Abu Dhabi's Finest

Had my first experience with the police this week. I got a call Monday evening after Perspectives from my friend Patty. Her car was hit at a stoplight by a driver who turned too widely from the side road and then smacked Patty's bumper. He then waved at her as if to say "Oh, it's nothing!" and drove off. You know what? He was right. Just a ding and scratch. Unless you are driving a rental car. If that is the case, as with Patty and Barry, then you MUST have a police report or you have to pay for the repairs. With a report the rental agency takes care of it. Not a bad deal. Unless you are the one trying to get the police to come and write up the report. Needless to say, Barry and Patty spent the next 2 hours trying to chase down the police to get the report. They called the number and after waiting awhile were sent out to a police station, who then sent them back to the scene to wait some more. By then they were starving. They went to eat. Barry went home(early early day the next day) and Patty called me to come sit with her as it was getting late, and she did not want to sit outside alone waiting. We sat outside waiting for the police. I guess we were there about an hour before they came. Patty drew and acted out the accident. I was there for moral support and comic relief. :) The English was minimal so it was pretty entertaining.....
Got the report and were told to go to another station with it. Which we did. By now it is 10:30 or so. No other women around. Awkward. As Patty gets her turn, the policeman says..You have No objection Letter? Uh..no. Come back tomorrow with letter from Insurance. Sigh. Ok.
End of my story?
Nope. Next day Mike gets scratched all the way down the side of his car. Could be somebody keyed him. Not sure. Can't get any repairs here without that police report. He calls. He waits. Then is sent to police station. I ride with him. Can't find it. Calls again. Sent back to scene. We wait. and wait. We leave. He calls again. Go to this station. Ok. We will...another day. :)
By the way. Patty was told at the Rental agency that they take care of all of it. Just give them the papers. And here's a different car. Now THAT was good news!!!! :) Our issue not resolved yet. But, oh well!
Happy Spring ,Everyone. We're off to church and then tomorrow to the beach for an informal birthday party for Sallie. Everyone is invited. I'm just bringing cupcakes. :)

Sign on the Dotted Line!

We have had so many people ask us how we are doing. It is wonderful to feel so much love and support. We are doing well. Trying to prepare for Ryan's graduation and our summer plans. Enjoying the fact that Mike has a new job.! Oh, but wait! There is this small matter of a PAYCHECK.

So, here's the story.

Mike is "made redundant" (term they use here-good grief!) on Jan. 20.

Bank is generously notified that Mike is no longer employed and will no longer be receiving compensation.

Mike rushes to withdraw savings we have stashed away to pay this year's rent (remember, rent paid by the year here, up front) , so we have something to live on-If in fact the rumors are true and our bank account may be frozen.

Meanwhile, Mike contacts everyone and anyone for job leads.

Ryan's tuition is due. As are two car payments. (Rent is not due. Good thing we pay by the year!?)

After 4 weeks of searching and great friends helping, Parsons, International offers Mike a job.

2 days later: Mike unable to get into our bank account to pay car payments-Account is NOW frozen(interesting concept...frozen AFTER employed). Sidenote: car loans are at the same bank. we left money in the bank to pay notes. we receive an interest fee charge for late payment????? they have the money. they control the account. Hmmm....

Mike is told bank account will be accessible again when he receives his first electronic paycheck. Parsons pays monthly and sometimes every 5 weeks. This is a 5 week cycle. (oh boy.)

Continue using cash withdrawn earlier. Ryan goes to China. Amazing experience. Envelope with cash gets skinnier. Family comes from Kansas. We all have a blast.

March 8: Hill pays Mike last payment. Unable to deposit it because account is frozen(another interesting concept, bank NOT wanting your money). Mike follows courier around the bank for hour and a half until it is deposited. (We can't touch it, but at least Mike is officially done with Hill at this point.) ( He puts it this way, "finally got their claws dug out of me.")

