Camp

 Today Sam and I are going to a kidz camp.  So that should be fun!  Chech out this lady's website, it had lots of fun ideas for kidz...  www.cometogetherkids.com
Bye for now

Mak~

Fast/Faster/andFastest???

Hi again,

Sorry I haven't posted for lets see... 6 days???I think thats right, Anyway on Tuesday morning we headed of to Mumbai to pick of our Grandma (Neni.)We were planning to leave at 11:00, but turned out to leave at 1:00.Errrrr....   Well let's just say it wasn't our drivers fault it was the other drivers fault the one that was supposed to help us get to Mumbai.  He said he couldn't come so Vishal tried calling 5 people, but only the last one said he could come.  Soo finally Vishal arrived and said that we would have to pick up the other driver.  Errrrrrrrrrrrrrr again....   We finally picked him up and then headed to Mumbai.  About 2 hours down the road they stopped and said that they were going to take a lunch break and we headed over to the coffee shop.  Bought a samosa and then got back in the car...  We arrived at the hotel and headed down to go swimming.  After about 2 hours we went up to get ready to go get Neni.  We got to the airport and waited a out 1 and a half hours and then she came and we drove back to the hotel and ate mangoes and lichee's.  The next day was pretty much the same as the first time we came to Mumbai so I won't go into details.  We went to the temple, the laundry place, and the gate of India.  Almost got killed, kidnapped, or I'm not sure.  Let me explain...

We were on our way out of the gate way of India across from the Taj hotel.  A girl or younger lady came up to us asking for food.  We offer her money, but she doesn't except and tells to follow her to a little food stand to buy her rice.  Thinking she was being smart (because someone could hurt her for the money) we followed about 10 feet and then realized she wanted to go to a little alley somewhere about 50 feet away + we saw a bunch of men smiling.  So we went back and ignored her the rest of the time. 

Then we ate lunch and came home...

It's good to have Neni here (she actually just came in the door from taking Theo out poddy... YESSS) Hee Hee.  Oh another thing... I learned to respect knifes after getting a quite painful cut while cutting Mangoes.   Oh and one more thing as you read my title Fast/Faster/andFastest you'll understand after I tell you this.... 7 more days in Pune and 10 more days in India......  I've said in off....................

Mak~

Babysitting

A couple months ago Sam and I had a fun idea of doing overnight babysitting for Benjamin. So on Thursday Leigh asked us if we could. Mommy agreed and we decided that he would sleep with us and Leigh and Rene were going to a cricket game. Soo last night we went to the park and met Benjamin there. Leigh and Rene left and we played at the park a little bit. Than we were starting to head upstairs when Sam had a fun idea of bringing Zac up with us. Janelda said yes do we headed upstairs with Zac and Benjamin. We gave them a bath, they fought with each other, we ate, and hen we watched a bit of cars. Here is a pic of them...
They are pretty cute!!!
Bye for now!!!
Mak-

My Birthday

My birthday party was very fun... On Saturday morning we Skyped Grandma and opened the presents from her.  Then we went downstairs for breakfast and Leigh, Rene, and Benjamin said happy birthday and then we went and sat down to eat.  A little later Rene and Benjamin came over and sang "Happy Birthday"  here's a pic...

Then we went out swimming and Rene and Benjamin joined us.  We swam for about and hour and then headed upstairs and started getting ready.  Daddy cut the veggies and made the hummus and then we ate lunch.  He made soup for lunch with flat bread. YUM...  then we we did a few other things and then we opened the presents from Mommy, Daddy, and Sam.  I got a VERY cute bunny from mommy and daddy and 2 Nancy Drew books from Sam.  Also the Chipmunks 3 Chipwrecked.  YEAH.......

Then daddy and I hurried down to the bank.  We started out walking, but then it started raining so we caught a rick shaw and took that there and back. We got back and the cake came...  and then Shaila, Hulga, Sameena, and Sahan came and the party started.  Janelda, Terry, and Zac came soon after followed by Leigh, Rene, and Benjamin.  About 15 minutes later Karen, Ignuus, Nora, and Lena came.  It was lots of fun.  We had all the little kids drink like puppies out of little bowls.  I tried, but wasn't very good at it.  Then we opened presents.  I got a big and little elephant, chocolate, a shark swim cap, jelly beans, perfume, lip balm, rickshaw tin, broken bangle box, LOTS of stationary, and a painting from Leigh...  Check it out on Leighs blog www.inahurryforcurry.blogspot.com and then Herebert came.  He gave me some chocolates and a poem...

Today 11 years ago a board was let up right in Davenport it laid in a very special form that someone who's future fate always will be very great doing tennis, riding, basketball being up to most of all congratulations to your very special day which will continue to it may always be those days of worth when you travel on this earth and if in Paris they will call "no belle" you are great - Makaela'

Sweet poem...

It was all together an AWESOME birthday...  here are a few pics.  There are also a few of Mother's Day...

12 to go

Hi,
Twelve more posts to go and I'll reach One Hundred... yeah!!!!!!!!! 

