Adjusting back to 0 degrees

It was hard, extremely hard to adjust back to Chicago after our 10 day trip to India.  We got back on the coldest day in Chicago when the temperature was negative.  We landed early morning on January 7th and for once I hated being back in Chicago.  All I wanted was just to go  back to India.  Really...I kept telling Sony about moving to India at least for few years. Poor Sony!! He had to deal with  it for almost a week.

It was difficult to handle the jet lag especially with kids.  The only solution was to sleep when they sleep.  So we would go to sleep around 4:30 pm and wake up at 2:00 am.  It was so horrible.  Oh man....I would love to go to India again but I definitely don't want to go through the consequences of returning from India.  Thankfully Sony's school was closed the next day due to the severe cold in Chicago.  Thank God.  We were inside the house for an entire week.  Sony went to work but we stayed home and it was hard.  Our sleep timing did not become normal until after 2 weeks.  It was just hard to wake up every night at 2 and 3 in the morning and not being able to go to sleep until the next day evening.

So this is what me and the kiddies did at 2 in the morning.  My sis in law had given George a set of musical instruments as Christmas gift.  We got this gift right after we came back from India.  Since it was a new toy which he just received he was so excited.  In the night we were awake he would take few instruments, Anna takes a shaker and I take the bells and we sang.  We sang Jingle bells, Your grace is enough, Our God is greater.  It was fun or we made it fun since there was nothing else we could do at that time and it was so cold.  We had to wear so many layers of clothes just to come outside our rooms.  I am sure we felt more cold since we had just come from 90 degrees weather.

We even did some homeschooling during this time.  George was willing to sit and do his work.  He started working on his books and then he looked up and said "mamma, this is not home school, this is night school like Pappa's".  I couldn't stop laughing.  He was mentioning about Sony's night school.  Well, it made complete sense to a 4 year old since he was doing school at night. haha

After 4-5 days of staying inside the house the temperature came back up to the 20s.  We were so desperate to get outside the house.  So we decided to go to the mall.  It was fun.  Just to be outside and see people and eat out.  Kids played, we got a moment to just sit and relax.  One of the reasons why we couldn't go out earlier was because our little Anna was sich.  She had a fever.  It lasted for 3 days and due to that even on Sunday me and Anna stayed home while Sony and George went to Mass and CCD.

Scary, Isn't it? 

 I was so depressed after being home for so many days, one day morning Sony just sent me to 6:15 am mass and it was just beautiful to be outside and to be able to attend mass.  Sony left right after I got back from mass.

Isn't it beautiful with all the Christmas decorations?

I would have never known it was so hard and depressing to just get adjusted to the cold weather again.  I finally started taking the kids out to the library and fort he first two days I would spent 2-3 hours in the library just so that we could be away from the house. Now we are back on track and I cannot even imagine going to India again.  

A day with my Big Family

I have 5 siblings and out of the 5, 4 of us are married with children.  Now we are just waiting for our little brother to get married.  All 5 siblings with their families were able to make it to India for our family gathering which took place in December 2014.  It was an amazing time to be together once again with our parents.  My dad has been recently going through a lot of health issues and we were all worried about him but by God's grace and everyone's prayer he was at his best during those days when we were together.  My parents have 14 grandchildren.  Together we were 26 of us with wives, husbands and children.  We all went on a trip to a beautiful place called Vagamon, Kurisumala.  This was just 2 hours drive from our house.  We rented a mini bus to fit all of us in.  It was perfect and the best time ever.  We sang, played games and prayed.

We have lots of memories at that place and that's how we chose to go there.  My parents lived there in their initial years of marriage when my two brothers were younger.  Also my dad worked for a good number of years.  We were able to see the house they lived in and also my dad's work place.  Our first stop was for mass which was celebrated by my dad's brother who is a priest.  I just felt so  blessed to have this moment together as a family celebrating the beautiful mass together, which was celebrated by my very own uncle.   I am not sure when will we get this opportunity again.  I am so very thankful to my Lord for this beautiful time.  

After mass we explored the scenic places.  We stopped by my dad's work place and there was a beautiful hill there.  The next thing you know all my little nieces and nephews along with my single brother ran up the hill.  Even the 3 year old was running up without any fears.  It was fun. I wish I had joined them but Anna was sleeping on my shoulders and didn't want to run with her.

This place is famous for its tea plantation.  Those bushes you see all over are tea leaves. 

This was the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen.  It was huge.  

Half of the children while the other half wandered off to somewhere

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That night we stayed at a Bungalow which was arranged in advance for us.  It was beautiful.  The evening we spent together praying, dancing, singing, sharing and playing.  Everyone had a great time.  You can see us going little crazy in the pictures below.

Even my mom joined the party haha

The next morning it was already time to say good bye to my eldest brother and family.  We took few more last minute pictures and they took off.  

Morning Tea 

These two naughty boys had way too much fun that morning. 

After my brother and family left we continued our journey through the tea plantations.

Sony gave them a timeout..lol

A beautiful, fun filled, memorable day.  At this moment I can only think of my dear parents who raised us and brought us thus far in a loving happy environment.  It is their faith in God and  their sacrifices that gave us good lives.  My dad is going to be 76 years old next month and my mom just turned 65.  Their constant love of us is what keeps us going.  They are our example in our married lives.  I thank God for such wonderful and loving parents and also thanking my parents for saying yes to life.  If it was not for their Yes I might not have been here.  If they had stopped having children after the first two or three,  I will not be present here to write this blog.  I pray for them and their long lives.  They are our strength and support, always.  

I love my big family! :)