We Are a Happy Family In India!

After School Sports

2010-10-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

Monday, Wednesday and Friday the children all have sports organized by our school PE teacher. Monday and Wednesday is Cuperty, Cocco, badminton, volleyball and soccer. My kids absolutely love these games. Cupertiy is kinda physical and there is a lot of tackling. Cole loves it. Cocco is a fun running game that is played on a long field...Olivia and Boston like to play this game. Oaks is too little for curperty so he plays badminton or soccer...we all know he would rather be playing the physical games. Friday is Yoga in the mango grove. These after school sports reminds me of home... going to the local city park to watch my kids soccer games. My kids look forward to this organized playtime all week.

Family Photos

2010-10-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Indian children are Beautiful!

2010-10-21T18:43:00.001-07:00

Star Store...Movie night...Night out at Hendershots

2010-10-21T18:43:00.000-07:00


This is our good friends Tal and Anita...they are the ones that help get the Star Store program organized. They did such a great job that it continues today to be very effective to teach the kids ownership and responsibility. The children earn stars based on behavior and every Tuesday the store opens and the children can purchase items with their stars. It has been great for me because anytime a child asks me for something I can say sure save your stars. I love it. The thing that our family loves the most is having a few of the children over to our house for dinner and movie night. It cost thirty stars to come have a party at our house!!

Sari Photo Shoot

2010-10-21T18:42:00.002-07:00

The girls had so much fun modeling for Jennie as she took beautiful pictures of them.

Boston in India!

2010-10-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

When I first came to India I was so excited. I didn't know what to expect but I was up for an adventure. My mom said that I would get to ride an elephant, see a cobra and see a lot of other interesting things. So far I have seen all of these things and more. I love the colors and all the clothes. India is definitely a place for girls that like to dress up. Lots of glitter, sparkles and gold. I love to wear my colorful Indian outfits and jingle anklets. I have so many Indian friends to play with everyday. Some of them are Satia, Jennifer, Tamil Selvi, Devi, Amithram, Rosie, Nagaleshmi,Gracie, Trisha and more. I love to visit the junction to buy an ice cream cone, bangles and bindis. My house I live in now is full of color and I like my house bright. My house is called the Darling little house or the green house...it is an old Indian house that has been remodeled. I love to eat mangoes, coconuts, and bananas that grow on the property. The Indian food is kinda spicy and I find it hard to eat. I love when my Mom brings home spaghetti noodles and sauce to eat for dinner. We only get to eat it sometimes because the grocery store is two hours away. It is a treat to have American food. I like going to the colonies with the volunteers, I have meet so many new friends. I like to do construction work at the colonies and also work with the medical van and wash the leprosy affected feet. Sometimes we bring games to the colony and play memory, jenga or dance.

I have loved being in India.

Love Boston

Pondian's House

2010-10-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

The house is finally finished...it was dedicated with ribbon cutting and a pooja. This is the home that friends of ours payed for the roof and many others generously donated in the form of micro loans so this good family could have a home to raise their four boys in. A lot of the money has already been payed back and other staff members are now able to use the money for their needs.

Cole in India!

2010-09-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

When I first came to India I expected to see a tiger and some elephants, and I expected it to be clean. I was wrong...the whole 12 months I was here I didn’t see any tigers or elephants in the wild. It was so hot and disgusting I thought I was going to have to take 50 showers a day. When I got to the Rising Star campus and the director then Ron Hanson showed us are house I was shocked to see that it was a three room house for a family of 7! For the first few days I was surprised when the power went out but then I got used to it.

In Chennai a really big city next to us there was a few grocery stores that sold American products but we ate the kitchen food at rising star which is Indian food. Indian food is really spicy; my mom made us eat that for lunch and dinner. Everyone in the family did not like Indian food. Once my mom saw how little we were eating she stuck with some American food that she found in Chennai. She buys things like spaghetti, and beans. I like when she makes chicken rice and beans. We eat a lot of eggs. Our family eats between 60 and 90 eggs a week. We eat a lot of oatmeal, apples, bananas, pancakes, toasted sandwiches, mangoes, and pineapples. It is nice when my mom makes American food to have a change from the same Indian food everyday.

Sometimes we go to out, like to the Chennai zoo or to an Indian restaurant each time we do that it becomes something to remember forever. When I learned that church was 2 hours away I was surprised but all this stuff I eventually got used to. One day when we decided to go to the zoo which I thought it would be dangerous with like a foot high cages for tigers and stuff but when I got there it was actually really nice and shady but when I heard that there were elephant rides at 4 o clock secretly inside I was scared. My mom though, said we were doing it. When I walked up the stairs to get on top of the elephants back I was really scared but later in the ride I enjoyed it.
Whenever we get back from long trips like that to Chennai we were so happy to be home where it was clean and there were no trash and no bad smells.

At rising star it is fun to go exploring and you find yellow and black caterpillars the grass and frogs in puddles and monkeys in trees. Also it is fun to knock down coconuts from a coconut tree and climb a mango tree high as you can. I have a lot of friends here at rising star I play with them on the playground after school we play cricket an Indian sport and also lots of other fun games. I go to a few classes at the rising star school like pe and computers the rest like math and science are too difficult and hard to understand because there way of teaching is so different from what I am used too.

Every once in a while we go to the leprosy colonies at first I was a little bit nervous about going to a real leprosy colonies! In America I didn’t even know leprosy existed but here we are helping them. But once we started going I wasn’t nervous. The leprosy-affected people are so happy even though they have huts smaller than a tent to live in. When I go to the colonies I help and clean their wounds, and take their blood pressure We also just visit with them; play games or sing and dance. They are happy to have us come visit with them. I like going to the moot colony because there are only seven people left and they are so happy and nice to be around. There is a nice spirit at that colony. I also like to go to the colony and work on construction projects. Rising Star is building a community center and toilet for the colonies and we go help them build.

These are all the reasons I love rising star and India.

30 dollars!

2010-08-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a Leprosy Colony called Bethal Nagar. It is about a forty five minute drive from where we stay at Rising Star. This is one of the many colonies that we service with the Mobile Medical Clinic. We have twenty-one volunteers this week and we divide into smaller groups between tutoring, construction and medical. Olivia, Boston, Belle and I went to help with the medical group. We pulled up in the medical van around 10:45...a lot of the colonist go to church until 11:00 so we walked around the colony to visit with the people. Right outside the community center was a man dragging himself along the dirt ground. We all just looked at him and watched him on the ground. I got distracted and starting talking to other colonist, everyone wanted to see Belle and pinch her cheeks. We walked the colony and heard all the amazing stories. One story of a man who was blind for twenty years...he was a quiet sad man and wanted to die. He kept pleading with our Rising Star doctor to try and see if he could get a cataract surgery. Our Doctor took him to the hospital and they told him no, he was to old and it would not work. After a lot of persuading the eye surgeons decided to try the surgery. Well the surgery worked and he can now see after 20 years! He is such a different man now, he can see...he yells hallelujah, sings and dances all the time. He is so full of gratitude...you can feel the love and happiness he has...he has a wonderful spirit about him. We continued walked past the end of the narrow village street and back to the old dirty community center...as I walked it felt surreal walking in the leprosy colony helping and spending time with the leprosy affected...I couldn't believe I was here in India. My thoughts brought me back to that man dragging himself along on the dirt. I turned the corner to the street and the man was still in front of the building trying to inch his way somewhere. I went inside and proceeded to set up for all the patients that we had to help that day. We set up and started to clean wounds, check blood sugar and blood pressure. As I was helping the thought came to me that we work for an amazing organization...Rising Star...I have a doctor right next to me that I trust and that speaks Tamil...I could probably help this man that no one seems to notice. I walked over to ask Dr. Kumar about him and Doctor Kumar went and asked around. He was told that the man just showed up a few days ago and has a really bad infection in his private area...he couldn't stand or walk or crawl, it took him one hour to move only a few feet. We talked to the head of the colony and decided that we could hire someone to bathe, shave, buy him clothes and take him to the hospital. The hospital would turn him away in the state he was in. The man that we found was a respected man in the colony and promised to give us updates. He would have to stay with the sick man in the hospital for at least five days, so the deal was 1500 rupees for total hospital bill, clothes, ride, and food for five days. That seems like a good deal to save someones life for only 30 American dollars! I was so full of gratitude for the opportunity I have to be a part of Rising Star and be able to help others. We have so many wonderful people that are a part of this great work.

Gratitude

2010-08-31T05:40:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Becky Douglas the last time she was visiting India and she was reading a book on gratitude. She shared some things that was very interesting to me and I decided to do more research to learn more. This is some of the stuff I found. Most of this is from an article online called Gratitude and It's Life Benefits.

According to one study gratitude can increase happiness by 25%.
Grateful people tend to be satisfied with what they have and so are less susceptible to such emotions as disappointment, regret, and frustration.

Gratitude promotes good health. Two minutes a day of being grateful and you will enjoy better physical and mental health. There will be a measurable boost to the immune system. Also, expressing gratitude is one of the fastest ways to pull yourself out of a slump. Just five minutes of gratitude shifts neurologic and endocrine systems into an ordered state.

