Well... it all started with a file cabinet, and it has turned into full-blown organizational bliss!! Some may say insanity, but they are currently sleeping in the freshly laundered beds and/or doing a crossword puzzle next to a well organized night stand!

In the last two weeks I have done so much around here that it doesn't even hardly look like the same flat!!

I now have a paper in our filing cabinet with all of our different passwords, account numbers, etc! A handy reference sheet, especially if you have a husband who can't remember his passwords so he has to change them every time he logs into one of our accounts leaving the wife completely clueless. Not that I do, I'm just sayin' maybe you do. P.S.- Don't try to rob me and take my magic master sheet! It is hidden AND my file cabinet has a lock!!! I feel very grown up being the owner of a locking file cabinet and all.

After 2 1/2 years pictures are framed and on the walls! Some sprinkled about on the end table, too!

My inbox is empty!

We have actual light fixtures, not just bulbs hanging from the ceiling!

My knives are sharpened!

My blog is caught up!

A man is scheduled to come on Wednesday and clean our funky couch that the kids enjoy spilling on!

Our fire stairs (i.e. the closest thing we have to storage) now have a shelving unit with beautifully organized shelves.

We are caught up with all of our bills, payments, accounting, and money stuff!

We have all been to the dentist! I know that this does not exactly concern the state of our home, but it is part of the frenzy!!

I must say,

March Madness, indeed!!!

Pray for Justin and the kids!

A Day at the Park and a Lesson in Static Cling

On the first pretty Saturday in FOREVER I took the opportunity to take the kids to a really nice park (just 2 minibus rides away). It was so fun to run and play. They have a nice playground, but the kids always seem more entertained by the "workout" equipment.

These things make us laugh so hard. Not only are they easy and strange, but the people who use them crack us up!

Picture if you can people fully dressed in multiple layers, women in headscarves or even full black burkas, and usually old hopping on these things for maybe 2 or 3 minutes maximum. Take my word for it- it is hilarious!!

























Lucy was making us laugh so hard. Her cute hair is so thin and fine. Every time she went down the slide she looked like some sort of mad scientist! Every hair was standing on end! It drew quite a bit of attention!! So of course she kept doing it over and over. She loves to make people laugh!

Static Cling from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

More Static Cling from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

A Bit More Static Cling from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

A Washwoman's Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please let the sun shine on my bedspread. A light wind would be nice, too. It would be so nice if it were dry in time for bed tonight. And please, PLEASE do not let it rain!

Amen.

Christmas 2009

Yeah, I know that Christmas was 3 months ago. So this is more for me than you. My blog doubles as my scrapbook of our lives.

Christmas was great this year. We gave the kids bean bag chairs and they got a few presents from family in the States. (That is one of the advantages of living here!!)

When they woke up we did stockings- lots of candy, new toothbrush and toothpaste, and crayons with a coloring book. Then we ate breakfast. I always make gorilla bread. If you have never tried it it's a Paula Dean recipe. Try it!!! We opened presents slowly. The kids were really happy! Callie's favorite was an ipod. Noah's favorite was a real football. Lucy's favorite... well, the jury is out on that one. She was into everything!!! I gave Justin some movies that I found at a store on the other side, and he gave me some new earrings.

Later in the afternoon we had a big lunch. I did a turkey, creamed spinach, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Also, Callie made a Happy Birthday Jesus cake in the afternoon. After our feast we took the kids over do some fun things at a place near us. The girls rode ponies, but Noah didn't want to. They all jumped on the trampoline until they collapsed! A great energy buster!!!

It was a great day. Low-key and family centered. Here are some pictures:

To Market, To Market

Yesterday at our open air market I bought:

1 kilo granny smith apples
1 kilo mandarin oranges
1/2 kilo tomatoes
1/2 kilo red peppers
1 kilo spinach
1 kilo cucumbers
1 large head or romaine-style lettuce
1 kilo carrots
1 kilo red apples
1/2 kilo raisins
1 small rolling pin
1 tea strainer

for 18.75 lira.

Salad anyone?

Sunshine

It is amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine can make in my spirit. Spring has come and the lightness that comes with it has just made me so happy the last few days. I am continuing to try to get things in order around here. Yesterday I finally bought some light fixtures for our flat. We have been in this flat for 10 months with lightbulbs hanging from the ceilings!