March 26: First PAYCHECK!!! But wait... can't deposit it. Bank will not take it unless it is electronic. Parsons does not issue the first paycheck electronically. Mike has a piece of paper with ink on it. Mike goes to bank for 5th time to unfreeze account. Has all the paperwork. The banker he usually works with is OUT that day. The lady he talks to says, But sir, your account is not frozen. Mike has visions of going postal. "Then why can't I access it online or withdraw money?" Blank stare. Further investigation reveals that Microsoft Explorer no longer works with NBAD..only Mozilla. Ok, thanks for the heads up. Also, only up to 30,000 dollars is frozen and Mike hates them. :) ( He just added that out loud to me. )

And there is the journey of the paycheck. No, it is not yet deposited as it is still PAPER but we are hopeful that this week we will have victory!!!

I know this was long and convoluted..but that's nothing to walking it out. :)

Here's to Jehovah Jireh. The God who provides.

We are truly thankful.

Lots of love,

The Hildebrands

Kansas Cousins and Ryan's Home!

Family dinner.

Jet lag wins.

Dressed for the Mosque.

Sunny day at the beach.

Ryan returned last nite from China. Safe and sound. Josh, our still jetlagging nephew, woke up to ride with me to pick him up, at 1am, at the school. Bless his heart. His suitcase is full of Chinese bargains and, although we were all pretty beat, he did tell us that the trip was great. We, too, have a great week with Don and Laurie and Josh here. We are getting plenty of touring in...the Grand Mosque, Emirates Palace, the Beach, etc. as well as just time to laugh, talk, and reminisce.

It was one of the better trips I have had to the Mosque. We latched onto a tour guide and heard some new things from her. There was also a ladies college visiting, so the mosque was filled with local Emirati women giggling in their black abayas and snapping pictures. Although from a distance it was hard to differentiate between the expats who have to cover in black when visiting the Mosque and the local gals who were there, when you got close there was no comparison. They are so graceful and wear their abayas so naturally. We spent the time battling with the shayla scarfs that cover our heads, trying to keep them on...They didn't have that problem. :) By the way, our trip to the Mosque was actually the second try. The first day we arrived too late and only Muslims could go in. Oh well. I appreciated the good attitude and flexiblity of our visitors. It makes it easier when people just go with the flow. :)

Before everyone arrived I told my friend Jill that I wanted to be sure that our Kansas family had fun on their visit. She laughed and said "Mattie, they will enjoy looking out your window! So many different sights." It proved to be prophetic. We have had some great conversations about all the activity outside the window! :) The parking, the laborers arriving and leaving from work, kids heading to school and just city life here. I am actually glad for our bustling location. Sometimes. :)

So we still have a few days. Coming up. Visit to Dubai, field trip to a nature preserve, Arabic food, and I imagine other adventures. Now that Ryan is here he will have several things he wants his cousins to do and see. :)

What a blessing to have them here. They should be over Jet lag about the time they climb back on the plane on Friday.

More updates later.

Have a great day!

Just the Usual. What a relief!

As I have the morning off from taking Ryan to school, I decided to update the blog. I think I sort of stalled out for awhile with all the stuff going on. Just couldn't live it and write about it at the same time.
But life is "calmer" now. Just the usual..no place to park, so I sat for 30 minutes for someone to pull out and then...get out of my way! I was in there. Or getting my hair cut but having to map a new way there cuz they have closed the street down completely for the next 2 years or so. No big deal..just a 6 lane major street thru the city. Ho hum. Bought a floor fan to possibly drown the 24 hour construction in my bedroom. It has helped. Amen! When I say, in my bedroom, it really is right there. Just ask the friends who have been here. :) Or the honking if you don't floor it right when the light turns green. Heaven forbid you have to sit for 2 seconds. Course, I can't complain. My friend got ticketed for a 1% tinted front window that apparently is against a law that no one had heard about. Something like 10,000 dirhams...divide by 3.6. Can't have his license back until he pays. Yep. Can't complain!
Ryan did get off to China ok last nite. He will be there 6 days for the Model United Nations conference. Students from all over the Middle and Far East will be attending. An amazing opportunity. They also get to see the Great Wall and Forbidden City. And shop. :) There are 12 kids going from ACS and many of them are Ryan's good friends. 4 from the basketball team, which makes it doubly fun for him. Now the kids were told to take swim goggles to wear to keep out the smog. Just could not picture that for my Ryan. We settled on good sunglasses. :)

And for us, 3 of our numerous Kansas family members are coming to see us tomorrow!!! We are so excited. Mike's brother Don, and our niece and nephew..Laurie and Josh..both on Spring Break from Kansas State are making the long haul over here. We are all very excited. Ryan will be back for the second part of their visit so it works out great! (He'll be beat, but hey! He's young..no big deal. )

And work, you ask? Mike and I are happy he is fully employed by a US based multinational company right here in Abu Dhabi. He completes his 3rd week today. Should be getting a paycheck soon. We hope. :) Sallie and Robert are doing well, too. Sallie is taking art lessons and somehow she is very good! Not from my side of the family. That's for sure. Robert started piano lessons with our friend Katie. He remembers quite a bit from his lessons in the States several years ago.

