One Step at a Time

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Best Trip Yet!

There is an old hymn that says, "precious memories, how they linger...how they ever flood my soul." Well, our trip home for Christmas was filled with precious, precious, memories! It was so special to be home...as we visited all over the state of Texas!

We were able to visit and spend such good times with friends in Houston. We literally went from one great visit to another our two days in Houston. So fun to see friends from church and Africa! It was so special to get to collect hugs from precious students and their sweet families. Walking in the doors of Mittelstadt, it was like I had not left! What a special school with dear friends!

Then, on to West Texas! We had the best time visiting with family, and having a family Christmas dinner! My mom was able to see ALL her grandchildren! She said it was one of her best Christmases, and she's had EIGHTY-NINE of them! It was a precious time with family!

Last, right before Christmas Eve, we arrived in New Braunfels. All four of our children came! The absolute best treat EVER! We were able to be with friends and family there for eight days! Much conversation, food, coffee, and hugs were shared by all! What a precious memory for sure!

New Braunfels is special to us because that is where we plan to retire. We were able to see the property we had bought sight-unseen! We loved it! It is so gratifying to be at a time in our lives where we are thinking about, dare I say it, retirement (am I THAT old???) and then looking forward to the next adventure! To stand in the quiet peaceful country looking up at the beautiful blue sky, precious indeed!

As we came back to Dubai, we were filled with awe and thanksgiving. We are so blessed! We have such wonderful friends and family, have an awesome place to retire, and will once again call Texas "home." But for now, it's good to be back "home" in Dubai, with the reassurance that God leads always One Step at a Time!

My mom, Dorothy, and Leon

"Pop" and Luke

Buddy!

Larry's mom, Helen, and Richard

Luke, Larry, and his dad, Jack

Luke, Ben, Dave, and Emily

ALL OF US...Such a blessing!

Em by her tree!

Dave's special gift from Emily

Ben's cool hat!

Luke's jeans!

"our" property!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Visit From a Friend and a Desert Safari!

What a fun time we had! It was so fun showing Lara the favorite activities we have, favorite places we visit, and our home...for the time being! It was also special to spend time with Christi and Andy and their sweet family! The "Desert" Safari was such fun! The dune-bashing was like being on a very long roller-coaster ride! The driver would stop for a view and pictures, and then we would go "bashing" again! I was in the very back corner...and I didnt even get sick! Before we did the dune-bashing, the driver let air out of the tires. He could then roll up and down and over the dunes. Awesome! We then rode the camel. I loved the way the camel knelt down so that we could climb on, then stood up, and we immediately were high above everything on his back! There was, of course, the belly dancer and then a "whirly dervish"! It was a male dancer who spun in one spot very quickly while making "skirts" go up and down and over. HARD to explain, but way cool! When he stopped, he didn't even waver! It was neat having the henna done! It goes on very thick, dries about thirty minutes, flakes off, and leaves the design. It lasted about one week! The sunset was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded me of a West Texas sunset. You can watch it set all the way down to the sandy horizon!

We went to the fountains, malls, souks, and the Antique Museum...places I have blogged about before. It was so fun to take Lara to all these places...Christi and I got to be the tour guides! We also went to the Dubai Museum. It is interesting, and depicts life in past bedouin villages. Oh, Lara also rode the bus with me! We only got a little bit lost! :)

Lara helped me with LiveWire, our church children's program. What a privilege to spend time teaching with her again...even if only a short time! :)

It was a special experience to share our new adventures with someone else. I love to visit someone in a new place because then when you think of them, you imagine them in their new surroundings that you have seen and experienced. You can see where God is leading them One Step at a Time, while He's leading you One Step at a Time! Please come visit, we would love to have you!

"All of us" on the Safari

You can see the grains of sand!

The sunset was BEAUTIFUL!

WAY up high!

Henna!

Lara and Christi toured the Burj, and then we met at the fountains for dinner.

So pretty at night!

Our "hop on-hop off" bus!

Lara on the "cruise."

We HAD to go to the spice souks! One of my favorite places!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Munich...What Fun!

Germany was a wonderful trip! It was so different from Dubai, and such a great holiday!

It reminded us of fall in New York! We went to the English Garden, which was a huge park! It was beautiful; complete with a sun-shiny day, autumn trees, running springs, benches, and even The China Tower! We spent such a relaxing time there! We also climbed a very old, winding staircase in the tower of St. Luke’s Church to get a spectacular view of Munich...absolutely gorgeous! We visited the Market! This also reminded us of our Farmers’ Market days in New York! The produce was so pretty, and looked so yummy and fresh! The oldest German museum, Deutsches Museum, was so interesting, and HUGE! It had four floors, and had many displays of all kinds of things that the German people had discovered and invented. All of this was done on our first full day!

The next day, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. It is about ten miles outside of Munich. It was such an interesting day! We took a tour which used public transportation. We rode the “suburb” train to the town of Dachau, then took the bus out to the camp. It was not my favorite thing we did in Munich, but I was so glad we went! My friend says that traveling is an education in itself! This was true of that day! The trip to the camp made the history lessons I had been taught, come alive! We “walked the path” of the prisoners brought into the camp. Dachau was a work camp, where prisoners worked in fields, laundries, and mines. They were literally worked to death, or starved to death. Most did not survive! It was haunting, and made an impression that I will never forget. We also walked where Hitler’s soldiers gathered and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the plaza of Munich. I felt like I had been dropped into Hitler’s world! We wondered, as we saw tourists and residents scurrying about, what it would have looked like during Hitler’s time. Would residents have stayed indoors, only coming out to buy food, or go to school? It was not something Larry or I will ever forget!

After that, we needed a break! That night, we visited the Haufbrauhaus! It is one of the oldest beer halls in Munich, and Hitler held meetings of the Nazi Party there. Now, it is just a FUN place to visit! Some of the tables have wood tops that have names carved in that are over 100 years old. There is an ompah band, beautiful ceilings and one liter mugs of beer...oh and sausage and sauerkraut! We liked it so much, we had to go two nights! :)

The last morning, we visited the beautiful Residence Palace. It seemed each family of royalty had added another wing...it went on and on....very elaborate! Up in the top of the Town Hall, is the life-size glockenspiel! Each day at 11:00 and 12:00, the clock chimes, plays German songs, and the figures--including life-size horses--revolve in the clock! The architecture in Munich is amazing! I had heard that the city was beautiful, I completely agree!

As we visited the city chock-full of history, I was awed by the fact that as God led these precious people, He leads us One Step at a Time!