I can put my clothes rack back out on the balcony to dry our clothes. Horray!!! They dry so much faster and it gets that big 'ole thing out of our flat!

Everyone is out and about getting some "fresh" (relative term!) air. The streets are once again full of playing children. Women are sitting on the curbs eating sunflower seeds and doing needlepoint. The days are longer and warm enough to put the coats away! A carpet or bedding is hanging from every balcony being aired out.

There is a spring in my step and I have been out walking in our neighborhood and praying for this area. Trusting Jesus to come and heal the broken hearted here!

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Psalm 34:17-18

We're Not Like You See on TV

Lucy has been sick for the last couple of days. She has had a fever and sometimes acts a bit lethargic but then sometimes acts completely fine. Anyway, to be honest, I have really enjoyed my last few days with her. She has not gone to preschool and we have pretty much hung out. She has been mellow and not too whiney. So, basically, great!!

After we walked Noah and Callie to school I had a few things that I needed to do today. I am on a real "get your affairs in order" kick! Since she seemed to be feeling fine, I dragged Lucy along. We hopped on the minibus and went into the center of town.

We picked up some medicine at the pharmacy, and then went to the post office. We drew # 383. They were on # 358. Lucy did great while we waited! She played with her baby doll and furrowed her brow at anyone who tried to pinch her cheeks and/or touch her hair. (I don't mind it so much when she shuns the attention. It is a bit much!)

When our number was up we went up to the desk and I asked if I could buy stamps. The lady said that she could not do that, I would have to see the lady at the desk in to corner. There was no lady at the desk in the corner. We waited for the lady. Eventually she came. We bought our stamps, and I mailed three more letters!

I will never get that hour of waiting back, but on the inside I celebrated another victory!! STAMPS!!!! I BOUGHT STAMPS!!!!

Then we headed down to the button shop to try to find button to match the ones that Noah and Callie have plucked off of their school sweaters. We found something close, bought those, and headed on to our next destination.

Near the button shop was a little cafe. Lucy and I stopped in to rest a bit since everything we had done was on foot. The men working there were entranced by Melek (Lucy's name in the local language) and struck up conversation. They were shocked when they found out we were American. They said that we were the first Americans they had ever seen! I retorted that we're not as bad as the ones on TV! Right? They laughed (a JOKE!! I made a Joke!) and said no.

It was fun to talk with them and just as we have been reminded time and time again, show them that despite politics people are just people.

A Day of Firsts

When we arrived here, Justin started full time language learning and I pretty much fit it in where I could. In addition, he had an office and was supposed to be out of the house for most of the day. Because he had not yet started any tasks for his job he had lots of time to figure things out. And it took lots of time to do even the simplest tasks!! It is astounding how much more time things take here.

Anyhow, all this to say that Justin always got tasked with the new things- installing lights, starting a bank account, figuring out how to mail letters, paying bills, etc! For some reason, it has stayed that way.

To be honest, I think it has been fear on my part. Fear of looking stupid, fear of not knowing what someone is saying or what is required of me, fear of the unknown no matter how simple it really is.

I am tired of being helpless. So, lately I have been trying to take on more things. I think that the joy from having a file drawer has spurred me on to new heights. File drawer, you are the wind beneath my wings. Never forget it!

My language class is over and it is time for me to get into the real world even more. I used to pride myself on how much I could handle and get done. Your regular task master! I thrived on lists. Not so much here!!

Guess what major firsts I accomplished today...

I PAID A BILL. (You have to go to the places to pay them.) I know, I know. I should have told you to sit down for this huge news. I'm sorry. Pick up your jaw. I know you are excited for me.

But wait... there's more! Can your heart handle it?

Maybe you should sit down.

I MAILED THREE LETTERS. (Oh, yes ma'am, I did ask for them to be stamped, not metered!) Excitement!! THREE!!

The best part- I picked up a package, too! (Thanks, Mom!!!)

I know, I'm awesome. A regular rock star. A Middle Eastern Martha Stewart. Superwoman!

Jealous much?

