First part of February

In the first part of February we adjusted to life back in Kansas City. Adam continues to play with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra (http://kccivic.org/) and I love getting the chance to hear him play and see how handsome he is in a tux!

We spend a lot of time picking out the colors for the wedding and settled on blue. I think that I changed my mind a few times before we were decided:-) My sweet Mau Mau (my mom's mom) died at the beginning of the year and my mom was able to come home to see her before she died and then be there for the funeral in New Orleans. Mom then came to see me and we were able to find her a blue mother of the bride dress. It was so great to have my mom in town!

We got to eat dinner one night with the Renos. Fran is a great cook and it was fun to catch up!

Valentines day is the middle of February and Adam and I celebrated with Sushi and a night on the town to hear the symphony.

This was one of the Valentines presents...practical but we are looking forward to getting to use it soon when we are able to live in the same home!

Last days in CA and Snow!

I dropped Adam off at the airport the next day and then spent some additional time in California just visiting with some friends! One particularly that I love seeing was my cousin Marcelle. I also got to meet the guy she is dating and have a really nice dinner. Made me miss living in the city!

We spent a day in Davis with Gail. You can see where Abigail gets all of her funny faces from!

Adam's Dad works for Carter's baby clothing we have gotten so many cute outfits and many friends in KC with kids have benefited. Thanks Bob! Olivia is sporting one of the cute jackets above! Adam picked me up from the airport in KC and not long after it snowed and snowed and snowed. I think we had 36" this winter!

I have enjoyed several great meals from Adam over the last months. Below is one of his fish dishes. His brother is a chef in Philadelphia so he gets some ideas from him simplified and then some from the Internet. What did we do without the Internet:-) Thanks for cooking Adam!

Heading back to Dhaka and Home

One of our last outings in Kumerkhali was to have a family photo taken. I do not have the official ones yet as I think Dad is going to bring them this summer but here is from right before we went to have them taken. We bought Adam a punjabi so he would be extra fancy and we are waiting for another chance to use it in the states!

We had fun trying some of the different foods in Dhaka. Above is mom with her mint Lassi and gyro! Adam and I were able to share a straw since we were in the big city! We tried to curb our displays of affection while we were in Bangladesh but could hold hands when we were walking in Dhaka. We liked that part of being in the big city!

The contraption above is called a baby taxi. It does not look terribly safe but it is what we rode around in while we were in Dhaka. Otherwise we used rickshaws.It was very funny to see us all get out of one of these! Mom wears a mask to protect from car exhaustBefore leaving I was able to see all of my friends again and Adam felt even more comfortable this time since he had met them before. It was a great trip and an incredible experience for Adam's first time out of the country!

On the way home we stopped in Hong Kong again. We landed in Nepal but were not allowed off the airplane. I think we were only in Nepal for an hour. We decided not to leave the Hong Kong airport and to get some 'American' food so we ordered 9$ spinach dip and chips. A photo of what we got is below. It was Doritos that had been placed in the oven and some variation of spinach dip. It was edible;-) Gail picked Adam and I up at the airport in California and we were able to get a few hours sleep before the crew came back from church:-) We distributed gifts and everyone was happy to get something from Nani and Papa in Bangladesh! Abigail was especially happy with her dish set that might have really been for Olivia but who's counting!

We were pretty out of it with jet lag but Abigail wanted to take our picture!

The happy crew!

Adam and Jeremy were so happy to have pizza - especially Adam who was really craving pizza and burgers in Bangladesh. We ate a lot of great rice and curry but sometimes it is just nice to have what you are used to!

I of course miss Mom and Dad but who could not be happy to see this face! It was a great trip!

Last days in Kumarkhali

The last days in Kumerkhali (I think I spell that differently every time) were filled with visiting people and making little trips to buy presents. We had a fun time shopping and loved finding things to bring home for people. We spent a day in Kushtia where my parents used to live and were able the visit with our landlord and his family who we used to live with. They cooked a giant spread of delicious food (are you seeing the theme of feeding us:-)) and it was good to just get to visit!

We also spent a day with my mom touring all of the different things that the ladies she works with are involved in. Below is one of the literacy groups that has developed into a savings group. Initially a group of women get together to learn how to read and are guided by one of the ladies that my mom works directly with. After they go through a certain portion of a literacy program they are taught how to start a savings group. They pool their money and give out small loans. As women pay their loans back they are able to give additional loans to give more women a chance to make some money independently. A health care representative is chosen to represent each group and they go to training classes where they learn simple skills to improve the lives of women in their groups. It is a wonderful program and is being used to change lives.

