Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest...put our cookies to the test!.

Although we find it kind of hard to get into the Christmas spirit over here...We have had some fun activities lately...

There was Christmas carolling in the desert last Friday nite..The stars stretched on forever and the bonfire lit up the nite sky. It was even cold enough to wear sweaters and jackets. Very nice. And last nite...all 6 of us sat and watched It's a Wonderful Life. This is actually Russell's tradition...and there we all were. It was great. I've had Christmas Carols on the computer almost constantly...including Dallas weather updates..which is pretty fun, too. :) The kids and I baked cookies, Russell played Santa and brought lots of stuff from home, and...

We hosted the now 2nd annual Christmas party for the apartment building. This year it was for the kids. One day in November I noticed several kids unloading from the buses after school and going into our building. And it just popped in my head...:)...hey this year I won't have a Holiday tea just for the ladies...It will be a party for the kids. About 20 people came..from Pakistan, India, England, Denmark, Serbia and Japan. We decorated Christmas cookies that my friend Jean Page graciously baked, played a British Christmas game called Pass the Parcel sort of Hot Potato with music, and surprises inside. Ate lots of snacks and then heard the Christmas story. Truth? I feel like I fumbled thru the story...BUT am not going to dwell on that.

It was fun and lots of the ladies want to have coffee. Sallie and Robert liked meeting more kids in the building...So overall, a good time was had by all. My neighbors from across the hall even came...They brought us the coolest gift...a cap from the Pakistani Navy Ship that her husband works on. Now THAT'S a keeper.

No, it's not the same as being with all of you this holiday season. Mike will probably be going into the office some on Christmas day, and we miss our friends and family..But God is good and we are reminded that He truly is the reason for the Season.

To God be the glory...Great things He has done.

Merry Christmas 2008, Everyone.

The Hildebrands

Photos from Bulgaria

Lunch at the ski resort...please ignore green sign...WE just had LUNCH!

Ryan's snowman...very international.

Daddy and daughter...fun times.

All the kids...cold and happy...Sallie, Austin, Robert, Jared, Ryan and Jason.

Dinner with our dearest buddies....

Athens Adventures

On our return trip...Sofia to Abu Dhabi, we had to stay one nite in Athens. Initially we were excited about this because we would have one day to see the city. Our excitement, however, waned a bit as the rioting in Athens kicked up just before our flight. Ugh. At one point we wondered if we would be stranded in Sofia...not that that would have been a bad thing at all..except that the Fords have life to do and with 5 extra people invading their home...well, you get the picture. But our flight left on time and we arrived in Athens that evening. The airline provided a hotel for us as they had cancelled our original flight and that is why we had that nite in Athens.
The next morning we decided to brave the city tram and rode it all the way into the town center. Well, actually, we got off one stop before the final turnaround. We were told to get off there as at the last stop it was all burnt out from the rioting. Despite some misgivings about going into the city...we did not feel unsafe at all. Life pretty much seemed normal. We did see banks with shattered windows..but on the whole, it was just a beautiful day in Greece.
As the tram approached the last stop...the Acropolis loomed into view...It absolutely took my breath away. The sky was a bright blue(it had stormed the nite before, so everything was washed clean) and there it was..perched high on a hilltop cliff. It really was a case of taking my breath away. We disembarked at wandered around the area. We did not have enough time to actually go to the Acropolis..but we did wander thru the Temple of Zeus...
Yes, our time was way too short..but we decided we'll try and return ...There is just so much to see. The tram ride just tickled our appetite...on one side the beautiful waves crashing on the beaches and on the other the mountains rising the the distance...
One scary thing happened during our quick visit. The McDonalds we passed on the way into the city..well, on the way back to our hotel we saw policemen, firetrucks, and people hovering around it. Black, soot covered, and a big hole in the front wall. Just two hours earlier Robert said he wanted to go there for lunch...hmmm. Thank You, Lord.
Our flight home that afternoon was uneventful. We are now gearing up for Russell's visit and the upcoming holiday events. Tomorrow nite we are going to the desert with a group of friends to sing Christmas carols. Sunday, Sallie and Robert and I are hosting a Children's Christmas party for the kids in our building. Then, next week we have parties and a trip to the Labor camp to deliver care packages.
Merry Christmas everyone...
We miss you.
Mattie and The Gang

