Traveling Around India and Nepal

We have been traveling for the last 5 weeks. We spent 10 days in Sikkim. Jared was teaching and training and Caleb and I hung out with a national family. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. We discussed lots of plans for this coming year and are looking forward to what God is going to do. Here are just a few pics of our sweet little traveling boy!

What to do when you are in a hotel room with a 1 year old for three days straight? Play with mommy's wallet of course!

Who wants to sit in the chair when you can use it as a perch for a well delivered speech?!

I'm not sure what to point out in this picture...the fact that he is pantsless (which he wasn't when he went to sleep) or the fact that he is sleeping in a bathroom?

We had an amazing Thanksgiving with old and new friends in Nepal. Caleb loved the smoked turkey and we had a great time of fellowship. There were other kids to play with and plenty of grass to run around in.

Kathmandu was wonderful but oh so cold! Jared continually dressed Caleb up like a snowman. I bought Caleb this vest as a compromise to stop the madness! He's pretty cute in it as well!

Caleb liked to sit on this couch (for about 30 seconds at a time). This morning he was "reading" with his dad. It is hard to see, but he has his own book in his hand while Jared is writing a speech in Nepali.

On our way back from Nepal, we got to stop in and see our friends Nathan and Kari. We hadn't met their little boy yet. He is soooo sweet.

Just a preview of the Christmas post to come.....Caleb definitely doesn't like the "feel" of the Christmas tree. I wrapped some garland around his neck and I thought he was going to start seizing right there! He let out a blood curtailing scream and started to shake. Then when he accidentally brushed up against the tree...well you can see what happened!

Bhutan

Here are a few pictures from Jared's time in Bhutan. There are just brief captions with these photos. If you would like to know more, please e-mail us at jmhouk@gmail.com.

A wonderful doctor from TN joined Jared on this trip! He was a great companion, offered incredible insight and we can't wait to see what God is going to do through him in Bhutan!






This was our travel agent and tour guide with his family. We couldn't have asked for a better guide!





This is a Bhutanese Dzong (monastery, main political offices and a fort in old days). These are all throughout Bhutan. When Tibet would raid the country, people would flee to these forts.





A giant prayer wheel inside the monastery at the Dzong pictured above. Buddhists spin these wheels and believe their prayers are sent out.





107 Stupas (concrete formations to which they bow down, sacrifice to and walk around in a circle) built by the new King as a blessing to the country.





Monks worshiping at the 107 Stupas.





Watching a bow and arrow shooting competition in the capitol.





A woman selling vegetables in the market.





As often as the sun sets, remember those that are trapped in darkness.

Majestic

We've lived in some really beautiful places. However, Kalimpong is by far the most beautiful - somewhat civilized - place we have lived so far. This morning as I was laying Caleb down for his nap, this is what I saw! We get to wake up every morning, open our curtains and gaze at the 3rd tallest mountain in the world! Anyone want to come visit?!

The view from our roof.

We had to get a family pic (thank you self-timer). Caleb is pointing at the flashing red light on the camera. We wanted him to stand with us, but we had to hold him because he kept running over to the camera.

After a fresh dusting of snow - how majestic is His creation!

We were on our way out for a walk to take some pictures of the mountains and Caleb was getting a ride from Dad. I had to capture the camouflage sweats from Grandad with the pink and white shoes from our Nepali friends! Can you believe how big he is getting?! Caleb that is... :)

Bath Tubs and Snuggles

Jared has had the camera with him in Bhutan, so I haven't been able to take any new pictures this week, but here are a few from last month that I didn't put up.

Try and ignore how crazy I look and focus on how sweet my little boy is when he finally slows down enough to cuddle (for all of 60 seconds).

He loves the water. One day while Jared was gone, we went out and played in his pool/bath tub in the front yard. He had a great time and the neighbors enjoyed the show!

He loves bath time. He will sit and play in the water until it is ice cold and then we have to drag him out. There's only one small problem. I recently taught him out to drink out of a cup and now he is drinking his bath water (which isn't clean)!

Lots of new pictures to enjoy. Keep scrolling down!

A Glimpse at the Work

We originally created this blog so that our family and friends could see a glimpse of our life and work in South Asia. However, for some odd reason, since October 1, 2008, it has only contained photos of this adorably cute little babe. Well, this is my attempt to integrate a little of our work into this blog! These days, I can't seem to ever remember to photograph anything (other than a kid that is too cute for words!). So, we have been making a conscious effort to take more photos.

Today, Jared and a local pastor friend trekked into a village for a baptism program. On the way, Jared texted me to tell me that it was steeper than the trek to Gyaru (one of the highest villages in Manang where we used to work).

They gathered at a spring for the baptism.

Six men and women took baptism today - Praise God!

Afterwards, Jared encouraged them from the Word of God.

This weekend has been full of events! I cooked for 10 American volunteers on Friday, we had a funeral on Saturday, teammates in for a meeting (and a meal - two single guys living in India equals few home cooked meals!) Saturday evening, baptism program Sunday afternoon and a birthday party and dinner Sunday night for a Nepali friend. We are a bit weary but we enjoyed it all. Caleb is sooooo tired. He's been a trooper though. He loves sitting with the "big" kids on his own.

Chak Chak Lagyo

Roughly translated - that means a boy being a boy!

"I am so sneaky! I managed to get into the bathroom, grab my empty soap bottle and escape before they noticed I was in the bathroom (where I am NOT allowed to play!)."

"I know I went outside, unsupervised without your permission, but now I am in a bit of a pickle! Could you PLEASE help me up!"