The very happy baby! I loved his smile! Mom and I below and then our guide for the day with Adam. Everyone wanted to take photos with Adam!

Some of the health care representative learning how to take blood pressures!

This is another aspect of the work where farmers are being taught how to use their land to grow vegetables. They are taught how to take even a small plot of land and make it profitable or how to grow healthy food for their families. We had the most wonderful fresh papaya at the house. I think Adam almost ate a whole papaya!

Chilling in Kushtia

This is a wonderful representation of our time in Kumerkhali with my parents:-) The air was clean and fresh. There were lots of animals wondering about. Somehow everyone seems to know which one is theirs! We took lots of walks and like the photo above shows with my dad, we attracted quiet a crowd. Most people know my dad as Mr. Don. Below is a photo of my favorite animal the moish or water buffalo! How can you not just love that face. The owner said it was OK to touch them but their ears kept slapping me and must have weight 10 pound a piece. What a cool part of God's creation!

This does not even begin to describe the crowds that Adam could draw! In this instance we visited the home of the famous poet. Adam stood in front of the gates to take a photo and then about 75 people decided they each wanted to take a photo with him. It was incredibly hilarious and I wish I had thought to get a video of it but I might have been laughing too hard. We had someone then take our family photo after we snuck off to the side. Adam learned a little about what celebrities feel like when they go out into the general population!

Afterwards we took a walk bu the lovely river. It was cool but sunny and a great day to explore a little more around my parents house! We had lots of visitors while we were there. Below is a photo of Roshan our helper from when my parents lived in Kushtia. Everyone wanted to meet the Jamai (this means son-in-law) which Adam was. In Bengali culture the engagement period is only about 3 weeks so the concept of a 6 month engagement was difficult to translate so to most people he was the Jamai or son-in-law. The Jamai has a very special place of honor in the culture as you want to treat him nicely so he will treat your daughter nicely (not a concern in our case). People continually wanted Adam to eat (again why I was glad he would try new foods) and wanted to give him the best of what they had. It is a very generous culture and they really liked how peaceful and tall Adam was! I of course was very proud to get to marry him and to have everyone meet him!

This is a photo from our Landlord's daughter's birthday party. They love to party in Bangladesh. The power went out a few times but that did not stop the festivities! This was the first day of 2010!

Dad and some of the men

The party crowd!

We spent New Years Day at Jahangir and family's home. We ate a wonderful meal. Jhangir has been working with my dad for years and helps run the arsenic program now as my dad has taken on an additional position as director of the health and outreach project in Kumerkhali that my mom works with. They were such gracious hosts which is a theme you see in so many Bengali families!

This was taken before church one Thursday. There is not really an organized 'church' but it is growing. It was special to be able to worship with brothers and sisters in Christ from across the world. They made a time to pray for our upcoming marriage which was really special to Adam and I both.

We spent our evenings and nights playing games and doing puzzles. There is not really a living room there so most of our time was spent on the porch which is where the photo above was taken. Otherwise were were at the dinning table. Adam stayed in the empty apartment next door. I was glad he could stay so close!

Below and above are just a random assortment of photos from different walks and outings that we took. I loved the goats and how they would be dressed in t-shirts at any hint of a chill. The cows had sacks tied around their backs anytime the temps reached in the 50's. It is normally so hot in Bangladesh that 50 degrees seems like frost bite potential! It is cold when you are taking showers without hot running water. Adam took a few cold but I always heated up water on the stove for a bucket bath!

I loved this view of kids just hanging out in the rice field! Below you can see beans and lentil drying. The women sift through them with they feet. You can see the lines in the beans where their feet have been. These beautiful blue king fishers could be seen all over!

We went out with my dad one day to several of the homes in the area that he has provided arsenic filters to. They were all so excited to have him come to their home and then to show Adam the filters. If the arsenic poisoning is caught quickly enough and the affected individual stops drinking the water they can avoid the end organ damage that causes death. It is amazing how these filters can help change the outcomes of stories and build bridges with people in the community. My dad continues to direct this project and other health care project. Needless to say they are very busy! This photos was taken outside the house with the lady that helps my mom out three days a week. She loves these goats and wanted to take a photo with us and the goats. They belong to our landlord but everyone helps to keep them fed. I love that the little goat is wearing a t-shirt!