Fun, Food and Frost with the Fordebrands

The travelling Hildebrands, after a wonderful visit to Bulgaria, have returned to their apartment in sunny Abu Dhabi. I tried several times to blog while in Sofia, to no avail. The blog page kept coming up in Bulgarian and no one was able to help me sign in.(although I have figured out the Arabic sign in page...Bulgarian was not working for me. :))
Our days with the Fords were filled with laughter, adventures, stories, good food and more laughter.
All 5 Fords met us at the airport on Thurs. evening. We headed to their cozy home of the last 3 1/2 years for Pat's delicious spaghetti and lots of talking and catching up. Austin graciously gave up his bedroom to us...and all 10 of us squeezed together for the next 7 days. It was truly a testimony to our family connections...the Fordebrands or the Hildefords... One shower...10 people..no problem..:) The washer and dryer pretty much ran nonstop..as did the dishwasher...but nobody cared.:)
During our visit we toured Sofia, Ryan and Sallie visited the boys' school(where Darren is headmaster), experienced grocery shopping a couple of times, had coffee at Starbucks, went to the movies, attended a Bulgarian wedding at their home church, made some new friends and saw some old friends from our time in Michigan, and generally had a blast.
Perhaps the highlights...of which there are many...was the trip thru the countryside to see Borovets, the ski resort..playing in the snow..with beautiful medieval forests all around us..eating outside in the crisp air..and laughing at the huge icicles that the kids were grabbing from the eaves. Or maybe it was visiting with Pat and Darren's landlords who live on the top floor of the building..Marin and Borianna..and laughing with them...mostly at their pet pigeon, Google, that swooped down and landed on Mike's shoulder...( I kid you not...). Or perhaps is was the evening we all were hanging out in the living room playing Signs and laughing... and then there were the great homemade biscuits Pat made, or her tortillas and salsa..and her pancakes made from scratch..Yep...all those are highlights. :)
I could go on and on..but I think that's all for now. And Darren loved his camelhead key holder...Ok, I'll stop.
Sallie summed it up best when she looked at me on Thursday afternoon while we were shoving things in our suitcases...and said, "Mom, it doesn't feel like we're heading home..it feels like we're leaving it."
She's right.
I'll write about Athens tomorrow or soon. :)

Holidays

Thanksgiving weekend is over. The many pictures racing through my mind make me smile. Mary Kenney hosted about 30 people at her home on Thursday nite. Somehow we managed to have places for everyone and there was plenty of delicious food for all who came. Really, too much food..as usual. Some traditions are the same no matter where you are.....:) I helped with the table settings and decor...along with Katie Pritz who had great ideas for centerpieces, etc. And the tables all looked great...:) Mary and her mom made some great pies..kids running and laughing...Katie and Kevin teaching me to play some pool table game called Crud....talking with Pilar, Mary's friend from Colombia, relaxing and chatting..., My friend Johnni came and some of Mary's coworkers and friends, as well as all of us and the Pritzes. (Katie and Kevin are new this year...she is the gal who had her baby here...3 weeks after arriving....) Memories of old Thanksgiving holidays sometimes caught me up....our times in the Hood with the Pearces and the Fords, or at my folks' house...the last time we were all together. One unexpected moment came when I opened the oven door to pull out the turkey...and was overwhelmed with missing my mom. But overall, it was truly a wonderful day and one for the memory banks as well.

Although we didn't have football on Thurs., we did get to watch it on Friday with the Pages...our Aggie friends...heh heh...and several other friends. Mike and I thought it was a great game....:)More desserts and snacking....and of course...winning...made it a great afternoon.

As the holiday season is on in full force...National Day for the United Arab Emirates is tomorrow...(see Dec. 2007 blog entrys...:)) and Christmas fast approaching...I've had several things make me smile...and some that make me shake my head in amazement. Like feeling cold this evening in the park at 80 degrees, or driving to the ladies Christmas seminar at church...with my reindeer shirt on..and black capris, and my windows down with Christmas carols blaring as I drove past the corner mosque....( Some things feel really surreal..even after 15 months here. ) Katie and I shopping for fabric to cover the converted pool table/dining table made me smile... I love seeing Christmas fabrics(they seem so out of place) here and baby Ella is always fun to be with... Or decorateing our tree on Sat. with Sallie, Robert and Ryan...once again missing Russell, but feeling more like home this time. Perhaps it is doing it for the second time...sort of feels normal now. It was sad though, to pull out mom's ornaments that I picked up when I was with her last year at Thanksgiving... (The truth is, I wanted to be alone by the tree and cry like crazy...but life goes on and there just wasn't anyway to do that. )

So the tree is up...the stockings are hung by the window with care...and we are all doing well. Wednesday nite we head to Dubai to catch our flight to Bulgaria...and then, hopefully, I will have lots of fun things to share about playing in the snow and freezing our tails off!!!

Mike's home! Time to go.
Love, Mattie