We head to the US in June. Our nephew Kent is getting married, and Ryan will be starting college. ALL of us are looking forward to that.

Stay tuned for more news from Sandyland.
Mattie, for the gang!

Rollercoaster Journey

It is now more than a month since Mike walked into the corporate office of Hill International and was told, "You've been terminated. Sign here" Five simple words that sent our world spinning dizzily out of control. Or so it felt. As Mike told me about it that evening, the first night of the Perspectives class, the anniversary of Mom's death, I thought I was going to throw up. He told me that when he asked them, "What about my family? What do we do now? My son graduates in June. What do we do?" He was met with a blank stare and a shoulder shrug. All righty then....

And so began many days and nights of prayer, mornings of waking up in a panic, talking and talking and talking to other companies, to friends here and friends in the US, to previous co-workers and bosses, and more prayer.

Of course, losing a job anywhere is a very, very difficult thing. Here in the UAE, though, the ramifications of being jobless can be tramatic in different ways. Visas are cancelled, bank accounts can be frozen, and so on. We felt this looming black hole approaching to swallow us at such a speed that we couldn't get our breath. Combine that with the global economic crisis and the construction business plummeting..and well, you have panic. In Dubai right now, Mike guesses that one quarter to one half of the cranes are shut down. Projects are being closed down and people laid off at an alarming rate. And all their resumes are coming to Abu Dhabi. Oh boy. And it doesn't look good here, either. At Mike's previous project, just after he was let go, about 80 more people followed. So far.

During this job hunting time(more like frantic search) we have had many false starts and confusing messages. One company hired Mike for a project but the client then turned around and said no. "He's too senior." The company then went back to the client to ask them to approve him AGAIN and we have heard that he is still not approved. We still, however, get conflicting stories from that. Mike talked to another company. They hired him, an answer. In this case, however, we needed more documentation. His diplomas needed to be stamped by a notary, then the State of Kansas and Texas, then the State Dept. and then the UAE embassy in the US. Although even with that, we heard different stories. He immediately started getting that done, not easy to do from over here and was also told different processes to do it, BUT the new company, Parsons. needed him at work except he couldn't be official until the doc. was done. Wow. Finally, after a week working at Parsons, he is signing a contract today. Officially he is hired. Though we are still waiting on the documents. The Hildebrands are just relieved to know that we will not be kicked out of the country. That Ryan will be able to graduate from high school here. That we do not need to borrow money to pay off the cars so our bank account isn't frozen. That, at least for now, Mom Hildebrand doesn't need to clean out the closet for 5 extra boarders!:) And that perhaps our purpose for being here is still in process. For the last month and more, we truly wondered if 18 months was all He wanted...and just exactly what did that mean?

Mike just called. Good news. He has an employee number and that means he's on the payroll! Hallelujah.

Praising God for new beginnings and friends who prayed along side us.