Can you even believe that such mundane things are giant hurdles for us? Our language is coming along well, but figuring out culture and the way things work here will be our life-long job.

I learned one universal truth today:

There is always a long slow line at the post office no matter what country you find yourself in!!

Clone

Callie can burp the answers to most questions.

She pushed a little boy down at school today... twice!

How did I clone myself?

Today

Today has been a hodge-podge of interestingness. The highlight of my day was a meeting with Justin to begin to plan and work on the details of our Home Ministry Assignment. We will be in the USA from June until the end of August. At the end of our meeting we went to buy a file cabinet.

It had been three long years since I have had a file cabinet. I do not know when I turned to a psycho-organizer chick but I am. There is now great joy and happiness as I am re-organizing my entire life in alphabetical order. I am singing "It iIs Well With My Soul" as I do it, and I mean it. How did I turn into this????

Whatever makes you happy, I guess!

To obtain the file cabinet we had to go to the devil's hide-a-way [aka IKEA] because file cabinets and really organization in general are not a concept here. So, we had to go to the aforementioned place of horribleness and crapy furniture. We survived. But just barely.

My happiness began as we got home and Justin began to assemble the dern thing. That is when his happiness ended!! Anyhow, my joy is compounded by the fact that when I finished dinner tonight I simply was able to walk away from the table. Callie is in the kitchen doing the dishes and cleaning it up! OH THE JOY!!!

I will end this bit of rambling with a great story:

Lucy said to me tonight on the minibus, "When you get bigger you won't be a mommy anymore." So I responded, "What will I be, a grandmommy?" The lovely little angel explained, "no, you will be dead."

LOVELY!

On that note... have a great day!

A List

Um... the busy-ness. The busy-ness is to blame for my neglecting my blog. Here's a (lame) attempt at catching up...

1. We had a few days of beautiful weather and now its back to very cold, wet, freezy-rainy (technical term) junk. UGH!!! (I love to complain about the weather)

2. The kids may possibly kill each other, or more likely I may kill them if we do not see the sun sometime soon so they can go outside and play in the street (literally). It has been a long, cold, dark winter in the city, folks!

3. I failed my last language exam at my university. Looks like that chapter of my life is over. I am relieved and disappointed at the same time.

4. Chores are rocking my world. I have always given my kids basic chores, and occasionally tried to throw in something that would be a real help. When they wouldn't do it well, I would stop making them do it. Finally, the Lord showed me that I need to help them keep at it and they will get better. After several months of steady work I can finally say, "hallelujah, these kids are starting to pull their own weight a bit." I haven't emptied the dishwasher, vacuumed, set the table, taken out the trash, put away clean clothes, swept, or cleaned up after a meal in awhile! Horray for child labor!

5. I love it here. I am really glad that God called us to come here and serve the poor. It is really hard, but it feels amazing to get to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

6. Our Libyan friend just returned from his home country where he married a woman that his mother picked out for him. He did get to meet her twice before they got married. She had never been out of her country until the week after their wedding when he moved her here. (I bet my Momma couldn't have found a man on this planet better than my Justin!!)

7. Our teammate is pregnant with twins and in shock!!

8. I am afraid that all I will do in America this summer is watch reality TV, swim in the pool, and eat the foods that I have longed after! I better start running again, soon!

9. We had a huge earthquake in the Eastern part of the country. Our city is on a major fault-line. I am afraid of earthquakes.

10. When I am on the minibus and it was full before the last 20 people got on Johnny Cash on my ipod makes it all better! Thanks, Dad, for my true love of Johnny! There is nothing better than swaying gently with the vehicle to Folsom Prison Blues while sharing intimate space with a large number on new friends!! And when the driver hits the brakes, woo-hoo!!! The fun continues!!! Human air-bags!

Life is good here. It's not easy, and it's not always fun. But the Lord is with us and He has placed us here with His gentle loving hands. Nothing is better than His best for us.

After this, the word of the LORD came to [Elizabeth] in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, [Elizabeth].
I am your shield,
your very great reward.

Genesis 15:1


After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant:
"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."

Joshua 1:1-9

My best friend is so poor that her fridge is empty. Completely empty! In fact she went ahead and unplugged it to save on electricity, too!