time in her schedule to watch Aberly.  She is great and has wonderful recommendations.

I called Priscilla and asked her is she would be interested in working for us.  She said she would come meet with me this afternoon to talk.  She was on board the minute we sat down.  We just needed to confirm the hours so she could still do her part time cleaning in the morning and then work for us in the afternoon, and then would be full time with us next year if everything worked out.  This was a huge blessing for her as well as she wants to be back full time again and has been doing odd-jobs this year to make it by.

And that was that.  I went from being unemployed and waiting for sub job calls each day to earn extra cash, to being employed.  God works in amazing ways sometimes!

Backtracking a bit...

Since the holidays were just a tad bit busy for us with all of our company, I did poorly with blogging about what we were up to.  I did have some free time but usually that was after a busy day and I had chores to do or just wanted to veg with a show on the computer.  Writing and focusing my brain wasn't number uno in my book.

So, here are a few recaps of our adventures.

1.  The Grand Mosque-  The Grand Mosque in Muscat is well, just that.  GRAND.  It is a sight to behold and place to-see if you ever are in Oman.  And if you can visit any type of large Mosque in a Muslim country in your lifetime, I encourage you to do so, no matter your religion (P.S.  Did you know that Muslims and Christians worship the same God of the Bible?).  The mosques truly are beautiful, even the small ones can be.  The design and architecture are phenomenal.  The marble and wood work was amazing as well   We explored the mosque with my family and Colin and Skip went again later.  We regret not taking Nancy there when she visited and will make sure that is on the top of the list for when she visits here again.  Visitors must wear appropriate clothing.  Men in long pants and long sleeves and women the same, along with a head scarf.  Aberly was allowed anywhere on the grounds except for the prayer rooms (no children under 10).  Not that it was a big deal.  The grandeur of the main prayer room would've been lost on her.  It is breath taking.  Not to mention the 2nd largest chandelier in the world hangs from the ornate ceiling dome in that room.  Search images for Grand Mosque Oman in Google and you'll get to see way more of its beauty than I can post here.

 Example of wood working.  Many of these doors are throughout the mosque grounds.

 The chandelier

 Wall engravings.

2.  Dubai-  My brother Andrew was headed to Dubai after visiting us to see a friend from college.  He initially thought about taking a plane right there, but desiring a view of the counties face-to-face, he asked us if we would drive him there.  It's about 5 hours total, so we thought, hey, why not?  Colin had yet to go and we figured it would be worth getting a hotel overnight for a mini-family getaway.  We found a great deal on a apartment hotel nearby Andrew's friend's home and got things lined up.  After a long trip with lots of potty stops (Aberly doesn't like going in her diaper anymore) and 5 border check points (you cross the border twice due to major curve in the country lines, we made it.  Well, we almost made it.  I didn't take the greatest notes on our route in Dubai to get to the hotel and after one early turn, we realized we were off course and being off course in Dubai is being like off course in a city like Eugene times 10, so we found a parking spot at a hotel on the Palm Jumeria and waited for Andrew's buddy to come get us.  We spent the evening at a beach strip in the New Dubai area.  It's pretty much a place where tourists and locals come to hang out and show off.  Money and wealth and appearance run this country, sadly.  It's not a place Colin nor I would ever want to live.  The next day, we spent our time at the Dubai Mall next to the Burg (the tallest building in the world) and did some shopping at a few stores before making the long trek home with a lot more potty stops.

 Waiting for Kaled to arrive.

 The beach by "The Walk" where we hung out and had dinner.

 Family sunset shot

 Aberly by the Burj.  No way that thing was going to git into my lens view that close up!

Lunch at PF Chang's.  So nice to have good Chinese!  It's hard to get in Oman.

3.  Nizwa-  Nizwa is a couple hours towards the interior of the country and is one of the oldest cities in Oman.  A refurbished large fort is there for tourists and locals to see and experience.  It's really cool because you can pretty much go anywhere in the fort, except for a few rooms that are blocked off.  Unlike American museums and historic sites, there are no ropes or barriers keeping you from going up staircases to a roof, or keeping you from touching decor in the rooms.  They are trusting there.   There is one section of the fort that is a mini museum and much of those displays are in glass as they are old and fragile.  Within the museum, there is a large wall with a long timeline, comparing what was going on the middle east and Oman with the other developing countries in the world.  There is also a traditional souk to explore that is no-pressure and much more enjoyable than the Muscat souk.  The drive out to Nizwa is amazing too.  The geology here is unbelievable.

 Taking a break outside the souk.

 Old ruins of nearby buildings.

 Andrew hanging out in the shade on the coffee shop sitting area.

 Roof top view of part of the fort.

 The primary watchtower is behind us in this picture.

 Aberly loved all the little windows inside the fort.

 At the very top of the fort watchtower.  Aberly wasn't so keen on the photo op.

Skip at the top of the watchtower on a separate trip during his visit.

Finally, since my photo uploader is working, here are the pictures from Nancy's and my parent's visit that I didn't get to show in the last posts.

 Aberly is all smiles at her GeeGee!

 Enjoying Aberly's 2nd birthday party!

 Colin and Nancy at a park near the large frankincense burner in Old Muscat.

 First morning with Nana and Papa who brought Aberly two new friends!

 Playing the sand with Papa.

 My parents in front of the palace.

Me and mom in our headscarves inside the Grand Mosque.

Papa Skip arrives!

Skip arrived safe and sound two nights ago.  Aberly was shy at first but has warmed up quickly.  He is the one person we don't have Skype with so we weren't sure how she would react without seeing him since summer. 

After a good night's sleep to catch up, we headed out yesterday for a very relaxing day at the beach and lazed/played around in the sun.  The tide was way out so the water stayed at 1-2 feet for about 30-50 yards (this is at the Dive Center in a cove).  Aberly enjoyed going way out with us and even "swimming" in the water herself (ie. laying down and walking around on her hands).  She also spent a lot of time jumping off the pier into our arms and water.  That evening we went to the souk to join the frenzy of shoppers and see the local goods. 

We have more adventures ahead and feel blessed to have another family member here to share our life with! 

Holiday recap

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. :-)