Mattie

Face to Faith

Haven't felt much like writing for the past two weeks. I probably should have, but just didn't feel like talking about it. I did write quite a bit in my journal. I don't want to forget these last couple of weeks..nor do I ever really want to live thru them again...and I sure want all of this to be done.
I've been trying to think of some catchy way to describe this journey of joblessness and nothing comes up. We have worked thru feelings of betrayal, fear, hope, despair, panic, fear, hope, despair, betrayal, and on and on. I remember doing the Walk thru the Bible seminar years ago and learning about the tests that God's people were put thru and they constantly came up with an F. So the next test...and so on. The guy leading the class used an overhead and as he described each test...not going in when it was promised to them, etc. He would draw a big red F on the overhead. Somedays I feel like this is our test. I am absolutely terrified of that big red F. Am I being silly? Maybe..but I believe God does use circumstances to strengthen and yes to test us. Do we..DO I really believe His promises? What' s the deal God? Why bring us all the way over here and then both my parents die? and then Mike loses his job???? Hellooooo? Anybody there? So we're sitting here helping lead Perspectives for the umpteenth time and in the first week we are learning about God's glory and everything, and boom..we're fired! Wow. Failing that test, God. Big time.
BUT..... I bet if anyone is reading this they are glad to see that word there. Cuz, well, just because you don't want to hear that we are stuck in the dark pit, in the lion's den with no special guest, facing Goliath with no slingshot, at the Red Sea with no Moses and his staff...:) (Believe me, every one of these analogies and a bunch more have run thru our minds these last 14 days or so.) BUT we have felt the power of prayer lifting us up before the throne of grace almost constantly since this all started. From the moment I let people know, and that was almost immediately after Mike walked into the corporate office and was told, "Mike you have been terminated. Sign here. You have 30 days.." we have felt everyone's prayers. And our friends on this side of the world, people we have only known for 18 months offering to pay off our cars, loan us money, keep Ryan so he can stay and finish high school here. And so much more from both sides of the globe. Honestly, it is HARD being so darn needy all the time. Really, it is, BUT to feel this love and to see the Body come together and support us. Well, we have seen Jesus and He is here. And there. And with us.

Hope you can all understand why it has been hard to blog again. How in the world do we explain the craziness of this right now? BUT in closing, God has been speaking to us. Though muffled on many days, we are hearing Him. Like through Pslam 145, the whole thing really, but particularly vs. 11 and 12:
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, SO THAT all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
and vs 14:
The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
and vs.17:
The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.

There is no job yet, BUT Hill has not cancelled the visa yet so we are not feeling a rush to leave. We have yet to hear back from a good offer, BUT we are hopeful that maybe this week. or next we will know more. We have no bank account right now, BUT we do have our money so we aren't desperate. We still wake up panicked some mornings, BUT we are trusting for God to provide..and that's good. :)

and vs.21
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
Grateful for all the prayers and love being sent our way.
The Hildebrands...sticking in out in Sandyland...:)

Forever Love

In memory of my parents.
(Written on their 40th anniversary....1992)

Forever Love

They celebrate 40 years today_
A blessing to be sure.
Thru hard times and good times,
With a love that did endure.

A borrowed glass, began their journey
At least, that's what we're told.
And matchmaking parents soon encouraged,
a wedding band of gold.

It certainly wasn't easy,
the changes that came their way,
A fishing cabin Idaho,
brought Diana Beth in May.

Four years later, and a couple of moves,
landed them in Grants.
Baby Scott came on the scene,
to the rhythm of indian chants.

Not ones to let their roots grow long,
they packed again and moved along.
Between here and there, and who knows where_
came little Mattie in Pierre.

To some already, they'd done their share
of packing, boxing, and hauling with care.
But not the Deahls, no, not them....
They moved again,again and again!

This country was not big enough to hold this family in.
So off to Argentina, and then Brazil they went!
They also hit Aruba, where Don, he was in heaven!
But Nan, not quite the water buff, was ready to get movin!

They headed to Bolivia,
and faced a coup d'etat.
Then back again to the USA,
This time they planned to stay.

There love has covered many things in all these 40 years.
Births and deaths, smiles and tears, and grandkids everywhere.

And so no matter where they go,
I think it's safe to say...
Their love goes with them everywhere
Forever and a Day.

Lovingly, Mattie
March 1992

My first year of grieving has come to a close. And yes, time has helped. As have the prayers and support of my many, many friends and family. And they continue to be such a blessing and support to us as we face Mike's job loss and the uncertain future. Truly, we feel His peace and protection at this time as a result of your prayers.
Thank you everyone,
Mattie and Mike

Miss Him Already

Camel Races

Grand Mosque

Ryan's Birthday Dinner..Russell's last night here.