We can stop the natural tendency of having negative thoughts with purposeful changes of our thoughts to things that are positive and replace them with thoughts of gratitude and abundance...there is one very easy way to quickly transform our negativity - and that is with GRATITUDE.

You see and experience what you look for. Period.

Both the good and the bad (positive and negative) are all around us. This is especially true in India...you can see garbage and smell bad things or you can see beautiful happy people, laughing children, green trees, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and bright sparkling colors

What we see is what we are focusing on.

If our focus and thoughts are on the 10% of a problem that we have with a person, you can count on the fact that the problem will remain at best and increase at worst. If however, you choose to focus on the 90% of good in the person the problem will diminish or often times disappear.

Gratitude and thankfulness is the missing element in many of our lives and is by default why many are not experiencing the health, happiness, prosperity, love and contentment they hope for.

When I think of gratitude I think of Olivia, she has a hard time finding anything wrong or bad. She is too busy thinking of others.

I think of the man that has changed completely because he can see now after 20 years. He is always singing praises, despite his other physical challenges of having the effects of leprosy and living in a colony.

I think of the people at the moot colony, Sooroja despite the one eye, one leg and no hands, she still smiles all the time. JRaj always dancing cracking jokes and laughing with Oaks.I think of all the others that are smiling and playing games like Jenga with no fingers. They are happy because they look at the things they have and they are grateful.

I think of Becky Douglas and how she has built Rising Star and has helped so many but she gives credit and thanks to everyone else for everything they have done. She has gratitude.

I think of many others that are happy and they seem to be always using the words thank you all the time.

I think I am going to be more Thankful!

Oaks in the Jungle!

2010-08-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

Today Steele, Cole, Olivia, Boston and the volunteers went to the Moot Colony. I stayed behind to get caught up on a few things. Oaks really wanted to go...he loves hanging out and dancing with JRaj. He was throwing a fit...the truth was he didn't want to do school work. He started crying and saying that I never let him help the poor...he said he never gets to go to the leprosy colonies and help. I thought it was really funny...he is a really good at arguing and that was a really good point. Tears rolling down his cheeks saying "mom you never let me help the poor." What do you say to that? He really gets to visit the colonies all the time. Oaks is so cute and smart...I love when he brings home pet frogs or caterpillars. He loves hunting for scorpions or snakes...we have discouraged that game because of the poisonous krait and cobras that are often found one the property. Oaks loves India...he said he would stay another six months because my mom and aunt Carol said they would come visit him again and bring him mac and cheese...Seems easy! The one thing Oaks misses most is a hot dog, he asks for one at least once a week...he will yell "mom why can't I have a hot dog, I just want one hot dog.!" I think this is funny because he rarely ate them in America. Oh, the funny things you miss when you can't have them.

Olivia in India!

2010-07-26T08:48:00.001-07:00

I was at first afraid to move to India. It was a new country and I did not know anyone. I liked it though right away because I had one hundred and eighty friends.

The plane ride was long and it took us two days to get there.
We eat rice everyday. Sometimes it is too spicy. Everyday is an adventure.
I like meeting all the volunteers and working with them at construction. I also like to visit the leper colonies and help with people that live there. I like to play memory game with them. I also like t dance with them. I like to help the doctors and nurses. At one colonies I painted toe nails of some of the people who were sick.
I don't like dogs, snakes, scorpions or the spiders.
I don't like the crazy honking of all the horns...it can give you a headache. It can make you car sick too.
I love all the pretty clothes. I like all the cheap prices for the clothes. I boiught a nightgown for a dollar. I love the bright colors of the clothes. I like all the sparkly jewelry and bangles. I fell like we are playing dress up every time I get dressed.
My new friends names are Amirtham, Amsavalli, Devi, Gracy, Satyia, and Jennifer. There are lots more friends, to many to name.
I like ggoing to the junction to get treats and shop. I like to spend one dollar and buy chips, soda, ice cream and some new bindis.
I like to go to an indian school and learn new games at PT called coco and tiger and deer. I like to be the deer in the tiger deer game.

I love India

Love Olivia

Things I love about India!

2010-07-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Skies- because we are so close to the equator the sun rises and sets around the same time everyday...roughly six in the morning and evening.
truly a spectacular sight all the time.
The People- they are so friendly and so ready to smile, wave and share their love. I love how they all give a bobble head hello as I pass or drive by them on the street. I love how they love Oaks and especially Belle...they give Belle a pinch kiss and an Indian blessing all the time. The friendly villagers waving and beckoning to have us come in and visit with them in their humble grass huts...they are so willing to share whatever they have.
The smells- Yes the smells both good and bad...it keeps life interesting. I really like the smell of Jasmine flowers in all the ladies and girls hair. You can smell it as you walk passed them in the street. Belle gets flowers delivered to her door all the time because they love her so much.
The Animals-- not the snakes I could do without the cobras and kraits that we see every once in awhile, and the large 7 inch scorpions...but the hundreds of different kinds and colors of butterflies, the monkeys that play in the banana trees on our property, the elephants that will give you a blessing on your head if you give him a coin, the camels that you only get to see up north, the cows with painted horns that are on every street and in every field, the cute baby goats that walk down the dirt road passed our house every morning and night going to the fields to feed,the many birds, storks, pelicans, and all the other colorful birds, the hundreds of dragonflies that come out around five every day, the many different colors and kinds of frogs and toads that Oaks brings home in his pocket!
Bright Colors- the women that work in the rice fields are wearing beautiful bright colored saris and look stunning even after putting in a hard day of work. Everywhere I turn I see bright colors...the clothing, the curtains, the bedding the pillow cases, the fruit and vegetable stands that are on every corner, my Indian dinner served on a banana leaf that has red beets, white rice, yellow sauce, fruit salad, and tomatoes and cucumbers, the houses all painted in every color you can imagine, green, yellow, purple, blue, orange, pink. The colorful designs painted on the concrete or dirt floors at the door steps of every home., that give a welcome to those passing by...India is a country full of color.
The Vegetation- the green rice fields, mango trees, banana trees, coconut trees, and lotus ponds. The tall grass fields that if you look closely you can see ladies crouched down picking them tall grass, making their brooms for their homes.
The Temples- the colorful temples are on every street and in every village. The Indian people are so devoted to their religion and their temples. The are always celebrating and praying at these beautiful painted carved temples.
The Crazy Traffic-I love to watch the people go by on their motorcycles with a family of five or their bicycles with a mother and baby sitting sideways holding on tight, the other motorcycles full of hundreds of pots and pans driving to a local village to sell,I love watching the men whiz by on their motorcycles all wearing a mustache and how rare it is to find an Indian without one, the cars and buses that are always over filled with people and young men hanging on the sides of the tilting buses because the are so jammed packed with people. The honking everywhere, but it is a needed friendly honk...they don't use signs or lights just horns. People drive with their friendly horns to let passerby's know where they are.
The Deals-I love how I can buy a beautiful hand stitched outfit for the girls and only spend seven dollars. I can find Steele Banana Republic pants for only eight dollars, I can buy ten tomatoes for only 20 American cents, and ice cream for all seven of us for under two dollars.
The Culture and History-India is full of amazing stories of their history and what they believe in as Hindu's...the stories never get old.
The Beautiful Children-the babies that all have a black dot on them to keep the evil spirits away. All the children are so beautiful and have amazing bright white smiles and beautiful ebony hair.
At first glance India can look very dirty and smell really bad but as you look a little longer you see a people so devoted to their faith, so full of love, so ready to smile, so willing to give of everything they have. If you look longer you see people that all have an amazing story yet they are happy...they can teach you and help you so much more than you can help them. India has taught me gratitude, love, patience, charity, and happiness.
India has taught me to see beauty in everything and everyone.
I Love India!

Dedication Day!

2010-07-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Dedication Day was Spectacular! Everyone worked so hard to make this day amazing. The children danced and sang at the program the campus was decorated so beautifully. Thousands of flags were hung all over campus and each and every one was hung and made by our wonderful children at Rising Star. They all worked so hard to make this a great day. During the few days before as we were all running around doing things to get ready for the event Steele asked one of the Rising Star children if they were excited for the Dedication day and he said yes Parent's Day! It was so cute and a good reminder that this isn't all about the buildings and the Dedication but about the children and the work they put in to make their parents proud. They could hardly wait to preform and show their parents what they have done and worked so hard at. It truly was a Great Day!!!

Darling Little House

2010-07-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

We moved from the children's hostel to a little old Indian house that is called the DLH...darling little house. We have been waiting for the remodel to be completed and it finally was just in time for the dedication of all the new buildings. It was hard to leave the children's hostel. We have gotten so use to them knocking on the door day and night and we knew we would miss them being so close. The DLH is not that far away just a couple hundred yards across campus. We have felt so spoiled to have this cute house and we have enjoyed a little more family time. We still see the children all the time and I still give out plenty of bandaids. Today I cleaned out a cut on a little boys head that tripped on the cement. Every time I am working on a little child I wish that I went to schol in nursing so I had more knowledge. So far being a mother has helped a lot in my nursing skills.

