tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008Fri, 08 Jul 2011 06:49:18 +0000All that's going on in the lives and minds of the Rebbavarapu family.http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)Blogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-3733643871908961342Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:22:00 +00002009-12-12T19:23:00.014-08:00Monsoon Monsoon washes, it cleanses deep inside, It drives away the pain, when you stand under the rain! When the heat’s too hard to stand, You can’t take the reprimand, Let the rain fall down, In it’s rushing, pouring torrents, It brings in love in floods. Let it wash away impurity, Bring within serenity, The beauty of the rain. Some people think monsoon’s a season, That wipes away homes http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/nxn7Y2fMSOY/monsoon-by-simona.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/12/monsoon-by-simona.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-3445317558730381146Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:26:00 +00002009-10-25T22:46:37.159-07:00I just found this letter I wrote on October 20, 2006 to a school counselor in the States who was doing a project on school in other countries.Up until the beginning of October 2006, I homeschooled Simona and we both loved it, but her dad felt strongly that I should get more involved in ministry and Simona should go to school like other children. I resisted (fought) that for a year and a half and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/uTqI9gdA45g/our-journey-to-boarding-school-simonas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)2http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/10/our-journey-to-boarding-school-simonas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-1376817326993470250Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +00002009-04-15T03:03:04.083-07:00Outside a restaurant in Nellore, we saw these three geese with their beaks on the wall. Wonder what they did?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Z4vNKN_W00E/well-you-started-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/04/well-you-started-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-1935594721631475866Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:25:00 +00002009-02-01T09:58:40.600-08:00Jeff's cute, sweet, gentle and I love him so much, but he's kind of a turd. He gets on the table, drags people's undies and trash all over the house, empties his bladder and bowels wherever he pleases, and generally fills my life with mess. At least he doesn't shed, though.Here's what Shayna says about him: "I'm really happy my family bought Jeff because I have lots of fun with him, but the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/dFNeUP4j-Y8/dingdong.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/02/dingdong.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-3679965010232775533Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:55:00 +00002009-01-30T11:13:05.155-08:00 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/XLKJ8gojTDM/goofball.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/goofball.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-2531483880277109012Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:03:00 +00002009-01-30T03:31:31.390-08:00Sim's dorm mother makes homemade candles, and she got Simona interested in it, too. Sim made a few at  school and brought them home to give to relatives for Christmas.  Then Shayna won a candlemaking kit at an arcade and, since she's really too young to do it herself, Sim had to help her. That sparked off a candle-recycling spree--she gathered up all the candles in the house that were no longer http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/n1jelDfXAEE/sim-candlemaker.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)2http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/sim-candlemaker.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-8526780683193792211Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:02:00 +00002009-01-30T00:21:15.384-08:00Almost every apartment in India has a 'puja room' for incense-lighting to the family deities.  I suppose I could have made mine into a prayer room, but it's very stuffy and small--can't dance or jump or walk around or anything. Mine is a book, toy, & storage area. But what it's really always been is a dump.  UNTIL NOW. Not that I haven't cleaned it a quadrillion times, but everything falls off http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/g_ovLnIh8I0/gettin-it-together.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)2http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/gettin-it-together.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-2390210462164616148Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:29:00 +00002009-01-29T23:48:13.233-08:00Shayna, Amira, and Cousin M are all emergent readers. They're all at various places in the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and they all love starfall.com. Cousin M is eight, but she's from Russia and new to English, and sometimes Russian letters look like English ones but make different sounds, so it's hard, especially when all the girls are learning to read & write Telugu and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/0hRUP-CQq4o/reading-buddies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/reading-buddies.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-8795394707932370903Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:57:00 +00002009-01-27T02:22:57.832-08:00A friend of mine, Jen, is an elementary school teacher, and her class is studying Asia. She asked me to send some photos of our part of the world. I thought you might like to see them, too! These are from our hometown and surrounding villages. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/8OF3YX_LxIA/scenes-from-our-corner-of-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)2http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/scenes-from-our-corner-of-world.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-719909636721635041Sun, 25 Jan 2009 04:13:00 +00002009-01-24T20:59:31.542-08:00The little girls are loving having their big sister Simmie home from boarding school. So are the cousins and neighbors. Where Sim is, there is activity and life and mess and something fun being organized or something delicious being cooked up or something cool that no one else's big sister does happening. Simona has many talents, as you can see from this pic....One of her recently discovered http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/yrZZf8xhK2Y/mona-makeup-artist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)2http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/mona-makeup-artist.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-7740265632867423307Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:06:00 +00002009-01-22T07:03:13.665-08:00I'm so far behind on this family blog! Decided to just jump in and slowly fill in the last few months when I can.Amira had an asthma flare-up last week and I took her to Hyderabad to see the pediatrician who did so well with her last time. Piglet came along for moral support. He had quite the trip.Here he is when we got into the city at 1:00 am, crashed out next to his feverish friend:When Amira http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/oKWcEh8ywoU/piglets-adventures-in-hyderabad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)6http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/piglets-adventures-in-hyderabad.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-1677087497835935668Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:01:00 +00002009-02-01T14:43:22.088-08:00My big girl turned 12 this year!! In Bible times, when a child turned 12, they were considered an adult. In India, when a girl is about this age, she gets to start wearing a 'woni' or half-sari. Sim's dad took her out to buy her this pretty half-sari.   I took her up on the roof to get some pictures in her new woni. Doesn't she look pretty? Here she is with her buddy Jeff:Sim and our fam, her http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/ManxaO9k3RM/happy-birthday-sweet-sim.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/happy-birthday-sweet-sim.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-722214495480089816Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:35:00 +00002009-02-01T14:46:12.537-08:00Shayna and Amira are learning about the human body in homeschool (we pulled them out of private school in November). Here they are working on life-size outlines of themselves. They drew and colored their own faces. Pretty amazingly like them, aren't they?SWEET!Art is really one of Shayna's God-given talents. I personally think this self-portrait is exceptional:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/XUByKuz3oRw/self-portraits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2009/01/self-portraits.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-45107023308278549Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:02:00 +00002008-11-01T13:18:44.352-07:00While we were on vacation, one thing we let the girls do almost every day was ride a little horse named Raja. Raja and his owner stood outside the restaurant window every morning so that no child could think of anything while eating but getting out there for a ride! Riding horses is something the girls don't get many chances to do, so we let them do two laps up and down the road each morning. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/YqFqXmNNw0k/riding-raja.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/11/riding-raja.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-6989100773090220207Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:37:00 +00002008-10-29T08:22:10.051-07:00When Amira woke up in the morning (Oct 6), she had one request: "Can you tell the waiters at breakfast that it's my birthday?"I don't like to do things like that, but this time I thought, "Aw, why not?"Here's Grandma French braiding the girls' hair, getting ready for the day. Her smile is so genuine and infectious and cute, and she just sailed into the restaurant past the waiters, smiling like http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Kyy7Y8kIpwU/cute-amira-story-i-forgot-to-tell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)1http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/cute-amira-story-i-forgot-to-tell.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-8747988795048261541Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:48:00 +00002008-10-29T06:50:06.882-07:00Our littlest child (so far), Miss Amira Jaya, turned five years old on October 6th. She may not have had the biggest birthday party of the century, but she had a wonderful time.------rewind------Backing up to the day before, while waiting for Simona to clean her dorm room, we all went and had coffee at Cafe Coffee Day. After the coffee, our plan was to look for a bakery and order a cake for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Xl9kEr4Dt8I/amira-jaya-princess-is-5.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/amira-jaya-princess-is-5.