Caleb's Birthday Cont'd

Here are a few more pictures from Caleb's birthday.

His Nepali friends came to celebrate with him. He quite obviously didn't understand blowing out the candle. He wanted to grab it while it was lit!

Our pastor friend giving him the traditional "khata". He also said a prayer of blessing over him for his birthday (a Nepali tradition).

Receiving a gift from his friends. They just happened to be pink and white light up shoes. There are no gender color rules here! They also think he doesn't have shoes because we never put them on his feet. They always ask why he doesn't have on shoes. My answer - who knows - I guess I am too lazy to cram them on his feet when he is just going to be inside anyway.

Our teammates joined us for the festivities as well!

Apparently Caleb doesn't like cake! I know - WEIRD! He wouldn't eat more than one bite of the cupcake. We tried both white and chocolate, icing and no icing. He didn't care for any of it. We were at another birthday party tonight, and he wouldn't eat the cake there either. He's more of a cracker, cheerio kind of guy.

His grandparents joined in for the party via Skype. Praise God for a good Internet connection!

"Yep - I'm 1 now!"

Birthday Boy!

Today, our sweet, precious little baby celebrated his first birthday! I must admit, last night as I was singing to him and praying over him, the tears overcame me. He isn't our tiny baby boy anymore. He is big and full of life. He runs everywhere, smiles contagiously and gives kisses all day. We had a family birthday celebration in the morning and a party in the evening. I only have pictures from the morning celebration right now as our friend took pictures at the party. So, enjoy a sneak peak of Caleb's first birthday!

My mom sent him some toy cars! He loves them. He wasn't big into unwrapping the presents, but he thought they were really cool when he got them in his hands.

This face says it all! He immediately figured out that he could take out the animal pieces and then put them back into the barn doors.

I can already tell this will be a life saver. He can stand at the fridge and play with these while I cook! He really enjoys the magnets.

We went to a beautiful park for lunch. We thought we would play in the grass afterwards, but Caleb wasn't feeling well. All day, he was running a fever of 100-101 and didn't quite feel like himself. However, he still managed to enjoy the day!

Please don't laugh. I know it may be hard, but try and control yourself. This was my first attempt at a birthday cake that was more than a rectangle with icing. So, I don't think I'll be sending it into any cake decorating contests, but I think Caleb will enjoy looking back on it!

So Old...

Caleb will have his first birthday next week! He is getting so big and doens't really seem like much of a baby anymore. He isn't the only one getting older though. My computer recently died (but we were able to resurrect it!), so I have been using a different computer. Of course, nothing is the same of this computer. So, I haven't done much e-mail or any blogging because it takes too long to figure out how to do it on this computer! I have some really cute video, but it must wait until my super smart, techno savvy husband is home long enough to help me. So, in the meantime, enjoy these pictures while I figure out how to do more!

We don't really have a doctor that we use here for check-ups. So, our friend at the local hardware store weighs Caleb on a regular basis on his scale. Caleb loves his wife and has fun playing in their store. It is nice because we can go in there and feed Caleb while we are at the market without having to run home. They treat him like their own son!

Caleb and I just got back from Delhi. The trip there was LONG (and our return was even longer). He loves to run in wide open spaces. He doesn't care if he can see us and he has never met a stranger. He ran all over the airport. Pulling on the pants legs of complete strangers until they picked him up (only to squirm so he could get down again). He found some friends to play. We have to be careful because he doesn't understand the meaning of the words softly or gently. He loves to grab ahold of his new friends and touch their cheeks. He looks so much bigger than these kids but he is actually the youngest.

This picture is for my mom. She got him this sweater before he was even born! I didn't think he would get to wear it, but I pulled it out this morning and it fit perfectly. It is starting to get cooler here, especially in the morning/evening. He had an entire box of toys to play with, but he grabbed the plug adapter and curtain ring! He much prefers to play with every day stuff over toys! He is pretty sweet and we can't wait to share pictures from his birthday!

Since We've Been Home...

A lot has happened since we came back from America.  We have been incredibly busy, and I haven't done much on the computer.  So, at the request of many people, here are a few photos of Caleb as he has grown and changed so much this last month!

Caleb was helping Dad get the bags off the belt!

He was so excited to get home.  We were surprised, but he definitely recognized our house and his room and toys.

We brought back some Cheerios from America.  He loved them!  I'll admit, I used them without mercy on the plane ride home because he was quiet and happy while eating them!  When we got home, he figured out how to get the lid off and was caught with his "hand in the Cheerio jar".

We have often talked about the two older ladies that run a shop across the street.  Caleb loves visiting with them and playing in their shop.  They love telling every single person that comes by that he is their little boy and he speaks Nepali!

Caleb's favorite place to be is outside.  We have to watch him really closely, or he will sneak out of the front or back door.  He looks like such a big boy here in his hat and jeans.

He loves to feed himself now.  He does really well with solid foods but he just likes to smash up his banana, cheese and other soft food.

He is a bit mischievous.  If he is quiet for more than 2 seconds, it is a pretty safe bet that he is eating something he shouldn't be eating!  He found my lip gloss one day and did a great job of painting his tongue, lips and cheeks.

He is walking now!  He thinks he is pretty big stuff.  He loves to toddle about, find something to play with and plop down beside it.  If he can't find something to play with, he likes to open and shut the door.  This often results in smashed finger and toes.

We recently celebrated Jared's birthday.  After waffles for breakfast, we gave Dad his gifts.  Caleb actually handed Jared this gift.  The next one was wrapped in shiny paper and he didn't really want to give that one up.