Happy Birthday Belle...2 Years Old

2010-07-01T04:37:00.000-07:00

Belle had a great day she handed out pieces of candy to all her 180 friends(as is custom to do on your birthday), she had an Indian made cake that spelled her name Bell(which is also great because a lot of the children call her ding dong Bell or Bell spelled out), and she had a whole beautiful chorus of children singing to her. FYI- the date is june 9th 2010. In India they put the day first...hence the 09-06-2010.
The children love Belle and loved sharing her day with her!.

Taj Mahal Weekend Trip!

2010-07-01T03:46:00.000-07:00

I got a weekend away to go to Delhi as a chaperon! It was a quick trip but we managed to get all the sights in and have a great time. We saw the Taj, saw how carpets are made, saw how they carved the taj mahal, shopped, swam, rode an elephant, sat on a camel, painted our hands with mehendi(which is a popular thing to do among the women in India, especially if you are getting married), saw old Delhi and cool forts, rode on a bicycle rickshaw, shopped some more, went to church and then flew home. Old Delhi was neat the streets were just like the market place in Aladdin. The shopping there was a lot of fun. Good Times!

Hungry Monkey!!!

2010-06-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

Olivia, Boston, Belle, the volunteers and I went shopping for the afternoon at a little Indian beach town called Mamhallpuram. We looked at all the Indian stores had some Indian food and then walked to see the ruins. Olivia and Boston went into see the rock carved temple with some volunteers and I went to go sit on the rocks and feed Belle a snack. We walked to the grassy area to find a place to sit and as we walked we passed a little ice cream man who had a little cooler of ice cream cones. After a long day of shopping and walking in the 108 degree heat and 95 percent humidity..an ice cream cone sounded wonderful! We bought our cones and with Belle on my hip we proceeded to walk the the grounds where the rock cave temples were and some nice shade trees. I was looking around for a place to sit and enjoy our cones when I was surprised by a large gray hungry monkey! He was jumping up and down while hanging on my shirt and screaming at me. I screamed back and I am sure I sounded just like the monkey. I said ah ah ah ah right back at him and as I screamed I thought "oh shoot what is he doing, oh no he wants my ice cream, I don't want to give it to him...this is good ice cream...can I take him? Should I kick him? No I better not he probably has diseases and he looks mean!" It is amazing how many thoughts you can have in only five short seconds! I threw my cone, he ran after it and left me and Belle alone wondering what just happened. I am glad we survived another day in India!:)

The New School Year Begins!

2010-06-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Since our vacation to Sri Lanka we haven't stopped moving!!! Literally moving, the offices have moved to the new building. We have moved several classrooms, and moved the new eighth and ninth standards into their new rooms. We have moved the children's rooms around and we now have four girl rooms and four boy rooms. This is nice so the house mothers don't have so many children in one room. We moved the volunteer hostel around to get ready for our first volunteer session. Since the volunteers arrived we have kept them very busy helping with all these many dirty tasks and they have been awesome! We cleaned storage rooms, class rooms, children's rooms that have all been piling up with things because of the lack of room and no place to put them..it really is nice to now have space to be organized.

The children arrived on Sunday and it was a happy and sad day. Of course the children and the parents are sad to leave each other but at the same time they all know that this is a great opportunity for them. Steele spent most of the day in the office with Padma and Amy talking with parents and admitting children. He had one father come in who was blind to admit his son into second grade. They were talking and Padma was asking how the Father supports his son. He said that he sits in the church everyday and the church pays him 125 rupees a week, which is two dollars and fifty cents! Padma said to him that maybe we could help him and he started to cry uncontrollably. His son started to cry watching his father cry. The father was so happy for his son's opportunity to go to Rising Star and possibly getting a micro loan to support himself. I sat at the park later that day watching all the children play and saw this little boy laughing and having a blast with all his new friends!

Our volunteers spent most of the day doing lice treatments on the children and at first were grossed out but they had a blast getting to know the children and already love the children and said they would take lice any day just to be able to be with these amazing children.

We had 25 new student enroll this year, mostly kindergarten. The little children are so cute and small. The parents are so strong to entrust their little ones into our care in hopes that we will be able to teach them and give them a better opportunity in life. It really is amazing the difference between the little kindergarten children, who are now in first standard and the new ones coming in. The first graders used to be like these children only a year ago, but they now speak English very well, look healthy, are confident, and happy. I had a few of the kindergarten kids and first graders over today to color and this is when I really saw the difference. The first graders were translating for me and were telling me what color and what kind of picture they wanted to draw. The new children were very shy and timid. I sat one little girl Magesheawri at my kitchen table to color and she just sat and looked at the crayons and the paper as if she didn't know what to do. I put a few colors in front of her and she still just sat. I started to color a part of the picture pink and encouraged her to do the same. She hesitantly took the crayon and started to color. When she finished coloring the section pink she then sat and waited and just looked at me. I handed her another color and encouraged her to color the ponies hair. She did it so carefully. She started to smile at her work and started to understand that she could pick the colors and color. It seemed like she had never colored before and if she had she may have never been able to choose what picture or color to use. This little Mageshearwi is already becoming one of my favorites. I can't wait to watch and see her grow over these next few months. She has a smile that lights up the room! When I took her picture I had a hard time getting her to smile. She would just stare as is custom to do in India, but when she saw her picture in the camera she smiled so big, she loved it. She then couldn't help but smile so big every time I took a picture of her.

Sanjay had a birthday today..he his 7! He came over to my house to pick a gift from the birthday box. He picked a little match box car. He was so thrilled and carried it in his front shirt pocket all day..so cute...another one of my favorites. He gives me a special smile and hug every time I see him. If anyone is feeling sad or down you don't need therapy, just come to India and spend a few weeks with these children that have so much love to give. You will learn so much about yourself as you serve and think of others.

Cole, Olivia, Boston, Oaks and Belle are glad the children are back and have been playing with them constantly since they have arrived. My kids have worked so hard along side myself, Steele and the volunteers to help get the school and hostel ready. I am proud of them and how they love to help and serve others. They really had so much fun washing walls, organizing and moving this week. Cole even got to go to a colony and help build toilets. He shoveled and moved a lot of dirt on his head. He worked so hard...he came home proud of his work. He said he couldn't believe that these construction workers work this hard all day for only three dollars a day!

We feel blessed to serve and be a part of this work and feel like we are getting more from Rising Star than we can give. We have come to India to serve the children here but we feel like they have served and blessed us as a family!

Vacation To Sri Lanka!

2010-05-13T03:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great getaway to Sri Lanka for two weeks and feel ready and rested for another six months at Rising Star! Here are a few pictures of this beautiful quiet place. It was the off season so we truly had this amazing beach town called Hikkaduwa to ourselves. We had plenty of time to read talk and play with the kids! Good times and memories! I read the book treasure Island to the kids and then we watched the Disney movie. When we were in Hikkaudwa we found a guy that makes billabong and roxie swim stuff so we had him make everyone a swim shirt and I got a cute roxy swim skirt. We couldn't resist when we were paying between 4 and 10 dollars for really nice swim shorts and swim shirts. Anyway when Oaks got his shirt he was so excited because it said BillyBones just like the pirate in Treasure Island! It really said Billabong...so cute!

Easter Hunt and More!

2010-04-21T00:20:00.000-07:00

So I am finally posting last months events. We celebrated Easter by going to the local village and having an Easter Hunt. My kids hid eggs and then we collected all the village children, we said go and let them run to find the eggs. It was really fun!

I also got to go to another colony called the Mote colony. There are only seven people left in the colony. There use to be thirty or more but the have gradually gotten older and have died. This colony is really a special colony. They are so excited have visitors. They truly are a joy to be around. They tell stories and laugh a lot. Steele and I are going to take the kids back sometime this month. They asked me to bring the kids, they would love to meet them.

We also went to Vikkram and Shama's wedding. It was a christian wedding so it was not to different. It was held in a church. The funny thing is that the preacher that married them was hard to understand but I did catch two things he said. One was "God made Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve" and "a man will be no happy if he does not marry". He kept saying "no happy"! After the ceremony we went to the downstairs of the chapel and had an Indian dish called chicken Briani. It was very hot that day and the dinner was very very spicy. One of the hottest dishes I have had here in India...well it didn't seem to bother Belle, she was the only one eating it except for Indians of course. The funny thing was that as she was eating she was perspiring like crazy, sweat was coming out of all her pores and dripping down her face as she ate it.

The children have gone for summer break and will be back June first. We have a lot to do to get ready for the volunteers to start arriving May 24th. We are moving into the new part of the school and moving the main offices. Things are going well at Rising Star! Sorry I haven't posted for so long. Time flies here and we get so busy. I will do better!

Adventures with Carol and Mimi!

