We are HERE! {Our Arrival in South Asia}

It feels like forever since our little family (and our not-so-little pile of luggage) boarded an airplane in Vancouver on Friday evening.

We try to make a habit of telling each home "bye" to try to help little M understand. Here are the boys waving goodbye to our apartment in Canada!

Little M and all our luggage.

A big fish tank, the airplanes outside the window & his Hi-Hi 'puter were all great entertainment while waiting for our flight out of Vancouver. 

In just two days, we crossed 13 time zones and spent 17+ hours high in the sky... not to mention the 12+ hours spent in various airports. Whew... I am thankful for the journey but have no desire to repeat it any time soon. As any of you with little ones know, everything is more complicated with a toddler in tow, and world traveling is no exception.

But that said, we have no room to complain. Little M was a precious little passenger on both flights. He didn't sleep much on the first, but how can you be frustrated with a boy who quietly entertains himself by singing softly and imagining his beloved "baby" is an airplane? He finally fell asleep for a couple of hours but woke up disoriented and crying. An hour of snuggling in Mommy's lap solved that! :)

Flight #1: Pushing buttons & playing with stickers!

On the second, I didn't even bother to try to get him to sleep until the meal had been served and the lights and finally been dimmed. He slept much better on that flight!

Flight #2: His new magnet toy was a favorite on the flight and ever since! M wasn't too crazy about the airplane food but always managed to find something on the tray he liked... whether it was Craisins or (even better) chocolate mousse!

A snooze with baby & a special snack brought by our flight attendant!

The lights came back on with about an hour and a half left in the flight. As we ate our breakfast, I checked the flight tracker on the screen in front of me. We were finally flying over our new country! Reality began to set in. I admit that the thought "What have we gotten ourselves into?" crossed my mind as we neared our destination. 

But as we touched down, we recalled the advice of a very wise mentor. K took my hand & together we said: "Welcome home." My roots will always be in Alabama soil, but home is more than a place to grow up. Home is wherever we are together, but more than that, home is wherever we have been called. Until we are told otherwise, home is here.

We are spending our first week here in the capital of city... learning culture and some simple language before flying to our next place. 

We quickly discovered that jet lag is no joke. All along, I dreaded the long flights so much that I didn't give much though to the aftermath. The first night, little M woke up at 12:30 a.m., singing and ready to play! He stayed awake until morning. (And unfortunately so did we.) But thankfully, things quickly improved. The next night, he made it until 4 a.m., and the past two nights he has slept until nearly six! Naptimes are still tricky. Every afternoon, he is so ready to lay down for his afternoon nap, but it is very hard to wake up him after a few hours ... and he is super grumpy until bedtime. But again, no complaints here! We are so grateful for how well our little guy is adjusting.

On this night, he slept all the way TO dinner, THROUGH dinner and FROM dinner!

One afternoon, I laid down on our bed.... you know, just to encourage M to do the same. Wellllll, two hours later, K came in and so kindly captured this. 

Our schedule so far has been busy, with not too much time for exploring. But we have been able to venture out a few times to get a taste of this fascinating new culture. Our first day, the three of us rode a pedal rickshaw to find a place to eat. It felt funny to be weaving through heavy traffic while being pulled by a man on a bicycle, but we made it just fine! Once there, we looked and looked for KFC but to no avail. Oh well, Dunkin Donuts had to do. :)

Paying our driver... or shall I say OVERpaying our driver. We have since learned better! :)

Some sights & sounds from that first afternoon out.

Another day, I went with two other ladies to do a little shopping for kurtas (long tops), dupattas (scarves), churidar (leggings that are usually gathered at the bottom), and salwars (baggy pants that have a HUGE waist you pull in with a drawstring... perfect for this expectant Mommy!). The clothing here is so colorful, and in most cases, pretty reasonably priced! The shopping experience itself is also very different from in the States. The shopkeepers are sooo helpful... to the point that you sometimes wish that they would be just a little less helpful. :)

We have a few more days here before we head to our new city. We are so looking forward to finding a flat, unpacking, and settling in to this new life!

Until next time! We love & appreciate you all.