Going the Distance

Ever had a pastoral visit? They make some nervous, others instantly spiritual and still others sudddenly quite busy and unavailable. If, however, that pastor happens to be the man who married you, baptised your children and is one of your closest friends, it changes everything. It required somewhere around 25 hours of flight time, a good bit of cash, and a round of vaccinations, but our most recent "pastoral visit" was a breath of fresh air...thank you, Frank, for making it to Bangalore during your recent India trip. We loved every minute! Here are a couple more photos with Frank.

Just one day after Frank left, Daryl came...in case we were depressed that Frank was gone. Daryl came bearing all the things Lolli and Pops didn't have room for as well as other gifts from the US. It was so good to see him. We got to hear a little more about the latest Heald addition, Lee Lee, along with all sorts of other Lookout Mountain scoop. We also got to go to the oppulent Leela Palace for a Beaujolais Nouveau party. Very fun. The only things missing from our visits with Frank and Daryl were Mary Vassar and Cathy...maybe next time? Thank you, Frank and Daryl, for going the distance to be with us!

Cubbon

After an entire month of deliberating between "Cubbon" and "Wils," as a name for this sweet boy, we are officially calling him Cubbon. I think we called him "Genius" for so long it was really hard to give him another name! Here are some pics of him at about three weeks old.

He is such an amazing baby: never up more than once at night, not a spit-uppper, never dirties his diaper at nighttime - daytime only, stays in the same outfit for 24 hours, not fussy...truly a delightful little person. Thank you to all who are praying for us. It shows!

Lolli arrived for a visit on October 13th and then Pops joined us October 26th. They left November 4th and we're still recovering from the blues of them leaving. Our time with them was wonderful. They were a HUGE help with the children and, of course, Cubbon. They rode back and forth to the school each day, helped pack lunches and wash dishes and do homework. They read and read and read to Lady and "filled her tank" during a time when she would've otherwise been slightly neglected. They changed diapers, bounced, rocked, held and held Cubbon. They got to see the kids in some of their extra-curricular activities and even manged to do a little Bangalore sightseeing. Oh yes, they also brought over 1/8 of the United States in their luggage! It was a thrill each day to see what wonderful treat would make its way from one of their bags. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

A Blog about the Blog

I'm so relieved that we have caught up to the present (or at least the very recent past) that I feel compelled to blog about something in the present tense. So. . .today is Saturday, 20 October 2007, and it's 12:25 IST. We had my usual Saturday pancake breakfast this morning, and I drank 5 large cups of coffee before noon. Feeling a bit jittery if you must know.

I'm also relieved to have a normal Saturday today. Last Saturday, I was called away on a case and I was taken out of town on several new cases this week, including one that had me out until nearly 10 pm last night. Since our return in July, our casework at the office has taken off. So, today will, I hope, be a day filled with Junior Monopoly, bike rides and diaper changes for Genius.

Much love, Philip

PS: Just in case it would violate blogging protocol not to post a picture, I have attached Auburn munching on Tim Tebow in the Florida game. I mildly enjoyed the reports of Auburn's win over Florida. I'm hoping my buddy Wade will have his Slingbox working so that we can watch Auburn-LSU this weekend.

Charles William Cubbon

I really don't understand what all the fuss is about. I thought we were clear that Houston had named this baby Mr. Genius yet my email inbox has been overflowing with..."so what's his name?" Mom arrived in Bangalore this past Saturday morning and she's been dying to know what to call him since she came. We are all, however, perfectly content to continue calling him all the derivations of Mr. Genius that exist...Genius, Geniosity, M.R., etc. But we did finally announce his name and thought we'd share with the rest of our friends and family...

Charles William Cubbon is named for two of our modern day heroes and one hero from history. Three heroes for one little boy. What a way to start out a life!

Charles is for my brother, Chase, who, humbly follows our God wherever He leads.


His faithfulness and gentleness are present in whatever he puts his hands to and we are constantly learning from his marriage, his parenting and the way he handles his friendships. I especially love watching Chase with the broken, the old or the small people of the world and the dignity and laughter that they have when they're with him. Just for the record, we also happen to think that he is one of the funniest men alive. We love you, Chase, and hope our little one has lots of time in your presence to both learn from you and enjoy you!

William is for my brother, Will, who also humbly follows God wherever He leads.