2010-03-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

Amitram and Aravind
These are a couple of the cutest kids here! They have smiles that light up the room. I would love to pack these two up and bring them home in my suitcase. They have been here for about 7 months. They are both really good friends with Oaks and are in his UKG (kindergarten) class. They have an amazing story! Their mother was burned in a supposed kitchen accident. Kitchen accidents are fairly common here and are usually assisted by a mother in-law! The little boy who is four witnessed this event. The little girl still thinks her mother is alive at home. I met the father and mother-in-law last parent's day. It was awkward for me seeing them with the children.

I am reading a book called "May you Be The Mother of a Hundred Sons", written by Elisabeth Bumiller. The author is a lady who spent many years living with the Indian women where she learned about their culture and their life..quite an amazing book!

The Carnival
We had a school carnival and my mom ran the bobbing for apples booth, Carol ran the picture booth, and I ran the cake walk. The children had a blast that day. We had some volunteers here for a few weeks, (Charity, Dani, and Sarah) and they did an amazing job organizing the carnival and also with everything else they did at rising star. If only all the volunteers that come through were as amazing as they are!

Elephant Rides!
We went to the silk capital of India-Kancheepuram! We looked at material and bought a few saris and then we went to the temple to get an elephant blessing! If you give the elephant a coin in his trunk he will tap you on the head and give you a blessing. We watched a few people get blessings and the elephant slobbered all over their head so we all decided against the blessing and just to stand beside it and take a picture. We then thought why not lets get a ride on it Bare Back! I went first, he put his foot down and I climbed his leg and then pulled myself up by the rope tide around his neck. His skin was rough and his hair pokey! It was kind of gross because I could feel his hairs in his back poking through my pants. Carol went next and then Boston. My mom really wanted to go but she was in a skirt and it really would be difficult to stay decent and climb up the elephant. We also made our driver Vel(who is in love with Belle) ride the elephant too. He was very scared, it was funny to see him holding on to the driver behind him as he rode.

The Colony
We got to go to two different colonies. The Bindu art school which is in one colony and we purchased some artwork painted by some of the leprosy affected.
We also got to see them painting. The other colony we went to was with the Medical Van and Dr Kumar who is the doctor here for the 8 colonies that we service. We are also in the process of expanding to other colonies a little further away. Cole took most of the pictures at the colony. I thought he did a very good job!

This is Ambiga"s family...the one laying down is her father. He is 36! I was awaken to a phone call early this morning telling us that her father passed away. We went to her room to get her and brought her to our house to tell her. It was sad! We sent her home today for a few days to be with the rest of her family.

My Mom and Aunt Come Visit!

2010-03-10T01:47:00.001-08:00

We were so lucky to have my Mom and Aunt Carol come for the past ten days! We really enjoyed having them come and letting them experience all the amazing adventures that we get to have here. We also enjoyed being spoiled by them and getting to slip away from Rising Star for a day or two to go to the beach and to shop!

My Mom and Aunt had a great time with all 170 children. They got to know a lot of them and hear a lot of their stories. They called the children their fans or the paparazzi because every time they stepped outside the door or pulled up in the car they were mobbed by a hundred children. We all love it though it is like the children are part of the family. We can't even take a family picture without a few children hopping in!!

Parade To the Temple!

2010-03-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

Hindu Temples are everywhere...even in the small villages it is common to see two or three small temples. It is also common to see little parades going to the temple to pray and worship. We pulled over on our way home from the colony to take pictures of this little parade. We have found that Indians in general don't mind having their picture taken, most actually love it. My Aunt Carol hopped out of the medical van to take a picture and the guy started doing all kinds of dances for Carol. It was really funny to see my aunt snapping pictures as the guy got right in her face dancing and doing funny faces!

Rising Star Children Get New Shoes!!

2010-03-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

My First Trip to a Colony!

2010-02-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

Belle went around the whole colony giving pinch kisses to all the leporosy affected. She was really loved and made many smile that day!

Richard Eyre washing feet.
Richard and Linda Eyre came to Rising Star for a week. We had a great week with them. We had an amazing fireside Sunday night and had some great gospel discussions. We really enjoyed them coming and helping us implement a program for the house mothers and fathers.

A leprosy affected lady painting art at the Bindu Art School in a colony 45 minutes away from Rising Star! The art is sold all over the world.

Great Pictures, sunset, bird sanctuary, rice patties!

2010-02-08T22:28:00.000-08:00

Shama and Vikram's Engagment Party!

2010-02-08T21:53:00.001-08:00

Vikram is a member of our office staff and Shama is a house mother. We are so excited for them to get married. It has been interesting watching how the whole engagement played out. First Vikram decided that he thought Shama was a good girl and wanted to marry her. He went to his parents and told them that he would like them to arrange a marriage. In India the parents almost always arrange the marriage. They talked with Shama's family and the two families decided that it was good so they went forward with it. Vikram came to us to tell us of the arrangement and ask if it was okay with Rising Star. We were all thrilled and couldn't wait to announce it to the children at Rising Star. We decided to do a small engagement party with the two families and tell the children. We wanted the children to know that this is good and we were happy to see them get married. In a staff meeting the other day the staff was discussing the engagement and the Americans suggested that the new couple move into the empty room at the hostile. There was a noticeable gasp from the Indian staff appalled at the idea. They were afraid that the newly wed couple would slip up and show affection in front of the children and that would be a bad example. In India public affection of any kind is not acceptable...no touching at all. It is okay for two men to hold hands or two women, but never a man and wife. We as Americans are trilled to have these two wonderful people be an example of love to the children. In so many cases in India the men beat their wife's and that is perfectly acceptable. It is really sad to see, it is just part of the culture. Vikram is so nice and sensitive he will be sweet to Shama. The courtship in India is so different than what you see in America. It is like junior high! They have hardly spoken to each other and heaven for bid even touched! Olivia made them an engagement card with 10 rupees in it and wanted to give it to both of them, it was funny to see Olivia innocently drag Vikram to Shama and hand them the card. It was awkward to see them close together for a split second and Shama say thank you and quickly back pedal. You can tell they are both happy, excited and can't wait to be together.

The closest I have seen them together!

Some of the cleaning staff and house mothers!

Sports Day!

2010-02-08T21:26:00.001-08:00

Sports Day is like track and Field day in America. On top of the events they had an amazing opening ceremony with a really cool march, lighting of the torch and running it around the track, pyramids, dancing exercises, and prizes! Great fun!!

Cole in one of the pyramids, the students did at least 20 different pyramids!

Boston in one of the rhythmic exercise routines!

Cole in the March, opps his legs and arms are not as straight as the other boys. The children practiced for weeks and weeks on this march. It was really cool!

Cole carrying the torch on the first leg, he also got to light it!

Olivia in her race, she said she got second place on purpose because the second place prize was much prettier, Of course...it's Olivia...it's all about the looks!

Republic Day in India!

2010-02-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

January 26th was India's Republic Day! We had a nice celebration at the school with a ceremony the national anthem, the children marching and some great speeches by some of the students. The teachers and staff worked hard to decorate and make this a neat celebration. My favorite part was when we did the flag raising..there were flower petals put inside the flag so when the flag opened the beautiful petals float to the ground. Good Day!

The Children Return To RSO!

2010-01-20T22:28:00.000-08:00

Monday was a an exciting, long, and difficult day! It was fun to see all the children arrive with their families after a long four-week break! Some of the children were excited to be back and had no problem saying goodbye to their family. Then there were a few..mostly the kindergarten children who had a hard time saying good bye to their family. It was sad to see:( You could tell the parents were trying so hard to be strong for their children as they walked away to board the bus to go home to their colonies. A few of the younger ones would try to run after the bus..it was so sad..but there was nothing I could do. They didn't want me they wanted their parents. It was really hard to comfort them. One ten-year-old boy arrived two days late because his home is in New Delhi and it took him 3 days on a train to get here. I was watching him as his parents checked him into the school to meet with the counselor and then said goodbye to their brave little boy. He waved goodbye and then walked around the corner to where I was and started crying saying Amma, which means mother. He kept on crying and would only say Amma Amma. Again, I couldn't do anything but walk with him as he cried. A few hours later he was doing a puzzle in the office and Cole decided to ask him if he wanted to play Legos with him. They played Legos for a while but Cole said the boy kept looking up at the family pictures on our fridge and would start to cry a little..it was hard! I learned later that day the whole story of Arun who was six years old when he came to Rising Star. At that time Rising Star only had 27 spots available to fill and they were already full with over a hundred children on the waiting list! Apparently the word spread quickly that there was a school for children of the leprosy affected. The parents brought their children from all over India and Arun's parents brought him all the way from New Delhi (a three-day journey)! He and his father arrived the second day of registration and they were told that there was no room in the inn and that Arun would be placed on the waiting list. The father, disappointed and tired, left to take the three-day journey home. The next day Becky Douglas (founder of Rising Star) was in a leper colony close by and saw this small boy, Arun curled up, crying by a tree. She asked the people of the colony where his family was and they explained to her that his father went back to New Delhi to beg for money so he could return and get Arun. He only had enough money to bring himself back..so the Father didn't know what else to do but leave Arun in a colony until he came back with enough money to get Arun. The people in the colony didn't have enough for their families so they just let Arun sit there for a day and a night! That was when Becky decided to make room for one more little boy at Rising Star:) Becky took Arun and held him she said for days..he was so scared and only six years old. I can't imagine being six-years old and left alone outside in the street at night to fend for myself without knowing when my father would return!