Having grown up a TCK..or Third Culture Kid, I became very used to goodbyes and hellos. Anxiously awaiting the arrival of loved ones for a visit tops some of my favorite memories. That first glimpse as they came thru customs was the best. Of course, back then the world wasn't quite so connected either..We talked to my sister very rarely after she left home to attend nursing school, while we moved from Argentina, to Brazil and then a year later to Aruba. But oh! when she came to visit! Nothing beat it. Scott and I would vie for her attention and we made some great memories. I just loved the hellos...but oh! those goodbyes!...They were so hard. And, although I became used to them, they didn't get any easier.

So there we were last nite. Another goodbye to put in my heart. Our time with Russell was so good. I'm thankful for his long visit. It was like he experienced our real life here...not just a snippet of this and that. Sure, we did fun things...dune bashing, skiing, touring the Grand Mosque and so on...but mostly we hung out. He met Ryan's friends. He met our friends. Played Laser tag with Sallie and Robert. Saw one of Ryan's basketball games. Did the grocery shopping with me. And more grocery shopping. Saw what Sallie and Robert do for school. Hung out with Mike as he navigated the maze of trying to get the very simple problem with the license plate repaired(a casualty of dune bashing). Ordered shirts from our Hindu tailor around the corner...AND felt the satisfaction of actually getting what he wanted...:) Simply put...He lived life with us and it felt great.

Today though, I am dealing with the goodbyes...I woke up and his big ol' shoes aren't by the door. His toothbrush is gone from the counter. The book that he left for us to read, is sitting on the couch. It feels empty. As I watched him walk thru customs last nite, I wanted to run and hug him one more time. The goodbyes...man, they are hard.

And if we are here next year...and I'm saying goodbye to both Ryan and Russell. Well, let me tell you...It will not be a pretty picture. Not at all.

By the way, today Ryan is 18. We are so blessed. He is such a wonderful son. Like I said, I don't even want to think about him not being here next year...nope! I'll leave that goodbye for later.

See you later...

Mattie

Dubai can Do Anything You Can Do, Better. Dubai Can Do Anything Better Than You.

I was shocked to see that it has been so long since I last made an entry on my blog. Russell arrived on the 21st..so I guess that explains part of it. Our days have been filled with Christmas, and New Year's, and sightseeing, and just hanging out. I kind of feel badly...I probably should have set his tickets up for this Thurs. instead of next Thurs. so he could have time in Dallas with his friends...Selfish me. I admit, it is a bit slow with Ryan back in school and "normal" routine setting in, but all that being said, we love having him here. So, we buy the tickets..we get the boy!

Beyond the usual holiday dinners and celebrations, the boys went Dune bashing with their dad and some other men. This is a common activity here...Men take out their 4 wheel drives, strap on their testosterone and fly thru the desert sand dunes...Up and down...sometimes way up and way down...they go across the dunes. Laughing all the way...until the bumper comes off or the gas tank gets cracked...or...or...they get STUCK. all the time...:) But they have fun. And then you take the car to the car wash where they remove sand from everywhere...even with windows up and doors closed the sand ends up covering the inside of your cars. Good times. Good times.

Russell wanted to experience Ski Dubai. So, off we went last Saturday. When he visited last year we just could not face the Dubai traffic but this year we are a little stronger and Saturday was our day in Dubai. Mike and Russell skied in the ONLY indoor ski mountain in the world,while Sallie and Robert and I walked around the Mall. We then all headed to the Dubai Mall, the BIGGEST mall in the world..for Taco Bell(first in the UAE)and the new aquarium. On our way there we passed the TALLEST building in the world. (Feel free to read this with any inflection you like...thrilling, cynical, factual...yes, however you like.... ) The only thing missing was Ryan...he was not feeling great when we left so he stayed home. But he'll have another chance.

Last nite we watched the recorded Fiesta Bowl with some friends. Katie and Kevin invited us over for Mexican food...and we actually managed to NOT know the outcome of the game...A difficult feat with facebook and all. So, there were some happy Longhorns last nite.

We might get to see some camel races this week...Now won't that be something? Trying to set it up before Russell leaves. Also, Ryan turns 18 on the 15th..Maybe a Camel Racing party..hmmmmm....

2008 has been pretty interesting..wonder what's next...