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-6611509982861949882Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:06:00 +00002008-10-28T18:45:35.250-07:00 October Sixth (Amira's 5th birthday) was also the 7th class Drama Night. Two plays were performed, with half the class in each. We arrived early (rare for us). Shayna & Amira got to sit right up front and had a great evening.Both plays were really good. The quality of the acting was high for this age, and the costumes were stunning. Sim's play was Alice in Wonderland, and she played Alice. It'shttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Fautyvmot4E/sim-as-alice-in-wonderland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/sim-as-alice-in-wonderland.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-3998603311587037493Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:00:00 +00002008-10-28T00:45:13.831-07:00This is the first time we've gotten to visit Simona, six weeks into school. My first impression on seeing her in her dorm is that she's very happy, well-liked, very confident... She loves her dorm parents (and I can see why after getting to know her dorm mom a bit). They're from Australia and seem sincere, committed to the Lord, and sensitive to the girls' needs. Sim has nothing but good things http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Uy_q5RThCGI/sims-adjustment-to-dorm-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/sims-adjustment-to-dorm-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-3029430612031818695Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:59:00 +00002008-10-27T21:08:51.208-07:00I was glad my mom could plan her trip around Simona's Drama Week and fall break.Grandma Nancy drugged herself up with Dramamine and survived the 18-hour car ride to see Simona. And here she is.... my baby...Here she is hugging her daddy. She looks wonderful, doesn't she?So wonderful to see Grandma, too!It was really emotional to see her with Shayna & Amira. Missing Simona has been so hard for allhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/2c_09oFFrWE/seeing-simona.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/seeing-simona.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-8701911886404704221Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:59:00 +00002008-10-29T08:29:29.637-07:00Watching the game this year reminded me of the sequence of photos I took while the girls were playing cards with Grandma during her last visit, in 2006. See if you can figure out who won.Game One (Go Fish):Game Two (matching game with relatives' photos): Oh, the DRAMA!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/IiaaXWmB4Dg/flashback-card-game-with-grandma-2006.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/flashback-card-game-with-grandma-2006.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-7254837595956178783Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:37:00 +00002008-10-29T08:29:40.531-07:00Grandma brought a card game along--a version of "Go Fish" called "Go to the Diner."Can you see from the photos who won (and who didn't)? Awwwww...http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/Yd_qc9b9yn8/card-game-with-grandma-2008.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/card-game-with-grandma-2008.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-5672876107942071842Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:35:00 +00002008-10-29T08:29:51.521-07:00James took Grandma Nance and the girls to the beach. It's about an hour's drive on narrow bumpy roads, and usually Grandma doesn't do so well with the car trips here in India, so to make up for that, James' assistant (who was driving) tried to get there as fast as possible, making Grandma twice as freaked out!In our area of the world, we have some of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen. Warm http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/WfCA8oez_As/fun-at-beach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/fun-at-beach.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-715164481678984724Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:57:00 +00002008-10-29T08:30:08.749-07:00To celebrate the end of the term, Grandma Nance and I took the girls out to KB restaurant after a romp in the park. Tonight's menu: chicken 65, butter naan (flat bread), channa masala (chick pea), and egg fried rice. Amira was coughing, so we didn't order ice cream. At the end of the evening, the waiter spilled a plate of sugary anise seeds (taste like licorice) in my purse. Anise seeds are a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/M-TRiwgp5Sg/celebration-dinner-at-restaurant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/celebration-dinner-at-restaurant.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-6942230632576992262Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:24:00 +00002008-10-29T08:30:20.119-07:00Shayna & Amira finished their first semester of school and have a 10-day holiday. To celebrate, we took them to the only decent park in town (actually, it's about 10 miles out of town). Mom (Gram Nance) was not incredibly impressed with the facility, but the children didn't seem to notice how shabby it was and a fantastic time was had by all. Shayna's wearing a Hutterite dress that Grandma http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/yP8kqCElmJM/end-of-term-trip-to-park-with-grandma.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/end-of-term-trip-to-park-with-grandma.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3151641399313410008.post-7911786473657277204Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:12:00 +00002008-10-29T08:30:35.375-07:00"American Grandma" and "Indian Grandma" hung out and shared stories and homemade snacks (no-bake coconut & cocoa cookies from Montana and a deep-fried coconut & sesame-seed-filled turnover from India).http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RebfamRamblings/~3/w8QJiO6LP6Q/cross-cultural-coffee-break.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sarah bess)0http://rebfamramblings.blogspot.com/2008/10/cross-cultural-coffee-break.html