Will has been, and continues to be, such a faithful friend to Philip and me, and to each of our children. "Will is a 'noticer," as one of our kids astutely put it, and he is also a giver. He shows his care for us in the most thoughtful of ways. At the time we often are totally unaware, but our rearview mirror is full of moments in which Will is noticing our needs and quietly serving us in one way or another. Thank you, Will, for loving us so well and for your tremendous example of faith in Jesus that I hope your little namesake will learn from you. We love you!

Cubbon is for a man named, Sir Mark Cubbon, who was the longest reigning high commissioner in the Mysore kingdom of India.


Cubbon made Bangalore the capital of the Mysore kingdom and is credited with freeing the people of Mysore from serfdom. He was well loved by the people he governed and one of our major parks in Bangalore is named for him.

So there you have it! And what are we calling him? Well, that's for another post...(ie: we don't know!)

Mr. Genius Arrives!

Tuesday, October 9th at 10:13pm, Mr. Genius arrived! Six days late and weighing in at 3.4 kgs, it took us some time to do the conversion and officially tag his weight at 7lbs, 5oz...

It was obvious how many prayers were surrounding us as every detail went better than we could have planned. Labor began around 7pm and the kids were in bed and asleep shortly thereafter. Our friend Paige was able to get to our house and ride with us to the hospital. We had two fantastic interns, Keith and Wade, staying with us as well as Blair Burns, who was in from Chennai and staying overnight. That's three dads who took over the house, washed the supper dishes, made and packed lunch boxes, fixed breakfast the next day, and got everyone dressed and off to the hospital for a quick peek at Mr. Genius before school. Adelaide even arrived in a dress with her hair put up - impressive! These guys were amazing!

We did not leave for the hospital until later as labor had started rather slowly. We arrived at the hospital, with no traffic issues, at 9:30 and 43 minutes later we were happily holding our new little boy! Our OB handled everything beautifully and let us have the "American" delivery we were hoping for. We had been concerned about getting a private room for recovery and realized, after delivery, they were all full. We gambled and chose to stay in the "general ward" that has four beds and shared bathroom in it as it was empty that night. It turned out that the general ward stayed empty throughout our stay and was the (very large) "private" room we'd been praying for!

The next morning the kids came for a visit and that was priceless! Everyone was beaming as they headed out the door to tell their friends at school the news. We left the hospital early, after a check up from the OB and Pediatrician, and were home by 3pm - a total of 15 hours in the hospital. It was so nice to be at home to recover.

His name is yet to be announced...

Here are some of the pics...

First Day of School!

August 27th was a much anticipated day in the Langford home this year. It would be the first day of school for Eleanor (5th grade), Houston (2nd), and Drew (K) and excitement was mixed with slight anxiety. We had run into Houston and Eleanor's teachers, Gary and Kristee Boyd, at a bookshop just a week before and loved them both, not realizing they would be their teachers! Gary, Eleanor's teacher, is from Scotland and Kristee, Houston's teacher, is from Australia. They've been teaching at different international schools for the past ten years and have just come to India from an international school in Shanghai. They both seem fantastic. We got to meet Drew's teacher(s) at orientation day the Thursday before school started and were also thrilled with "Ms. Lily."

I tried not to be an obnoxious paparazzi mom, but I'm afraid I failed...

Train Trip to Chennai: August 10-12

Bangalore Welcoming Committee

 

When we arrived to our Bangalore home, we were greeted by thousands of honey bees that had made their home on the ceiling of one of our balconies. Before poisoning them, we enjoyed throwing tennis balls through their center before dashing back in the house for cover.

Sadly, none of the mice that were waiting for us agreed to pose for a photograph.

Paris: The Remix -- 3-4 July 2007

Home at Last! Phase III: June 3rd - July 3rd, 2007

Home at Last! Phase II: May 7th - June 2nd, 2007

Our trip from Tampa to Amelia Island was relaxing. I sang at the top of my lungs to the sattelite radio and drove on the "right" side of the road for the first time in a while. We went straight to the Publix once we arrived and spent a solid $450 on groceries. Every aisle held favorites that had not been seen in a year so Goldfish and Cap'n Crunch and bagels and pretzels and refrigerated cinamon rolls were all welcomed into our overflowing buggy. How does one say no to, "Oh MOMMY, LOOK! 'Nilla Wafers!" It was almost as much fun as Disney World and not nearly as expensive.

