Happy 2012

A walk in the park.

Our Christmas holidays were filled with friends, family and lots of food. :) Ryan reconnected with many of his high school friends but also had plenty of time with all of us. He and Russell took an entire day to explore the Wadis in Oman with a tour guide and in the process saw most of the UAE. The boys said that most of the time was spent driving thru  the emirates..with stops here and there to get out and see things. Ryan has those pictures so they won't be on the blog.  They had fun together. Another fun event was the New Year's Eve concert the kids all went to...Coldplay.  Crowded and crazy but fun.  In between the big times were meals together, walks in the park, and hanging in the house.  Sallie had her Christmas conference with the Youth for Christ Arabian Gulf. Desert Challenge is held in Dubai every year. This year she was on the worship team helping with the media.  She ran the projector for the speakers and for the songs.  She learned a lot..not just about running the stuff..but about working with people and changing things at the last minute. It tested her endurance..hanging in there with all the cues and never turning her brain off. :)   As she jokingly says, "Kind of funny cuz the theme of the conference this year was ENDURE..." We didn't see a lot of Sallie as she was in and out with her friends. Her big brothers laughed as they were reminded of themselves at 16/17. Robert loved having his brothers home. It's pretty stinky when they leave though, although he does get his bedroom back. That's on the plus side. The maid/storage/junk room gets a bit cramped. But he's a good sport. 

The boys have left now. House is empty of Christmas decorations. The New Year has begun. Thankful for 2011 and looking forward to God's plans for 2012. Thankful for His continued faithfulness in our lives and the blessings of our wonderful family and friends.   

Coldplay bound

One of our favorite places to relax.

Lunch after church on Friday

Tree Sightings

Tree at the Sheraton Hotel

 Look at all the Christmas trees in Abu Dhabi. Seriously, they are everywhere! Way more than when we moved here 5 Christmases ago.  Christmas is tomorrow and we have enjoyed the month leading up to it.    

 There was the International Carol Sing at church, the Kid's Choir at the Millenium Hotel, and new this year: a ladies Christmas Cookie Exchange at Pattie's house as well as a citywide Christmas celebration with several churches in Abu Dhabi.
6 churches from Abu Dhabi came together at the National Theater. St. Andrew's Church, the Arabic Evangelical Church, St. Georges Indian Orthodox Church, Mar Thoma Church and our church the Evangelical Church. Each church prepared something for the celebration..songs, drama, dance. The guest of  honor was HH Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the minister of Education in the UAW. He spoke about tolerance and diversity. It was the first time ever for something like this in AD and I loved having our family be a part of it.    

Nadia, Drew, Sallie, David and  Robert 

 

Small group Christmas party at the Pages

Cantina Laredo's Tree