Two of Boston and Olivia's close friends had a hard time saying goodbye to their family too..so I sat and talked with them for awhile about how their parents love them and why they are bringing them to RSO. We talked about the opportunities they have here to learn English, and the importance working hard in school so they can one day help their families later by getting good jobs and earning a enough money to help support them. We talked about the wonderful things they have here like a play ground, good food to eat, a bed to sleep on, and people that love them. Shortly after our talk, the girls were out playing and having a good time. I think they understand that being here is a blessing but it's still not easy leaving their families. I have heard so many of these children's stories and can not believe the strength they have to be positive and hard working! The opportunity the kids have here is so wonderful and will change their lives for better in so many ways. One girl told me that over the break her sister had to go to the hospital because she tried to drink poison because she did not want to go home to her husband. These children all have amazing stories! I see some sad things but the happy things definitely out-weigh the hard things. For example right now their are little kindergarten girls coloring at my kitchen table and laughing:) It is so cute to hear them speak Tamil to each other and then giggle. I have a hard time not letting these girls come in to color when they say Auntie please paper to color and then they color me a picture and write I love you Sarah on the paper. They spell my name Sera...so cute!

I was speaking with one of the fathers of the large Patel family when he was here at RSO and asked him about his family. He told me when he was young living in India his parents sent him to a similar school so he could have opportunities that he normally would not have. He said it was really hard but it was good and it helped him to become a successful businessman. He told me about the many sacrifices his parents made for him here in India and also to make it to America and become citizens of the US. I know that the kids here at RSO will do great things and will be the future leaders of India.

These pictures are of Arun playing soccer. Arun is the boy who came from Delhi and was having a hard time leaving his parents today. He is doing great now and had fun playing soccer with all his friends..including Cole.

Oak's friends:)

Happy Pongal!

2010-01-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

Pongal is a big holiday here, it is like our Christmas and New Year celebration all rolled into one. They decorate the outside of their houses with a colorful powder (as you can see in this picture with Olivia), they clean out their houses, clean their cows and decorate them with flowers and paint. The parents also save up during the year to buy their children new clothes and then the children walk to their neighbor's homes to collect coins so they can go buy candy (kind of like halloween).

Steele managed to squeeze in a tennis match in Chennai one Saturday night (The Chennai Open) to watch the semi finals with Cole and Boston. The price was right and they had a good time!

Oaks found a baby Gecko that was so cute. It tried to play dead by going stiff and Oaks thought he killed it so he was about to let it go when it suddenly started moving around like normal. Nice defense mechanism!

I miss my bike at home, this will have to do!

Building Forts!

We managed to slip away because of Pongal (everyone had the day off) and went to an awesome beach resort with the kids called Ideal Beach!

Why we came to India!

2010-01-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

Deciding to go to India was a very difficult decision for our family. We learned about Rising Star Outreach (RSO) from good friends of ours, who gave us a movie to watch about RSO. We loved the movie and thought the mission of RSO was very inspiring. We continued on with our lives, looking for a new house to purchase, Steele working hard at his job, which was going very well. Our same good friends later mentioned that RSO was looking for new Managing Directors for the program in India and asked if we would be interested in being considered for the position? We said we would be interested, but would first like to learn more..after all India was the last place we thought we would end up! In the meantime, we continued going about our daily routines of basketball, wrestling, soccer, piano, school, work, etc. However, as busy as we were..RSO continued to be in the back of our minds. So when Becky invited us to a dinner during Padma's tour of the US, we were excited to learn more and to meet Becky and Padma (founders) in person along with Amy Antonelli (executive director) and many board members. We were initially just going through the motions..keeping an open mind while learning about the program and India..not really looking for a change. But something about RSO kept drawing us in more and more..something difficult to explain. We loved meeting Becky, Padma, Amy, board members, and past volunteers and learning more about RSO India. We continued to converse with Becky and Amy and then had the opportunity to meet Ron and Joyce Hansen the acting Managing Directors of India in Provo while they were visiting family. We loved meeting the Hansen's and learned a lot about their experiences and what their day to day life in India was really like. Soon after, while Steele was on a business trip..Becky called and offered him the position. That was the first time we realized that we had to decide if we really wanted to move our family to India! We felt good about taking the position in India, but things didn't make sense in other ways to move our five children, leave a nice home, job etc..and go to a foreign country where we heard there were a lot of risks and a place where you should not take a family. We heard things like, our girls are going to get kidnapped, personal belonging will be stolen, we will get all kinds of diseases, if we get in a car accident we will be left for dead, etc. It was a very difficult decision to say the least, and up until a few weeks before we were still having doubts of whether or not this was the right thing for our family..but as you can see we decided to follow our feelings instead and left for India soon after. Looking back, we are glad we took the leap of faith and are grateful for the many things we have learned so far. Leaving the comforts of America behind was very difficult, but I know that we will have many experiences and memories that will be worth everything we left behind and more..the things we gain here will be priceless!

Good Times!

2010-01-08T06:29:00.001-08:00

Cute picture of Rosemary before her performance at the Christmas program!

Things have slowed down just a little since all the children have gone home for the break, but time is still going by super fast! I have been busy with the cleaning staff making sure everything is cleaned and ready for the kid's return..everything needs to be deep cleaned and washed. Steele has been busy with the office staff making sure the construction on the new part of the school and the new dining hall is still moving forward and that the little house that is being remodeled is getting done so we can move into it shortly. On top of these tasks, Rising Star is in the process of expanding the micro-credit program and Steele is meeting with Padma again to iron out the details. I thought we would be less busy when the children left, but it seems like there is never a shortage of work that needs to be done here. While Steele is working hard we have had quiet days here on campus playing games as a family, Uno, Monoploy, Settlers, badminton, soccer, basketball, you name it we have played it! We are excited for the weekend so we can go to town and do a few fun things and then go to church the next day. This week we are going to stay over Saturday night at an ex-pat's house so we don't have to drive two hours, sit in church three hours, and then drive two hours back all in one day!

On the way home from church!

We received our Christmas package from Becca and Alan and the family..it was very exciting! My favorite things were onion salt, soup mix, chicken bouillon cubes, and cereal. The mail is delivered by bicycle so he had to strap the large package on his bike!!

The mail man leaving on his bike--we got a Christmas card from the Hendershots and a card from Nate and Audrey announcing their new baby, Flora May!

We had a great dinner tonight, rice, vegetables and soy sauce! It was nice to have a different flavor on the rice. A friend found us some soy sauce at the store in Chennai and knew we were looking for some so she bought it for us..what a treat! We also decided that it is too expensive to buy syrup, so we are now making our own with mapeline extract, sugar, and water..it tastes great! As you can see, we are being creative and figuring out ways to use what we have here.

It is a little cold here, almost 75 with a few rain showers. It actually is perfect weather but the Indian people are freezing! Some of them have sweaters, others have beanies or wool ear muffs..it is really funny!

Pictures of the Girls helping at school before the break!

Volunteer House pictures!

2010-01-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

This is the elephant house that was just completed a few weeks ago. This is where guests and volunteers stay when they come to visit.

Lotus pond not quite finished

Happy Birthday Cole!

2010-01-08T06:12:00.001-08:00

Cole had a birthday, he is eleven! He is growing up too fast! We had a fun family night playing Settlers and eating brownie idlis..I won Settlers!

More Fun Pictures!

2010-01-03T04:45:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Sunsets here! Because we are so close to the equator the sun rises and sets really close to 6 am and 6 pm all year long. I was kind of too late on this picture, maybe next time!

Ladies working in the rice fields across the road from where we live.

I mentioned earlier that our friends gave us some money to help a family. We are using the money for this family's roof. They can hardly wait to move into their new house. This grass hut is the house they have been renting for the past few years..they are very excited! We brought them an ice-cream cone the other day, the kids were smiling so big! It is a rare treat to be able to have an ice-cream cone because not very many people have freezers, plus it is expensive for them..even though it only costs us two dollars for our entire family to have an ice-cream cone!

Boston plucked a hair from the elephant's back-end...she said that she always wanted to do that..I think she got the idea from Tarzan! Luckily the elephant didn't seem to notice!

Cows Are Considered Sacred!

2010-01-03T04:38:00.000-08:00

The Cows rule the road! Cows are considered sacred here, which means it is very difficult to find a place that sells roast beef. Fortunately, after a little searching and asking around we finally found a place that sells beef..we can't wait to have roast beef dinner!

One Elephant, Two Elephant, Red Elephant, Black Elephant!