We had a week to ourselves and hadn't realized how much we needed it. There were lots of long stretches of silence, especially for four kids 10 and under, as we all sat out in the yard or meandered along the beach. The weather was pretty stormy that week so we took long walks and hunted for the strange things that are inevitably coughed up by the sea. We cooked our favorite things every night - lots of fresh veggies and fruit, including "red broccoli" - Adelaide's stab at a word for strawberries - guess she hadn't seen one in a while! I rented as many Academy Award nominated movies as I could possibly watch and caught up on a year of missed Hollywood.

The day after Mother's Day brought Lolli, Nell (Eleanor's namesake), Chandler, Hudson and Lacy, with Byrd flying in shortly thereafter. This was a wonderful "girls" week at the beach and the kids had a blast getting reaquainted with cousins. Nell had brought the makings for a huge birthday party that was meant to celebrate all the birthdays we had missed in our year apart from one another. There were even invitations and gifts for all! Everyone felt special and loved, as Nell somehow always manages. Byrd had wisely bought dvds for those moments when the women needed some downtime. Even Chandler and I got to sneak out for a nice dinner without kids. It was a great week.

Then came Dad and Will to join us for our third week at Amelia. The kids were ecstatic to have "their men" there to throw them around in the ocean and actually boogie board. As Houston astutely pointed out, "Ladies just sit around on their chairs and miss out on all the fun." It was a quiet week of good time together. I, personally, thoroughly enjoyed my chair time.

Philip flew back into Jacksonville from Bangalore on Friday, May 25th and Chase, Katie, Alice, Mae Mae, and Liza came later that weekend. The "big" family week was loud and chaotic and, in a word, wonderful! It was so priceless to see the children pick right up where they had left off last year and enjoy each other. The new sea kayaks were also a big hit. We had a lot of rough water for the month we were at Amelia Island so we got to see plenty of wipeouts! My personal favorites involved Chase and Philip on the tandem with Dad and Will commentating from the shore..."Oh, they're going down...oh this is a big one...he's got his paddle upside down..oh no!" Laughter...then unanimously, "Oooooh, they're DOWN!" The kids also had multiple daily rides in the tandem kayak and they, of course, loved the wipeouts more than the cruising. It was truly a precious week together.

We never got tired of being at the beach, but when the time came, we were ready to go "home" to Lookout Mountain...we couldn't wait to see our friends!

Home At Last! Phase I: April 16th - May 7, 2007

Perhaps the sweetest words of our first year in India came upon landing in Washington DC's Dulles airport. After reviewing our months of travel by examining our passports, our immigration officer looked each of us in the eye and with true feeling said, "Welcome Home." I wanted to jump the counter and throw my arms around him but instead, with blurred vision, said, "thank you," and moved through the gates. What a strange, but wonderful, feeling to hear "American English" spoken all around us and to feel certain about how much money to pull out of the ATM. No one stared at us, no one tried to take photos of our kids, we were not mobbed by the crowds at the baggage belt. We were "normal." We belonged. We were home! Still the cultural differences were glaring. Trash cans winked at me from every corner and everything seemed scrupulously clean. Outside there was no noise, no horns, no police whistles, no vendors calling out services, no beggars. The air was crisp and smelled like...well, nothing. Cars were sparse on the empty roads and we flew at 60 miles an hour without one pothole-induced lurch across a vast and limitless interstate. Streetlights beamed down, one after another, perfectly lit like soldiers at attention. As we passed mecca, er, Target, I breathed a huge sigh of contentment...it would be a delicious visit home and I was immensly looking forward to this brain warp I'd heard about called, "Reverse Culture Shock."

Our time at home began with a long weekend in DC at the IJM Global Prayer Gathering. Lolli, Pops and Will came to help with the kids and to get a better feel for IJM and what we are doing worldwide. Philip was largely engrossed for the weekend as he had multiple presentaions and speeches to deliver. We battled through the worst of our jet-lag, toured part of the White House, some of us saw one of the Smithsonians, and all of us ate and ate - a recurring theme. It was really nice to see family and other friends from around the globe, but also turned out to be a tiring weekend.