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

Sweet Saturdays

It's Saturday morning and we are quietly working at the computers, playing Wii and in Ryan's case...still snoozing...the life of a highschool senior.
Today we will run errands and hopefully go see our friends compete in a swim meet as well. The Miller kids all joined a swim club here in Abu Dhabi and this is their first meet of the season. Debbie told us that it is run very differently than back in Colorado(no surprise there) ...certainly an experience for her kids. I'm looking forward to watching it today.
Jeff and Mary Kenney invited us to their home for Thanksgiving on Thursday. We are looking forward to it. Although Ryan does have the day off from school, for Mike it is a workday. We have been scouring the stores for Thanksgiving items....still on the hunt for green beans for the casserole..:) and we probably need some more Stove Top stuffing. My sister would cringe but as she is not here to make her delicious stuffing...this will have to do. :) Neither Mary nor I claim to be Martha Stewart...good food, lots of it...and hey! We call it a day.
In less than two weeks we are heading to Sofia, Bulgaria to visit the Ford family. Affectionately known as the Hildefords..or Fordebrands..depends on which set of kids you ask. We are extremely excited to see them. Mike is whining a bit about the cold but the rest of us are hoping for lots of snow!!!!(One of the sheikhs must be looking at something..his helicopter keeps circling around our building. It always makes me think of that movie, Red Dawn..yeesh.)
Then, after we get back from the Fords... Russell will be coming....Yay!!
Not a whole lot to report today. Time to do our errands. Maybe grab some coffee at Starbucks. God Bless you and yours this Thanksgiving.
Mattie

Miss You...

Periodically, over the past week, I've struggled with mom and dad's deaths. Today is the one year anniversary of daddy dying and also this week, a year ago, was the last time I saw my mom. If I don't think too long about it..I'm fine. But when I stop and see Momma waving goodbye from the Luby's where we had that last Thanksgiving dinner...her favorite holiday, then it's hard. I've had more dreams lately, too. I still see daddy's face, when I was leaving after seeing them to say goodbye, before moving here. I know he knew it was our final goobye..I just know it. But I wouldn't go there...just couldn't. I really had no idea that last year was my final goodbye to mom.... Sometimes it is so stinkin' hard. You know? I thought maybe I would mark this day in some way...like sit at the beach and cry or something. Daddy loved the water and instilled that same love in each of us, but I didn't go today. Maybe another day...but not today. I'm glad the first year is over. The first birthday, and Christmas, and the kids birthdays and so on. Glad that's over. I guess I'll never know if the the hardest stuff last year was grief, culture shock or what...or both...both, I suppose.
This year has been much better....Thank the Lord. Good news coming from the States like new babies as well as a newly engaged nephew. That's nice. Makes me smile. And it's nice that we get to go see the Fords in December...and our friendships here continue to deepen. Yes. It is all good.
Just some days are hard..some days I want to tell them something...hear them laugh or say, "Hi honey."... "I love you, Matt." "How are the kids?" "Have you heard from your sister?" "We're watching JAG..." "Got a letter from your Aunt Sally. The kids are doing well." "Miss you sweetheart."
Me too...

Made In Mexico

One thing about living overseas...are the constant surprises. Imagine our surprise when Ryan and I went on a hunt for Ryan's costume for a party last nite. He decided to be a Mexican bandito..now this is an easy task when you live in TEXAS, but we had our doubts about finding the accessories here. :) I brought a great poncho from El Paso..so we had that...but we were doubtful about finding a sombrero, etc. We headed to this store called Posters..unfamiliar to us but we were told it had some costumes. What a surprise when we walked in the door...it was full of costumes and party goods!! Almost felt like Party City. Not only did we find the sombrero but also the bullet belt! Actually turned out to be a good costume. Also pretty surprising to see two folks dressed like Santa Claus last nite walking down the street.....hmmm...:) And then there was the surprise of seeing a guy DRIVING down the Corniche(waterfront road) with a small brazier grill thing filled with lit, hot coals...in his lap! Yep. That was a surprise, too. :)

We also had a week full of fun and surprises with the Belsons..who left on Thurs. So wonderful to have them here. They brought some fun things from home...more surprises..and we spent the time talking and seeing the sights. Sheryl got to meet my English Club ladies and both Sheryl and Maynard got to attend our Sunday nite family class as well as meet many friends from our Friday nite small group. They spent time in the park with the moms and met Johnni(my American friend married to an Emirati) one afternoon at the beach. Maynard spent Wednesday afternoon walking the job site with Mike and visited with some of the guys there. All in all, it was great! Hard to say good-bye, tears and hugs...but so blessed to have had time with them.