2010-01-03T02:49:00.000-08:00

We got to ride on an elephant! We were all a little nervous getting on, but once we did it was awesome!! I still had the thought in the back of my mind, "what if this is the ride when the elephant goes mad!!?"..ahhh! But of course nothing happened and it was just relaxing and a lot of fun! Luckily, Belle behaved the whole time..I was a little worried that she would want to get off in the middle of the ride!

On Saturday we went to Mamallapuram, a city south of Chennai near the coast. The city is known for its ancient temples carved from the rocks. When we were there we bought some black hand-carved granite elephants. There were some really good salesmen peddling the carvings..I will be surprised if anyone gets out of there without purchasing one. They are beautiful carvings and will be treasured souvenirs for years to come!

I went to a mall called Spencer's Plaza and I found these pillow covers!

Elephants at the Zoo!

Mamallapuram- stone carving said to be almost 1600 years old!

Oaks had a Birthday..shout hooray!!

2009-12-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

Oak's birthday was exciting we let him open a present at lunch...a box of Macaroni and cheese, he ate the whole box himself, he was so happy! He had a good day playing badminton with his brothers and sisters. We had his favorite for dinner, spaghetti and chicken. We don't have an oven so we made chocolate fudge brownie idlies. It is a brownie mix steamed in a big pot, they were delicious!

This is what a typical village in India looks like...once you have seen one you have seen them all. This is where Steele got his haircut.
This is a pile of garbage in the local village where we went to get an ice cream, there are no garbages to put your trash in so people put it on the streets, we just hold on to ours until we get home. We can't bring ourselves to drop it on the ground. Monkeys are everywhere, on the roof, streets, trees, and garbage!

Steele went to the local village to get a haircut...he looks handsome. He was smiling so big when he came home because his haircut cost 20 ruppees. Guess how much American that is? 40 Cents! Who isn't happy when they only have to spend 40 cents?

Count our many Blessings!

2009-12-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have decided that I will update more often (not committing to everyday but more often). I feel like there is so much going on and so many amazing stories that I need to write them down before I forget them all. We had a great Christmas, 40 members of the Patel family (an Indian family from California) came to visit Rising Star so we were slammed getting ready for their arrival and when they arrived we went non-stop from 6am to 10pm every day for five days straight! The new volunteer living quarters were finished the day before they arrived or I should say the day they arrived! Steele says he feels like he has been producing a movie since he has arrived in India, running from here to there and doing a wide variety of things. The Hanson's worked very hard to put a lot of nice details and finishing touches in the rooms. My favorite part of the volunteer hostel is the outside entrance where there is a beautiful wood hand carved painted elephant. We now call it the Elephant House, I love it and wish I could take the elephant home! I wonder how much it would cost to ship a large wood elephant home? Probably too much. I also love the colorful bed covers that are in each room, India is full of color. On top of working hard to get the volunteer quarters ready I am trying to be a good mom by helping my children with schooling and feeding them their vegetables and fruit. It takes a lot more work to eat healthy here. I am trying to follow the rule to cook, peel, or boil everything we eat..but it is hard. We do eat a lot of carrots and green beans, luckily the kids like both. I think this week we broke our egg record and consumed 60 eggs in 5 days! We need to up our egg order this week so we don't run out..I had to have one of the drivers pick us up some more eggs on his way to RSO one morning so we could have breakfast. I have been so busy that I haven't had any time to run to the store this week. It seems like every two minutes someone has a need, whether it is one of my children or the other two-hundred children running around. I love how they come to my door and say "Auntie band-aid, Auntie band-aid"..so cute! Unfortunately I have had to get strict with them..so the new rule is no blood no band aid! Sometimes they will pick off their scabs until they bleed just for attention..kind of pathetic! The other day as I was teaching the children at the school about the importance of taking caring of the earth, we went outside to pick up trash. One of the little boys needed his shoe tied, as I was tying his shoe I saw four other boys with their foot in front of me untying their own shoes and asking "auntie tie my shoe please, tie my shoe please!" It was so funny, I couldn't help but laugh out loud! They are all so cute!

Oaks has a lot of friends who call him whenever they see a snake or frog. They are always saying "Oaks, Oaks, big frog, big frog, get it, get it Oaks!" He loves it, it reminds me of when he would play with his older cousin Freeman, playing together and catching frogs or lizards. We have geckos here too, Oaks wants to know which one is tougher or who would win in a fight a gecko or a lizard? Maybe uncle Taylor could answer that for him? There is a gecko living with us in our house, at first we were all freaked out that we had a lizard in our house but now we love him because we know that he is eating any bugs that sneak into our house. One evening we were sitting around talking and we saw the gecko creeping down the wall after a bug! We love our new pet!

Belle still says no to everyone but is slowly warming up to a few people, especially those that entice her with candy! They have learned Aunt Ashley's trick of bribing with treats!

Olivia and Boston have found a lot of friends, but two that they have especially grown fond of. Once in a while we can sneak their friends into our house to play pet shop without the other children feeling bad. Boston's friend who is in third grade has a lot of the same interests as Boston..like catching frogs, minnows, butterflies, and climbing trees. This girl doesn't even own a pair of shoes, so Boston wanted to buy her a Christmas present..I know it is against the rules to give gifts to only one child, (actually didn't know that rule until Steele told me after we had already given her a pair of flip flops). Anyway, Boston made her a Christmas card and wrapped up the shoes and gave them to her..she was so excited..it was cute! The girl came back with a really nice letter to Boston and a plastic jewelery box for her. It was really touching because I know it was probably the only nice thing she had! The children here don't have a lot of personal things and I know that box meant a lot to her. Boston's friend has a sad story, she is from a leper colony about 45 minutes away from here, but she doesn't live with her parents but with her grandfather in a different colony a little further away because her father beats her and her mom told her it is best to stay with her grandfather. She never sees her mom, her younger sister, or baby brother! Makes me want to cry! These children are so strong and brave..yet so tender and in need of so much love! Olivia's friend gave her a present too! Her entire collection of half-used colored pencils. It was so cute, she wanted me to wait till Christmas morning to give it to Olivia, she was very excited to give them to her! She too gave our family a Christmas card that said she is going to have a happy Christmas because she has met us. Olivia had a nice Christmas/birthday, Santa brought a Happy Birthday banner and Birthday plates, which we ate our very Delicious breakfast on. We had pineapple, pomegranate, oranges, juice, and yogurt pancakes, it really was a feast! Olivia got jingle anklets for her birthday and a really cute outfit. Belle also got jingle anklets, so we now call her jingle belle!

We recently had a generous family send us some money so that we could help the children and a family here for Christmas. It has been really fun trying to find a good way to spend the money! We actually had enough money to buy new shoes for all the children, which is so desperately needed! Plus help a family that works here and lives in the neighboring village get a roof for their home! The family is extremely grateful, they have been working at Rising Star for a few years now. They have four boys who all go to the school. They were originally from a leper colony but left the colony to work as a land supervisor at RSO. The father is a really hard worker..he says he works hard so his boys can see him work hard for the family. His wife cleans our house and does our laundry.

There has been a flu bug going around with the children at the school. Belle got it first. Then a cute little four year old girl got it pretty bad and had a fever for three days! Near the end of the second day, I became aware that she was still sick and I felt bad for her. It is hard for a house mother to care for all the children she is in charge of. It is hard enough for me to care for my five! I had the little girl come over to my house and made her a bed on the couch, gave her some medicine, and let her watch Dumbo. Caring for her reminded me that I need to slow down, and that this is what being a mother and being here is all about..caring for the little ones. I am very guilty of just go go going and not stopping to read, talk, or care for my own children the way they need to be cared for. I need to go easy on the lists and slow down and visit with my children. After the little girl fell asleep watching Dumbo, I went and picked Belle up, who was still not feeling well and held her for a long time..

Having the Patel family here, doing volunteer work, and service all week was a great way to see the true Spirit of Christmas in action. The Patels didn't leave until 6pm Christmas Eve. Cole was a little concerned that we would not have time to do the family things he wanted to do before going to bed that night, but as we walked home from the volunteer house to our home, we talked about all the neat experiences that occurred during the week and I think it was then that he realized this is what Christmas is all about. Part of the reason he came to this understanding was because we had just spent the last hour or so listening to the Patel family share their experiences, which they recorded in their journals during the week. Many of the family members were in tears as we talked of how much we have as Americans and how much more we can do to help others and be better people. One of the stories was especially touching. One of the groups had finished doing medical work at a Leper colony for the day and decided to go for a walk through a village nearby and as they passed an older lady they noticed that she wanted them to come closer. They thought maybe she wanted one of their water bottles so they gave her one, but to their surprise she took the water bottle and went to the side of her hut and filled it up and brought it back to them full of water! They were very touched that someone who has so little wanted to offer them something that she thought they needed!