The following week Philip had a conference to attend so while Pops and Will flew back to Chattanooga, Lolli and I took advantage of our free time and drove a rental car down to visit family in Virginia. Our first stop was Richmond where we got to visit with my great aunt (and Lady's namesake) Adelaide and her family: Jane, Sue and Howard...John was recovering from knee surgery. We all thouroughly enjoyed our time with them and, as usual when 91 year old, diminutive, "big"Adelaide is present, we laughed a lot!

We then drove further south to Halifax to see Lolli's first cousin Byrd, and her husband Gene. This was a real treat and the kids had a ball playing in their huge backyard. "GRASS!" was their unanimous cry that spoke volumes about our lack thereof in India. Sweet was the reunion between their bare toes and the Murray's green expanse. Halifax held many more treasures...the super Walmart, Byrd's scrumptious cooking, our favorite Lacy family landmarks and a very patient washing machine that endured about 20 loads of Langford laundry. It was a relaxing couple of days of conversation and rest before we drove back to DC to meet Philip.

Back in DC, we immediately met up with my cousin Jon LeBoeuf, who had just arrived in DC that week to begin his new and snazzy job there. We had dinner, saw his fancy new apartment and he spent the night with us at our hotel so we could visit after the kids went to bed. Jon was a huge God-send as he helped us get Lolli to her flight the next morning, held my hand as I walked through Target for the first time (a chorus of angels sang as we crossed the threshold), and then helped me and all my luggage return our rental car and get into the Dulles airport where Philip was to meet us. None of this, of course, without a fine meal of Taco Bell together, a tradition that dates back to the five star eatery's inception. It was a blur, but a sweet time with him.

Philip, the kids and I then flew from DC to Tampa where we had a fun-filled ten days planned with the Langfords and Eudalys, but not before I had the supreme privelge of using the ladies' room at the Tampa airport. I would have gladly picniced on the floor it was so clean and there was a kickin' Fleetwood Mac song playing over the Bose loudspeakers and not once did my actual skin come in contact with potty nor sink nor soap pump nor paper towel dispenser nor door handle...glorious, germiphobic America. So nice to be back.

We had a blast with Grandmommy and Grandaddy Langford as well as Philip's sister, Julie, her husband, Dustyn, and their kids, Elizabeth, Mary Ellen and little William, who we met for the first time! We got to go to a ballet recital for one of the cousins, fish, walk the dogs, have a fish fry, swim, eat out, and go to Disneyworld! It was so nice to spend extended time with them as our visits in the past have been more frequent, but shorter. We also enjoyed catching up with some of Philip's childhood friends who are still in Lakeland.

Philip flew back to India on May 7th, while the kids and I drove a rental car to Amelia Island for a week at the beach. We would see him again in three weeks.

Here are some of the photos...

Paris in the Spring

Glorious Paris! The photos say more than we ever could. Our time there was short and very sweet. The kids loved everything, and we did just enough to have a wonderful first taste. Bangalore was boiling by the time we left so the clean, cool air of Paris was a welcome relief. We were giddy to be together as a family and thrilled to be at the beginning of a long break. A day and a half layover in Paris allowed us to tour Notre Dame, take a boat ride on the Sienne, climb to the top of the Eifel Tower, ride the Eifel carousel, see a small fraction of the Louvre and, of course, eat, and eat and eat! Crepes, coffees, and Les Deux Magots were just a fraction of our culinery, curry-free fun...

Bangalore: The Transition

We flew into Bangalore, visas renewed, on February 6th, 2007. We were feeling a bit overwhelmed and jet-lagged when we pulled into the Richmond Hotel, our Bangalore home for the next month. It is probably fair to say that we were entering into the most difficult portion of our first year in India. Philip was directing a brand new, under-staffed office as the kids and I worked to accomplish all our schooling goals and we all spent every extra minute house hunting and working to get to know a brand new city, in which we knew practically no one. Our entry into life in Chennai had been blessed by a community of people that we knew and that had already discovered the do's and don'ts of the city. We missed this sorely as we transitioned to Bangalore.

In Bangalore, the housing market soon proved to be very expensive for the type of house we were looking for. Most everything we looked at in our price range just did not seem right for us. The kids did their very best to "hang in there," though I was not a very formidable leader as the pregnancy was bringing on daily fatigue and nausea that was difficult to battle. We weren't sure where to eat, where to play, or where to worship and, in contrast to our time in Chennai, which was overflowing with community and friends to guide the way, we found ourselves isolated in Bangalore.

