San Antonio, TX

I'd love to experience one big, fluffy snowfall this winter. But the chances of that happening are slim. I can't complain though, because while my friends and family in VA/PA are dealing with ice, I am in Texas where the weather was almost 80 degrees last week! I wish I could share some warm weather with you northerners :)

Yesterday was Neha's 12th birthday. She insists that she is only 11 years old, because she doesn't want to get older. I thought only 30+ year olds did that?! ;)

Beautiful Nepali girls: Neha (on left) and Yeshoda

Last weekend, we were in Houston. Then we drove 5 hours to San Antonio. And now we're back in Houston for tomorrow's concert. Gotta love it ;) The kids usually do well in the bus. Lately we've been playing a lot of Uno; "Auntie, can I sit with you?" I heard that A LOT last week, especially from Gift, Isaac, and Ezera. It's mainly because they like to beat me in Uno and feel good about themselves. You'd think a 21-year-old college graduate would be fairly good at a simple card game. But you've never played Uno with our kids! They play it constantly--in the bus, in the costume room before concerts, and in the host family homes. I think 8-year-old Isaac beat me six games in a row the other day. Yesterday I played with four of our boys, and I actually beat them all. They congratulated me and were excited, because they know it's rare when their Auntie wins :P

How cute are Zurufah and Maria in this photo!? We had a tea party with a host family a few days ago. The girls loved acting like princesses! (As if miss Zurufah doesn't do that enough ;)

Last Wednesday, we were together as a team all day until our evening concert. So we took the kids to downtown San Antonio. We saw the Alamo which was awesome! And then we took a boat ride on the "Riverwalk" which was better than I had pictured. It's more of a canal (not a river) running through San Antonio, and the architecture and trees are beautiful. Who knows if I'll ever return to San Antonio, so I appreciated the sightseeing.

What a cute bunch of kids, eh? :) In front of the Alamo.

Two weeks ago was my monthly day off. It was fun to hang out with Prava, Kory, and Alan as we enjoyed our Saturday in Midland, TX. I explored a used bookstore and added three more Nicholas Sparks novels (my guilty pleasure) to my collection. I think I'm only missing "The Wedding." I looked for some classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Wuthering Heights," but I had no luck. :/ Alan treated the four of us to a movie that night; we went to the theater to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's the strangest love story I've ever watched. I absolutely loved it.

I spent one night with a host family in Midland, TX, and they took me to see the home where President G.W. Bush grew up. He spent many years of his life in Midland (in fact, he didn't move away until his two daughters were born). It was neat to walk through his childhood home and even touch the dresser he used as a young boy.

President G.W. Bush's room as a young boy