An Unexpected Trip

Dec.16 Moscow time: Melissa called at about 12:30 am and said Grandpa was being taken to the hospital with a possible heart attack apologizing for waking us up. We were grateful she called us and asked to be kept updated no matter what or when. About an hour later she called back my dad had died. Emotions: Unbelief, Stunned, Sad -- then decisions: to Go, Wait,. We called Delta and got the last two seats for the 1:00 pm flight back to El Paso. Packing, no sleep, setting up the house to leave, talk to our bosses at 7:30 to say we are leaving, and being picked up at 9:00 for the airport. Life becomes a whirl wind over the next ten days.Melissa, Josiah, Blake and Avery were able to come for the funeral and Isaiah called a number of times.

Pat and I arrived in El Paso on the 16th, 34 hrs after Melissa called. On the 18th was the viewing at the funeral home, the memorial service at the church on the19th, a pot-luck lunch at the airport in memory of Dad, to church with Mom on Sunday, on the 22nd met with a lawyer, on the 24th-had the internment of some of the ashes at Ft. Bliss Cemetery, Christmas, 26th- Dad had his ashes spread over Horizon Airport, 27th back in the plane headed to Moscow, and arrived home on the 28th.

Two days later we got our luggage @11:30pm unpacked and on then 3rd of January we left again...this time for a 12 day cruise that was already planned. A lot of emotions to deal with.

Terry with Blake and Avery

Happenings in November and December

A masquerade party given for Marleen Benson, who left the Embassy in December.

We had dinner with Angelo, the AirSep salesperson who sold Mercy Ships the Oxygen Concentrator, whom we had meant in England. We had not seen Angelo in years and didn't even know he was the salesperson for Moscow. It was nice to reunite and hear all about his family and meet his representative from Moscow, Mila.

Enjoying Thanksgiving Meal with Lynn Chow, Chris Lewis, Pat and Terry taking the picture.

Happy 233th Birthday Marines!

Here's a few pictures taken at the Marine Ball as we
celebrate the Marines' Birthday.

There was a table set for those Missing In Action and The Prisoners of War.
They are never Forgotten

As we walked into Ball, the Marines were giving all the ladies roses.
Lynn Chow and Janae Cooley are two ladies in Bible Study Group.


Pat, Janice Martin, Sandy Jensen, and Doreen Moore

Disco at it's best. We still know how to dance!
No pictures of Terry and Pat :(

October

Wow, October has come and gone! The PAE office was a flurry of activity with people arriving from Beijing and Washington along with the administrative personnel here in Moscow. PAE's contract with the State Department was up for review and there were a number of meetings that kept the office personnel including Pat very busy through the first week of October.

Dinner at the Writer's Club with the Group

TA Da.... Dinner

Florence

Isaiah arrived on the 8th of October to join us on vacation to Florence, a cruise which began in Venice, with port stops in Bari, Italy; Olympia, Greece;Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Join us in the adventure through the pictures below:

Isaiah looking outside our room with a view- Florence

Ponte Santa Trinita spanning the Arno River.
The oldest elliptic arch bridge in Florence. Built in 1567.

The Cruise

From Florence, we traveled 2 hours by train to Venice where we boarded Costa Serena.

Isaiah holding up a 114,000 ton ship

Our Dinner Buddies:

Drew (Scotland) and Samantha (newlyweds)
Dan, Mike, and Nancy from Australia

Marcelino & Hilda Suarez (Miami)

Isaiah and Pat dancing a Jig after one of the evening meals.

Bari, Italy

Isaiah and Terry walked around Bari while Pat enjoyed
sunbathing on the ship.

After enjoying a cup of coffee at an outdoor cafe, Isaiah & Terry enjoyed walking the boardwalk

Looking down on Saint Nicolas Basilica from the walls of Bari

Katakolon, Greece

We rented a car and headed to the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, which was about 45 minutes away from where we were docked. The Olympic Torch is lit a few months before the Olympic Games begin, using a parabolic mirror, here in Olympia.

Get on your mark, Get set , Go!

Isaiah and Terry are off as they race down
the stadium in Olympia.

Over looking the ruins

Izmir,Turkey

Izmir is Turkey's 3rd largest city with a population of over 3 million. We went on an excursion to Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary. This was the highlight of our cruise

.

Part of Hadrians Temple reminded us of the expanse of the Roman Empire since we lived close to Hadrian's Wall while living in Northern England.

Celsus Library was impressive in its size and how well it is preserved.

Standing in front of the 25,000 seat theater in Ephesus. This is the theater Paul's travel companions were taken during the Riot of Ephesus.

The house of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the hills above Ephesus. Pat is writing a prayer to put on the Prayer Wall seen beside her.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is considered one of the most famous and fascinating cities in the world. We didn't know you could see so much in one day: Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace (home of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years), the Mosque of Hagia Sopia , the Sunken Palace, and the Grand Bazaar.

Standing in front of the Grand Bazaar, which claims to have over 4000 shops
Beneath Istanbul lie hundreds of cisterns,left from the days when the city was called Constantinople. The grandest one is called the Sunken Palace because of it's size: 336 marble columns and capable of holding 21 million gallons.

Pat Standing in the Blue Mosque

Isaiah standing in the upper terrace with fountain, İftar bower and Baghdad Kiosk