Our first thirty days were spent in two adjoining hotel rooms at the Richmond Hotel in the middle of the city. One benefit to our time here was that it gave us a chance to learn our way around the city's center and to discover some of the better restaurants and shopping that Bangalore is known for. Then, no longer able to afford the hotel, we moved to a service flat that was slightly closer to Philip's office, and less expensive than the hotel had been. This service flat (Orchard Suites) was okay, and during our time there, we discovered the pool and tennis court that we now take the kids to frequently. We chose this service flat assuming that we would not need much additional time to find a place to live, but after two weeks we just couldn't get our housing straightened out, and we needed a still cheaper option. Our next move was to the Diamond District service flats. Lest the name deceive you, these flats were, in a word, nasty and I would say the weeks that follwed here were the lowest of all of our low points.

Days turned into several weeks at the Diamond District. We were so ready to be in a house and out of our current living situation. In mid-March, we were still out of options for our large family as everything we had attempted had fallen through. At the same time, we had made plans to return to the US in mid-April, and were becoming concerned that we might not find a place before we were supposed to leave. Finally, the landlord of our present home, called Philip back to accept the offer he had rejected earlier. He still had some work to do on the house to have it ready for us, and he and his wife were not planning on moving out until early April.

The landlord promised a move-in date of April 1, but we were skeptical. Sure enough, April 1 passed and we received a new date: April 7. Unfortunately, our movers couldn't begin the unloading until the 10th, Easter Sunday. This was a mere six days before we were scheduled to leave for the US. We squealed through Easter baskets on the Saturday before Easter Sunday and then went to a sunrise service Easter morning before driving to our new house for the move. It was certainly not a typical Easter Sunday. The movers finished unloading and unpacking what they could on the 11th, and then we were off to the races trying to get as much of our house set up as possible before our April 16th departure date.

Our flight to the US was scheduled for 2:00 am on April 16th. I began packing for our two and half month visit at 9:00 pm the evening of our flight, only two and a half hours before we were to leave for the airport. It was a panicked and winded sort of packing job to say the least. But we made it to the airport with most of what we needed in a bag somewhere.

We had been entirely too busy to think much about the fact that we were about to spend a day and a half soaking up Paris and then reunite with our family and friends back home. We boarded the plane in a stupor, but all six of us heaved a huge sigh of relief as our flight took off that night and reality began to set in. After our very long first year in India, we were going home!

The Visa Trip: Thailand Take 2, January 2007

In late 2006, we began planning for our move to Bangalore. We gave our Chennai landlord notice of termination of our rental agreement and fixed the end of January 2007 as the end of the lease. At the same time, questions were rising about the ability of expatriates working with my organization to obtain business visas from the Indian embassy in Washington DC. These questions were of moderate concern to us in late 2006, as we realized that our visas expired on 4th February 2007. Still, time was on our side, and we didn't give the issue much thought. But as 2006 rolled into 2007, and as there was still no resolution to the visa problem back in DC, we were quickly forced to give the issue some real thought. Applying for new visas at the Embassy in DC or directly in Delhi did not seem like options likely to succeed. We knew that our organization had had some success in September obtaining six month renewals in Bangkok at the Indian Embassy there. On balance, this seemed like the best option.

During the last week of January 2007 (yes, it takes a full week), movers came to our house to pack us up and put our things in storage pending additional directions from us as to where to send our things. At this point, we hoped we would be giving directions to a home in Bangalore, but realized it was entirely possible that we would not be allowed back in the country for an indefinite period of time. We prayed, our organization prayed, and we wondered what God was doing. It was both unsettling and exciting, depending on the day you talked to us.

Of course, it was also unsettling to see our things boxed up again, after having unloaded these same things in Chennai only five months earlier. Moving is a drag no matter where you live. But I will say that it is exponentially better when you have movers and packers.

On 29th January 2007, the packing and loading and all other things transitional were completed in Chennai, and we boarded the midnight flight to Bangkok via Thai Airways. We arrived in Bangkok at 5:00 am that morning, 29th January, a Monday. After checking into and promptly back out of a gross service flat, we finally settled into the Siam City Hotel -- where we had stayed back in November. This is a nice hotel for the price with a pleasant pool, good restaurants on site and fantastic access to the Sky Train.

