SNOW IN DUBAI

From the heat to the cold, From the Sand to the Snow! On our second day we experienced the indoor skiing in the Emirates Mall in Dubai.

Nora deep in thought !

You can see the Mall in the Background, The ski slope is built inside the Mall

Before leaving for dinner, Notice the long sleeves. Its been quite cool here in Dubai

A Pretty Tree Nora took a pic of

A WONDERFUL TIME WITH GREAT FRIENDS

THE BEGINNING OF OUR HOLIDAY TRAVEL

The kids got out on Thursday for their semester break. We had planned to travel for 3 weeks. Our first stop is DUBAI. We have a few Must Do's on our list and they included Dune Bashing, Sand boarding, and to ride a camel. Here are a few pics from our first day.

Here's Our SUV going thru the Dunes

Here's Mattie and I, We asked to be let out after 10 minutes it was to rough

Here we are on the Camels, Mattie decided she would pass on this ride!

I think Tyler was pretending this was a Bull ride, HA!

The kids also were able to ride four wheelers thru the dunes

On our way back into the city from the desert I was able to snap a picture of the Burj Khalifa. This is the tallest man made structure in the world. It is 2,722 feet tall. It cost a estimated 1.5 billion to build.

HELLO from DUBAI !  STAY TUNED FOR MORE TRAVELS

Alec Rugby

These are a few pictures of a Rugby game Alec played in over the weekend. He is wearing #9.

 In picture below Alec has white shoes and undershorts.

OASIS

When you walk through the Fires of Adversity you will not be Burned - ISAIAH 43:2

The above scripture I picked during my end of the year Oasis Bible Study Celebration.
Oasis is a bible study made up of about 40 amazing women. When I first moved here one of the first ladies I met was Faye Harris, she is from Lafayette so we had something in common from the start. She invited me to come to a bible study she belonged to. I sort of hesitated but decieded to give it a try. I was having a very difficult time adjusting and so were the kids so I needed a outside support system. What a wonderful group to be a part of, We are all from different countries and cultures and our faith has brought us together every Thursday morning. Thank you God for sending me to this group!

THANKSGIVING, SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

This is our first Thanksgiving as Expats,we have now been in Malaysia for about 6 months.
Gosh time flys! Not really. As I reflect today I have so many things to be thankful for my health, my husband, my children, my family, and how comfortable my life is. I believe that many peoples view from the outside is that an Expat life is Glamorous. Living in a great house, having a full time maid, having a full time driver, and getting to travel.Well having lived this life for only 6 months I am here to tell you that none of this replaces the family you are living without.
I have mentioned in many other blogs that this place has humbled me and I am told by other expat wives daily that this is one of the better places to be posted. I am humbled by the people and what is important to them. Poverty has taken on a new meaning to me. As a American I thought I knew what poverty was, I did not. I am thankful that Alec and Nora were able to both travel on Global Awareness Trips with their classes for a week. While on their trips to Nepal and Sumatra they witnessed first hand the living conditions of people in different countries. They participated in building a wall with rocks that protects the children of the village as they walk to school. They also painted murals over graffiti. Each group provided new uniforms for the school children and brought them school supplies. What a memorable experience for them.

Here is Nora handing one of the children their new uniform.

Here's Alec teaching the children a song

As our Thanksgiving day comes to a end and our Families in the states begin their celebrations, We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and send our Love!

We Love and Miss Y'all !

"In everything give thanks; for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

ELEPHANTS,ELEPHANTS,AND MORE ELEPHANTS!

Since we moved to Malaysia our Alec, Nora , and Mattie have asked numerous times to visit the Elephant sanctuary to ride the Elephants. We had a few friends tell us to wait til we visit Thailand to have this experience.  So upon arriving in Phuket, Thailand we booked our tour of the Elephant Sanctuary. These are memories I hope they never forget!

This was one of the views on our Elephant Trek

I was a little fearful and didn't want to get to close.

We did not realize we would get to see even more Elephants on the grounds of our resort. We stayed at the JW Marriott Resort which is absolutely beautiful! There were two baby elephants that could be found every morning roaming the hotel grounds. Alec is getting some love!

Nora about to get a kiss!

Getting a little cool off!

If Elephants weren't enough our last night we attended a show called " FANTASEA "and took pictures with a baby tiger!

Our last day was just Beautiful!