Another experience that was fun to hear occurred after the Patels were finished tutoring the children. They were given permission to take a few of the top students to get ice cream in the village nearby. The kids were so excited because field trips are rare. We all loaded the bus, which was packed, standing room only, but the bus wouldn't start! The driver tried several times and it still wouldn't start. We were all very disappointed because we were all looking forward to getting out. Then someone had the idea to try to jump start the bus! So we all got behind the bus and started pushing, we pushed the bus with all our might and it started! Everyone burst into cheers and starting clapping! It was so fun to see everyone's excitement as the yellow RSO bus started up. We all piled on again and went to the village to buy our delicious chocolate or butterscotch ice-cream cones. I devoured mine in seconds..the ice-cream here is delicious! After I purchased my ice-cream I boarded the bus and looked around and saw the children licking their cones so slowly, they were enjoying every last lick! It was so fun to see their faces as they enjoyed their ice cream. I noticed that one little girl was eating her ice-cream slower than the rest and I asked her why she was taking so long? she said she wanted to save some until we got back to the school so she could share with her sister. I then sat down next to two little boys and asked one boy if I could have a bite of his cone? Without any hesitation he said "yes". It was so sweet how he was willing to give me a bite of his perfectly licked ice-cream cone! I of course did not take a bite..I promise!

We had a wonderful Christmas program for the parents of the children and the Patel family. The children danced, sang, and acted out nativity story. The children were so excited to see their parents or other family members! After the program on the 24th the parents took their children home. It was sad to see the kids go, but I was very tired and excited for the family time we will have during the break. We have some plans to travel a little this month and see a lot of sights..so we should have some good pictures coming up during the next few weeks. Thanks for reading our blog..we love you all!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukklal..as the Indian's would say..

Time is Flying By!

2009-12-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Sunday!

Sunday turned out to be a fun day, we thought at first we wouldn't have to go to church because of a cyclone(hurricane) coming into the coast of Tamal Nadu but it looks like it is not hitting till Sunday night or Monday morning so we took the two hour drive to church. After church we decided to go see St. Thomas Mount, it is a small mountain that over looks the city of Chennai where the Apostle Thomas was martyred after his extensive missionary labors in India.

We also saw the cave where he was kept until he escaped to only be caught soon after and speared in the back.

Marriott Chennai Christmas Program

Really fun day! Newspapers and television stations arrived on the scene this morning along with the staff and management from Marriott Chennai for interviews and to perform a fun memorable Christmas program for all the children to enjoy at RSO. We were very surprised to see how much work went into the whole thing! Santa even came and handed out candy and pencil boxes with erasers and pencils for all of the 180 children! Then to top it off they served a very delicious Indian lunch and played with the children before heading back to the city. The program included the whole manger scene as well as Rudolph and a lot of singing and dancing to boot..they even sprayed fake snow into the air!

Catching Frogs and Snakes!

We had a fun day of snakes and frogs...we probably caught 30 frogs. While hunting for frogs we found a baby Cobra in the bushes underneath our window, ahhhh! The oldest boy here Satish got it and all the kids had to see what was going on. Lots of excitement!

The Bird Sanctuary!

This was a fun late afternoon activity, we saw thousands of different kinds of birds. This is their nesting grounds. Truly an amazing sight to see.

Belle and her hundreds of friends

Belle had ants for breakfast this morning, opps...
She seems to be okay. Sunday is cereal day because we need to leave for church at 730. I poured Belle a bowl and went to get ready, Steele came in to get some cereal and saw ants in his bowl...the ants got in the box of cereal! Belle had had several bites by then, oh well all is well.

We Missed Thanksgiving in America, Today we are Thankful!

2009-12-07T02:18:00.000-08:00

"For each new morning with its light
For rest and shelter of the night
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything thy goodness sends"
-Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Belle is having her bucket bath, wasn't to fond of it at first but once she got her baby in the bath she was happy.

Belle and her mosquito bites, maybe I should put the mosquito nets back on.

This is Movie night, we watched Horse Crazy, they all loved it, it was fun to see them all react to certain parts...fun night. After the movie they all said Super movie, I love how they all say Super.

This is how they move dirt, the dirt is shoveled into a dish and then put on their heads. I am going to try it sometime, one of the ladies wanted me to try it today but I was in a hurry to teach a class.

Mary and myself, I am sporting a Sari, I had to have someone help me get dressed, it is not easy putting those on. Mary is one of the children here, she is in eighth grade. She had testing all this week, we had a prayer in the mornings before the eighth graders went to take the test. I am sure they all did well. This is an important test, they need to pass to move on to 9th.

Some of the kid's friends Sathya and Grace

Parents Day was Saturday, it was so fun to see and meet all the parents and family members of the children here at the school. It was also neat to see the kids excitement that morning as they were getting ready to see their parents. This is a picture of Padma speaking to all the parents.

We arrived in India the day before Thanksgiving so it was all a blur...but we are now more thankful for all the things we have been blessed with. I went to the village on Saturday to get a few clothes for the girls because I didn't pack much for them. I also bought some really large pomegrantes and some tangerines at a food stand. When I came home I told Cole I had a treat for him and I pulled out a tangerine, he grinned from ear to ear and said "thanks so much mom, I am excited", he then laughed at himself and said "I sure wouldn't be this excited for an orange if I lived in Mapleton...it was funny. I am learning of some good foods to cook besides eating the same rice and curry. We have eggs every morning for breakfast so I tried to mix it up a little and added hash browns, I cut up potatoes really small and fried them with salt and pepper, all we were missing was some ketcup. We also found a place that has bread, so another night we had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, yum, but again no ketchup. I was going to put ketchup on my Christmas wish list to my sister Becca, who has our name. You should see our christmas wish list it is funny...onion salt, chicken boyon cubes, pudding mix, lawrys all seasoned salt, cream of chicken soup, mac and cheese, soy sauce and on and on. Never thought that those things would be on my list of things I would want most for Christmas. We are thankful for all the choices and varieties we have in America.
I am also thankful for Utah and churches that we could walk to. We have to leave for church at 73o in the morning to get to church on time, which starts at 930. After church we were invited to a family's house for dinner. They are an American family that have lived here for three years, it was wonderful and nice to visit with fellow Americans living in India. We had roast and everything else american, they even gave us Ketchup, they had extra...we are now in business!

We are falling in love with all the wonderful children here, there are already a few I wish I could take home with me. My kids are having a blast with all the friends they have to play with. Bye for now, Love you all!

Update

2009-12-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

Some of the school children came over to the house to color. They love pencils, it is a commodity over here. I wish I knew, I would of brought more pencils over with me.

Girls in one of the leprosy colonies

Children in a leprosy colony

Cole's picture of the monkeys

Things are going well here, the kids are all in a groove doing homework and playing (what else do they need to worry about). Cole has had a blast running around trying to take pictures of the monkeys. Yesterday, Steele, Olivia, and Boston got to go with the mobile medical clinic to a leprosy colony. They went to hand out medicine and clean wounds. They said it was really cool and got pictures with some of the cute babies and children that live there with their parents..they have the cutest children! I will hopefully get to go to the colonies next week. Yesterday was my first day of teaching at the school, I get to teach a class called moral science. It is basically all the moral lessons that the kids should learn at home but don't because they are no longer living with their parents, who are unable to provide the education RSO provides. I will teach about honesty, courage, patience, talents, personal hygiene, kindness, earth appreciation, goal setting, forgiveness, leadership, responsibility, respect, gratitude, etc. I am excited to teach, I will make sure Cole, Olivia, Boston, and Oaks attend the classes that they are supposed to..because they need it too. I taught yesterday about talents, setting goals and how everyone has different gifts that they are blessed with and how we can set goals to develop more talents. I taught 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th yesterday, I had them all draw a star and color it. I have almost 100 different stars colored so beautifully..I think I am going to hang them on the wall in our house.

Last night I had a dream, and I remembered it (which I never do). In my dream, we were all at Dickilyn and Eric Hendershot's house getting ready to eat mashed potatoes and gravy..we were so excited! I remember the feeling of being so blessed to have good food to eat and soft carpet to sit on! We were all so happy, Eric was tossing grapes in the air and the kids were catching them with there mouths wide open..so funny. I woke up shortly after that and remembered I was in India. I think I was craving American food, and that is where the dream came from. I do have a better appreciation for the things we have in America. If any of you have a few extra pounds to lose you can come visit me here, I have lost those few extra already, it feels good though. Things are good here, we miss all of you but feel blessed to have this opportunity to be here.

Fun Pictures So Far!

2009-11-30T04:45:00.000-08:00

Belle had to take her malaria pills so we had to disguise then in some nuttel, she liked it for awhile then she tried to take it out of her mouth.

Olivia took this picture of the cow in the village next to us. The cows even get dots!

Olivia and her friend climbing the mango tree.

Olivia and Boston loving there new outfits

Oaks doing his homework in the kitchen!

Oaks had a blast playing with his friends all day Saturday.

Oak's favorite book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, he had to have a picture by the coconut tree.
He loves to play under these trees.

Cole going for a walk in the village

Cole playing Badminton on campus outside our house

Boston in her cute indian dress

Cole reading in his bed

Olivia doing her homework in the morning in her cute bed draped with Indian material

Olivia with a lady she met in the village next to us.

Happy Birthday Steele again!

