FestiveNow

Live music in the beautiful (souq or souk) section of Dubai Mall Went looking for an advent calendar (similar to the reusable one we had in The States) and I made a scene in the mall. It wasn’t a purposeful scene. Totally accidental. Rode up the escalator. But, at the top, I ran into problems because I jammed my shoe into the final step. It happened in slow motion. I pulled one foot out (along with the shoe) when I realized what was happening. The other foot, however did not make it fast enough, so I had to let the shoe go for my toes’ sake. It went. It stuck. The escalator stopped. All toes accounted for and undamaged. It took those behind me a few seconds to realize that they needed to start climbing if they wanted to continue their journey. Like (Cinderella’s) Prince Charming, I stood by the lost shoe. In fact, for a moment, I thought I might be trampled (maybe Cinderella was wise for running?) for trying to pull the shoe out.  I went from a Charming to Ugly Step-Sister po...

I, Darby Jean Koogler, have been given the name Darby Jean by my parents: Paul and Katie Leatherwood. They made me DJ. I blame them. Bless them. There are a number of posts I would like to share, but they are in draft form. Many of you will not read this (if you don't want to, as said before: STOP!), and a couple of you (dear Katies in my life--you know who you are!--and one has been revealed in the paragraph above) have encouraged me to write and post more. So, here I go. No promises. No schedules. Not perfect. Likely some type-Os,  grammatical errors, misspellings, and what-have-you too, ya'll! Just me, a screen and a few thoughts.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  It's Thanksgiving in Dubai and I'm getting ready to pick up the kids from (British--that's why they don't have Thanksgiving off, don't worry, I gave them candy corn and I put a Thanksgiving note in their lunches today) school in about 1 hour.  What is going on? How do: DJ, playing, and Thanksgiving ...

About the time that Facebook blew up with snowy pictures and I viewed the lovely, glowy branches that were marshmallow covered with snow in my parents' back yard, I had a dream: I was sledding in Whatcom County with a friend (you know who you are!)--no kids ('twas a dream!). Atop the dream hill, I shared my heart (I was thinking of Dubai and our 1st Christmas here and said,), "It doesn't feel like Christmas."  My kind-hearted friend heard me, smiled, and gently replied, "It's about Jesus." Truth! While we were in darkness, he lighted the way for us to see God and live in a relationship with him. " The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone."  Isaiah 9:2 That feels like Christmas to me!  In snow or sand--his light shines and he is with us. Merry Christmas!

It's been too many "Arabian Nights" since I posted last because I am beginning to forget things. Before we launch into Arabian Nights, here are a few more Northwest memories (above): one last Woods (Coffee) stop, a 15 passenger van that was lent to us and my parents drove back for us (sooooo blessed), and leis @ SeaTac from our sweet Coral-Mom-Grmie :) (yes, the "a" is gone from Gramie). Here is a list of amazing Arabian things we've experienced (we've been here THREE weeks, like three wishes, "count 'em: one, two, three!"): 21: L lost his front, top tooth! 20: @ Mall of the Emirates we watched a special Chinese dragon and monkey dance (it's the year of the monkey--Happy Chinese New Year, ya'll!) 19: visited with our future landlord @ his home, and he gave the kids soda and ice cream Mars bars 18: attended a garage sale and was given some SCREAMING deals to help set up our villa ('fridge, stove/oven, washer, etc.) 1...