And by the way, thanks to many of you for sending surprises with them. We really appreciate it. A lot.

Here's to surprises...especially the good ones!

Love, Mattie

Here we are at Ski Dubai.

This and That

I told my niece, Katie, that I needed to update my blog. She agreed rather quickly so I thought I would write something before I headed out to pick up Ryan from school.
Somehow I seem to be writing a lot about my English Club these days...and today is no different. :) We met on Monday, and for this meeting we had Junko teach us origami. Picture it if you can....a very detailed process being taught to people from several different backgrounds..not to mention languages..from someone using their minimum English. Laughter filled the room and somthing resembling little cranes emerged..eventually. Poor Junko kept telling us how the folds are so important..and make them very tight...It takes a lot of patience. Sallie actually ended up with the best Crane. An added ingredient this week is our new friend..Huda, who is Egyptian and wants to improve her English as well. Poor thing. I hope we didn't scare her to death with all of our laughter....although she was definitely a good sport and hung right there with us. All of them are invited to join some other friends for a desert barbecue this Friday. Huda said she may come and perhaps some others will too.
Last weekend Mike and I attended a training session in Dubai for becoming Perspectives coordinators over here. It was a privilege to be with about 20 other folks from all over the UAE who also want to see great things happen. The training was long but well worth it. Our friend Matt organized it (he lead the classes last Fall)as well as two others from the UK and the US. We were encouraged and challenged. And now we are also official. :)
Right now we are looking forward to two great friends coming to visit us this Saturday! Maynard and Sheryl Belson, who traveled with us to Morocco in 2005, are coming and we cannot wait! They will be here for several days. I'm sure I will have interesting tales to tell....
Blessings!
Mattie

Out of the Frying Pan but still in the Fire

So I'm trying to play around with the blog and figure out new things...Not sure if I figured anything out yet...but...:) oh well... The weather is cooling off enough now that we can go to the beach and not fry. Last Saturday I texted my friends and said to join us there...It was such a nice afternoon. Here are a couple of pictures...Billy, Robert and Ben..the Three Musketeers deep in conversation and I have no idea about what. :)

and here are Mike, Sallie and Kyra Kenney contemplating the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf.

For English Club Junko took us to a great Japanese restaurant here in Abu Dhabi and included a lesson on using chopsticks.... I think she should be a model. As beautiful on the inside as on the outside.


Here Sallie and Stephanie Page attempt synchronized diving at the pool.

It is very nice that the weather is cooling off. We don't feel so tied to the airconditioning now.

The kids are doing well in school. Ryan is in full college search mode. He has the SAT's on Saturday. Sallie and Robert are doing well in the K12 Online School..learning lots. as am I. :)

Mike and I continue to be refined in the furnace, so to speak. Learning, leaning, ...stuggling and surrendering again. Not fun, but certainly biblical. :) We appreciate your prayers...and recognize as well that many of you are going thru so much as well. And we are praying.

And we still find things to laugh about...like our friend's story last week about his meeting with the Department of Transportation for Abu Dhabi....There was no parking. :) or the fact that our windows have not been washed since last MAY and when we asked about it we were told "2 months more...insh'allah..." UGH. By then we will need a firetruck hose to clean the stuff off...oh wait...that won't work...My friend told me that she watched a fire in the building next to hers a couple of months ago and they were pointing the hose in the wrong direction! Finally a Brit came out and showed them how to use the rescue bucket and the equipment. Thank the Lord no one died...(and that we live on the first floor) but as for my windows.....hmmmm....:)

Rama-Done!!!

Soon the holiday decorations at the malls will be coming down....You are actually looking at is normally a clear glass wall covered in "wallpaper".

All church lunch at Al Wahda Mall...We can eat in public during the day!!!

Someone decided to take a boat ride to celebrate Eid......Nice, huh? :) We, however, just went on a desert picnic...but had lots of fun!

As our first full week of post Ramadan/Eid starts, I just wanted to post a few pictures from the events of the week. Needless to say...we are happy to be back to "normal". :)