Over the Last Month. . .

Over the next few days I'll add notes to every picture so you'll know what we've been up to! :-)

Yup, that's Maria walking along side her favorite colored taxi in Bangkok. That's one of her favorite shirts, too!

Here's at an aquarium in Bangkok...it's in the basement of a shopping mall called Siam Paragaon.


The Bangkok Weekend Market has too many things that our kids like...shoes, hats, pocketbooks....etc.

Here's a great pose with Joseph and Nafisa showing off her awesome shirt.

I grew up with these.
Is there anything better than a Dunkin Donut? Nope!

Shoes Maria decorated from the Weekend Market

I couldn't resist this shirt at the weekend market . . .

Flying back from Nepal...those are the Himalaya's ...at cruising altitude!

Team elephant riding in Nepal's Chitwan National Park

I couldn't resist this button from a local Mall in Bangkok

Emma, Merrilea's mom drinking freshly squeezed Mandarin Orange juice with Danielle in Bangkok

Sunset in Nepal out the window of our hotel


At the aquarium in Bangkok

Sisters! :-}


The best - hot dogs rolled in bacon among other things to eat at the weekend market in Bangkok!


Spicey sauce on those hot dogs...with great cold coffee!

Too many decisions to make at the weekend market

Starting the New Year Right

The midwife we had for Nafisa has an orphanage a few kilometers south of town. They have water drainage problems in their back yard so Jonathan and all of us went to work to help resolve the problem by digging a large hole to be filled with large stones where the water should naturally flow. Here's just a glimpse of how dirty we all got!
The order of rocks didn't work out as planned so we still have some loose ends to tie up. I think we'll finish the project only after we come back from our trip on Sunday to Bangkok. We have to leave the country due to visa restrictions. Grandma and Grampa Schrack will be joining us!








After digging at the orphange.....

Christmas Day

A view of our city of Pune looking from the South side to the North


Christmas lunch with friends at a local church gathering

Want to know more? E-mail Merrilea and ask her!

Christmas night...oh what fun!

The Week Before Christmas

Nafisa's feet prints and hand prints make her into a nice angel...

Hip-hoppin at Adlabs Mall, Kalyaninagar, Pune


Hide and Seek in the kitchen...

Nafisa and Santa

My birthday last week...

Joseph at a Christmas party

For Nafisa's first 30 mins around Santa, she was very scared and cried...as most kids might who see Santa for the first time. Then, about an hour later, she gave him a hug. She saw him before in 2005 but didn't have a clue.

What we didn't expect

Red ants showed up just before Merrilea's parents arrived. So, like a good son-in-law, I called the exterminator who has a one year contract with us. He came and sprayed.... Oops.

What a smell! That shut down things in the house for about 3 hours. Everyone left. I was alone in the house, closed up in the office.

The kids didn't mind so much because they had to stop their school work and play outside! Merrilea's mom and I then washed the counter tops and floor so we could use them again. No more ants (for now). Glad the smell is gone!

For our Thanksgiving get-together, friends made this.... the closest thing to a Turkey this side of the Ganges River.

Last week...

Dad and Mom Schrack have been keeping busy - from helping around the house to planning trainings.... Adrian, a friend of ours, came over with his family on Saturday and is working with Dad Schrack, planning trips for January. Joseph enjoyed building the tallest tower he's built with Legos.

A Day in the Life of....

Maria Ann van den Akker

Here's the best way to describe it...from Friday night!

This Week

I've traveled back and forth to Aurangabad, some 5 hours north east of us while Merrilea, the kids and Merrilea's mom enjoyed time at home ... homeschooling, sorting old stuff we need to get rid of, etc.

Merrilea's dad went south 5 hours to a town called Miraj and visited a leper colony among other things.

Danielle and Maria went to a 'Princess Party' on Monday night and came back with facials and less eyebrows!

Most of our Christmas decorations are up! For the first time in 16 years of marriage (Dec 28) I have not had to put up our decorations! Maria, Joseph and Danielle did it all! I'm very grateful, guys!

I am also finalizing a lease agreement for a new guy from Oklahoma who will join us in January!

It's around 7o degrees right now and around 60 at night. For the first time since last Christmas I wore sox to bed last night!