It's amazing how fast the days have and are going by.  It seems like yesterday we got here and that were leaving tomorrow.  I'm very excited to go, but I'm also sad to leave...  In 12 days Neni is coming and in 25 days we are going home...  it seems really fast.  The whole time whe've been here it's gone really fast, but now its going faster then ever.  We are busy preparing for my Bday party here, which is snoopy themed. 

Write soon...

Mak~

One more Month

Hi,
WOW...  It's crazy how fast everything is going here.  5 days till my Birthday, 14 days till Neni comes, 6 days till Mothers Day, and only 27 days till we leave for Delhi.  WOW!!!!  I am writing a story about all our adventures in India and since I can't be done with it very soon (since I can't plan out our lives)  It won't be done for about a month.  I will keep working on it and post it when we get home.  Here is a cut pic of Maggie and her big sister Hannah at Disney Land...

 Very cute...

 Yesterday the Westin was supposed to be having an eighty percent of shopping deal for internationals with stores like Gap and Arepostle so we decided to go.  We enter one of the places and they have tables that have shoes, wallets, purses an other stuff. It was all pretty unorganized, but that's not the worst of it.  We go into the area that has men clothes and there are piles of clothes laying on tables with no size or type of clothing they are... there just laying on tables and people sort through them.  Then , we went into the ladies and kids clothes room and it was a terrible mess, much like the mens, bur even a little worse.  As I was looking through the kids clothes I find these pants that have stains on them. (actually I found quite a few others) That was exciting.... I will put a pic later.  I can't get my photos of mt IPod...

Mak~

HI

Hi,
What is everyone up too?  In 8 days I will turn 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am looking forward to that....  It is also only 31 days till we go home and 19 days until Neni (Mommy's Mom) comes... and only 66 days still strings camp... and... just one more thing, only 38 days till VBS (Vacation Bible School)

Tomorrow Mommy and Leigh are going out, so Sam and I get to watch the stinker...  So that will be fun!!!

India is still the same fun and sad all at the same time.   We stopped tennis and are now just going to play in the afternoons, every once in a while...

Rene, Daddy, Sam, and I went to Kalani Veg on Sunday night to pic up some food.   Rene drove and (thankfully) we made it safely to Kalani Veg.   It was pretty good food all things considered, but gave us an awful feeling in our stomachs afterwards.  Here is the Hindu, Islam (Muslim), and Buddhist Salvation...

Salvation for a Hindu is called Moksha. Moksha is when an enlightened human being is freed from the cycle of life-and-death (the endless cycle of death and reincarnation) and comes into a state of completeness. He then becomes one with God.

There are four ways to Moksha:

1. The Way of Action: This involves carrying out certain religious ceremonies, duties and rites. The objective is to perform works without regard for personal gain.

2. The Way of Knowledge: This requires using your mind and philosophy to come to a complete comprehension of the universe.

3. The Way of Devotion: Salvation is reached through acts of worship, based upon the love for a God (there are thousands of gods in Hinduism).

4.The Royal Road: The use of meditation and yoga techniques. This method of reaching salvation is typically only used by wandering monks.

Each of these ways to salvation in Hinduism requires that a person do certain things. Salvation is through what a Hindu does. It is through human works.

In Islam there are two ways to get paradise:

1. Your good deeds are weighed against your bad deeds. If you have done enough good deeds when compared to your bad deeds, you will eventually get to paradise, after spending some time burning in the fires of hell.

2. Muslims who die as martyrs defending Islam go directly to paradise.

It is plain to see that in Islam salvation is a result of your works. You may have also noticed that all Muslims, except those who die as martyrs defending Islam, go to hell. This is clearly stated in the Koran, Sura 19, verses 67-68 and 71-72.

(This is Allah speaking through his prophet Mohammed.) "There is not one among you who shall not pass through hell; such is the absolute decree of your Lord. We will deliver those who fear Us, and leave the wrongdoers there, on their knees." (Sura 19:71-72)

This Sura clearly states that everyone goes to hell and that, after some period of time, Allah will deliver those who have done sufficient good deeds from hell, leaving behind those who have not done enough good deeds.

Salvation is through what a Muslim does. It is through human works

Buddhism developed out of Hinduism in the sixth century B.C.

For a Buddhist salvation is reaching Nirvana. Nirvana is a transcendental, blissful, spiritual state of nothingness--you become a Buddha.

To reach Nirvana you must follow the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path is:

1. Right Understanding: accepting the Four Noble Truths. (The existence of suffering; the cause of suffering; the end of suffering; and the end of pain.)

2. Right Resolve: renounce the pleasures of the body. Change your lifestyle so that you harm no living creatures and have kind thoughts for everyone.

3. Right Speech: do not gossip, lie or slander anyone.

4. Right Action: do not kill, steal or engage in an unlawful sexual act.

5. Right Occupation: avoid working at any job that could harm someone.

6. Right Effort: heroically work to eliminate evil from your life. Through your own effort develop good conduct and a clean mind.

7. Right Contemplation: make your self aware of your deeds, words and thoughts so that you can be free of desire and sorrow.

8. Right Meditation: train your mind to focus on a single object without wavering so as to develop a calm mind capable of concentration.

Following the Noble Eightfold Path requires that a person do the above eight things. Salvation is through what a Buddhist does. It is through human works.

Mak~