After settling in, we all took a cab to the Indian Embassy. We made it to the Embassy just under the deadline for getting our visa applications processed by the end of the week. Had we arrived about thirty minutes later, we would have been delayed until the following week. Lacy and I hurriedly completed all six applications by hand while sitting on the ground outside the Embassy. The kids meanwhile watched a movie on my laptop. After helping me finish the applications, Lacy took the kids back to the hotel to sleep. I waited in line at the Embassy with the rest of the minions seeking Indian visas. Once the applications were submitted, there was nothing left for us to do on the visa front for the next five days, except to pray, wonder and wait.

Lacy was committed to having the children finish school by the time of our planned return to the US in April. As a result, a few hours of each day were spent on school work before heading out to explore Bangkok. I was in the middle of office budget planning for 2007, so I spent most of this time crunching numbers and making long distance international calls.

Bangkok is far from perfect, but it was a great family getaway for us, after weeks of transition chaos. We ate great food, went to the IMAX, watched a traditional Thai puppet show, marched all over grungy Bangkok markets, shopped endlessly in the delightfully shiny Bangkok malls, rode the Sky Train all over the city, swam in the pool and took in lots of sights.

On Friday, 2 February, we received our visas in a very unremarkable trip to the Indian Embassy. For a brief moment, the Embassy could not locate Houston's approved visa and I wondered whether this would keep us out of India. But the visa was soon found and we were "homeward" bound (aka Bangalore) on the following day. Apparently, this relative lack of theatre required an infusion of additional drama into our lives. . .we had discovered only days earlier that October 2007 would bring our fifth child.

Thanksgiving in Thailand - 2006

What a great trip this was for our family! After finding out in October that we would be moving from Chennai to Bangalore in January, this Thanksgiving vacation was really refreshing. Our Indian visas required us to leave the country every 180 days and by day 179, we were ready for the break. We spent a couple of days in Bangkok before flying to the island of Phuket for 7 great days on the beach. Our Bangkok days were spent eating, touring and eating a little more. It was our first taste of the west in six months and we all did lots of ooh-ing, aah-ing and mmm-ing. The king's palace grounds, a tuk-tuk ride, a riverboat dinner cruise (during which Eleanor danced with the Thai performers!), and a tour of the mall quickly filled our time.

Phuket was spectacular. The Andaman Sea was crystal clear and the sun did not disappoint. Our resort had a great pool, which really consisted of four different pools, and a waterslide that the kids just loved. OK, we all loved it. There were games for the kids in the afternoons and all sorts of market shopping along the beach as well. We were able to sail the resort's hobie cat each afternoon, went on a snorkeling excursion, and ate great Thai food at little open air restaurants right on the beach. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at a fun little open-air restaurant called Tatonka. The food was amazing - who needs turkey and pumpkin pie when you could have tuna and homemade cappucino ice-cream? Plus, the restaurant had a native American Indian theme which we thought was quite appropriate for our U.S. holiday.

All of this paled in comparison, however, to the time spent with three year old Anna, the elephant, who lived at the resort. We fed her bananas and bread every morning after breakfast and the kids got to ride her everyday. It was wild to be eating breakfast and see this elephant lumbering past your table towards the lawn! She would turn up anywhere and everywhere at the resort and was always ready for a water fight or tug-of-war or even a swim in the ocean with the kids! Anna was definitely the cherry on top of a great vacation!

Life in Chennai

We arrived in Chennai on May 20th, 2006 - the hottest day of the year, according to locals - and left for Bangalore on January 26th, 2007. During our brief 8 months we made some great friends, learned a lot about Indian culture, built up our immune systems (ie: caught a lot of stomach bugs plus a mosquito-borne illness called chikungunya!), endured some wickedly hot days, ate amazing new foods, felt homesick a lot, learned how to cook and live "from scratch," and generally rode the culture shock wave as best we could. The prayers of our friends and family were very evident to us during these first months in India and God used them mightily...we can't thank each of you enough for your faithful support.

London 2006

Here are a few photos from our stop in London in May of 2006. Cathy, Frances and Hallie Heald flew with us and helped us start to settle in Chennai. More photos to come.