2009-11-29T05:13:00.000-08:00

So after a two year break from Blogging and ending on Steele's Birthday, I promise to continue after this birthday post. This is Steele with all the kids loving Belle. It is really a funny thing to see them all pinching her cheek and then they kiss there fingers, that is the way they kiss her, even the adults do it. If any of you know Belle it is not like her to have people touch her, she use to say no to all the kids but now she has given up and just lets them do it. So funny! Steele had a good day because on his birthday we went for a walk with Belle and we saw a cobra. It was crossing in front of us, no harm it just kept going but we turned around and went home, freaky. Steele love you happy happy bday!

Alive And Doing Fine!

2009-11-28T06:17:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I am back after a short break from blogging:) Just a quick update because I am tired, we are still adjusting to the time change it is twelve hours different. The kids were up at 130 and would not go back to sleep. I did not let them nap today so they are in bed now and it is only six-thirty here. We did make it safely with not to many problems. Oaks had a small breakdown in London at the airport, and people asked us if he was okay, Belle fell out of the stroller in the another airport and bags were going everywhere as Steele tried to get her, and Belle ran away while we were in the third security check line at two in the morning in London( a lady that works at the airport saw her right away and brought her to us. Opps oh well we said our prayers that morning so all is well! After thirty hours of travel we finally arrived in Chennai India. The moment we stepped of the plane Boston wanted to know what the smell was. HaHa so funny, that is the smell of India so get use to it. We stayed at the Marriot in Chennai and I was so happy to take a shower and bath the kids, I started to run a bath and the water was really brown and had a stinky smell. As Steele says it "We are not in Kansas anymore." We slept a few hours and then caught our ride to go to Rising Star Outreach! It was a two hour drive...we saw amazing crazy beautiful things. Make a story short because I am tired we arrived there safely, the picture of the field with grass huts is the village just a half mile away from us. It is really pretty here! So far so good I will post more later

Happy Birthday Steele!

2007-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

A little late posting but Steele had a birthday on the 29th, I like this picture of him. So Handsome!
Love you Steele ,you are the best husband and father ever.
HAPPY 34th BIRTHDAY!

I Have Been Tagged

2007-11-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

Through a little blog research I found that being tagged means you have to say six interesting things about yourself, then you are to tag a few others and let them know on their blog.

1. In second grade we learned about "The Water Cycle", after the lesson we were told to go home and draw a picture of the Water Cycle. I caught the assignment part and went home to draw a picture of what I thought was the Water Cycle...it was very cool! It had three huge black tires (like the ones you go sledding on), It was red and blue and had a really cool seat! It looked like a giant water tricycle! I sketched it floating on water with a little child pedaling it. I was proud until I handed it in and to my surprise and embarrassment the teacher reexplained the water cycle and asked me to go home and try again.

2. I take naps and I love them especially the perfect 20 minute ones.

3. I like to have parties and visit with others, and I love to serve others it makes me really happy.

4. Some think I am really mellow but I am a "red" personality and a little controlling. I pick what the kids wear, eat, and how they do their hair. I make sure they have all their jobs done before breakfast, like hair, bedrooms, scriptures and prayer. I just like it that way and I like to look at my kids done up cute, even if we are staying home all day. I also raise my voice at my kids sometimes, but I am working on it.

5. I love to shop but am working on not shopping as much because I hate clutter and don't need that many things, and saving is better. I also love to help others spend their money...just as satisfying. So if you need help call me I would love to go shopping.

6. I love my family and feel very blessed, Steele is the best husband ever, and I think I have very cute kids.

7. I would love to have an adventure and pull a Ben and Peggy and live abroad somewhere with my family.

8. I love to exercise and go to the gym everyday. I like it especially because I can eat just about whatever I want when I exercise.

9. I can't wait to go on humanitarian missions with Steele.

I now tag Becca, Mindy, Peggy, and Ashley

Cracked Wheat

2007-11-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

I ordered 75 pounds of cracked wheat from Bob's Red Mill. It was only 60 dollars with shipping. My kids eat it 3 or 4 times a week for breakfast. I love it, I feel like my kids are getting everything they need and I don't hear complaining about being hungry one hour later. My kids actually like it and don't mind eating it as long as I put honey or brown sugar on it. I actually quit the cold cereal for breakfast and am doing eggs hot cereal or whole wheat pancakes...I am proud of myself.
One more plug for cracked wheat, my dad fed us this stuff everyday growing up and says that is why none of the 10 kids needed braces growing up, who knows there are a few imperfections in our teeth but actually over all pretty straight. We also were pretty healthy and didn't hardly ever have to go see the doctor...unless Ben needed stitches.

Halloween and pumpkins!

2007-11-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun carving pumpkins this year Steele is very proud of his work and the kids are proud of the faces they picked!

Manners

2007-10-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to teach your kids manners...music to your ears when they say please and thank you! Oaks used his manners the other day...he was grumpy at me because I was telling him to do something he did not want to, so he yelled very loudly at me (maybe even more of a scream) NO THANKYOU! It was very funny.

UEA Lava Hot Springs

2007-10-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Lava Hot Spring in Idaho is one of the only places in the world that has hot water springs that does not have that stinky sulphur smell. It was really cool to sit in hot water while it was cold outside and also not have to worry about chlorine in your eyes. The kids had a blast. We are going to make a camping trip to lava in the summer. It is really fun to float the river and stop on the sides and get warm in the hot water that is flowing into the cold river. This is a mild river and great for families... definitely recommend it.

We also went to go see my dads dad Grandpa Bird. It was really great to see him.

Beau and Kimmie get married!

2007-10-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Beau and Kimmie got married October 11th 2007 in the Salt Lake Temple
Boston, Dolly(Hayley and Torrey's oldest)Olivia and Oaks.

Granmerry and Papa.

Beau and Kimmie

Crissy had her baby!

2007-10-17T19:15:00.001-07:00

Chrissy, Steele's little sister just had he first baby. Addison Riley, 7 pounds 11 ounces, Oct 9th, Congratulations Chrissy and Evan! She is so cute!!!!

Conference

2007-10-06T11:02:00.001-07:00

The kids woke up so early this morning... I got up and asked them why do they get up early on Saturday, and during the week I have to drag them out of the bed for school. Cole is so cute he responded "mom I can't sleep I am just so excited for conference". What a cute boy....I don't know if it is the treat cereal they get on conference weekend morning or the cool book of activities they get to do. The kids really do get excited for their conference workbooks, I am so glad it makes the kids look forward to conference. The books have places to color, write testimonies of the speakers, color ties that the speakers are wearing and conference bingo to mark off words they hear like Book of Mormon, Jesus, Temple, and others.

Flag Football

2007-10-06T11:00:00.001-07:00

Cole is in flag Football, he is loving it, he is so fun to watch, really quick... isn't it fun watching the kids grow up.

Oaks can't wait till he can play!

Family trip to the Zoo

2007-10-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

We went to the Zoo last Saturday, it was a lot of fun!

The giraffe has the longest tongue. Boston fed it some leaves.

Cole's favorite animal!!!

pete's dragon

2007-09-27T15:57:00.001-07:00

This is a family favorite. The kids love it!!! Oaks was crying yesterday because the kids
were going to school and he wanted to play... so Steele found this clip to cheer him up and he has been singing the song ever since.

Flowers

2007-09-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

I went to Costco and bought 300 hundred bulbs of all kinds of flowers, lillies, daffodiles, tulips, and others (can't remember the other names). I am so excited, I hope it turns out how I imagine it. I am going to plant them this week so they will be ready to come up in the spring. I will post pictures in spring!!! Why is this underlined, I can not find the underline key anywhere. Oh well!

2007-09-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

School Started! We are at Reagan Academy.

Hiking Bridal Veil Falls

Family vacation to Canada

2007-09-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Canada Vacation (July 2007)

Oaks (3 yrs. old) and daddy fishing

Oaks (3 yrs old) kneeboarding!

Olivia (7 yrs. old) jumping off the cliff!
The girl cousins (Grace, Olivia, Ellie, and Boston)
Cole (8 yrs. old) racing frogs with cousin Dryden
Cole at The Sacred Grove in Palmyra, NY with (Italian) cousin Freeman
The family at Niagara Falls (Canadian side)
The Falls at our camp in Canada
Top of The Hill Cummorah
Boston (6 yrs. old) jumping off the cliff!
Cole (8 yrs. old) jumping off the cliff!

Family Update

2007-09-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

We just moved into a new home in Mapleton. We love to move and meet new people!
We have only been in our new home for about three weeks and absolutely love it! We feel very blessed!!
I will post a few pictures from the past few months and from there will try to keep things up to date. Please check in often and let us know what you are up to...we would love to see pictures and read about all the exciting things in your lives!

Here is a picture of Steele with Mitt Romney. He got to go to Boston to do some fund raising a little while ago. GO MITT!!

We had a dog for a few days (Brownie)...he was so much fun. Someone found Brownie in the canyon so we kept him until we found him a new home. Oaks loved the dog, they were good buddies!

Hello everyone!

2007-09-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

The family is now officially blogging!